Reducing employee turnover and increasing employee engagement are two top goals for every organization. Companies can achieve both by becoming a high-impact learning organization, one that prioritizes effective employee training as a core principle. It’s not easy to make the transition, though. Here’s what the road ahead looks like:
Becoming a high-impact learning organization requires a culture that is dedicated at all levels to not only provide training to employees but continually elevate continuing education. If you’ve ever worked for a company that starts a new training initiative that doesn’t have buy-in from the executives and managers, you’ve seen how quickly it can fall apart. It’s one thing to talk about centering training and another to really live it. If your company is committed to high-impact learning, there may need to be upper-level shakeups in order to get the right people in place. This sounds drastic, but it’s true. When education is valued through the organization and the administration is committed to staying on top, the learning culture starts to perpetuate itself.
Your training needs to be mobile, digital, and flexible. So many people have smartphones that the expectation is now that information will be available whenever and wherever they stand. Imagine a company calling itself a “high-impact learning organization” but relies on paper binders and backroom computer stations. It’s a ridiculous concept. eLearning solutions and training materials need to be accessible on-demand, and this is advantageous because it allows learning to happen where the work happens. This improves retention by virtue of being at the point of need and not having to recall steps from a paper manual or outdated video. (Learn more about modern learning strategies in our ebook: The Ultimate Guide To Modern Learning)
Work doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and neither should your training. People are social by nature and mobile devices have only increased the compulsion to share our successes and failures with others. Training solutions that promote this kind of dialogue raise the engagement levels of staff and management through collaboration. Employees want to do their jobs well and trainers need to know that their instruction materials are up-to-date with best practices from the line.
To make the transformation into a high-impact learning organization you must first ask your executive team: Are you dedicated to your employees? If you cannot answer honestly in the affirmative, then you don’t have what it takes to start on the path. But if your company can make the pledge to support and value training at all levels, you will ultimately see positive employee engagement and retention.