Approaches to successful business management are continuously evolving – and, as a result, so too are certain roles and functions, with Learning and Development (L&D) roles serving as a prime example. Specifically, the L&D role is viewed as more strategic, and digital adoption platforms (DAPs) are making L&D professionals’ jobs easier and more productive – a harbinger of exciting things to come.
A Retrospective Look at Traditional L&D
Until recently, L&D programs were held in person at a specific time and place. This may have included spending a full day or several hours with a group of employees over a few days. Lessons were delivered by PowerPoint or paper handouts, and activities were limited to the conference room where training occurred.
This “teach and go away” approach no longer works, and fully in-person L&D programs are now largely a thing of the past. Especially with workers being remote, L&D professionals need to think about how to deliver content in ways that are both engaging and effective for them.
From L&D to Digital Enablement – What Does This Mean?
L&D is still very much responsible for producing high-impact, high-quality learning experiences. However, the primary goal is shifting from building technical expertise within a domain to engaging the talent within an organization. That means goodbye to one-off training sessions; the approach is now focused on fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptability within the workforce.
This is at the heart of what it means to be a digital enabler, which is extremely important for decreasing downtime, accelerating time to productivity, reducing churn, and diminishing the “forgetting curve.” It’s also vital for fostering top performers through great digital experiences that lead to efficiency and full utilization of their digital tools to streamline their productivity. The goal is to enable your employees to become top performers.
In this sense, the L&D role has now come to the attention of the C-suite, which will be looking to these digital enablers to increase their strategic contributions. For instance, with significant labor shortages and quitting rates remaining high, along with the real problem of “SaaS Overload,” digital enablers now play a key role in improving employee engagement, reducing turnover, fostering job satisfaction, and supporting career development. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), for their part, want increased value from their software investments, so being a digital enabler also means demonstrating value and being more data-driven.
Enter Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs)
With such a demand for employees to adopt and understand new software and changing business processes, it’s impractical and often impossible to expect digital enablers to keep up with this pace and frequency of change management. The solution: bringing in a Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) to bolster the work digital enablers are doing within an organization.
Ironically, some L&D professionals view DAPs as a threat. They put up barriers because of this perception. They erroneously see the amazing features of enterprise DAPs – like instant translations and downloads of helpful software and business process instructions – as job replacements instead of driving their role to the next level of digital excellence. However, a DAP supporting L&D professionals can be a perfect match, freeing up L&D professionals to focus on more strategic initiatives like developing interactive programs, achieving faster updates/training/onboarding, and accelerating materials development. Specifically, DAPS can deliver the following:
- In-App Guidance
- Offer “in the moment of need” guidance.
- Leverage ‘push’ technology, delivering content in short sprints (for example, reminders, alerts, banners, and information bubbles)
- Reduce learner fatigue and seamlessly integrate into remote workers’ daily routines.
- Personalized Learning Through DAPs:
- Deliver the right content to the right people in the right context.
- DAPs personalize employee learning through tooltips, announcements, and walkthroughs that are available precisely when needed.
- DAPs solve the culture of technology and change resistance.
- DAP self-help feature interactions allow for a non-intrusive experience for software veterans and guided tours for newcomers.
- Data-Driven Approach:
- Embrace a data-driven approach by tracking activity and analytics.
- Gain insights into software usage and identify areas hindering all workers, allowing digital enablers to provide targeted coaching.
The Future of L&D and Digital Enablement
While the traditional L&D role revolved around one-off training sessions, it has evolved into a strategic function focused on digital enablement. The integration of DAPs enhances this evolution, facilitating faster and more comprehensive implementations of new software and processes.
As organizations redefine L&D in the coming years, a new era of increased employee productivity will unfold in 2024 and beyond. This will deliver true value for companies as a whole, as they optimize L&D’s role to enable digital user experiences more effectively to enhance overall company value.
