Increasingly, managing, engaging and developing employees is moving further away from personalised human contact and closer to an all-tech interface, on every level and element of the workplace. But although technology is unquestionably fulfilling the employer/employee interface, it is not in itself a panacea to the task that can be left to its own devices, what is still required is human initiative.
Article by Matt Johnson, Managing Director – City and Guilds Kineo.
As we are all seeing every day, technology is taking on all fronts in the workplace, and requiring new approaches to all aspects of managing people. Most HR Directors are utterly absorbed in transitions on all fronts of the practice and how it delivers to the workforce. Learning & development has been pioneering tech for years and as most of us are seeing, smart use of technology, especially in the hands of millennials, is an increasingly powerful. But how do you match the high expectations of digitally-savvy learners, and how do you make it all a seamless part of your culture? “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to”. This one-liner from Richard Branson regularly does the rounds when the topic of employee engagement arises. And it’s clear that there might be something in it! I don’t have to tell you how important it is for employees to be engaged. We’ve all seen the research about it – 71 percent of employers say employee engagement is very important in achieving organisational success, according to Harvard Business Review. People who are more engaged are healthier, are more effective, more productive, put in more effort the list goes on. And if you work in learning and development, there’s an eye-catching headline, that according to Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2016, “Learning opportunities are among the largest drivers of employee engagement and strong workplace culture – they are part of the entire employee value proposition, not merely a way to build skills.” Time and again we hear that people are driven more by opportunities to develop their skills, build their careers and work in a positive culture than they are by their monthly pay cheques. So what role does L&D have, and where does technology fit in?
When was the last time you had an immediate need for a new skill or piece of information in your everyday life? How to change a light bulb, how to tie a bow tie, how to cook a perfect poached egg. And how did you fulfil that need? I would guess that you picked up a phone or tablet and Googled for an answer to your question or – even better – a tutorial video. You almost certainly didn’t enrol on a training course entitled ‘Changing Light bulbs for Beginners’ and follow a twelve-part programme with multiple-choice questions at the end of each. That simply isn’t how we learn anymore. The same could be true for information and skills you need to do your job. Technology is changing how we learn in everyday life, so it should be changing how we learn at work too. The ability to cater to the wants and needs of potential and existing employees is a must if businesses are to hire and retain the best people. The good news is that harnessing technology in the right way can help. The bad news – it’s not as easy as just buying the right kit or following the latest trend. It means using digital tools in the right way to respond to employees’ needs. Take on-boarding, for example. Most businesses require new employees to take some kind of training when they start their new job – covering off compliance, systems training, health and safety, rolespecific skills. Rather than it being a case of information overload, wouldn’t it be great if your onboarding programme was something employees loved and shouted about, and something that really captured the culture of the business?
A large travel business needed to join up the experience for the 1,500 new recruits they bring into their organisation each year. The aim was to help new people feel part of the business as quickly as possible; to understand what it stands for, where it’s going, their own role in that journey and where to go for support and guidance. This was achieved by a range of digital resources, including an upbeat video, using stories from people around the business. The resources weren’t high-budget and didn’t reinvent the wheel – instead they were fun, engaging and easy to access. The learning was also self-paced, meaning that new employees could focus on what was important to them, when they were ready to learn it – a bit more like the real-life experience of browsing and finding resources online.
Of course, it’s crucial to sustain the benefits after an employee has completed their probation period the ongoing learning and development experience needs to be in keeping with company culture too. Smart employers will look to seize the opportunities afforded by digital technology and how employees naturally engage with it. That could mean swapping some of your ‘traditional’ elearning or something new, like game-based learning, virtual reality, augmented reality or interactive videos. Techniques borrowed from console games, social media channels and even cinema – the sort of technology that’s increasingly available and familiar to us. If that’s what modern learners use day in day out, why wouldn’t the workplace seek to adopt it? That’s a philosophy with interactive video for example, which increasingly more organisations are utilising to great effect in several key projects. Another example of a business using emerging tech to great advantage was a business with a requirement to up-skill their sales force – a new product launch needed a high-impact approach to provide staff with an understanding of the nuances between different products and their target audiences. Interactive video technology helped us to produce an immersive experience. The chances are we’ve all come across some interactive video used for advertising or as an engaging online brand experience. Why not use it for learning too? You’re involved in the action and have the chance to see the consequences of your choices being played out. And it mirrors the kind of engaging experience we’re becoming used to online.
What’s stopping us? I know that the endless evolution of digital technology and the myriad opportunities it offers can feel overwhelming. As L&D and HR professionals, we can feel pressure to keep up with the latest thing, which is a struggle when resources and budget don’t always match up to opportunity. You can feel like you are swimming against an incoming tide; no sooner have you grasped one technology, than something new and shiny comes along. Not only that, but your own skills may not be up to scratch. You may need to take some of your own advice and be a lifelong learner. You’ve been an L&D professional for a while and your understanding of the underlying pedagogy is great – but how do you translate that into a good experience for learners? How do you know which piece of tech is suitable for which learning objective? Our Learning Insights 2017 report was compiled following interviews with L&D professionals in a range of sectors and businesses. We found that many people had started to experiment in small ways with new tech. They’d identified a specific learning need, considered the challenges and the outcome they wanted, matched it with a new tech approach and run a pilot project. Whether it’s virtual reality, video or a social learning platform the key is to start small, test it out and measure outcomes. Don’t blow the budget or spend all of your time on one thing, play and experiment. As long as you’re clear on what results you want, you’ll be heading in the right direction. So it really is vital to keep swimming – with the tide, not against it. Using technology in a smart way can help deliver high success rates, cost savings and a greater level of engagement among your employees. And if you get it right you’ll create a great culture in your business – not only one that’s forward-thinking when it comes to tech, but a true culture of lifelong learning.
First and foremost, independence is the core strength of theHRDIRECTOR. Unlike many competitor publications in the HR sector, we do not publish paid for articles. When we commission an article, the journey from synopsis to completion is through carefully considered collaboration with the author, both parties clear about the main objectives; to deeply explore the subject, and always to bring a new and informative perspective to the page. With the needs and expectations of the reader firmly in mind, the magazine has maintained unrivalled standards and enjoys an enviable integrity.
To support our subscription campaign, each month we will be sharing four, carefully-chosen articles from the latest issue of our flagship publication, which exemplify the high standards we strive to achieve. We hope you enjoy reading them and decide to become one of our valued subscribers.
To view our subscription options, please click here.
