In the fast-paced and ever-evolving world of work, several challenges loom large on the employee experience horizon. Employees often find themselves grappling with outdated skills, limited growth opportunities and a lack of motivation.
According to Gartner, 70% of employees say they lack the skills required to master their jobs. This makes them unable to work efficiently, resulting in disengagement, which has a negative impact on productivity.
This is where learning and development (L&D) comes in. L&D teams can provide mentorship to each employee, guiding them through every step of their job. They can ensure that the employee is valued, that they are actively learning and that they are able to pursue specific career goals. With this assistance, the employee becomes more engaged and, as a result, becomes an ace performer who is in it for the long haul.
Simply put, L&D should be at the heart of every employee engagement strategy because your employees value learning and career opportunities more than they do raises and benefits. It is the single most unmet need of employees and, as such, should be the focus of your efforts to keep them engaged.
Let’s look at how L&D teams are essential to an effective employee engagement strategy and how they can assist in the transformation of businesses into learning organizations.
L&D Enables Employees to Gain New Skills and Advance Their Careers
An effective L&D program accurately identifies employees’ learning needs and provides them with the skills they need to become masters of their roles. Furthermore, employees who believe their learning needs are met are 21% more engaged than those who do not have the same opportunities.
Learning new skills is only the beginning. L&D is also the force that provides employees with the tools they need to advance to leadership positions. Employees become more engaged in their jobs when they see opportunities for advancement, and they may even evolve into true brand ambassadors.
L&D Helps Employees Adapt to Change
The COVID-19 pandemic has hastened job transformation and the adoption of new digital tools. Plus, job automation is becoming more common, and remote work has added another challenging dimension to many roles. Employees are understandably disengaged from their jobs when things change. L&D assists in providing employees with the skills they require to remain confidently plugged into their work, even during times of transition.
Job titles change and new positions are constantly invented as roles change faster than expected. These new roles require new learning opportunities from L&D, allowing employees to take on new responsibilities within the organization. Employees who change jobs within the same organization are 3.5 times more likely to be engaged than those who stay in their current positions. L&D facilitates this transition into new roles.
L&D Promotes Teamwork and Collaboration
Employees are concerned about who they work with. In fact, 52% of employees reported wanting more connection at work. A disconnected, disengaged workforce, particularly one that is remote, is more likely to experience high turnover. Employees can quickly fall through the cracks without a framework for human connection, feeling like mechanical robots performing their jobs on autopilot.
Fortunately, L&D can foster collaboration. L&D facilitates team knowledge sharing and task collaboration toward a common goal, which can result in an engaging and active learning culture. Peer-guided learning increases engagement by producing particularly useful and relevant learning content.
L&D Makes Employees Feel Like They Are a Part of the Mission
The modern workforce is becoming pickier about who they work for, and a company that cares about and invests in their employees and society as a whole will be among the top candidates. L&D can help employees better understand an organization’s brand and values and make them feel like they are an important part of their mission.
Employees are part of a larger trend toward a more environmentally conscious and people-centered world, where talent is drawn to a company’s values and culture. Companies in this new world are involved in the support and development of their employees as well as the local communities in which they operate. When employees believe that their own values align with those of the company for which they work, it increases engagement and commitment to being an active part of the whole.
How Can L&D Improve the Employee Experience and Help Learners Succeed?
Create learning programs that appeal to the core values of the learners. Inquire: What do they value? What are their requirements for success today and tomorrow? Some are looking ahead, looking for cutting-edge trends. Create learning programs to meet those needs. Not only this, you also need to recognize and incorporate learner needs and expectations. This analysis can result in a library of learner personas, which can be used to inform future L&D projects aimed at improving the employee experience.
To ensure maximum efficiency, learning programs should be available to everyone. Consider the needs of those who are visually impaired, have learning disabilities or may have hearing impairments. This concept requires flexibility and options. Use practices such as highly visual training, closed captioning and audio options. Also, increasing the availability of learning opportunities is paramount. Effective organizations incorporate learning into their daily operations. Employees will fall behind industry leaders if these are not built into the normal flow of work and the company will quickly follow.
Workplace demands are increasing, as are learning opportunities. Learning interventions can help employees perform better. It’s best to personalize learning paths based on individual learners’ career development goals. Most learning management systems (LMSs) now include features that enable managers and employees to create personalized learning paths that lead to desired career advancement.
Conclusion
L&D can help organizations improve the employee experience. Employees are more willing than ever to change jobs in search of higher pay, more flexible work environments, and career advancement. We hope the ideas presented in this article provide you with the necessary insights to improve your employee experience.
