Tag: Graduate Development

Gamification of Corporate Training: How to Make Learning Fun and Effective

In today’s fast-paced business environment, corporate training has become a necessity for organisations to keep their workforce up-to-date with the latest skills and knowledge.

However, traditional training methods like classroom lectures and PowerPoint presentations are no longer effective in engaging employees and promoting a culture of learning.

To make corporate training more engaging, effective, and fun, organisations are turning to gamification.

Gamification is the use of game mechanics and techniques to make learning more engaging and effective. It involves incorporating elements of games, such as points, badges, leader boards, and rewards, into training programs.

According to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the gamification market is expected to reach $11.1 billion by 2020, up from $1.65 billion in 2015. This indicates the growing popularity and effectiveness of gamification in corporate training.

Game-Based Learning for Early Careers Audiences

Gamification is a great approach for early careers audiences such as school and college leavers, interns, and graduates. Today’s early careers audiences, the Gen Zs and Gen Alphas, are digital natives who have grown up with technology and video games.

They show higher levels of engagement in learning when gamification is applied to the training. In particular, business simulations or business games are proving hugely popular for early careers development in corporate training initiatives such as inductions and onboarding.

Business simulations are immersive, experiential learning experiences that simulate real-life business scenarios. They allow participants to experience a variety of business challenges and make decisions based on their learning.

For example, a business simulation could be used to teach sales skills by simulating a sales scenario, where participants have to interact with potential customers and close deals.

By experiencing a realistic sales situation, participants can learn the necessary skills and techniques required to be successful.

According to a study by TalentLMS, 83% of employees who participated in a gamified training program said they felt motivated, while 61% said they learned more effectively.

Another study by Deloitte found that gamification can improve retention rates by up to 80%. These statistics clearly show the effectiveness of gamification in engaging employees and promoting a culture of learning.

Gamification for Large-Scale Training Events or Corporate Conferences

Gamification is also a powerful approach for large-scale training events or corporate conferences. Blending a business simulation or business game into a large-scale training event or conference helps to break up an event from the more traditional elements such as speeches or lectures.

The key is ensuring the business simulation or business game is tailored and aligned to a corporate theme and/or the learning outcomes to make it meaningful and relevant.

For example, in a sales conference, a business simulation could be used to teach sales skills by simulating a sales scenario, where participants have to interact with potential customers and close deals.

This not only makes the learning experience more engaging and effective but also helps participants apply their learning to real-life situations.

According to a study by the eLearning Industry, 89% of employees felt more engaged when using gamification in corporate training, and 83% felt that gamification made them more productive.

This shows the positive impact that gamification can have on employee engagement and productivity.

Practical Element to the Training with Business Simulations

Embracing gamification into a corporate training curriculum brings a practical element to the training. Business simulations, in this instance, offer a safe and simulated environment where participants can apply their learning and skills and learn by doing.

Business simulations can be used to teach a wide range of skills, from sales and negotiation to leadership and decision-making.

For example, a leadership simulation could be used to teach leadership skills by simulating a leadership scenario, where participants have to make decisions and lead a team through challenges and obstacles.

By experiencing a realistic leadership situation, participants can learn the necessary skills and techniques required to be an effective leader.

A study by the Training Industry found that 97% of participants who completed a simulation-based training program said they felt more confident in their ability to perform their job, while 94% said they were more engaged in the learning process.

These statistics show the effectiveness of business simulations in promoting employee confidence and engagement in the learning process.

Moreover, gamification can also be used to reinforce learning and provide ongoing support to employees.

For example, a quiz or trivia game could be developed to test employees’ knowledge of a particular topic and reinforce the key learning points.

This helps to ensure that employees retain the information they have learned and can apply it in their day-to-day work.

Ready, Set, Learn: The Exciting World of Gamification in Corporate Training

There are many successful case studies of organisations using gamification in corporate training. For example, Microsoft uses a game-based learning platform called Ribbon Hero, which teaches employees how to use Microsoft Office applications.

