Using AI to Reinforce and Practice Skills

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How to Use AI to Reinforce and Practice Skills Before Money Is on the Line

Each employee needs to master a certain set of skills and competencies to be successful in their role. A strong training program is key to ensuring employees have what it takes. But on its own, training isn’t enough.

You’re likely familiar with the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve, a mathematical formula from the 1880s showing that humans forget about half of new information within an hour—and 70 percent within 24 hours. More recently, Gartner found that B2B sales representatives forget 70 percent of information they learned in training within one week; 87 percent is lost within a month.

It seems obvious, but employees can’t apply their learning on the job if they can’t remember what they learned. As such, organizations must focus on reinforcement so employees have opportunities to hone their skills and master new ones before money is on the line.

Reinforcement Efforts Are Often Inefficient and Ineffective

Most training and enablement teams understand the importance of reinforcement. Yet, many approach it in an ineffective way—and nearly impossible to scale.
Some organizations require all employees who undergo specific training to complete the same reinforcement practices and tasks. Each employee must “check the box”—even if they’ve already mastered the skill in question. This leads to disengagement and a reluctance to participate in future training initiatives.

Other organizations attempt to deliver more personalized reinforcement opportunities, with varying levels of success. But often, they waste much time and manual effort in doing so. For example, consider a sales manager overseeing a team of 10 sales reps with varying levels of skills and experience. That sales leader must sit on several of their reps’ sales calls to determine the skills they’ve mastered and identify the ones for which reinforcement is needed. The manager must then determine what reinforcement is appropriate for the rep’s individual needs. If something doesn’t already exist, they may have to create it themselves—or work with the training or enablement team to set the wheels in motion.

Neither approach is effective—or efficient.

AI Can Supercharge Your Reinforcement Efforts

Today, the world seems to be buzzing about artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential to influence (and improve) our personal and professional lives. In fact, the most innovative businesses have already started tapping into the tremendous potential of AI.
It can seem overwhelming to dip your toes into the world of AI. But it doesn’t have to be. There are plenty of opportunities for learning and development professionals to leverage AI, and many are easy to implement.

AI can be especially useful in delivering reinforcement opportunities that are personalized to each individual—and scalable. Let’s examine a few practical applications.

Automate Training Development

Let’s face it: Developing a new training takes time. According to the 2023 State of Sales Productivity Report, it takes an average of three to four weeks to launch a new program.
You may not have the time it takes to develop each reinforcement activity from scratch. This is especially true if you’re working with a smaller-than-typical training team due to a reduction in force (RIF).

Winning organizations are tapping into AI to simplify the setup of role-plays and other reinforcement opportunities. Have AI create a role-play scenario to test and upskill your teams on new messaging, a new product or service launch, or an upcoming renewal conversation. By giving AI a description of the scenario and topics to cover, your scenario description and module are auto-created as well as a scoring rubric in seconds. AI can take the guesswork out of creating reinforcement, which means your teams have more time to tackle strategic initiatives.

Automate Role-Play Reviews

Role-plays can effectively help employees practice their skills and ensure they’ve absorbed information learned in training. Traditionally, role-plays are conducted in person or, if done virtually, managers review virtual submissions to provide coaching and feedback. Either way, these exercises require a ton of time on the manager’s part—especially for those with larger teams.
Today, organizations are using AI to scale role-play scenarios without requiring a huge commitment from managers. AI can review and grade role-plays at scale, either completely alleviating the need for human intervention or acting as an initial reviewer, so managers can prioritize their focus on team members who need additional coaching. AI can also help team members improve before they submit their final role-play by delivering instant recommendations for improvement.

Understand What’s Happening in the Field

Let’s say an employee is nailing their role-plays and other reinforcement activities. But once they get in the field, things go sour. They struggle to articulate the problem, so you’re unsure what kind of reinforcement will help.


In the past, managers would have to sit in on several of this employee’s calls to get an idea of where things were going wrong. But sitting in on calls takes time, and you probably don’t have much to spare.

These days, organizations can leverage AI to understand what’s happening in the field—without attending calls or poring over transcripts. AI can highlight key moments, objections, and customer pain points during calls. Leading organizations use AI to analyze, transcribe, and answer questions about recorded calls. Managers can tap into these insights to quickly prioritize their call reviews and deliver coaching and reinforcement that will improve outcomes.

Uncover Key Training Insights Quickly

Personalized, effective reinforcement requires the right data. For example, you need to know what training programs are adopted the most, the least, and why.
Most organizations have no shortage of data. But it can be challenging to pull data from multiple dashboards and reports—and then make sense of it all. Sometimes, you have to dig through multiple dashboards and pages of reports just to deduce one key data point.

With AI, you can derive quick, actionable insights from data. With AI’s impressive query abilities, organizations can ask questions to an AI assistant about training data within their platform and quick answers. For example, you can ask, “Which training program has the lowest completion score?” or “In the last quarter, which employee had the highest performance scores in our onboarding course?” Now, with quick access to data that’s been turned into insights, training, and enablement, professionals can better inform their strategic tasks and planning initiatives.

