Most businesses understand the value of effective training and development. And they understand the risks that they and their organisations face if they don’t deliver training well.
These risks might be around compliance: regulatory breaches, health and safety issues, exposure to financial losses or even legal action. They may be around recruitment and retention. Poor training and development increases the chances of losing out on the most talented people, who are either existing employees or potential new hires.
The challenge of knowledge gaps and retention So, we all agree that effective training is important. But we also recognise that delivering training and then reinforcing that new knowledge is also a huge challenge for many businesses.
Every organisation and every learner is different. Every business has different learning objectives, and strategic priorities that inform the kind of knowledge they need their learners to retain. As a result, gaps in knowledge are a reality for many businesses. Overcoming this is a crucial part of building an effective approach to learning within your business.
Here at Cognito, we help our clients to identify those gaps in knowledge within their organisations. And we use cutting edge tech and proven, science-based learning methodologies and approaches to fill those gaps, always with a real focus on knowledge retention.
With this post, we want to focus on the benefits you’ll see within your organisation as you use our unique solution to identify when and where your people need support with their learning.
A new solution. Proven methodologies. With years of experience behind us, we understand how learning happens, and how knowledge is best retained across an organisation. And all of this knowledge has informed the way we’ve built Cognito – the continuous digital learning and communication solution we have today. Crucially, the approach we take to learning and knowledge retention with Cognito is based on well-respected and proven learning methodologies.
Here are just three of the most important ideas that underpin Cognito.
Spaced repetition. Based on an insight that’s over 100 years old. The Ebbinghaus forgetting curve shows that retention of new knowledge drops off steeply soon after learning. Cognito flattens this curve using ‘spaced repetition’ – repeating the learned information at intervals, which become increasingly wider over time.Micro-learning. Complementing spaced repetition, micro-learning breaks new knowledge down into unobtrusive and easily manageable chunks. Mobile learning. No more sitting in test centres or navigating clunky, user-unfriendly interfaces. We build retention and engagement by delivering learning when, where and how learners want it.But if so many of the learning methodologies we base our solution on are already well-established and proven, what is so revolutionary about Cognito’s approach? How is the solution that we offer any different to the approach of a more ‘traditional’ training provider?
Well, while many of the methodologies we base our solution on aren’t new, the way that we deliver them certainly is. But that’s not to say that Cognito is simply a lot of old ideas wrapped up in a slick new package.
Instead, Cognito is unique in the way that it brings together all of these elements into a single, powerful and simple-to-use tool, that harnesses cutting edge AI to understand the needs and personalise the learner experience.
A learning tool that delivers tangible benefits The best way to think about this is to see how using Cognito actually creates a demonstrable benefit inside your organisation. What makes Cognito unique is that it makes a tangible, measurable difference to your people and your business performance.
Using Cognito to educate and reinforce knowledge doesn’t just help your people to learn more. Instead, it helps you to take learning and knowledge retention in your business to the next level. It fosters a genuine ‘learning culture’ across your organisation – the holy grail for many businesses. But more of that in a moment.
Firstly, it’s worth looking at what makes Cognito uniquely effective at doing this.
Simplicity. Cognito is simple to use and to engage with. Micro-learning comes in manageable chunks. Only a couple of relevant questions per day means it isn’t intrusive, and is easy for even the most time-poor employees to engage with. And because it’s simple to use, learner data is up to date, making quick feedback easier. Gamification. Applying a gamification element to tried and tested methodologies delivers powerful results and builds engagement in new ways.AI. Our use of AI is truly groundbreaking, and helps to deliver a personalised, adaptive learning journey that spots gaps and constantly reinforces knowledge.But while using Cognito encourages an ongoing process of learning and knowledge reinforcement, our approach is never about trying to force learners down a particular path. Instead, it is about creating an environment where people feel empowered to take ownership of their own learning.
Taking steps towards a culture of learning That doesn’t mean that businesses abdicate control of learning and development and simply leave their people to sort it out for themselves.
Rather, it’s about growing a culture where employees feel so engaged in their own learning, so invested in their own development and in the future success of the company, that they feel able to make the proactive learning choices they need to progress. And crucially, they know and trust that their company has put the learning resources in place to help them, as an individual learner, to do this.
Take the example of an employee who uses Cognito to learn and retain knowledge about a particular piece of new legislation that impacts their role. Using the app, they quickly realise that they’re still unsure about a particular element of the legislation.
Armed with this insight, they’re then able to make their own, informed decision to re-learn that particular section at a time and pace that suits them. At the same time, Cognito’s AI adapts to this choice, reinforcing the knowledge with follow up questions as part of an ongoing, personalised learning journey.
Cognito’s app is so accessible, so non-intrusive, so fun and easy to use, that learners will actually choose to interact with it through their own volition.
Compare this to a traditional training programme for the same piece of legislation. Employees might be tested on it once a year. The result is that their entire focus is simply around gearing up for that annual test.
Once that’s done, they’ll probably get to see how they performed. They may even see where they didn’t do so well. But in contrast to Cognito’s solution, there is no ongoing reinforcement of knowledge, no personalisation and no attempt to make the learning process simpler and more engaging.
Cognito’s approach takes established, proven methodologies, but uses them in a way that is uniquely accessible and endlessly adaptable to each individual learner’s needs. Learners actually choose to engage with the knowledge. As a result, using Cognito kick starts an ‘informal learning cycle’ – a rolling process of individual learners picking up what they need to learn, understanding where there are gaps, and then taking action to fill them.
And when enough employees are doing this, and this kind of empowered approach to learning becomes commonplace across your organisation, a true learning culture is born.
To find out more about how using Cognito will help you to create a learning culture within your business, give us a call today on 01423 203 733.