The game challenges employees to complete various tasks and learn new features of the applications. According to Microsoft, the game has led to increased employee engagement and productivity.

Another example is Marriott International, which developed a business simulation game called My Marriott Hotel.

The game allows players to manage a virtual hotel and learn about the different aspects of hotel management, such as managing staff, budgeting, and customer service.

The game has been used to train new employees and has been successful in increasing employee engagement and learning outcomes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, gamification of corporate training is a powerful approach that offers an effective way to engage employees and promote a learning culture in an organisation.

Gamification, or game-based learning, offers a flexible and exciting way to increase engagement in a learning initiative and maximise the ROI on your training spend.

Gamification for corporate training offers a great way to engage, embed, and sustain learning and enhance any training curriculum.

Business simulations and games offer an immersive and experiential learning experience that simulates real-life business scenarios.

This allows participants to apply their learning and skills in a safe and simulated environment and learn by doing. Gamification can also be used to reinforce learning and provide ongoing support to employees.

Successful case studies from organisations such as Microsoft and Marriott International show the effectiveness of gamification in promoting employee engagement and learning outcomes.

With the growing popularity and effectiveness of gamification in corporate training, it is important for organisations to consider incorporating gamification into their training programs to engage employees and promote a culture of learning.

MDA Training can help organisations incorporate gamification into their training programs and deliver engaging and effective training experiences for employees.

As a leading provider of bespoke training solutions, MDA Training offers a wide range of gamification and simulation-based training programs that are tailored to meet the specific needs of individual organisations and their employees. Get in touch with MDA Experts today!

February 21, 2023
Five reasons to leverage digital business simulations in virtual staff training

Whether you’re the newest team member joining an exciting new start-up or if you’re an existing employee looking to broaden your skillset – digital business simulations provide a sure-fire way to put your learning to the test.

Over the last 12 months, we worked with leading businesses to design and deliver virtual training solutions that not only solved the issues raised by Covid19 but revolutionised the way they train their employees.

Our courses use a combination of interactive facilitator-led sessions, activities and simulations – offering world-class virtual training programmes for the following sectors:

Banking
Asset Management
Insurance
Professional Services
Manufacturing & Engineering

Our unique approach to virtual training focuses on a highly interactive system, providing learners participating in any of our sector-specific training courses with ample opportunity to put their learning into action.

Five reasons to leverage digital business simulations in virtual staff training

We have documented the benefits and versatility of applying simulations in the virtual environment on our blog before, but here are five of our favourite reasons for leveraging digital business simulations in 2021:

Our virtual business simulations have revolutionised the way hundreds of employees just like you, apply and embed their learning.

To find out more about how MDA can get your career off to a flying start or propel you further through your career journey, get in touch with one of our team today.

January 13, 2021
3 ways that experiential learning can help graduates improve their skills

Businesses are always looking for a secret formula that will quickly prepare their graduates for the world of work.

In reality, however, the truth is simple. Graduates will only develop their skills and ready themselves for their long term roles if they are given the opportunity to practice regularly.

Graduate programmes need to be carefully structured to cater to specific needs, with clear KPIs and objectives outlined beforehand.

At MDA Training, we are experts in utilising experiential learning to support onboarding and graduate development programmes. We’ve listed three ways in which experiential learning helps graduates improve their skills compared to traditional learning methods below:

1 Accelerated Learning

Rather than learning and revising endless pages of content or continuous presentation slides, experiential learning allows people to put their skills into action, learning as they go along.

This speeds up both the delivery and learning process, providing graduates with an environment and programme that resonates with them from day one. In fact, retention rates from experiential learning methods can be as much as 90%.

2 Learning from mistakes

By taking part in an experiential learning programme, graduates are able to learn what they perform well at, and perhaps more importantly, what they need to improve on.

Making mistakes is a natural part of graduate development, and experiential learning allows for these mistakes to be made in a risk-free environment.

