One-size-fits-all training courses have a proven track record in business. However, a standardized approach can only be so effective when everyone works through the same content at the same pace. Work content, methods, and organizations have fundamentally changed. Business today is crying out for new ways of learning. Given that our interdisciplinary teams are mobile and highly focused, they are less receptive to a static format. Team members require an approach tailored to their needs, one that will let them go beyond the basics. By harnessing a new way of learning—one that hones in on individual personalities, backgrounds, and working environments—you can boost teams and company performance.
Why personalities matter for Soft Skills
Customized learning programs respond to individual needs, preferred learning methods, and learning desires—in other words, their thirst for knowledge! What do they want to learn? And how? The focus is on what your team members want. Learners who connect emotionally with what they’re learning show greater interest and have a better understanding of what is presented. Knowing how the learning process works gives learners agency, which in turn creates positive reinforcement. It’s a virtuous cycle, one that’s been overlooked in the past.
Jobs, skills and experiences vary within a company, as do tastes and personalities. Team members are more motivated when content, already fine-tuned to their personalities, is more appealing, understandable, and directly linked to the skills they want to acquire or improve. It makes them feel more valued—and this only motivates them more.
The need to know learners and their personality types is driving innovation in the market, with basic LMS platforms being replaced by learner experience platforms (LXPs).
A welcome move
Using specialized platforms, you can direct learners to courses that suit their goals, abilities, schedules, skills, and personalities. Learners can also clearly see what the benefits of each course are before they begin.
LXPs: a new way of learning
Adapting training programs to individual psychological profiles is key to motivating learners and ensuring effective training. It is from this observation that LXPs were born. The learner influences the personalization of each training course according to individual criteria. Each learner is free to choose using pedagogical affinities (a type of resource for example), time constraints, or a defined priority.
But an LXP can only do so much on its own. For improved customization, a large amount of data and content is needed. They must be able to store and share a company’s in-house resources, drawing on available external online content or content from specialist vendors. And of course, they need to capitalize on the content generated by users themselves. This enormous data pool allows you to offer interactive, relevant, enticing, and motivating content.
Targeted training for each personality type
Customized learning programs mean more motivated and engaged learners, and better performance results soon follow. L&D teams are ahead of the game when they use customized training to boost pass rates, take-up rates, and retention rates among learners.
Personality tests are a particularly effective tool for customizing learning experiences. For example, they can shine a light on natural preferences and help work out what an individual’s dominant or auxiliary functions are.
Personality tests: a prerequisite
By taking a test before they start a course, learners will benefit from a positive self image, whatever their psychological profile. This added bonus helps them develop self-confidence.
Applied machine learning
In general, using targeted algorithms to process data, machine learning generates a predictive analysis. An increasing quantity of data for analysis results in greater precision when defining educational objectives.
Applied to training, machine learning doesn’t just help with the customization of a program; it also tailors it to an individual’s needs and progress. In this way, machine learning fine tunes knowledge to each learner’s individual profile. Algorithms collect and analyze learner data, and then add the results to the training process. This wealth of information helps refine and optimize existing learning programs and formats, which in turn leads to even more effective training.
The use of customized training as part of your L&D strategy can put you a step ahead. Motivated learners put more effort in, which makes the upswing in skills capital even more noticeable. Company performance and results will soar, and this change will be long-lasting.
At CrossKnowledge, we’ve made customized training one of our key areas of expertise. But it’s only one of the four areas we are invested in. Discover what happens when cognitive reflexes are added to the mix. By measuring the differences in motivation and pass rates when managers get involved, and you’ll see how you can use data to your advantage. Find out more about these key elements by downloading our e-Book: The Four Pillars of Successful Training Courses.