UScompanies invest a significant amount of money, time, and resources intotraining their employees. In fact, Gallup estimates that disengaged employeescost US businesses up to $550 billion annually in lost productivity. A new approach to learning andtraining should be at the top of employers’ to-do list. Yet many companies arestill using stale, one-size-fits-all materials that do little to inspireretention or performance.
It’s oftenhard to know how much of that information is actually being effectivelyretained and put to use. You may have insight into training compliance, butthere are few means of measuring absorption. And according to a host of newdata, if companies want to identify the source of profitability bleeding, itlies with lack of retention.
Cutting throughthe clutter
Trainingmethods need to evolve with the times in order to keep personnel productive,engaged, confident in their knowledge, and adamant in their pursuit oflearning. Businesses must understand that with their employees, they’re upagainst fragmented content consumption, increasing distractions, and greatercontrol by the consumer. Training and learning materials are struggling to cutthrough the clutter, and employees ultimately are disregarding them.
Thisresults in a disengaged and disenchanted workforce, decreased loyalty, lostproductivity, and, in the end, lower profitability.
The “training problem”
By their nature,trends like these should be encouraging employers to rethink training for newhires; yet Rapt Media’s recent survey data on the American workplace showsthat employees are disengaged and disappointed with training techniques used bytheir employers and are not actually absorbing the information required toperform.
The surveyshows that the majority of employees (65 percent) feel their company could havedone a better job of onboarding them. In fact, three out of four employees (74percent) said they’d forgotten some or all of the last mandatory training theyattended, while more than half (57 percent) completed the training only becausethey had to.
This datahighlights the difference between compliance and absorption in the workplaceand, when deconstructed, pinpoints effectiveness, growth, and engagement ofemployees as a key indicator of success. It is increasingly difficult topresent information in ways that capture attention and stimulate learning, butinvesting in effective training has proved to be essential to success.
Driving more effective training
So whatdoes this mean for businesses? In order to create sustainability,profitability, and a productive environment, leaders need to reevaluate theirtraining practices and utilize new research to build communication betweenemployers and employees.
Accordingto Rapt Media’s survey, the vast majority of employees (82 percent) learnbetter from visual content like video than from static content like PDFs andother documents. More than half (60 percent) are bored by their company’sinternal communications.
Companieshave to: move beyond traditional, one-way training techniques that seem toinhibit absorption of information; reimagine internal content; and turn to newtechnology tools and platforms that will engage workers in a personalized way,including interactive content that promotes two-way engagement with trainingand learning materials. With only 32 percent of employees saying they areengaged in their workplace, it is apparent that companies need to take action.
The goodnews? Your employees can help. Research has found that 73 percent of employeeshave suggestions for their internal communicators and one in four would likemore humor and entertainment, highlighting a greater need for companies to seekout feedback from their workforce and actively take notice of what theiremployees say will drive increased engagement.
Reimagining content
Meetingthis need for greater engagement also requires a complete reimagination ofcontent and an effort to invest in tools that are driven by personalization andtwo-way interaction. An investment in these kinds of tools will also offercompanies valuable understanding of content engagement and behavioral insights.
If acompany is unable or unwilling to change to improve outdated techniques, it’snot a question of whether its employeeswill leave, but when. And in the rarecases that they do stay, employees will be much less productive than they couldbe.
Insteadof relying on dated training techniques and wondering about the productivityand knowledge of employees, businesses need to restructure training programs toeffectively educate their staff. This will not only encourage employees to stayand grow with their companies, but also promote a sense of brand loyalty anddrive greater retention and profitability.
