The Difference Between Digital Literacy and Fluency and Why They Matter to the Modern Workplace

Are you digitally literate?

Or are you digitally fluent?

You might be scratching your head, wondering if there’s even a difference between the two. Technology plays an integral role in the modern workplace, and understanding the difference between digital literacy and digital fluency is essential.

Digital literacy refers to the ability to navigate and utilize digital tools and technologies effectively at work. It’s about having fundamental skills in computers, using software, and using at least basic workplace technology.

This would typically include tasks such as using the standard Microsoft Office or Google Workspace tools, common email tasks and etiquette, and more. These are all aspects of digital literacy that form the foundation for engaging with technology in the workplace.

However, digital literacy alone isn’t sufficient in today’s fast-paced and tech-driven environment. That’s where digital fluency comes in. It’s a term that goes beyond mere competence with standard digital tools.

Digital fluency encompasses a deeper understanding and proficiency in leveraging technology to solve complex workplace problems, communicate effectively, and adapt to a constantly changing digital environment.

It can involve knowing how to use specific company systems effectively for a job. It can also go beyond that, requiring the ability to think critically, innovate, and collaborate efficiently using digital platforms.

There’s a definite difference between the two, and it can even be seen at a basic level with software like Microsoft Word. Are you opening Word to create a document, saving it locally, and emailing endless copies, or are you collaborating effectively through the sharing tools of Office 365 without duplicating documents, among other faux pas seen regularly?

Why do these distinctions matter in the modern workplace?

Organizations that prioritize digital literacy and fluency among their employees gain a competitive edge in today’s digital economy. Some roles may require fluency, whereas some literacy will do.

Those who are digitally literate can navigate software effectively and learn new digital skills. On the other hand, those who go beyond digital literacy and develop fluency become invaluable assets, driving innovation and leading digital transformation within their organizations.

This post explains the difference between digital literacy and digital fluency more fully. More importantly, it explores why these skills matter in the modern workplace and how organizations can encourage them among their workforce.

The Definition and Importance of Digital Literacy

Digital literacy refers to the ability to navigate and utilize workplace digital tools and technologies effectively. In most modern workplaces, at least basic digital literacy is essential for employees at all levels. It provides a foundation for engaging with technology and enables individuals to adapt to new software and emerging technologies.

Employees with strong digital literacy skills can, for the most part, effectively use workplace systems for their jobs. They may not go beyond the basics, but they get the work done.

Digital literacy empowers employees to do their jobs with technology and effectively learn how to use technology to do their jobs. They may not like change and may take longer to learn, but they do it and adapt in the long run.

In today’s interconnected world, almost every job requires some level of interaction with technology. From healthcare professionals using electronic medical records to marketing teams utilizing social media platforms for campaigns, digital literacy has become a fundamental skill set across diverse sectors.

The Definition and Importance of Digital Fluency

Digital fluency goes beyond basic competence (literacy) with digital tools. It also goes beyond basic willingness to learn only what’s taught to them about systems and not exploring ways to do things better.

Being digitally fluent represents a deeper understanding and proficiency in leveraging technology to solve complex problems, communicate effectively, and adapt to ever-changing digital landscapes in the workplace.

Digitally fluent individuals possess technical skills and take it a step further. They’re typically willing to learn new technology, want to try out the latest stuff, and even find new ways to use it.

Digital fluency goes beyond learning only what’s needed for their job to doing more with technology. They can think creatively about how technology can streamline processes or improve outcomes.

The digitally fluent will adapt quickly as new technologies emerge and are comfortable exploring and experimenting with different digital tools.

Digital fluency is highly valued in the modern workplace. Organizations with digitally fluent employees are better equipped to drive innovation and lead digital transformation within their industries. These individuals can identify opportunities for improvement, implement technological solutions, and inspire others to embrace new ways of working.

Digital fluency is critical for professionals who want to thrive in the digital age. It enables individuals to stay ahead of the curve, embrace emerging technologies, and contribute to the success of their organizations at a higher level.

Understanding the Difference Between Digital Literacy and Digital Fluency

While digital literacy and digital fluency are essential in the modern workplace, the two have distinct differences.

Digital literacy is the basic skills required to use company technology for the most part effectively. Digital literacy provides individuals with a foundation for engaging with technology in their work.

On the other hand, digital fluency goes beyond basic competence. It involves a willingness to go beyond the basics of using technology for the job. They possess a curiosity that allows them to explore and do new things that those who are merely digitally literate might never think of.

The difference between the two lies in employees’ willingness to go beyond the technology they learn from the workplace and explore new ways of doing things. Here are the basics of each one so you can pick out the differences.

• Digital Literacy: The basic skills required to use workplace technology effectively to accomplish what’s necessary for the job.
• Digital Fluency: Understands the potential of technology’s applications, applies critical thinking, and is willing to go beyond the basics of using technology for the job.

Both digital literacy and digital fluency are valuable and needed in their own ways, but digital fluency takes the lead in benefits. However, finding employees with digital fluency is harder, and they typically make up a fraction of the workforce.

