What to Know About Technology and Corporate Training

Corporate training has been a challenging area for companies for quite some time. On the one hand, corporate training is necessary in terms of onboarding, skill development, and compliance. On the other hand, traditional methods of corporate training are expensive and often ineffective.

So what can businesses do to remain competitive? For most, the answer is to move toward a more tech-centric approach to corporate training.

This can include the use of a learning management system like Totara LMS, but there are other ways to integrate technology into corporate training programs for an increasingly productive, innovative workplace.

The following are some key points to keep in mind when it comes to the intersection of technology and corporate training.

Use a Hybrid Learning Approach

Some companies feel they could benefit from the use of a technology-driven corporate training strategy, but they may worry about whether or not their employees will embrace it. This can especially true in an organization where employees are more traditional or less comfortable with technology.

A good way to deal with this is to ease into it with a hybrid approach. Hybrid learning, also called blended learning, means that you combine the use of something like self-paced learning management systems with traditional classroom training.

This allows you to get many of the benefits of e-Learning, but employees still have the advantage of feeling comfortable in a familiar classroom setting.

Take Advantage of Learner Analytics

When you embrace technology and integrate it as part of your corporate training program, one of the most important things you can use to your advantage is learner analytics. The ability to collect these analytics is one of the primary ways technology-driven training is better than traditional training.

When you gather learner analytics, it allows you to see how effective training programs are and where employees might need additional training.

It also helps you to continue working toward improving your training and development programs.

Using learner analytics lets you proactively identify skills gaps and spot your best talent so you can put them on a unique path early on.

Improve Engagement

When employees aren’t engaged in their training, you’re essentially throwing money away. Even if you think your training is great, when engagement isn’t where it should be, it’s essentially pointless to have the training program at all.

With technology, including learning management systems, you are able to not just improve engagement levels, but also check and see how much information is being retained.

There are systems that allow for an immediate response to be given so that employees know where they’re missing things or going wrong, and where they’re doing well. This immediate feedback in and of itself improves engagement.

You can also ask for employee feedback throughout training, which again, is a way to improve engagement levels.

Technology lets employees move along at a pace that works for them, and they can go back and review as necessary and go as quickly or as slowly as they feel they need.

What Types of Technology Are Available?

While a learning management system might serve as the core platform for technology-driven learning and repository of content and information, what other specific types of technology can be used in corporate training?

One interesting development is the use of augmented reality or AR. With AR, the training experience is guided and fully immersive. With regard to employee training specifically, what will happen with AR is often that there will be a step-by-step guide that takes employees through the processes they will be responsible for on the job.

It works especially well for positions that involve the use of complex equipment or software.

Augmented reality is also frequently used to train employees in the health care industry.

Video-conferencing can be an integral part of modern employee training, and it’s very simple to include in your strategy as well as fairly inexpensive. Video-conferencing works well if you’re training remote employees too.

Gamification is another rapidly-growing technology-centric trend in employee training. Gamification can take valuable components of training and make them fun and accessible for employees. It can reduce the costs associated with training, such as the costs of an instructor and materials, and training is likely to be more effective when it’s in game format.

The goal of technology in employee training should be to make the information as readily accessible as possible. It should be in the hands of employees when they need it, and it should be easily digestible and something that resonates with them over the long-term.