Why Employees Say Learning About AI + New Tech Matters to Them

Onboarding is a crucial part of any new hire’s employee experience. Not only does this process give employees’ their first impression of a company, but this initial training period lays the foundation for their personal professional growth.

However, our Industry’s State of the Employee Experience Report revealed employees today are less than impressed with onboarding and company training, going so far as labeling both as “outdated” or “overwhelming.” To understand these issues, we’ll explore why employees are dissatisfied with training, and offer advice on how employers can make learning programs more relevant to employee needs.

Dissatisfaction Starts During Onboarding

When employees first begin their job, their optimism to learn more about their role quickly fades as many employees say they experienced stale onboarding and dull training processes from day one, leading 1 in 3 new hires to regret their decision to join a company.

To make matters worse, disengaging onboarding processes — often described as “information overload” — have also made it harder for new hires to comprehend everything they’re expected to learn. In fact, nearly a quarter (24%) of all new hires had to retrain on all the information they were taught during onboarding, which frustratingly takes up more valuable time and resources.

This is a clear indication that something has gone terribly wrong in the onboarding process. New hires need to be able to understand their company’s values and mission from the start, so employers should explain the jargon and their culture, but take it easy with the paperwork. Getting new hires overwhelmed won’t get you anywhere, so give them a warm welcome and maintain the momentum.

Also, new hires have to be able to execute what’s expected of them. So, within at least the first 90 days, onboarding training needs to give a realistic idea of the job and set a comfortable pace for new members to become part of the team. By using videos, 1 to 1 talks, assigning them a coach, offering classroom lectures, written presentations and online learning — you can get them ready to make waves.

Today’s Training Isn’t Engaging, Motivating…It’s a Checkbox

Seemingly, employers are no longer creating training content that motivates and inspires their staff. Instead, it’s become a forced requirement used as a performance metric. Over 3 in 5 (63%) employees complete workplace training because it’s a mandate, and required for their performance reviews.

This approach to training is all wrong, and leads to disengaged, unmotivated and burned out employees who don’t feel supported in their professional growth.

To make training more engaging, workplaces must determine their audience and where training falls short. Then, they must eliminate defective or outdated training materials, such as by removing fluff with an LMS for onboarding.

Training is imperative to helping employees be innovative, tackle industry shifts and get up to speed with changing trends. It’s critical to make the experience easy and accessible so people can improve skills fast and in the flow of work. Most importantly, training gives teams a sense of belonging and collaboration right from the start, so by making training a part of employees’ career development, employers will count many wins.

The Need for Updated Training — Especially Technology Training

Nearly half (43%) of employees say their company’s training is “outdated,” especially because it lacks content on in-demand skills and emerging technologies. This is concerning given that today’s workforce must continue to find ways to work alongside emerging technologies, like generative AI.

Furthermore, 2 in 5 employees worry AI could replace their jobs (39%) but feel overwhelmed about the idea of having to learn how to use AI (40%). Up-skilling and continuous learning, especially in technology, can lessen the angst that employees have when it comes to new technology and skills needed for the modern day workplace. As AI tools are popping up by the dozen, the workforce needs to be future-proofed. The above highlights even more the necessity of having skills development and assessment tools in your arsenal.

AI is a powerful tool and can be used to increase productivity and reduce administrative or mundane tasks.

It’s up to managers to show employees that AI is not a technology they should fear. In fact, AI paves the way to time and productivity savings. At the same time, it actually enhances the employee experience. AI for business can benefit employees and help them understand customers better.

Most importantly, learning to use AI will lead to better insights and decisions for both business and training, as it can identify skills gaps and offer training tailored to the learner’s needs.

The Upside of Updated Training (A Connected, Engaged Culture)

In addition to building a workforce that can evolve alongside emerging technologies, continuous learning can also build a stronger company culture. Most (63%) employees agree that when done the right way, company training serves as a great chance to bond and collaborate with team members.

However, 1 in 5 employees say they “don’t have time” to participate in company training sessions, which prevents camaraderie, peer-to-peer engagement and mentorship from happening. Employers must build in time for employees to attend training sessions. In doing so, employers foster a culture of collaboration, engagement and support.

Overall, training is critical for improving employee productivity, morale, engagement and ultimately, retention. Plus, it helps you instill a competitive edge to your organization. To ensure corporate learning sets employees up for long-term success, employers should evaluate their current training programs to not only ensure learning content is updated, but also that it’s being provided in a format (and time) that all employees can access when and how they decide. By creating a program that is purpose-built for continued learning, employees will actively seek out these resources as they continue growing in their professional roles.

People are thirsty for ways to adapt faster, and training offers them that growth mindset. Ultimately, by investing in your people, you get to reap the benefits for your business as well.

Give and you will receive.