Why They Matter to the Modern Workplace

Technology and the digitization of the workplace move fast, and it’s essential that employees can keep up. Both literacy and fluency matter, and since not everyone can be fluent, literacy is important, too.

Here are some reasons why both matter to the modern workplace:

• Adaptability: Technology is constantly evolving, and job roles are changing accordingly. Employees with strong digital skills can adapt more readily to these changes. Those who are literate will get by in the workplace, and those who are fluent will push the technology and uses further.
• Efficiency: Productivity and efficiency in the workplace are essential. Digitally literate individuals can utilize technology effectively enough to do their jobs, cool. Being digitally fluent will take efficiency to the next level and help others do the same.
• Collaboration: Digital literacy facilitates collaboration within teams at a basic and important level. Digitally fluent people take it to the next level and help others discover things they wouldn’t typically know.
• Critical Thinking: Those who are digitally literate understand how to do their jobs with technology, but maybe not critically. The digitally fluent will question, figure out better ways, and always think critically about how technology is used for their jobs.
• Career Opportunities: Employers value digital skills when hiring talent. Strong digital skills open up a wide range of career opportunities across industries. Those who are more tech-savvy will have more opportunities.

Digital skills are crucial for individuals to thrive in the modern workplace. It provides a foundation for engaging with technology, adapting to changing demands, and improving overall productivity and efficiency.

Digital literacy will provide the basics for employees to do their jobs, but fluency will take things further. But how do you encourage employees to gain new digital skills?

How to Encourage Digital Skills Growth Among Employees

Several options are available to encourage digital skills growth among employees in the workplace. Custom corporate technical training is a great way to do this.

• Training: Offering workplace technology training is a great way to encourage employees to grow their digital skills. This can range from general digital skills from platforms such as LinkedIn Learning or Udemy to custom digital training solutions built just for your company’s technology and processes.
• Provide Resources: Provide employees with resources such as help articles (aka knowledge base), tutorial videos, or even contextual help. This allows employees to learn at their own pace and acquire the digital skills they need help with at the moment. Just don’t rely on software documentation, as it’s an insufficient way to train employees.
• Internal Mentoring: Establish a mentoring program where digitally literate employees can mentor their colleagues. This creates a supportive learning environment and encourages knowledge-sharing within the organization.
• Recognize and Reward: Recognize and reward employees with strong digital literacy skills through performance evaluations, promotions, or special incentives.
• Continued Learning Opportunities: Encourage employees to engage in continued learning opportunities related to digital skills. This includes attending webinars, conferences, or online courses from sites like Coursera or Google.

Organizations can encourage digital literacy among employees by offering ways for them to grow their digital knowledge. Since this will not simply happen by itself, it’s up to the company to provide professional growth opportunities.

How Custom Corporate Technical Training Encourages Employee’s Digital Skills

You saw above how training encourages growth in digital skills. This section goes deeper into the importance of custom corporate technical training and how it is crucial in motivating employees to grow their digital skills.

Some company technology is similar to that of other organizations, but much of it is unique, or at least the processes are unique. That’s why companies must provide custom corporate technical training. This gives employees a way to learn the specifics of technology used internally.

It’s also a great way to help launch new company technology and onboard new employees. Here are some ways custom corporate technical training encourages digital skills growth.

• Building a Foundation: Custom corporate technical training provides employees with specific digital skills for company tech. The basics are great, but much company technology requires unique processes.
• Closing Skill Gaps: Technical training programs help close the digital skills gap between long-time and new employees, ensuring that all employees have the digital skills required for their roles.
• Promoting Continuous Learning: Custom corporate technical training promotes continuous learning by giving employees resources to learn the specifics of company technology.
• Fostering Collaboration: With a good strategy, custom company technical training can encourage collaboration and provide further learning resources through an enterprise social network.
• Innovation and Problem-Solving: When custom training is built well, it will include scenario-based learning, which encourages employees to put their training into context. This also enables them to innovate on the job better while also solving problems and is especially helpful when paired with software simulations.

Custom corporate technical training encourages employees to sharpen their digital skills more than generic technical training. General training resources should always be available, likely from outside vendors. But more importantly, custom training that’s specific to your company and technology should be available.

Wrap Up

It’s important to have employees with a spectrum of digital skills. Some will be digitally literate, while others will be digitally fluent. Each one adds value to the organization, but both will benefit the organization in different ways.

Just know that digital literacy is knowing the basic digital skills to get the job done. Digital fluency goes beyond basic digital skills to the point of exploring new skills and becoming an expert.

Organizations will gain a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced digital economy by prioritizing digital literacy and fluency among the workforce. Employees who possess these essential skills can adapt readily to changing technologies, drive innovation within their industries, and contribute to the overall success of their organizations.

Every company should always prioritize ensuring employees have the opportunity to grow their skills. This might start with generic technical skills but should also include in-depth custom technical training. It’s essential to employees’ success with company technology.

Schedule a free consultation if you’d like to discuss building custom corporate technical training. We specialize in this type of training to ensure employees know how to use technology for their jobs effectively and have the resources to go beyond that when necessary.