We have arrived in the 4.0 era. This addition describes the world of work within the fourth industrial revolution: digitization. It also does not stop at personnel development. And so learning cultures in companies are turned to sooner or later. But how do Swiss companies make the leap from Personnel Development 1.0 to Personnel Development 4.0? And what influence does this have on the employer brand?
What training opportunities can Employer Brand benefit from?
Nobody denies that modern personnel development offers a unique selling point with which employers can set themselves apart from the competition in their employer branding. According to the study Recruting Trends 2018, which is also representative of Switzerland, tailor-made training courses are among the top factors that companies use to inspire their employees.
However, Swiss employers are not particularly well positioned here: 60 percent of companies find that they do not clearly differentiate themselves from the competition in personnel development, among other things. This is the result of a study conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute in collaboration with the partner organisations KLAR and the Institute for Strategic Management of the HWZ Zurich. The classical personnel development should therefore become personnel development 4.0 as soon as possible.
One step further is the international engineering and service group Bilfinger SE, which has a branch in Switzerland. They implemented an internal learning academy that focuses primarily on e-learning. With the Academy, the Group was able to achieve significantly greater accessibility and Group-wide dissemination of its internal personnel development offerings. These are now also booked by specialist departments, which the employer previously never reached with a printed training catalogue.
Personnel development 4.0: How can it be implemented?
E-learning courses are definitely a step in the right direction, but they are usually completed on a stationary computer. However, in the mobile age, the need for even more flexible learning formats is increasing noticeably:
- Knowledge should be imparted exactly at the moments when it is needed.
- Learning should be able to take place at any time.
- The absorption of new knowledge should take place independently of location.
This enables employees to access new know-how whenever they need it. In this way, gaps in knowledge can be closed immediately when they arise.
From e-learning to mobile learning
There’s a solution for that, too. Why not simply call up the Learn-Academy via the device that everyone always has in their pocket anyway: According to the statistics portal Statista, the proportion of mobile Internet users using smartphones in Switzerland in 2018 was around 90 percent.
With an academy suitable for mobile use, e-learning quickly becomes mobile learning. Videos, audio files, images, presentations, technical texts – all of these are elements that can be integrated into mobile learning. They make it more varied and appeal to different types of learners. There is also a gamification aspect. By integrating playful elements such as quizzes into the learning program, an enormous motivation boost can be generated for learners. Cause quizzes are just about anybody’s fun.
Another advantage: networking and social learning. Even if one employee is in New York and the other somewhere in Europe. You can view the same content, take the same tests and exchange information in parallel or with a time delay.
The effect of such a mobile learning offer is that employees have the feeling that their employer is looking for tailor-made solutions in personnel development that make their daily work much easier. This is lived appreciation. What else could be more positive for the employer brand?