3 Accurate assessment of performance

As well as helping graduates to learn from their mistakes, experiential learning gives business leaders and training specialists a much clearer view of how their new employees are performing.

While business leaders will know a lot about the qualities and personalities of their new hires, an experiential learning programme will give them a chance to see how they react to specific situations and how capable they are.

In addition, the flexibility of experiential learning allows businesses to identify precisely how an employee learns best, based on their own performance.

From here, leaders can use the assessment data they receive to help shape future development programmes in order to improve their training solutions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON OUR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAMMES, CONTACT MDA TRAINING TODAY.

August 11, 2020
Tips for pitching and presenting in a virtual environment
Video conferences and meetings are undoubtedly going to form the ‘new normal’ of business operations. We’ve put together four useful tips to consider before presenting on a video call to clients or colleagues.

1 Know your venue

There are a number of video conferencing platforms that have risen to prominence in the last few years including Zoom, Google Hangouts and Microsoft Teams. Before a virtual presentation, you should be completely familiar with the software you are using.

From media and screen sharing to accommodating for large and small meetings, you will leave yourself open to mistakes if you do not learn the capabilities and limitations of your chosen programme.

2 Welcome clients into your virtual office

It is important to treat your virtual meeting environment the same as you would treat your physical working environment.

While you may be in your living room, bedroom or any other communal area, maintaining a professional presence is key.

As well as ensuring your background is clean, tidy and free from any distractions, things like lighting and audio are also important to ensure that your audience can clearly see your facial expressions and hear the points you are making.

3 Managing the meeting

A traditional presentation held in-person will typically be interactive and encourage participation from the audience.

With video calls, there is more effort required to involve audience members and communicate with them during the meeting.

Things like sharing documents and files and managing transitions and time effectively will all help to create a successful virtual presentation.

4 Pitching in a virtual environment

Leaving a good impression during a video call is just as important as presenting in a physical meeting. A confident speaker on a virtual call should be able to achieve the following:
- Building trust with the audience
- Leave a positive lasting impression
- Follow the Four-Level Listening Model
- Maximise impact with the five senses
- Present with impact.
We are currently offering 90-minute sessions with forum theatre activities to help build the crucial skills needed to pitch and present online.

These courses are designed to be engaging and impactful, and participants come away with practical tools that they can apply immediately.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON OUR COURSES ON HOW TO PITCH AND PRESENT ON VIDEO CALLS, PLEASE CONTACT MDA TRAINING TODAY.
July 23, 2020
What skills are employers looking for in banking graduates?
With so many fresh-faced graduates trying desperately to get their foot in the door of the banking industry, it can be hard to differentiate between the mass of applicants, each with similar qualifications and experience.

In order to identify which graduates are best suited for a role in banking, employers need to look beyond the basic requirements and try and ascertain whether or not the candidate has the skills that they need to succeed in the role they are applying for.

We have identified three necessary skills that employers are looking for in banking graduates. These are:
- Commercial skills
- Communication skills
- Time management skills.
Commercial skills

Possessing commercial skills is an essential attribute for any individual in the banking sector, so it is crucial that graduate hires have basic commercial skills that they will be able to build on and strengthen over the course of their career.

Commercial skills are especially invaluable in the current financial climate, where a strong sense of awareness around market developments, emerging technologies, internal processes etc. can be the deciding factor in whether or not businesses succeed or fail.

We have previously spoken about the importance of commercial skills, and how they are crucial in helping employees to gain a deeper understanding of competitors, the financial implications of their decisions and prioritisation.

Communication skills

Communication skills are a must, no matter which sector of banking a graduate is going into. Employers should ensure that graduates have outstanding communication skills, so that they can communicate effectively with both clients and colleagues.

Giovanna Miceli, talent acquisition leader at Marsh & McLennan Companies, commented that: “In the finance sector, (graduates will be) be working with both finance professionals and people with limited financial knowledge.” This means that individuals looking to progress in this sector should be able to converse with colleagues in a professional manner, and also convey complex financial information to a wide range of clients.

