Digital learning for companies

Having the opportunity for further training is extremely important for working people. A study conducted by the Bitkom Akademie in 2022 showed that 89% of respondents considered the opportunity to participate in further training to be crucial for their personal development. In addition, 84% consider further training to be a key criterion when choosing their employer. Digital learning offers a flexible and effective solution to continuously developing your employees, while also making your company more attractive to new talents.

Read this article to find out how to successfully implement digital learning at your company, which tools you’ll need, and which methods you can use. Learn about the advantages of digital training and take a look into the future of digital learning.

Digital learning refers to all learning processes that are supported by digital technologies. It is a broad term that encompasses various forms of learning and teaching that are delivered via digital platforms and tools. These include online courses, interactive learning modules, webinars, virtual classrooms, learning management systems (LMSs), mobile learning applications, gamification elements, and many other digital media and technologies.

Digital learning offers flexibility and accessibility as learners can access learning materials anytime and anywhere. It offers personalized learning paths that adapt to each learner’s individual needs and pace. Interactive elements and multimedia content make learning more dynamic and appealing. In addition, digital learning can be used to collect data that helps you to track learning progress and continuously optimize learning content.

While digital learning is a broad term that encompasses all types of technology-supported learning, eLearning refers specifically to learning via electronic media, in particular the internet. eLearning is therefore considered a sub-category of digital learning. Digital learning, in turn, refers to a comprehensive, flexible, and dynamic learning environment that goes far beyond traditional eLearning methods and utilizes the diverse options afforded by modern technology. Nevertheless, the terms digital learning and eLearning are often used interchangeably.

Digital learning is changing the way we acquire and pass on knowledge. It offers a flexible, efficient, and cost-effective solution for corporate training. Here are some of the key benefits of digital learning:

Digital learning offers a wide range of ways to train your employees effectively and flexibly. From initial contact to onboarding and ongoing training, digital learning methods optimize every phase of the employee life cycle. Here are some key areas where digital learning can enrich your personnel development program.

Don’t start your digital learning journey with a massive project that will turn your entire company and culture upside down. Change takes time and good change management. Start by setting yourself smaller, realistic goals that are compatible with your staffing resources and budget.

It’s best to use the SMART method as it enables you to formulate clear and sensible goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Think carefully about what you want to achieve with digital learning, how you will measure success, why the goal is important, how it can be implemented in the context of your company, and by when you want to achieve it.

Example of a SMART goal for digital onboarding at a medium-sized company:
By May 31 of next year, our company will have implemented a digital onboarding program for new sales department employees. This will be completed within the first four weeks of employment and measure success through a final quiz with a minimum passing score of 80%. The program will be designed to reduce training time by 20%, increase productivity and satisfaction among new employees, and will be developed within six months with a budget of EUR 10,000 for software licenses and content creation.

In the next step, check exactly which skills your employees already have and where there are still gaps. Only then will you know what specific digital learning measures you need to take to achieve your goal.
Without this analysis, you risk wasting resources and not achieving your targets.

Rely on concrete data instead of assumptions. A well-founded needs assessment forms the basis for effective personnel development. It enables you to recognize where training is most needed and make the best use of your resources. It’s not just about remedying weaknesses, but also promoting talent in a targeted way.

Use various methods to get a clear picture of your team’s skills and learning needs. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative approaches delivers the most accurate results. Your choice will depend on your resources, number of employees, and corporate culture. Here are some tried-and-tested methods:

• Performance appraisals
• Competence analyses
• Employee feedback
• Technology-based data analysis
• 360-degree feedback
• Benchmarking

Now that you know your goals for digital learning and which skills you need to develop to achieve them, it’s time to plan the specific learning content.

Let’s stay with the onboarding example. You know the objective and have found out through surveys that employees have a particular lack of knowledge about the company’s products during their first 4 weeks. In addition, you have established through discussions that communication skills need to be improved. Plan out the content in a sensible order. For example:

Module 1: Introduction to the company

• Company history and values
• Overview of the corporate structure and culture
• Important people and departments

Module 2: Product knowledge

• Detailed presentation of the product range
• Unique selling points and product benefits
• Frequently asked customer questions and answers

Module 3: Sales techniques

• Sales technique basics
• Conducting pitches and identifying needs
• Dealing with objections, closing strategies

Module 4: Using the CRM system

• Introduction to the user interface
• Recording and maintaining customer data
• Analysis and reporting of sales data

Module 5: Compliance and corporate guidelines

• Corporate guidelines and code of conduct
• Data protection and legal requirements
• Safety in the workplace
  

The next step is to select the best format for your digital learning. Your choice will depend on various factors, including the type of content, the preferences and learning styles of your employees, and the resources available at your company. There are various methods available to make digital learning effective. Choose strategically, focusing on your goal, the target group, and the specific conditions at your company. By combining different methods and formats, you can create a diverse and motivating learning environment that maximizes the effectiveness of digital learning and fosters the further development of your employees.

