In What Ways Can HR Tech Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning?
In an age where upskilling is key to organizational agility, we’ve gathered insights from top HR executives and learning specialists on harnessing HR technology to foster continuous learning. From the innovative use of online resources to personalizing legal compliance training, explore the four strategies that can transform your team’s skill development.
- Innovative Use of Online Learning Resources
- AI-Powered Skills Mapping Advances Learning
- Mobile App Enables Flexible Learning
- LMS Personalizes Legal Compliance Training
Innovative Use of Online Learning Resources
Having recently co-led a competency validation project benchmarked against our online learning management system (LMS) library of content, I can confidently say that leveraging what is at your disposal can be both innovative and fiscally sound. The stakes were high: How do we take our already-curated company competencies and make them come alive? How do we take a library of 70,000+ resources and make it more digestible to our employees in a meaningful way?
In the fall of 2023, a cross-collaborative team of 20+ employees from across the organization—representative of both individual contributors and leadership—came together to identify, vet viability, and recommend content from LMS resources across 11 core and leadership competencies, and across 5 proficiency levels per competency, over the course of 3 months. The result? A curated list of more than 270 recommendations—by employees, for employees—to utilize as they focus on their development journey.
The curation of the recommendations was a great starting point; however, we didn’t want to stop there. To really make it stick, we partnered with our Training Ops team to build and publish 55 playlists—one for each proficiency level, for each competency—and made it available to all employees in the US, UK, Canada, UAE, and India. Now, employees don’t have to wonder where to start. Instead, they have a go-to resource as they work on developing and mastering proficiency in a specific competency area and a clear roadmap to grow into the next role as competencies are mapped out by job level.
Though just launched in May 2024, the playlists have been widely celebrated as a company-wide win. This win, partnered with the recent redesign of Individual Development Plans, allows our employees to take their career development into their own hands and partner with their leaders to get them to the next level by using continuous feedback. With a skills-based workforce on the horizon, this type of project is a strategic move companies can use to not only encourage and reinforce continuous learning but integrate what is often many stand-alone initiatives into something more cohesive and impactful.
Paula Grace
Sr. Manager, Global Leadership and Professional Development Projects, Maximus
AI-Powered Skills Mapping Advances Learning
With the advent of AI, HR tech is now making a seismic impact on employee skill development in a way organizations could only have dreamed of before. Prior to now, Learning & Development teams relied on self-motivated individuals to guide their own development, which never saw a demonstrable return on investment—alongside engagement in learning tools being notoriously low. But now, AI-powered skills mapping provides guided paths to competence and mastery, as well as showing the way to other plausible roles. This insight helps learners to focus and direct their limited time and attention towards high-impact learning content to bridge known skills gaps. This is a huge leap forward for HR tech at a time when business leaders need their HR teams to stand up and own skills development.
David James
Chief Learning Officer
Mobile App Enables Flexible Learning
HR technology came into play with our newly introduced mobile learning app, where employees were able to access and engage with training content and courses anytime, anywhere. This flexibility was of great help for our remote workforce, especially as they were able to practice continuous learning while away from their dedicated office spaces.
For example, our customer service team used the app to take training on new product features and customer service techniques. These were displayed through interactive and on-demand content, enabling team members to easily update and access skills. This led to an increase in CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) score by 20% as employees could better serve and understand customer queries. This illustrates the app’s apparent effect on continuous learning and skill enhancement, leading to better performance and satisfaction.
Sunaree Komolchomalee
Head of Human Resources, Cupid Digital PR Agency
LMS Personalizes Legal Compliance Training
The dynamic nature of legal requirements for websites means staying current is important, and integrating HR tech tools has significantly impacted our ability to keep pace.
Initially, we utilized a Learning Management System (LMS) that provides access to the latest courses and resources on digital privacy laws, intellectual property rights, and other pertinent topics. This LMS isn’t just a static repository of information—it offers personalized learning paths tailored to each employee’s role and current skill level. By analyzing individual progress and performance, the system recommends courses aligning with their professional growth and the company’s evolving needs.
One specific example of its impact is with our legal analysts. When GDPR updates were rolled out, these analysts needed to get up to speed to draft compliant policies effectively and quickly. The LMS flagged this as a critical learning area and suggested that they enroll in an intensive GDPR compliance course. It included interactive modules, case studies, and assessments that ensured they understood the theoretical aspects and could apply the knowledge they learned practically.
Through regular progress tracking and feedback provided by the system, I could see their proficiency improving in real time. This boosted their confidence and ensured that the policies we delivered to clients were of the highest standard.
The impact extended beyond immediate compliance needs. Over time, this approach has created a culture of learning within the company. Employees are more proactive in seeking new knowledge, and the collaborative features of the HR tech, such as discussion forums and peer reviews, have strengthened our team’s ability to share insights and best practices.
Vlad Khorkhorov
CEO & Co-Founder, WebsitePolicies
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