An effective way for employers to gauge how good a graduate’s communication skills are is to take note of how they answer interview questions, and whether the way that they communicate is clear, friendly and professional.

Time management skills

Time management skills and organisation are inseparable skills, and if an individual has one, then they doubtless have the other. Both are key skills that employers should be looking for in graduate hires.

Time management is a particularly invaluable skill in banking, being such a competitive and fast-paced industry. Individuals will often have several tasks on their heads, each ranging in importance and duration. In order to be efficient, individuals need to possess time management skills that allow them to organise their workload so they can reach their deadlines and goals.

We have discussed previously how important time management can be in banking, not only for better organisation of workload, but also for the improved wellbeing of employees. Poor time management skills can add hours onto an individual’s day due to unproductive activities and lack of prioritisation, which can pile undue stress and pressure onto employees. This makes time management an incredibly important skill, which is why employers look for banking graduates who already have an innate ability to organise their schedule effectively.

In conclusion

Employers in the banking sector are inherently looking for graduate hires to show that they possess a wide range of skills, including communication, time management and commercial awareness, as these will underpin the day to day tasks of the entire workforce.

However, regardless of whether or not a new hire displays these skills, it is important for their progression that they are given continual support in learning how to hone them. This is where graduate training programmes come in.

Here at MDA Training, we offer bespoke commercial banking simulations that can help to develop core skills by utilising digital solutions and experiential learning.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE GRADUATE BANKING TRAINING PROGRAMMES WE PROVIDE, CONTACT MDA TRAINING TODAY.
February 25, 2020
Have you perfected your onboarding strategy in banking?
Onboarding is the process of integrating new hires within your company culture and processes, while also equipping individuals with the tools and skills that they need to become a productive team member.

Creating an effective and thorough onboarding strategy is particularly essential in the banking sector, as it gives prospective employees an overview of the current state of the industry and introduces them to the products and values of your bank.

This is especially important when onboarding graduates, as they are likely to be new to the realities of working in the competitive banking environment. By investing in the right graduate training solution, you can give your new hires the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in their role and to understand the structure of the bank. It also serves as a great way to ease their transition and integration with other employees.

Why is an onboarding strategy important in banking?

Onboarding is particularly important in the banking sector as new legislation and technologies are constantly influencing change to essential processes. Onboarding allows new hires and graduates to develop the crucial skills needed to perform to the best of their abilities and in line with the company’s aims and objectives.

Creating an effective onboarding strategy can also serve as a surefire way to attract both experienced individuals and graduate talent to your bank, as it signals to potential employees that your business will support them professionally with regular training opportunities.

A well-thought-out onboarding strategy is also essential to retaining talent, as individuals will feel welcomed and supported from the beginning of their careers. This is especially true with graduate hires who are just setting out on their professional banking journey.

Providing a clear focus towards onboarding as part of your graduate training programmes is a great way to boost the confidence of new hires and graduates. Experiential learning exercises, such as business simulations and virtual learning, give individuals the opportunity to get up to speed with the processes of your bank while exploring real-life scenarios in a safe environment.

MDA Training’s approach to onboarding in the banking sector

Here at MDA Training, we believe in learning by doing. We offer a wide range of experiential learning onboarding and graduate training programmes to help perfect your bank’s strategy.

There are several areas we specialise in, including:
- Bank strategy
- Measuring and managing risk
- Forensic audit activity
- Dealing with code of conduct breaches
Each of the areas in our graduate training programmes are designed to truly engage and motivate your new hires, fully integrating them within the business. Using these methods, you will be able to implement your processes with ease and give graduate hires the opportunity to launch their careers with a solid understanding of your bank’s aims and objectives.

For more information on the graduate training programmes that we offer, view our sample programme here.

In summary

Perfecting your bank’s onboarding strategy is an essential step in ensuring that your business is an attractive place to work for both experienced hires and graduate talent, as well as improving staff retention.

