Just when we think the pace of business couldn’t be any faster, it seems to be hitting the speed of light. And we can blame data for this accelerating pace. In any given minute, millions of tweets, statuses, photos, and videos are shared on social media. If you think that’s impressive, consider the 4 million search queries on Google and the 204 million e-mail messages circling the globe – all within the same 60 seconds.
Decision makers depend on this information to move their business forward. Because nearly 250-million bytes of new data are streaming into IT systems every minute of every day, it’s possible that decisions will change at a moment’s notice. This is the necessary cost of keeping a business alive in today’s world – whether we like it or not.
As any worker knows, change that happens quickly breeds complexity. Jobs must constantly adapt. Skills must be immediately mastered to support and adhere to new processes and technology. This isn’t as easy as we may think. It takes time to ready the workforce for such change. However, there’s a problem: Time is not on our side. We must act now.
How do you “run simple” in a world that’s full of complexity and constant change?
To build new skills and reinforce existing capabilities, organizations must make available precise learning materials when employees need it – anytime, anywhere, and on demand. By taking this step, the overall business can lower costs, increase compliance, and create a high-performing workforce.
Over the last few months, I've been talking to SAP employees and partners to find out how they’re learning newly implemented technology and upgrades quickly while keeping skill levels high.
Here are just a few of the best practices that have proven to be successful for them:
- Create content that’s consistent and relevant. By making it easy for subject-matter experts to create and publish documentation, training content, and how-to videos, they’re more likely to impart their knowledge to employees that need it. But more important, all learning materials are delivered in a manner that’s consistent in structure, related to each other, and professional-looking. Paying attention to these finer details helps ensure the information is clear and employees are carrying out tasks accurately, precisely, and efficiently.
- Support everyone involved in the learning process with central content management. All business users (subject-matter experts and learners alike) need to accomplish their task quickly with flexibility and ease. This is where a central repository for content management can help. With one system, subject-matter experts can create, edit, deploy, and track their learning materials while learners access transaction documentation, test scripts, and e-learning on demand.
- Provide one source for all types of learning. Learners, no matter their education background or skill set, cannot obtain new skills by just reviewing content. They need a chance to apply the new skill in an environment that accurately simulates the real-world use of the new technology or process. The key is giving learners access to hands-on training and content at the same time within one source. This capability enables them to follow the material as a step-by-step guide, run the simulation to practice the task, and then return to the content to complete the session.
Learn more
At SAP, we are very fortunate to have access to the latest technology that can help tackle this issue. SAP Workforce Performance Builder software is one of those innovations. Check out how this software incorporates these best practices to help organizations create an integrated environment that streamlines processes and takes productivity to a whole new level.