Tap Into AI to Boost Retention on Your Teams

On its own, training isn’t enough to ensure skill and messaging mastery. Reinforcement is key to ensuring learning sticks—and it is applied when it matters.
Today, AI empowers organizations to deliver reinforcement that’s personalized to the needs of each employee. That means your employees will always have what it takes in the moments that matter.


6 Vital Skills Essential for Career Development in 2024 and Beyond

In a world buzzing with rapid tech advancements, it’s crucial for employees to keep polishing their skills to stay on top. Standing still is a one-way ticket to falling behind. Skills must evolve. Mastering digital literacy, adaptability, critical thinking, and more isn’t a feather in the cap—it’s essential. But the journey to skill excellence demands a steadfast commitment to learning.

Let’s delve into this dynamic landscape and discover what employees need to propel their career to remarkable heights.

Navigating the Future With Digital Skills

In this evolving landscape where workplaces are driven by frontier technologies, digital skills are an absolute necessity. These skills empower people to harness the fullest potential of cutting-edge technology. Proficiency in digital skills facilitates effective communication, problem-solving, and more—skills that are essential in a tech-driven work environment.
Without these skills, people risk being left behind in an increasingly digital world, where technology shapes how we work and interact.

Sixty-five percent of HR managers believe that digital skills will be essential in a new workplace shaped by AI and automation, according to a TalentLMS study. At the same time, 50 percent of all employees will need to reskill by 2025 as the adoption of technology increases.

These are the digital skills that are considered top priorities based on the TalentLMS study:


1. Using AI Tools
AI tools empower people and businesses to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and innovation across various sectors. By harnessing the power of AI, once time-consuming and manual tasks can now be automated. This frees up valuable time and resources.

importance of upskilling in AI-drive world
Also, insights brought by AI tools offer tremendous decision-making capabilities based on data. AI tools analyze big amounts of data quickly and accurately. As a result, organizations can identify patterns and trends that might have been overlooked by human analysts.
This enables businesses to make informed choices, optimize processes, and stay competitive and responsive to changing trends.

2. Digital Literacy
Being savvy with all things digital isn’t just a bonus in the modern workplace–it’s a must. Digital literacy means being comfortable with technology, from basic tools to complex platforms.

Employees should know how to handle computerized information. Whether it’s email, spreadsheets, or new apps, being digitally literate helps people communicate better, work smarter, and adapt faster.

3. Digital Enablement
Digital enablement is key to career success. Being digitally enabled means people are equipped to tackle challenges and seize opportunities.

It’s a superpower that lets people navigate the digital landscape with ease, from using software to analyzing data. Individuals know how to choose the right technology so that a system, device, platform, or tool serves its purpose. Plus, they can create an environment where digital transformation can flourish.

By embracing digital enablement, individuals stand out to employers, boost their productivity, and future-proof their career in a tech-driven era.

Beyond Digital Competencies: Interpersonal, Cognitive, and Self-Management Skills

While digital skills are undeniably essential, a truly successful career journey needs more than just technical prowess. Honing interpersonal skills for effective communication, cognitive skills for critical thinking, and self-management abilities for staying organized and motivated are equally important.
Consider the process of building such skills like crafting a well-balanced toolkit, where each skill complements the others. This approach helps individuals elevate their career and enable them to thrive in diverse scenarios.

According to the TalentLMS study, these are the top-rated skills from this category:

1. Active Listening
When people truly listen, they connect, understand, and build strong relationships. By honing active listening skills, employees enhance teamwork, boost problem-solving, and grasp even the most subtle differences. At the same time, active listening assists individuals in showing respect, gaining insights, and becoming go-to collaborators.

2. Problem Solving
In every role and industry, challenges arise. When people are fueled with strong problem-solving abilities, they’re not just identifying problems; they find solutions. Problem-solving skills demonstrate adaptability, creativity, and critical thinking. People who possess these skills are able to tackle tricky situations and become indispensable assets to organizations.

3. Adaptability and Agility
Things change fast in this dynamic world of continuous transformation. And people who can pivot and thrive in these changes come out on top. Adaptable individuals are ready to embrace challenges and learn new things. At the same time, agility lets employees navigate uncertainty with particular finesse.

Adaptability and agility combined form a powerful skills duo that allows people to be one step ahead and conquer whatever comes their way in their career path.

Unveiling the Deeper Layers of Skills Development

Skills development is not just about mastering digital competencies. It’s all about how people connect with others, think, and manage themselves. As such, a balanced, well-rounded skillset paves the way for success.
Yet, reaching career success is more like a team effort, with companies holding a vital role. Forward-thinking organizations are aware that skills development really matters.

So, businesses should focus on evaluating employee skills, spot skills gaps, and then implement a solid L&D strategy, with upskilling and reskilling being among their top priorities. Giving employees all they need to shine and stay sharp in today’s ever-changing world is a win-win collaboration where everyone’s growth is essential.


Source Link : https://www.td.org/atd-blog/6-vital-skills-essential-for-career-development-in-2024-and-beyond