Smart investments in workforce development improve overall employee productivity, morale and loyalty. Yet human resources (HR) and learning and development (L&D) teams are constantly challenged to implement cost-effective programs for employee training that can help employees work smarter and more efficiently.
A 92% majority of employees believe workplace training impacts their job engagement positively, according to recent findings by an Axonify survey. In addition, 59% of employees think training improves their overall job performance.
As a result, companies say they are 17% more productive when their employees receive the training they need and want.
However, HR and L&D leaders still face plenty of obstacles in making their training programs more satisfying and useful while keeping them cost efficient. Many conventional training programs are extremely time-consuming and burdensome for workers. Scheduling every session, coordinating with trainers, and ensuring the participation of all employees can become logistically complex, slowing down the learning process and making it less enjoyable.
The traditional one-size-fits-all model also fails to recognize the diverse learning preferences and capabilities of individual employees. This mismatch can result in negative learning experiences, with some employees feeling overwhelmed by the fast pace, while others find the content too basic. User-focused learning follows a more individualized path that is based on factors unique to each employee, such as skill levels and learning preferences. User-friendly learning provides learners with educational experiences that work for them, so they can absorb information quickly and completely.
How Immersive Software Simulation Training Is Reshaping L&D
To address these concerns, training teams are discovering the power of software simulation, bringing advanced innovative and interactive software training products designed to improve workforce development for functions such as employee onboarding and training, amongst others. Application simulation offers to create hyper-realistic and interactive replicas of enterprise web applications for immersive training and product showcasing.
Authentic virtual reproductions of web apps can be used for immersive training sessions and product demonstrations without incurring any risks of live system engagement. The software recreates a mockup version that mimics the original application. This approach enables users to develop skills for training purposes without harming real production environments. In this way, information technology (IT) departments can also cut their infrastructure and labor costs associated with maintaining additional live application environments.
As market demands call for more efficient and innovative HR and L&D operations, organizations are adopting software simulation training environments to improve several aspects of their HR and L&D operations. Recruitment and hiring systems for employee screening and feedback can also benefit from simulation-based training.
L&D leaders can also use immersive software replicas to enhance employee training programs, and to improve learning management systems (LMSs) that expand career development opportunities for the entire workforce.
Onboarding and offboarding are other HR and L&D-related responsibilities that can leverage new replica software to help improve employee experiences. Training technologies can help HR and L&D leaders standardize the onboarding process for greater consistency and help streamline offboarding to maintain positive relationships with departing employees.
Key Benefits of Immersive Hands-On Software Training
Products that offer advanced, hands-on and interactive simulations for software training, that recreate a live application environment, can benefit enterprises.
These replication software platforms create positive user experiences by simulating real-world experiences without engaging the actual risks of negative outcomes. These platforms also give users more personal control over their training experiences. Learners are encouraged to engage in online sessions at their own convenience, free from rigid schedules or geographical constraints, boosting their confidence in working on real software.
All these technical advances are rooted in a reorientation that focuses HR and L&D leaders’ attention on software users themselves, not their software applications. This is a concept known as “userization,” in which automated support helps software users take charge of their own digital environments while they work within their apps.
Userization makes software apps more accessible for users because it enables them to take action in a self-sufficient manner, thereby simplifying adoption and driving productivity. Analytics engines allow organizations to identify key user behaviors within training applications. Armed with these insights, organizations can develop more contextual software experiences that are tailored to shared cohorts of users.
All of these types of software simulations and interactive training environments can drive employee engagement by making the learning process more realistic and memorable. Such positive experiences contribute to better trained employees, while helping to foster a culture of continuous learning.
