Why HR Must Adopt a Digital Employee Training Method

An employee training method can mean the difference between a productive workforce and an unproductive one.

In the digital economy, where organizational change has become an everyday occurrence, it is important not to let productivity dip.

If a workforce fails to perform adequately, then…

• Organizational performance will suffer
• A business will have a harder time innovating
• Business agility will decrease

Among other things.

In this article, we’ll learn what it takes to create an effective employee training method.

Let’s start by understanding the problems with traditional employee training approaches.

Why Most Training Methods Fail in the Digital Age

When it comes to digital workforce training, traditional training approaches, such as classroom training or textbooks, simply don’t deliver.

Even online derivations of those methods, such as online training or website content, frequently underperform.

There are several reasons why:

• These methods aren’t logistically feasible. Classroom training, for instance, can only accommodate a certain number of employees at a time. And since new hires enter the workforce at different times, apply for different job roles, and come with different backgrounds, finding a one-size-fits all classroom curriculum is next to impossible.
• They are too slow for the fast-paced digital workplace. Digital technology changes continuously and organizations adopt new technologies regularly. For trainers to keep up, they must also keep up with those changes, be experts with one or more tools, tailor course content to meet employees’ ever-changing needs, and so on. Naturally, this is a significant challenge, and most trainers have trouble keeping up with both the organization’s needs and software changes.
• There is too much waste and irrelevant information. Online courses have replaced classroom training in the vast majority of enterprise training programs, for many of the reasons we have just seen. But they too are insufficient. Online classes tend to provide a broad-spectrum education about a topic or platform. Or they can deliver too much irrelevant information that wastes valuable time and bores trainees.
• Implementation and maintenance are too costly. Ultimately, all of the approaches we have looked at so far are too expensive and cannot scale effectively. For an organization to be agile, training programs should also be agile. But standard employee training methods are simply too unwieldy and carry administrative costs that are too high.

Despite these disadvantages, many organizations still use them, with very poor results.

The Results of Traditional Employee Training Methods

When classroom training or even online teaching are used for practical, on-the-job workforce training – particularly digital training – a number of problems crop up.

These can include:

• Lower employee proficiency, productivity, and performance
• Decreased employee satisfaction and engagement
• Negative impacts to organizational performance and agility
• A poorer competitive position

Ultimately, online education isn’t enough.

Organizations waste a great deal of time and money on endlessly ineffective training, that keeps employees frustrated and organizations performing below their potential.

Fortunately, technology itself can turn these results around.

The Solution: Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs)

Digital adoption platforms (DAPs) are UX and training layers that deliver digital training directly inside the target application.

These greatly simplify the training process, increasing efficiency and helping to keep workers on track and productive, even in the most digitally mature work environment.

They exploit the latest innovations in technology – such as AI and RPA – to deliver a cutting-edge training method that overcomes the problems covered above.

In other words, these automated training platforms deliver training that is…

• Experiential
• Interactive
• Contextualized
• Personalized

These apps are based on a few key functions, such as:

• Product tours. Product tours familiarize users with an application, explaining features quickly and interactively. Users can grasp the gist of the program, without needing to consult a human trainer.
• In-app walkthroughs. More in-depth product walkthroughs help users understand how to perform a specific task or workflow. These offer added benefits over videos that do the same, since users interact directly with software, allowing them to learn by doing.
• On-demand guidance. Technical support calls can be costly, draining for support centers, and frustrating for employees. On-demand guidance overcomes this problem, since employees can get help when they need it, directly inside an application.
• Automation. Automation is another side benefit offered by digital adoption platforms. Digital adoption platforms can take over repetitive tasks, freeing up user time for more value-added activities.
• Software analytics. Analytics track how users interact with a program, which offers an extra layer of insight into user behavior. Trainers can learn more about users’ training needs, how the training program is performing, and how to make improvements.

Because employees receive precisely the right information exactly when they need it, there is no need to wade through irrelevant course material, search online for answers, or contact technical support.

Training managers and HR professionals interested in transforming their training efforts should test out digital adoption solutions in their workplace.

For more information, visit our digital adoption blog.