Digital transformation for training providers

Digital transformation is a much-needed next step for the training industry, there’s no doubt about that. It’s essential to streamline and improve the learner experience, ensure compliance across the board, and reduce the cost of delivery. So that high quality training can be accessed by all.

This is true now, and it will be even more important as Generation Alpha comes up through our education and training systems. From an early age, those born after 2010 have used technology to self-teach, and they are becoming used to AI-optimised learning. The steps training providers take to accommodate this generation now will keep their organisation robust for years to come.

But while digital delivery can improve operations dramatically for training providers, there are some who continue to harbour anxieties about whether the benefits it brings are worth the perceived short-term disruption.

So, how can we support those finding digital transition a little difficult to scope?

Empathise with your employees

Remember, the digital landscape is not something a lot of people are naturally attuned to, and it can be difficult to adjust on the spot. Ease your people into it and help to guide them through the more basic features of the system by offering parallels to educational tools they may be more familiar with. Help them to understand that technology will reduce the time they are spending on mundane tasks, freeing them to focus on the high value aspects of their role that rely on their expertise.

Communicate changes clearly

Times of uncertainty can invite unnecessary amounts of stress, so it’s vital to make sure that plans are communicated clearly. Work with your team, and let them give feedback:

• Have a relaxed, two-way team discussion, that aims to outline any new responsibilities or changes that will take place.
• Offer up one-to-one meetings to help identify any adjustments that may affect individual employees.

What’s most important during this time is that you carefully explain what won’t be changing. Everyone’s expertise will still be valued and maintaining a continuous open dialogue with your employees can help drive away any lingering ambivalence.

Emphasise the benefits

Though the benefits of digitalisation might seem readily apparent on the surface, those who feel defensive about the inclusion of digital delivery can be forgiven for not seeing the long-term perks right away.

Communication is perhaps the most important of these. Gone are the days of waiting endlessly for the right paperwork to be filed and processed. With digital delivery, the speed at which information is sent between both trainers and learners is significantly increased, to the extent that the learning experience can be made frictionless. And a paper trail for audit is automatically created.

It also allows your team to immediately engage with learners and respond to queries. Giving your learners better accessibility to your trainers and the programme, while also cultivating a more tailor-made environment for each individual case.

Not only that, but a system that runs digitally removes any overreliance on paper and face to face interaction. This makes your organisation more environmentally friendly, and reduces unnecessary costs that can instead be spent on improving the learning experience.

Furthermore, pivoting away from multiple legacy systems to a single, joined-up digital platform like Bud makes reporting and compliance effortless. This means, at any time, trainers and managers can see how learners are progressing and gain an overview of business performance. Reporting is effortless which will reduce stress when it comes to applying and providing evidence for funding, particularly when hard close approaches.

Identify opportunities for growth that will be created

Digital transformation opens up many opportunities and presenting these to your staff can help them to catch hold of the vision for what lies ahead.

For instance, before digital delivery, many training providers were at the mercy of their immediate locality, and their growth may have eventually plateaued. Particularly since their customer base risked being cut into by national or digitally supported competitors.

To get insight into these new models and what is making them successful, we spoke with Heather Frankham, co-founder of Bud, and several other industry experts. Among other issues, they explored how digital transformation makes delivery highly scalable. To learn more, check out our industry analysis.

Alongside organisational benefits, digital transformation can open a number of personal opportunities too. For example, employees can develop a whole new range of IT skills that will increase their value to your business.

Get your employees input

By far the easiest way to help raise engagement is to simply let employees get involved. This will help them to get used to various processes as they’re being installed, and it will offer them a window into the decision-making process.

It’s this sense of participation in the transformation that increases an overall investment in its success.

At Bud, many of our team, including our founders Heather Frankham and David Foster, have many years of experience in training delivery. We understand the particular challenges associated with digital transformation for training providers, and we can help you articulate the benefits of digital transformation in a way that makes sense to your people. We know what it’s like to be them, we can speak their language and we can give many examples from our own experience of why digital transformation changes training delivery for the better.

To get an expert’s perspective from our team, don’t hesitate to get in touch.