Traditional Training: Why It’s Failing and What to Do About It

by | Dec 11, 2023 | Article

Companies face the constant challenge of needing to be able to learn and adapt quickly. But the way we train our employees is often stuck in the past, and it’s not working. Traditional training methods, like lectures and memorization, are boring and ineffective. They don’t help employees learn new skills or keep up with the latest changes.

Why Traditional Training Isn’t Working

It’s one-size-fits-all. Traditional training doesn’t take into account the different learning styles and needs of employees.

It’s passive. Employees don’t have an active role in their learning, so they don’t retain information as well.

It’s not personalized. Employees don’t get training that’s relevant to their specific job or career goals.

The Need for Change

Only 12% of employees believe that their training is effective, and the average forgetting rate after training is a staggering 70% within a year.

The way we train our employees needs to change. We need to use methods that are engaging, effective, and personalized. This will help employees learn new skills, keep up with the latest changes, and be more productive.

What to Do About It

There are several things companies can do to improve their employee training programs like…

  • Using technology: Technology can be used to make training more engaging and interactive.
  • Providing hands-on learning: Employees learn best by doing, so hands-on learning experiences are essential.
  • Tailoring training to specific needs: Employees should get training that’s relevant to their job or career goals.

By making these changes, companies can create a learning environment that helps employees reach their full potential. This will help the company be more successful in the long run.

Navigating the Workplace Training Maze

by | Dec 4, 2023 | Article

Workplace training is crucial for success. It’s where the need for skilled workers meets the challenges of ever-changing business dynamics. Organizations that invest wisely in employee training have a 40% higher revenue per employee than those that don’t.

But workplace training can’t just be a box to check in the HR process. If it’s going to help your people and your business reach their full potential, it needs to be innovative and engaging.

Identifying the Obstacles

Before you can implement those innovative solutions, you need to understand the problems with traditional training methods.

The Engagement Dilemma

Traditional training methods often fail to capture the attention of modern learners. They can be boring, irrelevant to real-world jobs, and not interactive. An overwhelming 70% of employees say that their training is not engaging or relevant to their job. This makes it hard for learners to absorb and apply the information they’re learning.

Learning Style Diversity

Everyone learns differently. Some people learn best by doing, others by listening, and others by reading. With employees being 75% more likely to simply watch a video rather than read text, it’s clear that one-size-fits-all training programs don’t work for everyone.

Measuring Impact

Only 25% of employees say that their training has led to a measurable improvement in their job performance. And it can be hard to measure the real impact of training programs. Organizations need to be able to track the results of their training so they can see if it’s worth the investment.

Charting a Course Through the Labyrinth

Once we’ve identified the obstacles, we can start to find ways to overcome them.

Immersive Learning

Interactive and immersive learning experiences are more engaging for modern learners. Real-world applications and gamification make training more effective and fun.

Cultivating Culture

Technology is always changing, so training needs to be ongoing. Bite-sized learning modules provide flexibility for upskilling without disrupting work schedules. They also simplify content updates and reduce instructor-led sessions.

Personalizing the Path

To make sure everyone gets the most out of their training, it’s important to offer a variety of learning formats. For example, you could provide:

  • Videos and infographics for visual learners
  • Podcasts and audiobooks for auditory learners
  • Role-playing and simulations for kinesthetic learners
  • Case studies and journal prompts for reading/writing learners

Enlightening Data Analytics

Data analytics help organizations measure the impact of their training programs. By tracking key performance indicators and understanding them, organizations know what’s working and what’s not.

Embark on a Transformative Journey

We can make a real difference by addressing the challenges of workplace training. It’s not just about keeping up with change; it’s about embracing innovation, creating a culture of continuous improvement, and making training a strategic advantage.

Our content creation services, purpose-built platforms, and customer success obsession make 4D Technologies the perfect partner to embark on this transformative journey with you. Let us guide you through the maze of workplace training and unlock your potential for organizational excellence.

 

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How to Make Learning Sustainable

by | Mar 15, 2023 | Article

Most people don’t think of learning as sustainable – they think of it as an event. It’s a class you attend or an online course you complete. But that thinking doesn’t connect learning to applying skills on the job.

Traditional one-and-done training has lost its credibility as sessions quickly become outdated, inaccurate, and irrelevant. Your business needs sustainable learning that delivers relevant content exactly when and where it’s needed. But how do you get there?

Sustainability Requires Maintenance

For starters, it’s crucial to create and stick to a learning sustainability plan that keeps all your content fresh. As products, workflows, applications, and goals change, content needs to be reviewed and updated continuously.

Ask yourself: Does the content develop the skills needed for ideal job performance?

While sustainable learning has to focus on relevant, high-quality training, it needs to go beyond that. It needs to give insight into how effective your operations are. If learning doesn’t meet that goal, then it’s pointless.

Plus, when you pay more attention to your learning content, you build credibility. Your team will know that their training is accurate and up to date – because it will be.

Application Leads to Updates

If learning content is old, obsolete, and not applied on the job, then it needs to be updated or retired.

Ask yourself: Does the content focus on outcomes that meet business goals?

New content and updates can be captured in two ways: reactively or proactively.

You can reactively update your content as your team submits requests or as you identify training gaps. This allows everyone to have their voice heard and builds a community of sharing through learning.

Or you can proactively ask your team for updates with regularly scheduled process evaluations. This lets the content’s importance dictate how often it gets reviewed.

Outside Views Inspire Change

But reviews of your content shouldn’t only happen internally.

Ask yourself: What outside consultants have practical experience with similar problems?

Understanding how others solve similar problems lets you explore new ways to boost productivity and create more efficient workflows. External reviews provide the perfect opportunity to meet with your business partners and discover how you can improve together.

Purpose Drives True Sustainability

It’s time to do away with “update” training. Training sessions on new features or functions have nothing to do with applying skills to meet desired goals. When you focus on workflows and outcomes, you build learning with a purpose and that makes it truly sustainable.

When you use a role-based system built on microlearning content, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time there is a change. Just update the relevant content and the system should be smart enough to deliver it exactly where it’s needed. And that’s how you equip your team to learn sustainably.

If you don’t think of learning as sustainable, it’s time to change that.

Stop Learning Like It’s 1899

by | Mar 12, 2023 | White Paper

Are British monarchal institutions what come to mind when you think of education or training? Probably not, but it was during their reign that Western education as we know it was formalized.

For all intents and purposes, today we are learning the same way folks did 200 years ago.

And you may be thinking, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.

But is it not broken?

Think back to your time in a classroom, right before a big test. Did you ever write and rewrite the same list of words or ideas until you could recite them back in proper order? Maybe this is how you memorized the Periodic table, Latin declensions, a Robert Frost poem, or the elements of design.

We want to know. What can you recite right now?

It’s time to stop learning like it’s 1899. Read our white paper to learn all the reasons why.

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