5 Reasons Why Learner-Driven Training Is Good For Business

5 Reasons Why Learner-Driven Training Is Good For Business
Summary: Here is why a learner-driven training approach is beneficial for both your employees and your organization.

Why Learner-Driven Training Is Good For Business

Employee education is vital in today’s fast-paced, constantly changing world of work. However, only those who really want to learn will make this training worthwhile. Learner-driven training is beneficial for both employees and employers; assisting those with ambition to rise ahead.

1. Achievers Will Succeed When Given Access To Training

Companies do a lot of training for their staff. However, the bulk of employees do the training because it’s required of them, not because they have chosen to do so. This is fine when it comes to base-level training, but what about more high-level training for those who want to progress?

Rather than wasting money and efforts by forcing employees to do in-depth training that they haven’t asked for, do the basic training that is essential for everyone, and allow those who want to achieve, access to further training.

In this way, the achievers in your organization will have means to improve and grow and will remain motivated. This also gives you an understanding of which employees are driven to succeed within your organization, and those who aren’t.

2. Better Engagement

Rather than subscribing everyone up to the same training offerings, it is important that employees are able to choose their courses. This will allow them to dive into subjects that they are passionate about and wish to succeed in, which will be beneficial to building a career that they can thrive in.

While many companies will only allow staff to do training that pertains directly to an employee’s current job role, by widening the education offerings, you are showing a commitment to the individual as a whole, and giving them the means to broaden their offering as an employee.

Also, if an individual has made an active choice to study, there will be more of a commitment to learn. As such, engagement levels will improve and the learning material will be digested and retained far better.

3. A Learner-Centered Approach Is More Effective

Traditional education methods position the teacher as the driver, with the learner passively sitting in the passenger’s seat. Turning this approach on its head, more modern attitudes to teaching have placed the learner as an active participant, which has proved to have far greater results.

Through concepts like ‘flipped learning’, learners will read, learn, and digest information in their own time. Furthermore, the ‘homework’ will be done in a group setting, where the learners can then engage in knowledgeable discussions together and grapple with concepts that they need clarity on.

Similarly, in the workplace, learner-centered training puts the responsibility on the employee to successfully complete the training. As active participants, learners apply their minds to concepts more effectively and can utilize the knowledge in the workplace more readily.

4. Retain Millennial Staff Members Through Meaningful Training

Today’s young adults, the Millennials, are a tech-savvy generation who are constantly connected to the internet via their laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Their loyalties and attention are known to fluctuate, and they are more likely than past generations to resign from their jobs if they are not satisfied with their current work culture.

In their 2015 Internet Trends Report, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) found that 22% of Millennials chose to receive training over flexible hours, cash bonuses, and even a company car.

By offering diverse, quality training to your employees, you are not only upskilling them to do their jobs more effectively; you are also helping them feel more valued within your business. This helps with employee retention and business loyalty; assisting you to keep talented staff on your team.

5. Money Well Spent For Those Who Will Use It Best

The beauty of making high-quality training optional for your employees is that while not everyone will engage in the training, those who do will benefit from it immensely, allowing them to develop and progress within your organisation.

Through learner-driven training, you will be motivating your promising and eager staff to succeed. You will be nurturing the employees who deserve it most, who can rise up to become prized assets within your business.

Final Thoughts

Skills development and training in the workplace is most effective, and valuable, when learners are actively engaged and have bought into in what they are studying. A learner-driven approach to employee education ensures that the training spend has been put to good use.