Today’s workplaces have a need for speed. The relentless pace of technological advancements requires leaders and teams to adapt, learn, and execute efficiently to compete and succeed. It’s predicted that the rate of change will be so rapid that by 2030, 85% of jobs will be entirely new, requiring new skills for survival.1 As skill development becomes increasingly integral to the future of work, there is a growing emphasis on speed to skill.
What is Speed to Skill and Why Does it Matter?
Every employee requires a necessary investment of time and money for onboarding and training. Until they reach proficiency, organizations can’t harness their full business value. This is where ‘speed to skill’ becomes crucial – it measures the time needed to onboard and upskill individuals or teams, equipping them with the essential abilities and confidence required for competence in their respective roles.
Swiftly bridging the divide between training and proficiency is paramount. Accelerating onboarding and skill development boosts return on investment (ROI) and profitability and directly impacts key business outcomes such as reducing employee churn and amplifying overall productivity.
22% of staff turnover occurs within the first 45 days of onboarding, with the cost of losing an employee in the first year estimated to be at least three times the salary.2
5 Ways to Accelerate Speed to Skill
Fast-tracking skill development can be a bumpy road. Common hurdles to speed to skill include time-consuming instructor tasks such as one-on-one coaching and personalized feedback. Moreover, confusing training completion with competence presents another challenge, underscoring the crucial role of assessment in effective skill development.
In a study of 70 companies spanning 42 industries, Dr. Raman K. Attri, an accelerated learning scientist, discovered that even top-performing organizations face challenges in achieving efficient training with a focus on speed. Many noted their training programs, contrary to expectations, hindered the overall pace of skill development. The main problems cited were insufficient training, poor learning design practices, and subpar support systems.3
To pave the way for efficient and effective learning and development (L&D) programs, incorporate strategies that proactively address competency gaps, help learners quickly retain new information, and foster a dynamic learning environment. Increasing the speed at which skills are acquired will, in turn, accelerate the time it takes to see an ROI by enhancing organizational efficiency.
Here are five best practices for fast-tracking speed to skill:
1. Establish Precise Learning Goals
Start by defining clear expectations. Align your objectives with training materials to optimize the learning journey. Well-defined goals enhance engagement, keep learners focused, and fuel a desire to learn and retain information quickly.
2. Provide Timely, Personalized Feedback
Boost speed to skill through real-time, contextually relevant feedback. Provide immediate feedback within the learning flow to affirm positive behaviors, correct mistakes, and heighten learner engagement. Learners can promptly adjust their actions by receiving instant feedback, promoting timely and relevant knowledge retention so they are performing their job at their highest potential.
3. Facilitate Skill Development through Practice
Skills are honed through practice, and deliberate practice reigns supreme in expediting the journey to proficiency. Ensure your training program emphasizes and consistently delivers measurable opportunities for practice, allowing learners to engage with and reinforce their newly acquired skills. Additionally, provide a safe environment where they can fail fast but safely, fostering an atmosphere conducive to effective learning and skill development.
4. Create a Consistent Evaluation Process
Set up a solid evaluation process that aligns with your learning goals to catalyze effective skill assessment and fast-track your employees’ competency. It keeps you from going down the wrong training paths, ensuring both individuals and your organization stay on track and progress toward your desired skill proficiency levels.
5. Leverage Tools
Harness the power of tools (especially now that we have AI-powered ones) to accelerate skill development. Tools can act as a force multiplier across your organization. And AI tools can multiply that again by quickly pinpointing learning objectives and offering scalable feedback for unlimited learners, saving significant instructor time. They can also ensure the continuity of consistent learning and practice experiences and streamline skill assessments. This technological edge increases the speed of skill acquisition while scaling training efforts across your entire organization.
Boost Speed to Skill with Bongo’s AI Coach
As you can see, speed has powerful business impacts on your organization when it comes to skill development. Bongo is an AI-powered platform designed to expedite speed to skill. It automates time-consuming processes, optimizes learning experiences, and propels employees toward competence. With Bongo, you get evidence of acquired skills while automating time-consuming tasks tied to course creation and feedback and maintaining the rigor essential for effective assessments.
“Before we were working with so many different systems in this complex process and there were a lot of blockers for us. Bongo fit perfectly for what we needed it to do and helped eliminate those tedious steps for us. On average, our turnaround time before was 10 days from learner submission to approval; we actually managed to compress that time down to 5 business days.” – Sean Chen, Senior Technical Trainer, Celonis
“We are certifying people faster and more efficiently. A year ago, they were taking up to 3 days to get certified. Recently I was told an entire class was certified on the first day. They aren’t making as many errors and I know Bongo is a major reason for that. – Head of Training, Nielsen
SUCCESS STORY
Brain Aware Training Achieves 50% Time Reduction with Bongo’s AI Coach
Brain Aware Training, a leading developer of brain science-based training programs, leveraged Bongo to provide prompt, scalable feedback and assessments for learners’ practice training videos. Leveraging AI Coach’s data-driven insights, Brain Aware Training is able to swiftly identify knowledge gaps, key terms, tone, phrase usage, and more, regardless of team size. This innovative approach has resulted in a 50% reduction in staff time and a 25.5% increase in the quality of video content.
Tips for an Easy Transition to AI-Powered Learning
Transitioning to an AI-driven platform like Bongo requires careful planning and communication. Here are some critical steps to ensure a smooth adoption:
- Conduct training sessions: Equip teams with the knowledge and skills to navigate and utilize AI features.
- Highlight user-friendly interfaces: Showcase how complex processes are simplified for ease of use, ensuring no technical background is needed.
- Communicate the benefits: Share the advantages of AI adoption – it enhances efficiency, reduces administrative tasks, and enables a more strategic focus on employee development.
- Establish feedback channels: Encourage open communication channels to share experiences, concerns, and suggestions.
- Iterate based on feedback: Demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement by actively incorporating feedback into your implementation strategy.
Ready to fast-track speed to skill for your employees with AI?
Sources
1 https://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/corporate/newsroom/realizing-2030-dell-technologies-research-explores-the-next-era-of-human-machine-partnerships.htm#:~:text=An%20estimated%2085%20percent%20of,valuable%20than%20the%20knowledge%20itself.
2 http://thewynhurstgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Help-New-Hires-Succeed.pdf
3 https://trainingindustry.com/magazine/winter-2022/training-for-speed-to-proficiency-pitfalls-to-avoid-when-designing-training-and-learning-interventions-for-speed/