In light of this, it is important that your bank takes steps to include comprehensive onboarding as part of your graduate training programmes.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAMMES WE PROVIDE FOR BANKS, CONTACT MDA TRAINING TODAY.
January 8, 2020
Why your business should adopt experiential learning this year
Experiential learning can be defined as learning by doing, meaning that participants learn new skills through exercises that simulate real-life situations.

This method is being widely adopted as a respected learning technique in business due to its success in helping employees to retain more learning material, approach business decisions and scenarios with more confidence and bond with their team members.

There are some types of experiential learning that are especially beneficial in a business environment, examples of these are: business simulations, virtual reality and e-learning platforms.

Here are three compelling reasons why your business should adopt experiential learning in 2024:
- Technology and automation
- Promoting collaboration in the workplace
- Integrating new hires/graduates into the business with ease
Technology and automation

Technology and automation are increasingly replacing time-consuming and repetitive human tasks in the workplace. While this is a positive for businesses in terms of saving time and money, unfamiliar tech can pose difficulties to employees.

Experiential learning and virtual learning is the perfect way to introduce employees to new technologies, as it gives them the opportunity to actively engage with them and experience them in a simulated scenario so that they can become familiar and comfortable with new innovations.

Allowing employees this opportunity to get to grips with new technologies in a safe and controlled environment will give them the confidence and knowledge that they need to perform their roles to the best of their abilities in the future.

Promoting collaboration in the workplace

Team experiential learning activities are a great opportunity to strengthen the bond between employees and promote a culture of collaboration in the workplace.

Because experiential learning is hands-on and demands that participants actively take part, team members have a unique opportunity to bond over specific learning activities, through which they can gain a deeper understanding of each others strengths, weaknesses and working styles.

This in-depth understanding of each individual will aid in smooth communication between employees and greater collaboration over projects in the future.

Experiential learning also allows individuals to explore business scenarios together in a risk-free environment. By removing the usual stress and pressure associated with these scenarios, participants have the opportunity to see each other in a new light and voice opinions that they may have previously lacked the confidence to.

Integrating new hires/graduates into the business with ease

Joining a new workplace can be a daunting experience for new hires, especially graduates who are unfamiliar to the world of professional work.

Experiential learning can provide businesses with a way to help new hires and graduates to “dip a toe” in the business in a completely risk-free way, to build confidence and introduce them to company culture, and other employees.

Allowing new hires and graduates with ample opportunities to experience business situations that they will come across while working means that they have a chance to confront unfamiliar scenarios without the pressure of making the wrong decision. This, in turn, will lead to greater confidence in their roles and future decisions as a part of the company.

For more information, read our blog on improving employee confidence through experiential learning here.

By adopting experiential learning methods as part of your workplace training strategy in 2024, your business could reap the benefits of more confident use of technology, stronger teams, and easier integration of new hires and employees.

Through the promotion of experiential learning, you are equipping employees with so much more than mere learning material, facts and processes; you are equipping them with the confidence and first-hand experience of applying what they have learned.

This is sure to strengthen the skill-set of your workforce in the years to come, and create an overall more powerful and unified workforce.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAMMES FOR YOUR BUSINESS IN 2024, CONTACT MDA TRAINING TODAY.
November 30, 2019
How can experiential learning benefit your graduate employees?

Some of the biggest companies around the world are opting to implement experiential learning by utilising technology to help employees learn across a range of industries.

This method of learning allows employees to undergo hands-on experiences and receive customised training which has been recognised as building emotional and social intelligence. Our experiences as employees, both inside and outside of work, often have a greater impact on our lives than classroom learning, which is why experiential learning is so highly favoured to bolster existing traditional learning.

For graduate employees, who may have spent the past three to four years sat in lecture halls and seminars, experiential training will likely be a welcomed fresh approach to learning. Utilising this method of learning for students is a great way to engage them and support them in understanding the workplace through involvement in ‘real-life’ scenarios ahead of being exposed to actual stakeholders.

