Digital staff training: the relevance of training
The pandemic forced businesses to look for new ways to organize work. More often than not, companies used two ways – a remote format and an opportunity to reduce costs. Cost reduction was achieved by laying off employees, freezing the hiring of new personnel, and stopping promotions. However, there was a direction where costs not only did not decrease, but also increased – it is the introduction of innovative technologies, and with it – and digital training of staff.
According to data from Gartner, more than 50% of companies have increased investment in the digitalization of work processes, and 69% plan to allocate funds this year. About 90% of mid-market businesses are implementing or intend to implement a hybrid workplace format in the near future. This variant of activity requires the selection of optimal tools that will increase the efficiency of each employee, regardless of their location. Digital training plays an important role in this, which is the acquisition of skills to use technology to achieve high results. Without the correct application of innovations, they lose their usefulness, which means that their investment in them has been wasted.
The digital sphere is regularly evolving, with new solutions and programs appearing, which forces people to acquire new skills as quickly as possible. In most cases, the activities of IT departments are focused on the implementation and support of various business systems. In turn, HR-service undertakes personnel training, but the ability to work with technological solutions is not given proper attention. At the same time, digital training today is relevant, and the further professional development of employees depends on it. Since the pandemic, personal communications have been overshadowed by innovative technologies in the form of remote applications and digital workflows. These solutions made it possible to adapt business processes to the conditions of remote work in a short time without loss of productivity. Accordingly, the demand for innovation has led to an increase in the number of programs and systems based on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Gartner conducted a survey of 3,000 employees and found that the behavioral factor is crucial to the effectiveness of the technology. A high index of staff training increases the chances of successful digitalization by more than 3 times. Unfortunately, only 16% of executives pay attention to this fact.
In order to improve the use of technological solutions, the business owner needs to train employees, to talk about the benefits of innovation. It’s important that every process contributes to digitalization, and an incentive system can be put in place to do this. Moreover, all employees of the company need basic knowledge of working with technology, regardless of whether they are in the office or at home.
Depending on the level of digital skills, Gartner identified five types of employees: guards, engineers, individualists, navigators, and pilots. The first don’t find it useful to learn how to use technology; they’re skeptical about adopting new solutions. The second type is good at digital applications and systems, most often IT specialists and managers. Individualists actively use various programs both for work and at home. They have their own approach and preferences for technology. Navigators are interested in developing new digital skills and are willing to learn and acquire skills for further career development. Pilots believe that their level of technological proficiency is directly related to their career success. And they are actively improving their knowledge in this area.
