Approximately 69% of L&D professionals say that talent is the number one priority in their organizations. However, recent research by Deloitte Human Capital Trends shows that reinventing careers and learning was rated by executives as the #2 most important business issue.
Josh Bersin, founder and Principal of Bersin by Deloitte, draws the following observation from this issue:
“We are living longer, jobs are changing faster than ever, and automation is impinging on our work lives more every day. If we can’t look things up, learn quickly, and find a way to develop new skills at work, most of us would prefer to change jobs, rather than stay in a company that doesn’t let us reinvent ourselves over time.”
Learner experience – the experience of a person’s learning interactions – is more important than ever. Not focusing on providing a well-optimized learner experience could impact employee retention, which, in turn, can impact your organization’s overall success.
Here are three ways you can improve your learner experience with learning technology.
1. Accommodate learner needs
Learner needs are constantly evolving. For instance, employees are increasingly becoming more mobile-dependent. An influx of millennials into the workforce means employee knowledge gaps are growing. Similarly, learners face a number of costly distractions at work, and it is believed that the average human attention span has become shorter than that of a goldfish.
Although new technology is partially responsible for the way learner needs have evolved, it can also help to accommodate these needs. Your learning management system should deliver learning content with expedience, efficiency, and effortlessness. This means that it should include features that accommodate mobile learning, microlearning, gamification, offline learning, and so on. If you ignore your learners’ needs within the learner experience, the effectiveness of your L&D programs will suffer.
2. Tailor the learner experience with personalization
A large reason why online corporate training is ineffective is because it’s irrelevant to what learners want (and need) to learn in order to progress in their career or advance their skills in a particular role. Another way to improve the learner experience is to ensure that learning is tailored for each individual learner’s specific skills and competencies.
Fortunately, learning technology allows organizations to leverage learner data to generate insights that can fuel learning personalization. Personalization has proven to be effective – recent data by Brandon Hall Group shows 93% of companies agree that personalized learning helps employees reach their goals more efficiently.
Get started with learning personalization by investing in the right technology, establishing a competency framework, and tagging your learning content so it’s organized for personalization purposes.
3. Don’t underestimate the importance of user experience
User experience (UX) is closely related to learner experience – if UX is the overall experience of a person using a machine (e.g., a computer application), then learner experience is the overall experience of a person and their learning interactions (formal, informal, and experiential).
Brandon Hall Group’s Learning Technology 2017 survey found that 51% of respondents cited a “poor user experience” as a barrier to satisfaction with their learning technology, proving that many organizations understand that their current learning technology simply is not conducive to effective learning.
When it comes to learner experience, great eLearning content is essential, but it’s only the start – invest in learning technology that will allow you to provide a great experience so learners are motivated to learn and more engaged with your training programs.
Did you know that OpenSesame integrates with the Docebo LMS? Start your 14-day free trial today and start improving your learner experience!
About the Author: Victoria Hoffman is a Content Specialist at Docebo. She is a graduate of University of Toronto’s Semiotics & Communication Theory Program and has 5+ years of experience in digital marketing. She enjoys writing and is always looking for a good book recommendation.