AI is creating waves of opportunity when it comes to the learning journey.
From onboarding to development throughout the career of the employee, AI is proving to be the perfect collaborative partner in helping shape the future of learning while transforming the future of work.
We all know why learning is the one things companies cannot afford to scale back on – even if times feel tough. According to the recent 2024 LinkedIn Workplace Learning report, companies that had a strong learning culture also have a 57% higher retention rate. Companies are also 17% more productive when employees get the training they need [finds Gallup], while learning is consistently what employees say they need more of to stay relevant.
But…
With retention and productivity on every industry’s mind right now, working out which technologies cut through the noise and which actually positively affect KPIs can feel daunting.
Issues include knowing how to produce powerful content at speed, to offering tools that break down barriers to accessibility of training content. They include which learning should be simulated, immersive or “co-pilot”-style training environments, to how CHROs decide which training solutions to adopt that will be rooted in L&D goals.
To help answer some of these questions – here are some important elements to consider:
Remember: GenAI is the elephant in every room
It is a safe assumption that generative AI is already implemented in some facet of your organization.
The ability to generate content in seconds has re-imagined the workflow and resource constraints often hindering content development, bringing immense efficiencies from organization to production.
This is especially helpful for the L&D team’s subject matter experts (SMEs) and instructional designers (ID) who can adopt AI for organizational benefits such as crafting a framework to a training program, and allowing them to focus on the the user’s learning journey.
However, it is important not to fall into the trap of becoming dependent on generative AI.
The role of the human designer is critical to avoid generic content that is not specifically aligned to unique business goals and operational KPIs.
And this is where collaboration is key. The generated material has to be guided by your instructional designer who has user experience in mind.
To curate the most effective development program, the development plan needs to be built with the mindset: does the content being created support the intrinsic and extrinsic motivating mechanics to drive a specific behavior?
Furthermore, control and oversight of the quality of information and original sources feeding Gen AI should also be a top priority.
Information-source matters. This, coupled with the providing your team with tools that generate media and copy that are aligned to your brand and L&D strategy, is important. This is needed to effectively reach your training objectives and it helps steer your training content from generic to impactful.
Lastly, the learning analytics that come out of AI functionality is a great way to measure program effectiveness and inform future training.
Individual to organization, accessibility is important
Another important function AI is bringing to HR is accessibility.
With such a diverse workforce, creating engaging content that reaches your market is critical.
And location and language need not be barriers when it comes to learning.
With AI-powered voice tools, training programs can be translated to the appropriate market in seconds.
This is an important factor in supporting brand consistency and standards – a notoriously difficult challenge across different demographics.
Being able to maintain a consistent, quality experience also has a big impact when you look at organizations focused on scalability.
By removing accessibility to quality training barriers, organizations can create a more efficient, engaging, and inclusive training program that caters to the diverse needs of their workforce.
It’s personal
AI-embedded learning technology is evolving so quickly, that solutions are coming to market where you can have a truly personalized coaching experience.
Now it’s possible to have two-way conversations with AI avatars–virtual coaches, in a simulated environment that provides a truly immersive learning experience.
Learners can run dialogues that otherwise might be sensitive, such as DE&I training or customer escalations. Or, they can essentially fail “safely” with little to no risk to the learner.
This is a big deal when you think about the impact on the individual and the organization essentially mitigating risk.
More than just a fail-safe environment, these AI coaches are readily available and act as a mentor to establish confidence in the user as they develop their career path by helping to answer questions pertaining to their job and set goals.
This feedback loop proves to be the ultimate collaborative partner to the learner and your team’s training program creator.
Impact is the bottom line
The ability to embrace AI as a collaborative partner is the key to turning the dial on training efficacy.
Rather than look at what AI replaces, you need to view it as an opportunity to amplify.
You can see benefits with immediate adoption: leverage AI’s ability to analyze large swaths of data pertaining to program engagement rates, provide insights into performance, identify employee knowledge gaps, and overall program effectiveness.
Access to these insights is invaluable for HR leaders to be able to identify the long-term impact of training initiatives.
So remember, AI provides HR and training leaders with innovative opportunities to drive their learning strategy forward.
By integrating AI into their learning and development strategies, HR leaders can create more effective, personalized, and scalable training solutions.
It’s exciting to see how successful tech solutions can support their teams with impactful content creation, improve accessibility to reach greater markets, and offer employees a personalized learning journey.
Through these measures, you can grow individuals and organizations to be exceptional.