This guide outlines how and why to digitise leadership training programs to achieve better success.
According to estimates, the yearly worldwide expenditure on leadership training and development is more than $50 billion. Implementing personal leadership development programs within organizations has been found to enhance business outcomes by up to 25%. This figure can be further increased by providing leadership training to not only senior executives but also to middle and junior-level specialists.
Nearly two-thirds of millennials report insufficient opportunities to enhance their leadership skills, while 58% of managers indicate a lack of management training.
Employees typically believe that their organization has a responsibility to offer them development opportunities throughout their entire tenure. Unmet expectations can result in diminished work engagement, lower performance, decreased loyalty to the company, and ultimately, a strong desire to quit.
Companies invest in corporate learning with the expectation of a significant impact on business results. However, only one in four senior managers reported that leadership training has a tangible impact on the organization’s outcomes. Experts from the software development company Belitsoft discover the reasons and suggest possible solutions.
Why leadership training fails
Many corporations invest a significant amount of resources into outdated employee training methods. Often, courses are considered complete without any post-training feedback or assessment, resulting in little to no practical knowledge or skills being acquired.
That translates to wasted time and money. However, incorporating comprehensive assessment into any leadership training programs program can increase bench strength by an average of 30%.
The problem is difficult to tackle because organizations often lack the human resources necessary to foster a leadership mindset and provide supervision.
For instance, using video courses with individualized feedback from a coach for each learner can be effective. However, it is sometimes challenging to scale this method because the coach’s time is typically limited.
How to improve leadership training
One solution is to automate the personal leadership training programs by having a script take on the role of trainers and their assistants. That could involve a personalized and interactive web platform or mobile app that performs tasks such as:
Gathering learners’ data to customize the program.
Typically, before beginning leadership training programs, a trainer would speak with each user and review their data to develop an appropriate learning path. This stage can be automated to save on human resources.
How it works: The virtual “trainer” delivers video lessons that explain crucial concepts and definitions, complete with transcripts and infographics. Following this, the system presents the learner with a series of questions to establish their initial data as well as their intermediate and final goals.
The system then uses all the collected information to construct a customized learning roadmap and help the learner achieve their objectives one step at a time.
Monitoring learning progress.
It involves tracking the learner’s advancement to evaluate their adherence to the training plan.
How it works: After a user completes a task, the system automatically calculates and provides the results. The learner can also monitor their overall progress on the learning roadmap.
If the user requires mentoring, they can mark the relevant steps, and the leadership training program will autonomously analyze the process and send detailed reports to the curator upon request.
Enhancing the effectiveness of learning.
By utilizing various motivational techniques, learners’ intention to continue their e-learning and attain their goals can be increased.
How it works: The community, coaches, or L&D department can track learners’ progress, offer support, and encourage them during their way. Gamification elements can also be incorporated to motivate learners to achieve their goals.
7 best features to incorporate
To create engaging and user-friendly leadership training programs, you can leverage the latest technologies available today.
AI implementation can provide personalized learning opportunities that align with a learner’s plan, making it a useful tool. Additionally, coaches can benefit from this feature by automating routine tasks, freeing up time to focus on strategic tasks.
A chatbot is a helpful tool that can assist with various organizational tasks, such as creating and sending templates for leadership training programs. For instance, it can create a template message that will be sent to colleagues to collect their feedback on a learner’s strengths.
Conversational learning is a modern training approach that involves a learner interacting with a virtual coach, assistant, or chatbot through dialogue (using a question-and-answer method). This feature allows online assistants to be involved in checking exercises to ensure clarity.
Business simulation is a leadership training programs technique that promotes learning through making mistakes and taking risks. It helps learners to develop their leadership skills by providing a virtual workplace environment with different characters. To automate this process, real business situations and skill gaps of managers are collected, and a digital environment is created to train employees on hard and soft leadership skills.
Social learning is a feature that enables people to share their knowledge and receive feedback in their dedicated community on the e-learning platform. For instance, one e-learning program offers the option to invite friends, colleagues, and family to describe a learner’s unique qualities and help create a personalized training plan.
Gamification elements in the training process help increase users’ motivation, interest, and engagement. These elements can include earning achievement badges, unlocking new levels, competing on leaderboards, collecting gems, etc.
Proactive alerts are helpful for users who may forget about their leadership training programs due to work overload and distractions. Friendly reminders can help them stay on track with their training plan and ensure they complete each stage on time.
Steps for launching leadership training programs
- Set a budget: Determine the appropriate budget for your corporate leadership development program, including the expenses related to the training platform.
- Create content: If you have only a paper-based training program, you will need to convert it into a digital format.
- Design UI/UX: Create a user interface and user experience design that is engaging and easy to use.
- Choose a tech stack: Opt for the appropriate technology stack to build your training platform.
- Develop the platform: Implement the chosen technology stack and develop the platform.
- Test the software: Conduct comprehensive software testing to ensure the platform works seamlessly and meets quality standards, providing your employees with the best leadership training experience.