Upskilling

Through offering a blended learning approach, companies can offer employees the potential to team their classroom learning and paperwork with experiences which will seek to upskill them and as a result, built more capable employees.

Upskilling is important to ensure that a business can retain its stakeholders, through the work their employees do. By guiding graduate recruits through the process of managing stakeholder relationships within an experiential learning experience, they can better understand processes in a safe environment which will offer them the capability to test out new approaches and ideas with confidence.

Upskilling through experiential learning also improves the overarching value of a business. Employees are better able to improve their skills in an interactive training environment and through hands-on activities. This allows them to grow their knowledge through experiences, solving day-to-day business challenges and then passing their knowledge on to colleagues, through both their actions and internal knowledge sharing opportunities.

One of the key benefits to a company of upskilling through experiential learning is the capability to boost employee retention by minimising some of the core reasons for employees leaving. Through encouraging employees to seek out new skills, not only for the benefit of the organisation but also to fuel their personal interests, a business is likely to see an increase in productivity, improved overall happiness and employees will be in a more desirable position to move into management positions or develop the potential to become a mentor.

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is quickly become recognised as a core skill required in business, particularly for those in leadership, therefore developing this across the board, within new recruits and graduates, will result in a workforce of people who can exert this skill in their daily responsibilities.

Emotional intelligence can be built through experiential learning and allows individuals to grow into balanced and holistic leaders. The skills encompassed allow people to be more effective in terms of their decisions and behaviours and allow them to communicate their visions and strategy to their team and drive loyalty.

Through a degree of uncertainty, which can be established through an experiential approach to learning, emotional reactions can be invoked in people, and compel them to act in a particular way. These challenges can move learners to increase their self-awareness and build emotional resilience, whilst also growing a better understanding of how their actions and decisions affect the wider workforce and business. As a result, companies can utilise this approach to reveal graduates who should be fast-tracked or nurtured further to become the management team of tomorrow.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING METHODS FOR GRADUATES, CONTACT MDA TRAINING TODAY.

September 24, 2018
How can your graduate training boost the effectiveness of your company culture?

In 2017, the number of graduate positions was increased by employers by almost 5%, opening up even more entrances into leading global companies than ever before.

This will benefit millennial and Gen Z jobseekers, fresh out of university, and will also open up opportunities for businesses to expand their internal knowledge and build a more expansive digital service offering through taking advantage of the digital native backgrounds which the majority of employees from these generations have.

There a number of methods to ensure that graduate training programmes and recruitment are optimised to ensure they benefit both the employees and the company culture in a positive manner.

Ensure access to progression and opportunities

Companies who offer graduate training programmes with an ongoing career trajectory will find themselves considerably more favourable than those who fail to nurture their new employees. Through implementing options to move their career onwards, with multiple options to progress within the company can result in improved staff retention and boosted morale. Ensuring that learning is occurring in order to move both vertically and horizontally will support engaging with graduates of all skill levels.

Whilst earning a steady income is important to graduates, they also have a desire to continue to learn and develop their skills and knowledge, supported by a company who can provide them with advice, both personally and professionally.

Millennials and Gen Z are particularly passionate about taking accountability for projects and gaining significant leadership experience, which can be integrated into the graduate training programmes through working alongside experienced management, particularly those who are not their day-to-day line manages which will allow them to talk about concerns and identify alternative ways to manage within their role.

Tailor your graduate training to the audience

In order for a graduate training programme to be effective, it must be tailored to meet the needs of your employees. It must also ensure that it uses the terminology and platforms that will be most welcomed by the target audience.

Identifying the most important elements of the job to your new employees will also help build a culture which ensures they are motivated effectively by offering them the opportunities and benefits they want.

In order to do this, businesses must exact research by speaking to students and graduates, both through surveys and face to face, to ensure that they build a good understanding of the elements which will attract these future employees to chose your company for their career. This should include attitudes, lifestyle changes and reflection of their personal values.

