Employee satisfaction and retention is a top priority for most organisations. This is particularly true in a climate where businesses are struggling to fill essential skills gaps. Failing to consciously invest and improve in employee satisfaction now will inevitably result in a disengaged workforce and high turnover. An employer’s worst nightmare!
So, what can you do about it? One of the most essential areas employers must focus on to improve employee satisfaction and retention is training and development. In 2020, nearly 60% of workers took control of their own skills training. This highlights the fact that employees are hungry to upskill and develop in their careers. So much so, that they’re willing to do so independently if they find provision lacking in the workplace.
This is corroborated by a 2019 SHRM study that shows 30% of employees consider career development opportunities very important. Yet only 30% reported feeling happy with their current situation.
Hybrid Working And eLearning
Recent events proved to be a strong catalyst for change in the way we work. Businesses were forced to accelerate digital transformation almost overnight. And remote work became the new normal for a large majority of us.
In a time of crisis, the most essential areas were prioritised. While this was sufficient in the short term, now it is necessary to re-evaluate the ‘old’ way of doing things. In particular, employers should do so through the lens of a ‘new normal’ that’s driving change at an unprecedented rate.
Remote-first and hybrid models are here to stay. Leaders are recognising that some employees don’t need to be present in a physical location to do their jobs well. More importantly, though, this change is being driven by employee demand and sentiment.
Working from home during the pandemic, while stressful, was also quite liberating for some. According to the Covid-19 and Working from Home Survey, fewer than one in ten employees want to return to the office full time. A deeper look at these statistics reveal that, rather than working from home indefinitely, employees want the freedom to pick and choose where they work.
So, what are the implications for learning and development? Clearly L&D practitioners need to understand how they meet employee hunger for skills development in a hybrid world. This is where eLearning comes in.
eLearning In A Post-Covid World
Making the shift to digital learning is more pressing than ever. Particularly to support reskilling, meeting this newfound demand for flexibility and increasing employee satisfaction.
The great news is there are many benefits to using eLearning and online training to do this:
Set A Precedent For New Hires
According to a recent survey, 49% of HR leaders plan to hire more fully remote workers when the pandemic is over. To do this, HR teams need to overhaul their onboarding programs to keep employee turnover low and boost retention.
Online training can be a great way to ease newcomers into their new role. From basic compliance policies to work processes and essential employee information, engaging eLearning can communicate important information in a comprehensive, quick way.
What’s more, having all of this information readily available within an LMS or LXP will give new starters the space to absorb it at their own pace. While management teams have the visibility to track their progress and pinpoint areas for support.
Create A Culture Of Lifelong Learning
We already know employees are hungry to learn and develop – so why not translate that into lifelong learning? If your people are motivated to take up learning outside of work, L&D teams can use this to integrate training and development into the working day of employees in a way that suits them. Learning experience platforms are a great way to do this because they can pull together lots of learning experiences that cater to different learning styles and interests,
What’s more, LX platforms make accessing engaging eLearning materials from anywhere on any device easy. This gives employees the autonomy to study and learn new things at a time and pace that suits them, regardless of whether they’re based on site, at home, in office or on the frontline.
Promote Health And Wellbeing
When your employees are happy and feel in control of their lives, they are more motivated and productive. For this reason alone, eLearning shouldn’t just be about upskilling staff in areas related to their job. Employers can also harness the power of eLearning to support their teams with coping strategies and better ways to manage their mental health, such as mindfulness.
While eLearning that supports mental health is no substitute for professional treatment, it can certainly be another way of supporting employees to feel happier and more in control.
There is no doubt that eLearning is an area of digital transformation that can be used to increase employee satisfaction and retention. When correctly organised and distributed, eLearning can support your teams in taking control of their own learning and development in a way that works for them, whether they work remotely or not.
Showing employees that you’re willing to invest in their development by giving them training which can improve their skills, soft or otherwise, empowers them to take their career into their own hands in a way that suits them. And, as we know, empowered employees are satisfied employees!
If you’re considering restructuring your eLearning offering in light of recent operational changes, we can help. Our team of learning and development professionals, alongside our expert designers and developers, are adept at creating learning experiences, bespoke employee engagement software and customised learning experience platforms to support your new initiatives from the get go. To find out more about what we do, check out our projects. Or, to get the ball rolling in your organisation, contact us today!