Choosing the right software for digital learning is crucial to the success of your training measures. When making your choice, consider your employees’ training needs, your budget, and your technical infrastructure. Choose a tool that offers the functions you need, is user-friendly and scalable, can be integrated into your existing systems, and offers good support. Combine different methods and formats to create a motivating and effective learning environment that encourages your employees and supports your business goals.

Now you can start creating the learning content you planned earlier. Whether you opt for videos, traditional online courses, digital documents, games, or webinars, with digital learning, you always have four options for creating content:

• Purchasing ready-made learning content
• Buying and customizing learning content
• Commissioning learning content based on your needs
• Creating learning content in-house

All four options have advantages and disadvantages. But you don’t have to commit yourself forever. Many companies decide which option is best for their digital learning depending on the topic and complexity at hand. You can also mix and match formats. For example, purchasing a video course for the module that teaches sales techniques while creating your own product training courses in-house. Or purchasing CRM training from the manufacturer and adding in your own customizations.

Inform your employees about digital learning in your company. If you involve them from the outset, there’s a good chance that your efforts will be successful. Invite your employees to an information event on digital learning. Offer training courses on how to use your learning platform, distribute notices about the new learning opportunities, or send out an internal newsletter with information.

You’re almost there. Digital learning can start soon. The learning content has been planned and is ready for rollout. Check your digital learning content one last time for:

• Accuracy and logic
• Didactic aspects
• Spelling and grammar
• Clear and accessible design
• Technical functionality
  

Congratulations—you have introduced digital learning into your company. But the process does not end there. Measure the success of your digital learning measures with learning analytics and gain deep insights into your participants’ progress, challenges, and knowledge acquisition. Analyze the data to identify individual learning paths and provide targeted support. Respond quickly to learning developments and adapt content to maximize learning outcomes. Regular feedback and evaluation rounds will supplement your data analysis and help you continuously improve your training program. This will not only increases its effectiveness, but also satisfaction and motivation among the team.

Switching to a digital onboarding process saw store management at Fressnapf reduce the time spend on inductions by around 50%. New employees felt well looked after and integrated right from the start. This successful digital learning strategy won chemmedia AG and Fressnapf Tiernahrungs GmbH the 2023 eLearning Award in the Onboarding category. Through digital learning, Fressnapf was not only able to achieve efficiency gains, but also significantly improve the satisfaction and integration of new employees.

A renowned IT service provider with 100 employees was faced with the challenge of transitioning its annual compliance training courses to a digital model. Face-to-face training was time-consuming and expensive due to the costs associated with venues, travel, and trainers. The company digitalized its compliance training within two months and saved over EUR 80,000 in the first year. The changeover was very well received by the employees, as they were well integrated into the process and the benefits to them personally were made very clear. Having a set point of contact during the introductory phase supported a smooth transition. Digital learning has proved to be real win-win for the entire company.

With a small core team, COOP managed to train 90,000 employees in 15 countries and 11 languages using digital learning. New digital learning strategies and a suitable authoring tool helped to make optimum use of synergies within the Group and improve international collaboration. The result: Increased training quantity and quality with less effort and lower costs. Digital learning has not only enabled COOP to increase efficiency, but also boost employee motivation and loyalty worldwide.

The future of digital learning will be dynamic, personalized, and interactive. Artificial intelligence will support your employees with adaptive learning systems that provide additional resources when difficulties arise. Or that continue to challenge your employees once they have achieved the learning objective. Artificial intelligence is also set to become increasingly important in the creation of digital learning content. AI assistants will be able to support you with creating texts, images, and graphics, and convert files into eLearning courses in just a few minutes.

Social learning platforms will connect your employees around the world. They’ll be able to exchange knowledge, work together on projects, and learn from each other. Peer-to-peer interaction and collaborative tools will encourage the exchange of knowledge and strengthen team spirit. Automatic translations will help facilitate direct communication between employees with different native languages. Digital learning will foster connection and interaction between people who would otherwise not be able to talk to each other.

In the future, gamification will make digital learning even more exciting. Gaming elements such as points, badges, and ranking lists will motivate your employees and increase engagement. So learning becomes a fun challenge.

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