Go-to-market (GTM) teams are constantly on-the-move. Hybrid workforces, complex buyer journeys and evolving customer preferences require companies to do things differently than they did just a few years ago.
To keep pace with the speed of business, organisations need to reconsider how they’re training and coaching frontline employees. But just like nearly every other aspect of business, workplace learning looks different than it used to. Over the years, we’ve helped more than 1,000 companies embrace some of the latest learning trends to deliver effective training that drives business success – let’s take a closer look.
Learning is always on
Many organisations view training to be synchronous only with onboarding new employees. Sure, it’s crucial to ramp up new hires, but companies see exponential growth and value when training and coaching is offered on a continuous basis. Change is inevitable for these teams, and they need access to on-demand training to stay up-to-date with new processes, messaging and products.
Instead of relying on large training initiatives that only happen a few times a year, we suggest giving your teammates access to “just-in-time” materials for when they really need them. For example, a seller may need to refresh their memory on a new product before a call with a prospect. Or, a support agent may need to look up the details of a specific service while interacting with a customer. On-demand training puts the power of learning in employees’ hands so they can easily access, search for and review content quickly during their moment of need.
So, how can your organisation ensure that everyone has access to the information they need? Lessonly admins can easily pull reports within Insights to see what content learners search for and access. This provides targeted data on the topics that employees need most to perform their jobs. It also shows admins if there are null searches – or no Lessonly content related to a search. By pinpointing specific questions and topics, GTM teams can create content that addresses lesson gaps so everyone has on-demand access to what they need.
Flexibility is key
There’s no one way to deliver training, and the best training method for your team is dependent on a number of factors like employee preferences, business initiatives and more. However, the pandemic showed trainers and leaders that they don’t need to rely on getting an entire team in one room for training to be effective. Instead, the best programmes provide GTM teams with the flexibility to deliver training content through blended learning.
Adult learners actually want nearly 70% of their learning to be self-directed. This gives them the opportunity to access and complete training at their own pace at a time that works best for them. The other 30% can come in the form of coaching sessions, team-wide training sessions and workshops.
A blended approach to training is a great way to reinforce new product and messaging training. For example, an enablement team may assign a path of lessons that walk sellers through a new product and key value propositions ahead of a team-wide meeting. By reviewing this information ahead of time, teams can maximise their time together by discussing complex topics, answering questions and fostering in-depth conversations rather than covering the basics. These training lessons are then available on-demand for learners to revisit any time they need a refresher.
Upskilling and reskilling are essential
The pandemic also forced many leaders to acknowledge that the skills their teams need are not the same ones they’ve needed in the past. Sellers who were familiar with in-person selling had to pivot to virtual and digital selling. Customer service agents had to embrace new support channels and solve more complex interactions than ever before. These shifts, paired with the rapid digital transformation and pace of business, exposed gaps in skills and knowledge for many GTM teams.
Reskilling provides a learning experience that enables employees to be successful in new roles. In fact, 40% of workers will require up to six months of reskilling by 2024. Upskilling goes even further by delivering continuous learning to close skill gaps. Because companies are experiencing more complex sales cycles and increased customer demands, they need to help their GTM teams be better prepared to navigate rapid business change and drive growth.
Lessonly Skills empowers leaders to identify the most critical skills and competencies that reps need to develop. For each critical skill, leaders can then choose what type of training content and tasks are best suited for effective upskilling and reskilling. These tasks are automatically tracked so leaders have a holistic view of each rep’s skill sets and development, all in one place.
There’s power in numbers
Traditional training and coaching programmes have largely centred around employees learning from trainers or managers. However, more organisations are realising the advantages of peer-to-peer training and coaching. This form of democratised learning encourages teammates to learn from one another in addition to learning from a manager or trainer.
By relying on high-performing team members to help provide learning, leaders can scale training and development across the organisation. This is also a great way to encourage collaboration and team building in order to transfer skills, tips and other knowledge from one team member to another.
GTM organisations can take this one step further by asking subject matter experts to help capture information and create training lessons for everyone to access on a continuous basis as well. And because Lessonly is so user-friendly, it’s easier than ever to invite experts to jump into the platform to create or review content as needed.
Are you ready to apply these learning trends directly to your own organisation? If so, reach out to your customer success or account manager to talk about specific strategies!