Design a Winning Learning Journey for your Enterprise Workforce

Viren Kapadia May 06, 2020
Design a Winning Learning Journey for your Enterprise Workforce

An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly is the ultimate competitive advantage.

- Jack Welch, former CEO, General Electric

The most successful business organizations are ones which lay great stress on learning, be it collective or for individual employees. It is only continuous learning that allows your employees to grow, and it is only when they grow that the company grows. Learning drives innovation, and innovation drives transformation of business models, and it is such transformation that paves the way for positive industry disruptions. As such, it is important for every company to devise an effective learning journey for its employees, so as to equip itself with the competitive edge. Here are some pointers that need to be borne in mind while doing so.

Quality of Content of Learning Modules

What sits at the foundation of a good training session is how well-designed its content is. As such, ensuring that the content is up-to-date, framed in a manner that flows logically, is easy to understand, and engaging is of utmost importance. Using a Learning Management System (LMS) can allow companies to upload highly immersive and interacting content that can ensure that employees enjoy their learning experience.

Performance Monitoring

Employee performance on training needs to be monitored on two different aspects. The extent to which they have imbibed the content that was imparted as part of a training session. This would have to be done through conducting well-designed tests which could gauge the trainee’s theoretical understanding of the topic and his ability to make decisions based on the learning he has been imparted. The other aspect is to monitor how well the employee has been able to implement the newly acquired learning in his everyday work. For this, a phased assessment of the work-output and quality could be conducted.

Taking Feedback

After each training, employees could be encouraged to share feedback about their learning experience, what they liked, and what they felt are potential areas of improvement. This feedback could prove highly valuable when improving upon the existing training modules to increase the effectiveness of learning. Also, by making employees realize that their inputs matter, the company would be able to increase their engagement level in the training process.

Convenience of Learning

Maximum learning retention happens when the employees voluntarily participate in the training process. One way to ensure this is to ensure that the employee gets to undergo the training at a time and place that he is comfortable with. The use of an LMS can greatly facilitate this. By doing so, the company can ensure that employees engage in the training process, not because the company wants them to and when the company wants them to, but because they want to and when they want to. And this in itself will tap into the employees’ intrinsic desire to learn, making the learning more effective.

Tie Training to Professional Growth

This is perhaps the most important point that can ensure eager participation of employees in the learning journey. The greatest motivation an employee could have in undergoing a training session is the knowledge of how the skills that he will assimilate through the same are going to play a part in his growth within the company. Therefore, while framing a training plan for employees, a company would do well to also communicate to them how they stand to benefit career-wise through the same. A company might also go a step further and discuss individual aspirations of employees, and chalk out personalized learning and development plans for them. This will have two different advantages – it will motivate employees to willingly participate in the training process with a greater commitment to the same, and also, it will increase employee retention rate.

By keeping in mind, the above points, a company can go on to designing a winning learning journey for its workforce. What this will ensure is not just employee up-skilling, but employees will also be happier at the workplace since they receive training that is helping them realize their individual professional aspirations. Also, they will also identify a lot more with the company goals. And when you have a team that is skilled, innovative, and inspired, you can be rest assured that your P&L statement will look prettier too.