Employee experience has become an important strategic factor for the success of organizations in today’s working world. In this blog post, we will go over how the employee experience can be improved with a digital learning environment.
Employee experience and the factors affecting it
Employee experience refers to the comprehensive experience an employee has with an organization. It includes for example work methods, the physical and digital work environment, leadership, organizational culture, and opportunities for learning and development.
A good employee experience for example increases employee engagement and motivation, reduces employee turnover, improves productivity and job satisfaction, and attracts new talent to the organization.
One important factor for the employee experience is the employee's opportunities for learning and development at work. Providing training and career development opportunities can motivate and engage employees. The lack of development opportunities is one reason for why people leave their jobs. An employer that offers employees the chance to acquire new skills and develop their talents can be a more attractive option when competing for top talent.
A digital learning environment enables flexible and cost-effective learning
Training and developing employees’ skills can be conveniently organized in a digital learning environment. The benefits of a digital learning environment include flexibility and ease of use.
In a digital learning environment, all the training materials provided by the employer are always accessible to everyone. The employees can study the training materials at their own pace and when it suits them. This can improve the employee experience. Thanks to the digital learning environment, learning can also take place on mobile devices and in short sessions during the workday, saving time and travel expenses.
A digital learning environment also enables employees to receive immediate feedback on their tasks or performances, helping them to develop their skills faster. In addition, the platform ensures that the training experience is consistent for everyone.
The digital learning environment also supports career development
In addition to sharing training materials, digital learning environments offer other elements that can improve the employee experience, such as tracking personal progress and even career planning.
With the learning platform's tools, employees can monitor their own progress in courses and achievements. The digital learning environment can also offer clear paths for career planning and acquiring new skills, thus bringing transparency and openness to career development within the organization. The platform might include for example competencies and competence profiles that allow users to easily see their current skill levels, track their progress, and compare their skills with the organization's competence profiles. Competencies and competence profiles give employees clear steps that they can take and show which skills to develop in order to achieve their career goals.
Watch this video to see how you can utilize the competencies and competence profiles in the three-level user model of the Vuolearning platform and how these competencies and competence profiles look like for the users.
How to increase employee engagement with a digital learning environment
A positive learning experience is important for employee satisfaction and performance. Factors influencing the learning experience include for example the availability, accessibility, and relevance of training materials, the usability of the platform, and attitudes toward learning and development.
Availability of training materials
Provide employees with training through a digital learning environment, making materials easily accessible and learning flexible and seamless. Also, offer guidance, user manuals, and technical support for using the platform. Ensure that the platform is user-friendly and easy to navigate.
Make sure employees have access to a wide variety of training materials. The employer can offer for example optional study materials or material banks within the learning environment.
Encourage employees to study
Employees' attitudes toward learning and development, as well as management's support, affect the learning experience. When managers actively participate in the learning process and support employees' development, it can motivate employees to commit more to training.
Create a culture in the organization where continuous learning is the norm. Encourage employees to study independently and allow them to study during work hours. You can also motivate employees to take courses that may not directly relate to their current roles but support their professional growth.
Personalized and high-quality materials
Provide employees with relevant and personalized materials. In a digital learning environment, learning paths can be tailored based on roles, for example. Employees can also study content according to their career goals, interests, or skill levels.
Ensure that the training materials provided by the organization are high-quality and up-to-date. The digital learning environment allows the creation of interactive and diverse content, increasing the learners' motivation. Use e-learning experts when needed to create materials. Also, ensure that the content aligns with the organization's goals.
Planning and developing training
Assess the training needs of employees and what kind of training they desire. In addition, evaluate the status of the organization’s existing training material: how accessible it is, whether it is up-to-date, and if it is tailored and relevant.
Involve employees in the planning of available courses and training materials to ensure the materials meet their needs. You can involve employees in the design process for example through surveys on the platform.
Ask for feedback on the training materials and further develop the content. Ensure the relevance of the content for example through feedback surveys included in courses and learning paths.
Measure also the impact of e-learning: track, for example, course completion rates and learners' results. Indicators of a positive e-learning experience include high engagement rates, positive feedback, and successful completions, which can be monitored for example by using the platform's analytics and feedback surveys.
Better employee experience and more satisfied employees
A digital learning environment can improve the employee experience: it helps to develop employees’ skills, provides career development pathways, and offers tools for tracking personal progress, creating a more engaged and motivated workforce.