3 Digital Training Methods that are vital for the Future of your Business

Digital transformation is not around the corner – it is right here and happens at a lightning speed. Is your business ready for the change? The Digital Transformation Index 2018 showed that around 77% of the surveyed companies describe their relationship with technology and digital transformation as generally average or above average. The remaining 23% are expected to fail in the digital age. Where would your company fall?

The same survey indicated that business fields like IT, Customer Service and Marketing make the highest progress of digital transformation. But if you want your company to remain competitive in the future, you also need to implement digitalization in the fields of training and education. Some would even claim that your employees are only able to fully adopt digitalization if they are trained with digital education methods right away.

In order to make your business successful in the digital age – here are 3 digital training methods vital for the future of your business.

Sony and Oculus VR already made the virtual reality (VR) experiences available to private consumers; hence they are also interesting for the business environment. With this technology, users are able to experience a completely new visual world.

The principle behind training with virtual reality is that trainees are able to practice previous learned knowledge in several simulated situations which ensure a deeper level of understanding. Especially when it comes to risky decision-making or dangerous situations, it is not enough to learn behaviour rules and regulations. Instead, employees need to experience these situations. Making mistakes in a virtual world has no consequences for the success of your company – but if employees would make these mistakes in real life, it would have poor effects for your business.

As a result, virtual reality can save real money and reduce risks for your business. Of course, you have to keep in mind that developing these virtual realities requires an investment. However once implemented properly, employees can enjoy this advanced learning for the next few years. Don’t forget that learning with virtual reality is a pleasure for employees which results in a positive learning effect.

In contrast to virtual reality, augmented reality (AR) facilitates the overlay of digital information onto the real word. Often used with a tablet or mobile phone, augmented reality views the physical world as an asset instead of a distraction.

There are several advantages when using augmented reality for training purposes. Especially for manual and technical jobs, this technology speeds up the learning process. Reading instructions for instance can hinder the efficiency of machine installation and repairs. Employees need to understand the steps, imagine the tools and remember it for some time in order to apply it on real machines. Augmented reality in contrast gives employees the opportunity to overlay virtual tutorials onto equipment and visualize quick demonstrations. Due to this, the whole process of memorizing theory can be skipped and employees can directly apply the concept.

This procedure reduces the risk of applying theory wrong, saves time and – like VR learning – also money. If you are a pioneer in the digital age, you should use virtual and augmented reality simultaneously but in different business fields. Whereas augmented reality is more suitable for technical and practical work training, virtual reality can be used for soft-skill and strategic/decision-making trainings.

In times where data is as big as the discussion about using it properly, it can be a source of adaptive learning. It does not need experts to realize that trainings would be more efficient if they would be adapted to the individual knowledge level of each employee. Nevertheless, due to budgets, HRM always has to decide for the cost-efficient standardized training units.

As outlined in our article about digital trends, today we are flooded by data and do not know how to analyse and evaluate it properly. Using data to create individual learning can be an equal cost-efficient solution that creates higher results as one-size-fits-all models.

With an adaptive learning system, one can control data capabilities to deliver a training course that is personalized to individual employees. When tutorials are provided digitally, it continually gathers information on a trainee’s performance in order to modify their learning content constantly.

The individual and digitalized system does not only provide employees with real-time feedback, it also ensures a better learning curve – which can result in faster and better working outcomes and consequently in your business’ success.

Using these three digital training methods indicates that your company keeps up with the fast changes coming along with digital transformation. In the end, they are more cost-efficient and less time consuming. Furthermore, your employees don’t depend on physical presence anymore – they can complete digital trainings wherever they want and when they have time. Moreover, these digital training methods contribute to a sustainable and increased learning effect compared to obsolete education.

Implementing them will not only ensure that your workforce is better trained than the competitors’ employees – it also makes you attractive for talented millennials who prefer to work for companies with advanced and flexible self-development opportunities. Therefore, these three digital training methods are vital for the future success of your business.