“Every employee needs certain digital skills for e-learning to succeed” – But what exactly does that mean? In this article, we clarify the term and give you tips that will allow EVERYONE to participate in digital further training.
What does digital competence actually mean?
In our increasingly digitalized society, digital competence is one of the most important skills for employees. But what does it mean to be digitally competent?
“Digital competence describes the ability to find one's way around, learn, and work in a digitalized world.” – Wikipedia
Digital competence is also one of the eight key competences for lifelong learning. This means it affects every employee!
The digital transformation does not only lead to job-specific changes. Many companies expect a fundamental change in the skill requirements of their employees. A study by KOFA (Competence Center for Securing Skilled Workers) examined which skills are becoming particularly important in the context of digitalization:
IT user knowledge
Independence, planning, and organizational skills
Cooperation and communication skills
Professional and IT specialist knowledge
Leadership competence
The results clearly show that dealing with technical applications is becoming increasingly important and that they are being used for many more tasks. Of course, the requirements and the scope of the required digital skills vary depending on the role or task within the company. However, every employee should master the most important basics. After all, they need these skills not only for their work in the company, but also to participate in e-learnings.
5 tips on how every employee can participate in e-learning
1. Relieve the fear of “tech novices”
Often, it is the older employees who have fewer digital skills. Of course, this also leads to greater skepticism; moreover, they know the benefits of multi-day face-to-face seminars and do not want to miss them. Help these employees in particular and explicitly promote skills in using digital tools and creating digital content. We have already explained in detail on our blog how to convince tech skeptics.
2. Assess the current level of knowledge
Before you start planning your content, you should survey your employees' level of knowledge. This is especially important for cross-departmental e-learnings, as skill levels can vary greatly here. An IT specialist will likely have a better understanding of programming languages than a sales employee.
Offer them appropriate learning material tailored to their knowledge gaps. If the level of knowledge differs very significantly, adaptive learning is a good solution.
3. Offer every employee a good onboarding
To keep differences in knowledge as small as possible from the start, you should provide every employee with comprehensive onboarding. In e-learning, it is particularly important that every employee knows about the following points from the very beginning:
What is the goal of the e-learning?
How is the e-learning formally structured?
How can they get help with technical questions?
How can they get help with content-related questions?
How long does the e-learning take?
On which devices can they do the e-learning?
4. Explain complex content using examples
Explaining extensive or complicated content simply is a challenge even in a face-to-face conversation, and it doesn't get any easier in e-learning. Therefore, it is advisable to always explain complex topics using examples.
In some cases, it even makes sense to package the learning content into a story. In line with the storytelling method, your story's agent pursues a mission or is presented with a problem to find a solution in the end.
5. Use easily accessible technology
The most important tip comes last: Don't make it harder than necessary for your employees and rely on simple technology for e-learning. In particular, if their digital competence is less pronounced, new software can quickly overwhelm and thus demotivate them.
A learning platform like blink.it is the perfect solution for tech beginners or employee groups with different digital skills. The clear design is intuitive to use, even without a hours-long introduction. This also saves you as an HR manager time. Additionally, with blink.it, you can integrate playful elements such as quizzes and short videos to make your e-learning as engaging as possible.
Digital competence: Take the quick test now!
How do your employees' digital skills stand now? Be a good role model and check yourself and your skills as well. After all, you can only help your employees if you are digitally competent yourself.
Looking at the quick test, it is clear that not all employees can be at the same level of competence. No problem! With our tips, all employees can participate in e-learning.
Our 5 most important tips for e-learning at a glance:
Relieve the fear of tech skeptics
Assess current digital knowledge level
Good onboarding for every employee
Explain complex content with examples
Use simple technology for e-learning
Make it as easy as possible for yourself and your employees; after all, they should focus on the learning content. For this to succeed, good planning and simple technology are crucial. Keep in mind that older employees in particular often struggle with complicated software. Use a simple learning platform like blink.it for your e-learning and collect all learning content in one course. This way, you can be sure that every employee can access it and actually works through it. Additionally, you can regularly remind them of your e-learning, for example, by sending them an email.
Conclusion
Digital competence does not arise from technical prior knowledge, but through simple learning environments, good guidance, and the opportunity to use digital tools step by step in daily work.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
What is meant by digital competence in everyday work?
Digital competence describes the ability to use digital tools confidently, process information, and navigate digital learning and working environments. This includes technical basics as well as independent work and digital communication.
Why do employees often fail at digital further training?
Often, the problem is not the learning content itself, but insecurity in dealing with technology or complicated software. A lack of onboarding, unclear processes, and technical hurdles can quickly lower motivation.
Why is good onboarding so important for e-learning?
Structured onboarding helps participants navigate the digital learning environment safely. Clear information about the process, technology, learning goals, and contact persons reduces uncertainty and eases the transition.
How does simple software help to balance differences in digital competence?
Intuitively usable learning platforms reduce technical hurdles and allow tech novices to get started quickly. As a result, participants can focus more on the learning content rather than on operating the software.
