Digital skills are essential for workforce management in the modern workplace, but how can you make sure that your training translates into effective practice? In this article, we will explore some strategies and tips to help you bridge the gap between learning and doing, and improve your performance and productivity as a workforce manager.
Before you invest time and money in training, you need to identify your digital skill needs and gaps. What are the tasks and challenges that require digital skills in your role as a workforce manager? What are the tools and platforms that you use or need to use? How proficient are you in using them? How do they align with your goals and objectives? You can use self-assessments, feedback, benchmarks, or online tools to evaluate your current digital skill level and identify the areas that need improvement.
I think that one of the biggest challenges with identifying the skills gaps is identifying the best workflows and processes with new digital tools and workspaces. It's hard to identify a skills gap if the whole way of working is changing as we adopt new cloud based and now AI tools. We can't think about things in terms of how we do our work today. Instead I find myself identifying potential skills gaps based on how I anticipate my team using new tools. I really lean on my team to collaborate and identify potential gaps and how we might adjust our ways of thinking and working.
In my experience as a communication and digital skills trainer, one thing I found incredibly helpful is the importance of assessing your digital skill needs before diving into training. This is not just for language acquisition but for any area where you're looking to boost your abilities and proficiency in the digital landscape. Before investing your time and resources, it's crucial to identify your unique skill gaps and tailor your training accordingly. From my experience, constructive feedback can be a powerful way to identify gaps. Seeking feedback from colleagues or peers who are knowledgeable about digital skills in your industry can provide valuable insights into your strengths and weaknesses.
Once you have a clear picture of your digital skill needs, you need to choose the right training method that suits your learning style, preferences, and availability. There are many options to choose from, such as online courses, webinars, podcasts, videos, blogs, e-books, or coaching. You can also look for training that is specific to your industry, sector, or role. The key is to find a training method that is engaging, relevant, and accessible, and that provides you with feedback, support, and recognition.
Alignment between the skill gap and the training objectives is key, but with the various learning styles of the team, it's important to take a multimodal approach to provide a solid skill growth.
As a communication and digital skills trainer, I've worked with auditory learners who excel through listening. One student, eager to improve negotiation skills, adopted podcasts. We found negotiation podcasts on Spotify, enabling real-time insights application, enhancing their skills and achieving more successful deals. This experience highlights the power of tailored learning for student success. The key takeaway from this experience is that by catering to different learning styles, we enhance the training experience and empower our students to excel in their learning journey.
The best way to transfer your digital skills from training to practice is to apply them to real situations as soon as possible. This will help you reinforce your learning, test your understanding, and identify your strengths and weaknesses. You can look for opportunities to use your digital skills in your daily tasks, projects, or interactions with your team, colleagues, or clients. You can also create your own scenarios or challenges to practice your digital skills in a safe and controlled environment.
Another important strategy to transfer your digital skills from training to practice is to seek feedback and guidance from others who can help you improve your performance and confidence. You can ask for feedback from your trainer, mentor, manager, or peers, and use it to adjust your actions and goals. You can also seek guidance from experts, role models, or online communities who can offer you advice, tips, or best practices. You can also share your experiences and challenges with others who are in a similar situation or have gone through the same process.
Finally, you need to review and reflect on your progress regularly to measure your results and celebrate your achievements. You can use tools such as portfolios, journals, dashboards, or badges to document your learning outcomes, track your performance indicators, and showcase your digital skills. You can also use reflection techniques such as self-questioning, feedback analysis, or SWOT analysis to evaluate your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and to identify areas for improvement or further learning.