Why Learning Analytics Is a Powerful Tool?
The success of any organization in today’s fast-paced world is heavily dependent on their employee experience (EX). While improving EX is a multi-faceted undertaking, providing learning and development opportunities is proven to have a significant impact. In fact, according to a recent survey, upskilling and career advancement opportunities are proven to improve employee engagement by up to 82%! According to a 2022 LinkedIn analysis, learning opportunities are the most influential factor in modern workplace culture and employee engagement. Furthermore, we live in the golden age of data – every organization today has huge volumes of data that can be put to use to create lucrative learning and development opportunities.
Of course, it’s easier said than done; it is challenging to successfully use data to improve employees’ learning experiences – it includes everything from determining how many employees have attended training sessions, and assessing the impact of the training to identifying skill gaps, tracking incomplete sessions, measuring engagement rates in various sessions, evaluating employee performance using data from various sources, and much more. But there exists a single solution that can help address these challenges head-on: Learning Analytics.
Why Learning Analytics will always be a powerful tool
Even though learning analytics is not a novel concept, it is a robust solution that employs computational analysis approaches like Data Science and Artificial Intelligence to derive insights into employee performance and identify training gaps based on actual data. It facilitates data centralization and analysis, ensuring data quality and consistency. Today, many organizations actively use learning analytics to bridge skill gaps, make informed decisions, and develop a data-driven culture to increase employee performance and training efficacy, eventually using data to promote good changes in the workplace.
The good thing about learning analytics is that it is not only useful for organizations; it is also a powerful tool for employees. Data insights, generated with learning analytics, can enable employees to personalize their learning experience to their unique needs, enhancing their focus on skill development.
How to put learning analytics to work: A case study
Based on the premise, we at Adeptus recently completed a project where we integrated learning analytics into the Learning Management System (LMS) of our client organization for their new hires. The client organization wanted to onboard the new hires into their learning initiatives from the beginning. When a new employee joins, the platform generates a profile with their name, designation, qualifications, and areas of expertise. After establishing their profile, the system provides a variety of educational resources to assist users in expanding their knowledge and assigns them personalized skills-based tasks with a deadline.
When they complete the tasks, the platform displays simple progress charts and graphs on their intuitive dashboard. These visual aids not only assist employees in monitoring their progress but also enable employers to continuously assess their development. Moreover, based on the performance of the employees, the platform recommends additional courses to enhance their skill sets.
Suggested Read: Learning Analytics for Employers: Connecting the Dots from Up-skilling to Business Growth
Serving more than one goal
The introduction of learning analytics in the client’s LMS had a two-fold benefit: it increased employee efficiency and enabled employers to identify and address any challenges their employees were facing, thereby boosting their employee experience and improving their ROI.
| How learning analytics benefited the employees | How learning analytics benefited the employer |
| Provided data-driven personalized learning from the beginning of their journey in the organization. Helped them shape their own learning path. Improved their motivation to learn by providing clear objectives and tracking progress. Offered them a comprehensive view of their accomplishments with transparent performance metrics, fostering a sense of responsibility and motivation. | Enabled data-driven decision-making. Helped optimize resource allocation, thereby enhancing employee performance. Provided them better control over upskilling initiative. Helped strategically assign training resources, maximizing their return on investment (ROI). |
Towards a data-driven future
Learning analytics is not just about individual development; it is also about the success of the organization as a whole. With AI becoming more mainstream in the past year, learning analytics is all set to become more advanced in the coming years. It will serve as a reliable guide, delving into data to uncover employee performance insights. Coupling it with immersive technologies like Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality will potentially transform employee training into thrilling adventures that will make learning more interactive and engaging. Together, they will equip and guide organizations through the complexities of operational excellence and innovation. Exciting times ahead!
Adeptus offers technology advisory services and innovative solutions to businesses that are looking to embrace emerging technologies. Learn more about us and see all the exciting projects we’ve done so far. We can also be reached at connect@adeptustech.com.
Authors: Pravin Kulange and Amit Kaveeshwar