Imagine if every technology project from IT had a positive impact on your organization’s performance. Everything would go so well that every teammate would understand how to use the new tool for their work with the most optimized workflow.
This scenario doesn’t have to be foreign to your organization, but it requires a well-planned effort to train employees. Only when employees know why technology is changing and how to use it will digital transformation projects meet their potential.
The reality of employees who are comfortable with company technology instead of hating on it isn’t far-fetched. With robust technical skills training for employees, it’s not impossible to achieve. But how do you empower non-tech employees who might feel apprehensive about new technology?
The answer lies in training that meets their needs and helps them ease into technical change.
Wouldn’t it be nice if all employees were completely confortable and skilled with the software they’re required to use for their jobs without question?
With the speed at which technology changes and workflows are optimized, the ability to adapt and integrate technological advancements isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a necessity. Often, the most significant barrier to this adaptation is a gap in training. Bridging this gap can unlock unprecedented levels of satisfaction with employees.
Armed with the information from this blog post, you’ll understand the importance and need of empowering non-technical employees with technical skills training. You’ll gain some of the understanding needed to help employees confidently tackle the right processes and ways of using company technology.
Delivering better technical training to employees is the best way to turn employees’ apprehension into empowerment and hesitation into innovation.
Understanding the Importance of Technical Skills for Non-Tech Employees
If you don’t know why technical skills are essential for non-techie employees, that’s about to change. Nobody in the workplace is untouched by the technology managed and deployed by the IT department. That means everyone needs to know how to use the applications relevant to their job.
Technical skills are essential for employees across all departments and industries. The ability to navigate software, understand the correct processes, analyze data, and more is no longer limited to IT professionals.
Non-tech employees who possess these skills can contribute better to their organizations’ success with technical skills. A lot of harm can be done by using company technology incorrectly, which is one reason technical skills are essential.
Employees who have learning opportunities at work are more connected tot their organization.
Lacking technical skills can lead to inaccurate data that creates inefficient processes or, worse, sensitive data being stolen and used against the company or cause expensive lawsuits.
When individuals from diverse backgrounds are equipped with the necessary technical skills, they can work more effectively and ensure that new technology achieves the benefits originally envisioned. But it’s not just about what employees’ skills will do for the company.
Empowering non-tech employees with technical skills training enhances job satisfaction and professional growth. According to the yearly LinkedIn Learning 2024 Workplace Learning Report, 7 in 10 people say learning improves their sense of connection to their organization.
What company doesn’t want its employees to be more connected to its organization? There are many benefits to having passionate, dedicated, connected employees who wish to stay for the long term.
Empower Employees With Technical Skills Training
With a bit of strategy and some thought, your organization can enable all employees with technical skills. Everyone from the people with boots on the ground to the C-suite needs some level of technical skills to do their jobs. It’s the nature of the modern world.
The following sections cover the basics of empowering employees’ technical skills in the workplace. If you want more details on each of these sections, I’ll include some links, but your best bet is to subscribe to the techstructional newsletter.
Identify Technical Skills Gap
Not all employees have the same level of technical skills, and no assumptions should be made. Do you have a young workforce on the front lines? Don’t assume they’re all tech-savvy because they’re digital natives.
Some people are more tech-savvy than others, and this has nothing to do with age or anything. The best place to start is to understand who your employees are and what they already know. This could be done with a survey after they’re hired.
The degree of tech skills will vary greatly depending on your organization and industry. We’ve built training for salespeople, customer service reps, nurses, and more. Each of those groups varies greatly in technical knowledge. A similar role could also vary significantly in different organizations.
If you don’t know your employees and where their technical gaps are then they can’t be properly trained.
Do they already have the basic knowledge of technology? That’s great! It may mean they only need to know your organization’s specific processes and some basic navigation of a custom application.
When launching new software, everyone might need basic skills tailored to their role. At a minimum, they’ll need some resources to help themselves, but never should you plop a user manual on their desk and a new tool.
By understanding which skills your non-tech employees lack, you can tailor your training program to address those needs effectively.
Tailor Training to Meet Unique Needs
Because every employee is unique and each role will use software differently, tailoring it is essential. There are many different ways to customize training for employees.
