Is the Future of Learning Invisible?

Hi there,

Welcome back to another edition of Training the Frontline, your favorite source for all things frontline training.

As you can likely tell from the title, we have quite an intriguing topic on the table for today's newsletter:

Is the future of learning invisible?

In an age of digital burnout, we're looking at how technology is adjusting to combat the overwhelm of endless apps, logins and alerts - and why the learning space urgently needs to catch up. Read on to find out more about invisible training tech , and how your organization can benefit from it.

Also in this edition: some best practices on introducing new technology into the workplace successfully, and a brand new case study showing the impact of both invisibly embedded training and AI-powered tools.

Thanks for reading,

The eduMe Team

Frontline news ??

• 55% of frontline workers have considered quitting in the last year (Quinyx )
• Study shows frontline workers' wellbeing decline, as they struggle to switch off (Talking Retail )
• Frontline workers are 33% more anxious than desk-based counterparts (Unleash )

Deep dive ??: The Impact of Invisible Learning

When was the last time you had a really effortless experience with technology?

Think about car doors automatically unlocking thanks to a Bluetooth key fob. Or a TV blending into the decor around it when not in use. Curtains in a smart home opening when an alarm goes off.

We’ll take a guess and say you can’t remember. That’s the power of invisible technology.

Tech is getting rapidly smaller, more integrated, embedded, and hidden away. It’s becoming invisible - to the point where we, as users, barely register it.

Invisible technology - tech without a user interface or with a UI that cannot be perceived by the senses - will be the norm in a few years. And as workplace leaders, we need to prepare for it.

Most technology - and by proxy, most learning experiences - at work are the opposite of what’s described above. And in the years ahead this won’t be good enough.

Why things need to change - especially on the frontline

Be honest: how many apps do you have on your phone that serve the same purpose? More than makes sense, right? And how many do you use every day??

Tech burnout is a real thing. And, as Mike Elgan puts it :

“the need to protect the user from mental burnout from technology will be one key to succeeding with any tech product in the future.”?

At the moment, most businesses don’t consider this when thinking about their frontline workforce and what they need from technology.

Deskless workers - far more so than office workers - don’t have the time to engage in context-switching and app-hopping, battling with authentication methods and multiple sign-ins.?

Asking your frontline to go on a mission each time they need to find information is a blow to their productivity - in fact, every time they face a barrier it drops by as much as 40% . Every time you add another app or technology, the likelihood of your tech investments becoming redundant increases.?

The consequences of missed knowledge go beyond wasted money. They could be anything as small as a fast food worker failing to make a customer’s order correctly, or as big as an accident from incorrect operation of machinery.?

On a macro level, it means a workforce that’s less engaged - 92% of employees think workplace training is key to job engagement - and less likely to stick around.

Enter: invisible learning

Here’s where invisible technology can make a difference.

Instead of the multi-app situation described above, think about training that’s imperceptibly embedded into real life. We can achieve this state in three ways:

Integration: embedding training within pre-existing apps or comms channels.

Passwordless access: logging in with one tap.

Relevant and branded: either to match your brand or that of the third-party app your workers are using.

We call this 'invisible learning'. And it's the future of frontline training .

• To find out how you can make your training invisible, keep reading here .

Extra reading ??

How to Successfully Introduce New Technology into the Workplace

Implementing new technology in the workplace can prove challenging, but there are steps you can take to make the process a seamless one. Having spent many years supporting frontline businesses through this ourselves, we've collated some of our best practices .

Case Study: How McCoy's Building Supply achieved a 95% completion rate

In this case study , discover how the multi-state US retailer was able to digitize their paper-based training and surface it within one of their existing tools, leading to record-breaking completion rates and a 94% learner satisfaction score.

Join the conversation ???

In case you missed it, eduMe recently got a mention on live TV ??

In an interview covering Workday 's ￡550 million investment in the UK, Daniel Pell highlighted eduMe as one of the companies backed by Workday Ventures in their mission to support the wider skills agenda and champion frontline learning.

Catch up on the full interview below and, if you'd like to know more about our Workday integration, click here for exclusive access to a live customer demo ??

--

Want even more insights into the world of frontline training? Head to edume.com for more free resources ??