Employee loyalty – like success – isn’t owned, it’s rented, and the rent is due every day.
Today we expect our employers to work for us as much as we work for them, otherwise we think about moving on. Gone are the days of jobs for life (for the majority of us anyway), and if companies want to attract and retain the best talent, they need to work for it, every day. Otherwise that talent may well end up ‘unsubscribing’ from the company itself.
This of course applies to many areas; from ensuring fair compensation, a good work/life balance, and appropriate management, to creating a culture of autonomy, trust and empowerment. But it also applies to training and development.
Combining Earning and Learning
People increasingly expect their employers to play an active role in helping them develop – not just in their current roles, but in the long run. Workplace fulfilment and personal development are becoming incredibly important. “What if I train them and they leave?” is a common concern, but “What if you don’t and they stay?!” The worst outcome is losing good people because they don’t feel like they’re developing.
How L&D (learning and development) is delivered is key. LinkedIn’s Workplace Report shows that over 58 percent of employees want to learn at their own pace depending on their personal requirements, needs, and interests. It’s not so much about pre-planned ‘lunch and learns’, but more about making resources available for when, where, and how people want to learn.
There was a time when organisations invested heavily in Learning Management Systems (LMS). They put everything in place, but saw a lack of usage. Unsurprisingly, many thought the lack of uptake meant it had been a wasted investment, but the problem was more often grounded in the user experience. Many of the approaches were ‘functional-focused’, they were focused on getting the job done ‘efficiently’. The trouble with humans is we’re quite complex in our motivations and how we like to do things. As a result, Learning Experience Platforms (LXP) that prioritise personalised and social learning experiences, with video streaming-like interfaces that make AI-driven recommendations and present tailored learning paths, have become more popular.
Through the 3radical Voco platform, we help organisations create centralised hubs of learning materials and personalised learning journeys that leverage gamification to engage employees. We integrate with LMSs, LXPs, and other internal systems to optimise the learning experience to make it well, enjoyable! After all, learning is most effective when we enjoy it.
By placing learning content within a reward framework, such as redeemable points earned when employees complete activities, organisations are able to turn every interaction into a value-exchange, leading to significant increases in engagement. An example of this is facilitating security awareness education and training in large companies, which includes simulations of phishing attacks and other interactive learning activities.
The 3radical Voco platform can not only be used to make ‘required learning’ enjoyable, but also to offer education programmes that give employees the control to learn and grow at their own pace and around their own interests.
L&D is no longer purely about up-skilling for a specific role or progression path, but is a value proposition in itself. Major companies are responding. From JP Morgan setting up learning programs with the University of Exeter, to KPMG enabling lifelong learning through reverse-mentoring schemes, and Google’s Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, the importance of ‘learning while earning’ is being recognised.
Development is one of Gallup’s ‘Q12’ core engagement metrics, which is used to define how engaged employees are. Higher employee engagement levels are directly linked to desirable business outcomes. For example Gallup’s ninth version of its meta-analysis (study of studies) showed businesses benefit from engaged employees through an average of a 17% increase in productivity, a 24% reduction in staff turnover and a 21% boost in profitability.
Companies that take L&D seriously and help employees grow holistically will reap the rewards, but they’ll also position themselves as very attractive places to be and attract the best talent in the long run, and we’re here to help!
Click here to learn more about how 3radical helps organisations improve employee engagement.
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