This is one of those things we’ve written a bit more about. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with how different roles, skill levels, and more might require different knowledge. There is no one training to rule them all; never fall into that trap, or you’ll end up trapped.
There is no one training to rule them all. Customize is essential.
We put together a post on ways to tailor corporate technical training for employees. However, we cannot compile a comprehensive list. Your organization will have many other unique ways of tailoring training. If you’re not sure how an instructional design consultant can help.
A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for most technical skills training for non-tech employees. Needs can vary based on role, skill level, or even location. We tailored an eLearning course where employees selected if they lived or worked in a specific state. Based on that selection, additional content only relevant to those employees was displayed.
One of the reasons we love eLearning is that it’s self-paced. That’s a type of tailored need because employees aren’t forced to follow along at an instructor’s pace. Many digital learning solutions can be tailored better than more traditional forms of training.
Provide a Safe Space for Exploring and Learning
Nothing is more empowering than practicing and becoming proficient before doing the work. There’s no faster way to demoralize an employee than throwing them into the deep end and watching them flounder.
It’s a mystery to me why any company would do that, but it’s common practice. That’s why technical skills training is something no company can live without. It gives employees a safe space to practice and learn company technology without feeling overwhelmed or breaking something important.
Learning new technical skills can be intimidating for non-tech employees who may feel out of their comfort zone. To create a supportive learning environment, foster a culture of experimentation, and provide a safe space for exploration.
One of our favorite ways to help non-techie employees gain technical skills is through software simulations. These simulations are a safe environment for employees to learn and practice.
There are many other ways to provide employees with a safe learning environment, though. An enterprise social network is a great way to enhance technical training by providing a safe space to ask questions and share problems.
Encourage employees to ask questions, seek guidance from experts or more tech-savvy colleagues, and share their experiences with others. An area to exchange ideas and troubleshoot challenges can also contribute to a collaborative learning culture.
Use a User-Friendly Learning Platform
If the platform where training content is stored is overly complex and technical, how should non-technical employees access it? There’s a low threshold for what people will put up with to access training, which means it must be extremely user-friendly.
Count the number of clicks or levels training is buried. If it takes more than 2-3 clicks, that’s a red flag. How about the search? Test that out, too. If the results are lacking or the content isn’t searchable, that’s an issue.
Employees shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to access training. If the system technical training is stored requires technical training, then non-technical employees will be scared away from it before even getting trained. It doesn’t require anything complex; sometimes, you can present training content without a learning management system (LMS).
Easy access to these resources ensures employees can continue their learning journey conveniently. Without easy access to training, nobody will benefit.
Provide Ongoing Support
Sometimes, the best way to help employees is to give them the resources to help themselves and get out of the way. For new tools, a more curated approach, with formal training and more, is necessary, but for everything else, performance support and other means of training are sometimes more helpful.
No training, especially technical skills training, should be a one-time event. After completing initial training, non-tech employees should have access to continuous support and mentorship to reinforce their skills and stay up-to-date with evolving technologies.
We end most courses with additional support available, and sometimes, they can contact a specific expert for further questions. That could be a great place for the enterprise social network community. It’s a great place to ask for support and share expertise for everyone to access.
Ongoing support empowers employees, and it’s an essential element of an effective corporate technical training program.
Wrap Up
Providing technical skills training isn’t an option for technical and non-technical employees. If an organization cares about employees or employee retention, then technical training is as important as any other type of training.
Understanding the importance of technical skills for non-tech employees is the first step toward creating a culture of innovation and collaboration within your organization. With that, you can identify skill gaps, tailor training, provide a safe space for exploration, use a user-friendly platform, and offer ongoing support. Each of these is an essential component of an effective technical skills training program.
By investing in the growth and development of your non-tech employees, you can transform how your organization functions and how happy your employees are. It’s all about contributing to your organization’s success and driving it toward a brighter future. Bringing technical skills to the next level can accomplish this.
Organizations that take employee satisfaction and growth seriously must invest in technical skills that empower them. That often means working with an expert in corporate technical skills training. Schedule a free consultation to discuss how we can help empower employees with custom technical skills training.