The pace of technology change keeps accelerating—especially when your organization is engaged in digital transformation. However, businesses are not able to capture all of the benefits of such transformation unless employees acquire the skills and knowledge to leverage these new technologies.
The imperative to learn places a burden on employees, whether young or old, whether they're adept with learning technologies and new skills or not. So, what are the best ways to enable and empower employees to quickly and successfully learn the technology and skills they need?
Challenges to learning technologies and skills
The goal should be to get employees feeling comfortable and confident when learning with technologies and new or advanced systems. Low user adoption from a lack of buy-in is a common reason digital transformations fail. Thus, it's important to stress the benefits to all employees for any digital transformation projects.
Leadership should also be mindful of inadvertently creating a negative technology loop where employees who are already hesitant to adopt new technology are given even more new technology simply for training purposes. A useful strategy to help reluctant employees is to use technologies or concepts they are already familiar with, taught by people they trust. Embracing flexible technology, such as a phone system that operates on either a desk phone, mobile app, native dialing capability on your smartphone or PC app, can give confidence to hesitant employees.
Strategies for inclusive learning with technologies
As with all new initiatives, employers should consider how their training policies and programs impact all employees. Is the content and delivery method accessible to everyone? Are there outdated assumptions? Will learning with unfamiliar technologies hinder acceptance? Here are some tips for success when it comes to learning technologies and skills:
- Consult before embarking on new initiatives. Employees will appreciate being asked their views, and the consultation process is a perfect opportunity to explain why the digital transformation project is being introduced and how employees will benefit.
- Embrace learning technologies that allow full digital accessibility, such as for staff with disabilities, providing employees with the chance to grow and meet their potential.
- Make it clear that employees are not immediately expected to be completely adept at new technology. Fear of failure is one of the biggest impediments to user adoption of new technologies. Create a learning environment that makes employees feel successful while they're learning. Another approach is to create a sandbox for employees to use technology without worrying that they'll "break something."
- Give employees learning options to right-size their learning style. Pursue micro learning options and make learning part of everyday work. Enable employees to choose self-directed learning at their own pace and on their own schedule. Encourage self-training wherever possible.
- Embrace learning systems compatible with remote work, even for in-house employees. Remote and hybrid work is here to stay, so investing in remote-friendly learning technologies and models makes sense.
- Create a culture where learning is fun, particularly when approaching learning with technologies that could be daunting, such as virtual reality and augmented reality.
- Make learning a priority by setting aside the time necessary to help everyone see the value of the investment. Be careful not to put the onus on employees to somehow find the time to squeeze learning in on top of their busy work days, which could mean the work of learning never taking place.
Helping younger and older employees learning with technologies
While learning technologies and skills can be a challenge for all staff, employers should be mindful of the impact on younger and older staff. Older staff may find it difficult to learn new platforms and tools. Meanwhile, though younger staff may be more comfortable with new technology, they may still require support learning the fundamental components of their role and the company culture.
Many of the previously mentioned strategies can help with the challenges younger and older employees face when learning technologies. Mentorship is also a useful tool, and pairing younger and older employees can help each of them feel empowered and valued by providing an opportunity to both share and receive knowledge.
Digital transformation gives your company a powerful competitive advantage—with the right tools and positive environment, employees can transform their skills and knowledge to reach their full potential.
Learn more about how to upskill the next generation of innovators.
The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.