Stop looking beyond your town and use local resources to grow the workforce that meets your employment needs. Invest in workers, pay them well, but also help them develop personally and professionally. The best way to do this is to develop and USE an educational reimbursement program (ERPs).
Many companies have ERPs, however, less than 7% of employees use the benefit. Consequently, those that do use the benefit are 80% more likely to stay with the company and to feel valued by the organization. These worker-learners are also more likely to refer a friend to the company which can help to alleviate the employee shortage problem that most organizations are facing.
Fully online learning programs should not be the mission of businesses or learning providers. Businesses should fight the urge to simplify their training portfolio and institute guardrails around the usage of online learning that includes, at a minimum, a hybrid approach. Students who attend face-to-face classes gain access to networks and experiences that they do not effectively get online.
The online learner has no allegiance to the online learning provider, and, in many cases, the student is simply going through the motions to complete the course, not because they are curious or engaged, but because they feel the need to just get through the course. We’ve made a world of exceptional test takers who lack humility, collaboration, critical thinking, or a passion for learning. They know how to check boxes, but they have zero understanding of the who, what, why, or how, which are vital to the brain’s ability to understand and recall information when needed.
Local colleges and technical schools are struggling, and this is tragic, because they can be businesses’ greatest asset when it comes to attracting, retaining, and motivating workers. Online job boards and large employment agencies may be able to offer businesses access to 10 million resumes, but, small-town America, guess what? You’re lucky if these services have 3 prospects, from your location, that will be useful to your search.
Site-based learning providers offer work-learn options like apprenticeships and internships that are effective at upskilling workers. However, the motivation problem often still exists because most students have no idea what they want to do for a career. They don’t have enough input or experience to know what is available to them and when they enroll in work-based learning they are, again, just going through the motions to get the job and they rarely consider if it matches who they are or what they like to do. These work-learn solutions, use education to grow employees, may still lead to disengagement and high dropout rates because the employees miss the purpose and understanding of how they are valued within the organization.
To reimagine the work-learn problem, Dream2Career developed what is called Micro-Drip Learning to help employees understand their value to the organization, so they know who they are and what they bring to their employer. Through the consumption of daily 15-min microcourses, users gain confidence, interest, and hope through learning and gamification.
These courses are designed to help users to understand their strengths, and weaknesses, and the strengths of our differences. Through these shared experiences, users find like-minded people, engage in local events, and they learn about educational opportunities that help them develop personally and professionally.
Imagine having employees that love to come to work every day because they are working in or towards their dream career. They become inspired to participate and contribute because you are helping them to learn and grow and you’re giving them access to opportunities that make life worth living.
If you’d like to learn more about Micro-Drip Learning and how to integrated it in with your current Educational Reimbursement Program, or if you’d like to design a new ERP and use education as a benefit, with significant tax breaks, contact Dream2Career.
Contact Kathy Houlihan at khoulihan@dream2career.org