Overhaul traditional or outdated practises within recruitment

Traditional methods of graduate recruitment will soon be completely obsolete, with outdated methods more likely to push away prospective graduate employees, than engage them.

Through partnering with a college or university, businesses can establish the most effective ways to engage with their future employees and merge with these institutions to optimise their recruitment outreach programmes.

Linking up with an academic body can also bring value to the recruitment practices of a business, with the support of a recognised university or college offering them the ability to access a wealth of students, provide them with unique opportunities and speak to them directly.

Ensure ROI

Finally, your graduate training must be cost-effective, with a business investing large sums of capital into these schemes, success cannot be guaranteed but talent management must be able to optimise to ensure the most effective results.

Programmes should look to promote the learning of tangible and beneficial skills to the company and the individuals, supported by offering employees access to benefits which will improve their work-life balance.

A healthy balance of progression opportunities, ongoing learning and ensuring the attributes of the job that are highly valued by the individual continue to deliver, are all key elements to retaining staff and therefore improve ROI through reduced recruitment fees.

FOR A BESPOKE GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAMME DESIGNED TO REFLECT YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS, CONTACT MDA TODAY.

February 12, 2018
How can your business integrate AI through graduate training?

Graduate training can be utilised to support new hires integrate more effectively into a workplace or ensure that they are equipped with the core basic skills required to do their job most effectively.

Graduate training can also be the best time to assimilate your employees with the use of AI, how this fits in with their specific job role and how the company will evolve in the future, due to increased use of AI. The benefit of implementing this at a graduate level is that the majority of graduates will most likely be, at this point, millennials and Gen Z. Therefore, your business will typically find that they more easily adopt technology and are the perfect core generations to integrate these changes.

Human cooperation with AI

There is an underlying fear within a number of industries, that AI will ‘take-over’ a considerable number of jobs in the next five to ten years. However, employers should prepare their employees to work alongside AI, rather than against it, ensuring that they can understand how it integrates with their role and how it supports their productivity. Employees will likely find AI integrated into their job role but also into the way they are managed and trained.

It is also important for graduate training to emphasise that very few occupations will, in fact, be fully automated. Instead, AI will take care of certain activities which will improve business processes, resulting in changes in job roles in order to maintain these systems and work in harmony. One of the key points that need to be reiterated during graduate training is that automation will result in your employees having to undertake less monotonous tasks, typically deemed unfavourable by many.

The second point to drive in the workforce is how AI will augment the company and through the application of data analytics, the businesses will be able to access deeper insights into their customer’s behaviours.

Finally, graduate training should aim to discuss how AI can amplify the workflow. Through redesigning particular process and moving these to be performed by AI, businesses can refocus their human resource to provide services such as advising clients and providing high levels of customer service.

Talent acquisition

Utilising AI to source candidates is one of the most notable changes occurring within the HR function. Notably, IBM has created a suite of HR tools, which integrate machine learning to both support candidates through a personalised job search and allow for talented individuals to be matched to suitable roles more quickly and effectively. Talent management can also integrate methods of establishing capabilities of applicants in regards to a specific skill set requirement. This prior experience and knowledge baseline will then be able to be used in creating more effective graduate training course, by establishing a baseline knowledge for the content which will be covered in the course.

Virtual coaching and microlearning

Graduate training for the millennial and Gen Z generations should also look to integrate microlearning and virtual coaching. Tools such as chatbots and automated responses can be utilised to support online training programmes and reinforce learning. Some businesses are already utilising this technology to test their employees in how to deal with specific conversations, provide business simulations of difficult conversations with customers or coworkers or even teach them how to sell a specific product and the best terminology to use in order to achieve the optimum result.

FOR BESPOKE GRADUATE TRAINING COURSES THAT INTEGRATE AI, CONTACT MDA TRAINING TODAY.

January 17, 2018