How to create a seamless learning journey for your employees in summary:
- If you want your organisation’s employee learning strategies to flourish, you’ll need to craft a seamless learning journey.
- To do this, set clear objectives, personalise the learning experience and integrate learning into everyday work life.
- Also, measure and evaluate your efforts, and aim to build a culture of learning where everyone understands the value and potential rewards of continuous learning.
Now, we all know UK employees value learning and development opportunities… but did you know just how important they can be for a business?
If it’s something you’ve not given much thought to, it’s maybe high time you did – and with good reason! For example, a recent report by workplace culture, research and consulting specialists Great Place to Work discovered a massive 94% of UK-based employees would stay longer at a company that invests in their growth. In addition, their research also found nearly half of UK staff would even consider switching jobs for upskilling opportunities.
Still not convinced? Well, how about the fact that the same report also highlights how companies that prioritise learning and development generally see a 21% increase in productivity and are 92% more likely to innovate successfully? Surely that’s gotten your attention, right?
Supporting employee learning, then, must be a priority for businesses and their HR teams wanting to retain their best talent and beat the chronic skills shortage. But, here’s the thing: just how do you go about getting your employees learning in the first place?
Crafting a seamless employee learning journey
When we talk about employee learning, it shouldn’t just be a series of disjointed, dull training sessions. To encourage a vibrant culture of learning and development, you need to craft a seamless and engaging learning journey for your employees. One that’s cohesive, keeps employees engaged in their activities and encourages personal growth.
That all starts with a thoughtful approach and – most importantly – the right tools to back you up. So, let’s look at how to kick-start employee learning in your business, and the key actions to take…
1. Set clear learning objectives
As we’ve learnt so far, giving your employees access to learning and development can have some amazing benefits. But, before implementing anything, you must have clear thinking behind your actions.
For instance, what do you want your employees to achieve? What gaps exist in their current knowledge? What skills are they keen to develop? And, how can your potential learning and development programmes align with both individual career goals and broader business objectives?
Whether it’s developing specific skills, improving leadership abilities, or mastering new software, clearly defined learning objectives are vital from the start. Luckily, a good LMS (Learning Management System) can help you set these objectives by allowing you to outline specific goals for each training module or course. It will also let you track employee progress, making it easier to see if they’re hitting key milestones.
So, no more paper forms or workbooks sitting forgotten about in the drawers of your employees!
2. Personalise the learning experience of your workforce
Not every employee learns the same way, so a one-size-fits-all approach to employee learning won’t cut it. The key to crafting a seamless learning journey here is personalisation: tailoring content to different learning styles and career goals to boost engagement, and make training feel more relevant. Not to mention more enjoyable!
Using an HRIS with integrated LMS allows you to create personalised learning programmes based on each employee’s role, experience, and career aspirations. This ensures that your organisation’s training is relevant and tailored to individual needs, boosting that all-important engagement and retention. You should also look to provide a broad range of learning content: such as videos, quizzes, articles, and interactive modules, giving employees learning experiences that are engaging and effective… not just total snoozefests!
With an integrated system – such as Cezanne’s LMS – you can track progress, measure outcomes, and adjust learning paths in real time. Helping your employees develop the skills that matter most to their personal and professional growth, while aligning with the company’s more strategic goals. It’s a win-win for everyone.
3. Integrate continuous learning opportunities into the everyday
Learning shouldn’t stop after one or two training sessions. To keep employees growing and engaged, it’s essential to integrate continuous learning opportunities throughout their careers with your business – and there are plenty of ways to do it. This could be in the form of microlearning, mentoring programmes, informal job shadowing or more formal on-the-job training.
This is where a good LMS can play a pivotal role. It will offer features like anywhere access to learning resources, the ability to schedule refresher courses, and even gamification elements that keep learning both interesting and exciting. This ensures that employees are always in touch with the latest skills and knowledge they need to succeed.
4. Measure and adapt for improvement
A seamless learning journey is not a set-it-and-forget-it process. It requires regular reviews and adaptations based on what’s working and what’s not. Are employees finding the content useful? Are there gaps in their knowledge? Are they applying what they’ve learned in their day-to-day tasks? Are engagement levels consistent throughout the learning journey, or are certain modules being overlooked? You get the idea!
By continuously assessing these factors and gathering feedback, you can refine your approach to ensure the learning experience remains dynamic, relevant, and aligned with both employee needs and business.
An LMS gives you real-time data insights and detailed reporting on employee progress, engagement, and areas of improvement. These analytics are invaluable for refining your learning programmes and making sure they continue to meet the evolving needs of your team.
5. Foster a culture of learning
You now have everything in place to offer a seamless learning journey to your employees. But, how can you encourage them to get onboard themselves? You may have given them the keys to car… But, it’s up to them to start the engine and take the wheel.
To make the learning journey truly seamless, you need to foster a culture of continuous learning within your organisation. You may understand how important this can be, but your employees might not. So, encourage employees to take ownership of their learning paths and provide incentives for completing courses and achieving new skills.
An HRIS with integrated LMS can support this culture by making learning easy, accessible, and even fun. With features like gamification, leaderboards, and peer-to-peer learning, an integrated LMS turns development into a shared and celebrated part of your company’s culture.
Paul Bauer
Paul Bauer is the Head of Content at Cezanne HR. Based in the Utopia of Milton Keynes (his words, not ours!) he’s worked within the employee benefits, engagement and HR sectors for over four years. He’s also earned multiple industry awards for his work – including a coveted Roses Creative Award.
