What Technology Can Do for Your Learning Strategy

This was originally posted on td.org

What is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is the measure of how emotionally invested an employee is in a company. Engaged employees care about a company’s future because they feel that they contribute to it. While salary and benefits are good motivators for employee satisfaction and loyalty, many employers don’t realize that training and digital learning strategies can make an even greater impact.

Learning Strategies and Employee Engagement

The average employee can tell a lot about a company from the first few days of onboarding. How a company values its new recruits and what it expects of them can be revealed through their corporate training materials.

Most employees are digital natives who value learning and growth, so they’re looking for companies that embrace leadership training and training innovation. By instituting an effective digital learning strategy, you can attract and maintain a competitive, engaged employee base.

How Technology Improves Employee Learning

Employees want training and development that is engaging, easily digestible, and relevant to their daily tasks. The right learning tools foster upskilling and reskilling; they help people become productive and autonomous instead of overwhelming them with information.

Here are some ways technology can revamp the learning process:

• It can complement various learning styles and speeds. No two employees are the same. Customized employee training is the most effective way to fully engage a diverse group of people, and technology makes personalization easier.
• It can spread out lots of information into manageable parcels. Typical training seminars tend to cover everything an employee will ever need to know—most of which they’ll forget as soon as they leave the conference room. Digital learning tools are great for condensing material down to its most concise, useful, and accessible form.
• It can help all employees feel included in the company process. Traditional modes of training tend to prioritize some employees over others. Technology makes it easier to build comprehensive training that helps every employee feel their work and progress is important to the company mission.

Effective Digital Upgrades for Your Learning Strategy

The growing options in digital learning give companies more opportunities to engage their employees. Here are some ideas for incorporating digital learning concepts into your onboarding process:

• Trickle-training with information “nuggets”: Less is more. Divide and administer the most relevant training content in small, manageable nuggets for greater information retention. These microlearning modules can take the form of pop-up reminders, short videos, or mini lessons.
• Gamification and rewards: Customized gamification is a great way to incentivize employees and encourage healthy competition. Gamification tools can also help managers stay connected with their teams and offer real-time feedback.
• Adaptability and mobility: The best training is customizable, responsive, and personalized to an employee’s specific needs. It’s also easily accessible and constantly updated through cloud technology.

In an increasingly digital world, the way we process and retain information is changing. Digital learning strategies are a necessity for companies who want to stay attractive to an evolving workforce. Whatever the curriculum—sales enablement training, compliance training, brand training—innovation is the key to success.