This piece is part of our series, Employee Experience Reimagined, where we explore how company leaders are instrumental in building employee experience through technology.
In the era of remote work, an online learning culture has become more than just a fun extracurricular — it’s now a necessity.
I’ve found through my time as Senior Vice President of Trailhead Academy and Go-to-Market that there is a constant balance of asking, “What do I build for my internal employees?” and “What do I build for my customers?” The truth is, excellent customer experience (CX) is really just a continuum of excellent employee experience (EX).
In recent partnership with Forbes Insights, we learned a majority of executives agree that improved EX leads to improved CX, and companies that highly value EX saw almost double the revenue growth as those who don’t.
One of the best ways to boost EX is through upskilling: training your employees in relevant skills for the current market. Upskilling makes your staff more successful, faster, and it hones their knowledge and brings them to that next level of performance. Employees feel more adaptable, purposeful, and empowered. They are prepared with versatile skills and can pivot quickly, which we’re all finding is a matter of survival.
Upskilling: A definition
Training your employees with more advanced and relevant skills to meet the demands of the current market.
When employees succeed, so does your company. Here are six reasons why an incredible learning culture is critical to your company’s progress:
1. Business advantage: upskilling keeps employees ahead of the curve
Leaders must bring their teams along for the journey. Make sure employees are evolving with the company as we go digital in response to COVID-19. Most companies already have annual HR training protocols, and now everyone is faced with safety measures that shift almost daily. You need to have fast, measurable ways to gauge employee understanding as your company gets back to thriving. With systems in place like the myTrailhead learning platform, you can save time and share current knowledge at scale across your company.
2. Business momentum: online learning increases efficiency
The Human Capital Institute found that the number one onboarding challenge is inconsistency. People have to teach and reteach for every new hire, which slows down a focus on big-picture projects. The benefit to a systematic online platform is that it gives everyone the same content in the same way. You onboard faster and with fewer gaps. And when proper onboarding accounts for 82% higher retention rates, your reduced turnover saves managers valuable time and resources.
3. Business distinctives: teaching is customizable
Using a platform like myTrailhead is similar to choosing from a burrito menu. You have a set of pre-selected ingredients that can then be customized any way you choose. When building a burrito, you pick a base of beans, chicken, pork, or carne asada. Likewise, with myTrailhead, companies are able to choose from a (digital) menu of pre-built options, and then customize them with extra flair — pico de gallo, anyone? — to suit company brand, objectives, and culture.
4. Business unity: upskilling sets the tone
Online learning is imperative to preserving culture. Because of the systems you have in place, each employee is taught identically. Everyone receives standardized training, education, and values. You’ve worked hard to create a mission that matters for your company. By teaching everyone the same foundational basics, you preserve common goals and allow employees walking in with different skill sets, backgrounds, and expectations to be united under a shared experience.
5. Business agility: digital learning can happen anywhere
Mobile is the new classroom. Working from home is now up by 48% since the start of the pandemic, which means your workplace is now your coffee table, your back porch, or…the burrito shop…around the corner. With myTrailhead, you can learn on-the-go in bite-sized bits. It fits into the flow of your natural workday as a respite and a fuel. This nimble ability puts companies at an advantage: when a growth mindset is prevalent, success skyrockets.
6. Business longevity: upskilling raises the bar
Stuffy seminars aren’t the only way to learn. Instead, it’s gamified knowledge-building that motivates employees for more. For example, myTrailhead lets you reward learners with badges after each lesson, or “trail,” to inspire healthy competition and champion team success. You can customize voice and tone to be conversational, relevant, and even humorous at times. And who doesn’t need a little lightheartedness today? Interactive learning taps into the curiosity inside of us while still pushing professional horizons.
We value growth. We know knowledge is power, and we strive to upskill our employees by helping them unlock their potential. With 57% of the workforce wishing they had a more up-to-date skillset, now is the time to invest in digital learning. By advocating a continuous learning culture, you’ll position your company to overcome challenges — no matter what the future brings.
Explore how you can drive employee experience at your organization by:
- Visiting the Employee Experience resource page
- Upskilling your employees with myTrailhead
