It is amply clear
by now that in 2021 and possibly beyond too, the workforce is likely to remain
remote or hybrid. Even as organizations continue to hone their learning ecosystems,
it’s time to let employees take charge of their own learning and development to
stay relevant in their roles.
During the
pandemic, more companies have come forward to equip employees to build the
skills that are essential for their growth and development. As per a Mckinsey
survey, a majority of respondents (58 percent) have said that plugging in
skills gaps in workforces has become a higher priority since the pandemic
began.
Digital Training to Equip Employees for
Self-Improvement
While L&D teams
have consistently focused on designing and delivering effective training
programs, the time has come to concentrate more on enabling a continuous
learning culture where employees can work on their own development. This is
possible by creating digital education environments that leverage technology to
offer efficient ways of refining performance through eLearning.
Giving access to the right data and information can empower employees to make the right decisions in terms of improving productivity. Doing so not only helps employees to perform their jobs successfully but also gives them ownership over their learning while fostering a stronger learning culture across the organization.
Adapting L&D Strategy for Performance Improvement
As per the Udemy
2021 Workplace Learning Trends report, employees today want a holistic
approach to their careers and consider self-mastery an essential skill.
Needless to say, it is imperative that L&D is able to optimize their
digital training offerings to suit the needs of such a workforce given the
current business climate.
There are a number
of ways in which L&D can empower employees to increase performance and take
charge of their own learning by adapting a robust digital learning strategy.
Let’s look at some of them:
1.Identifying Clear Goals
In order to add value to training and development programs, it is necessary to have clear goals and concrete outcomes. They will help define the overall impact on the organization, as well as individual employees. The clarity in employee goals go a long way in contributing to both individual and company success and motivation.
2.Aligning Training Initiatives to Goals
Once proper goals
have been identified, the next step is for L&D to design their training
programs around these. An important strategy is to create advanced individual
employee development plans that are ambitious so that you can push your
employees to move out of their comfort zones. It helps to define skills gaps as
well as areas that require more actionable and measurable results.
3.Encouraging Collaboration and Transparency
Employees learn
better through collaboration by working together and motivating each other to achieve organizational goals. Collaboration helps foster a
culture of learning that leads to nurturing of teams that are responsible and
reliable. However, in order to bring in collaboration between employees, it is
necessary to have a level of transparency in the organization where there is open
communication and proper channels of accountability.
4.Boosting Self-Paced Training
For today’s busy
workforce, finding time to take training is not easy. It is imperative that
training programs incorporate microlearning and digital training methods that allow
employees to take charge and ownership of their learning. The need of the hour
is just in time, on-demand, accessible learning that is required to boost
performance support. Training that is available at the time of need rather than
at a fixed schedule augments productivity better.
5.Rewarding Performance
One of the best
ways to encourage employees is to reward them for their good performance. A
company that nurtures employee growth is in a better position to attract talent
and maintain a positive culture. Recognizing and rewarding employees also helps
to boost engagement and motivation leading to higher retention rate.
In Conclusion
In terms of learning
and development, organizations need to leverage their existing platforms and
technologies. The final goal is to enable employees to control their learning
and in turn improve their job performance.
