Written by Nomahlubi Sonjica (CHRO magazine)
Hybrid work models that developed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic have raised an unexpected challenge – that of keeping employees engaged, especially when it comes to learning. SkillsTown’s employee experience platform is disrupting the way companies have traditionally looked at learning management.
It’s time to rethink the way your employees learn, and a traditional learning management system (LMS) isn’t going to cut it. So says Kevin Hardy, MD of SkillsTown Middle East and Africa – the company behind South Africa’s most disruptive employee experience platform (EXP).
With most companies adopting a hybrid work model post the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s become a challenge for businesses to keep their employees engaged, especially when it comes to learning.
“We see it every day,” says Kevin. “Employees can now be found all over the globe, and it’s far more difficult to keep a handle on what they are doing – or not. At the same time, many of us now sit in online meetings all day, resulting in extreme digital fatigue. As a result, the last thing people want to do is invest more time online in compulsory company training, or even their own personal development.”
SkillsTown has the solution for this, and the answer lies quite literally in the name.
Solving the problem
“Our employee experience platform is not just about training; it centres around creating an experience for our users in order to drive employee engagement,” says Kevin.
SkillsTown’s EXP combines different forms of online learning such as webinars and e-learning, with knowledge management features, the ability to coordinate and set up events, unique capabilities to create and share your own content, and so much more.
“We provide different ways of engaging,” he clarifies. “Our EXP comes standard with over 200 online personal and professional development courses, but also provides the means to store important company-wide data such as a CEO’s welcome or your onboarding programme. You can create your own podcast, and if you’ve missed an important meeting, it’s a central repository where all your Teams meetings can be stored. Instead of convoluted policy documents sitting on your intranet, you can break these up into short, attention-grabbing bits of information in less than five minutes – what we call ‘essentials’ – and share them quickly and easily with the rest of your organisation. Our video feedback feature allows your staff to practise various scenarios, such as pitching a product or solution, and then being rated on it by their peers and manager. All in all, our EXP is so much more than just a learning management system – it’s a complete user experience.”
Tom Bos, director of SkillsTown adds: “Our EXP gives employers insight into what is happening in their company now that everyone is spread out. Which part of your strategy is resonating with your people, and is the information you’re disseminating relevant and in tune with their needs? Our platform is a central point of interaction with your employees, and most importantly, one that you can quickly and easily monitor and report on.”
Core differentiators
While a traditional LMS is very one-directional – at its most basic, a place to merely store training courses – the SkillsTown platform is relevant to both the employer and the employee.
“A learning management system focuses solely on courses. But this doesn’t necessarily lead to successful engagement or skills development,” points out Tom. “We develop our own content, which is built into the platform for our clients, but it’s also easy to personalise and integrate your own content as well. Our EXP is a true community of collaborative learning.”
The SkillsTown approach is different in that it’s also a great tool for breaking down barriers from the top down, allowing CEOs and all employees in the company to share their thoughts and engage with each other, thereby setting new standards of communication.
And because everyone has full visibility, it makes reporting easy, especially for CHROs who often spend half their time reporting back to the business.
While most HR platforms take weeks to implement, SkillsTown’s EXP can be up and running in just three days. A dedicated team from South Africa and the Netherlands ensures that customers are onboarded as soon as possible, and from there it’s only a matter of time before engagement scores start improving.
Both Kevin and Tom emphasise how user friendly the employee experience platform is. “Like Google or Netflix, no one taught us how to use it,” Kevin points out. “And our platform is the same – users jump on and can find what they’re looking for immediately. It’s all about the user and their experience at the end of the day.”
Secret to success
SkillsTown is a Dutch company and part of the Salta Group, an international organisation operational in 20 countries. Its expansion to Africa is only two years in the making, and yet, it’s already making its mark.
“We’re a passionate company and quite simply, people on a mission,” says Tom. “We have a very engaged team around us who want to deliver results for our customers. We’re also highly experienced and highly regarded in the professional and lifelong learning space, which helps us to deliver a platform that is not only useful, but engages and excites as well.”
“Quite simply, we want to be a part of our customers’ success,” adds Kevin. “We partner with our clients and become an integral part of their team, building our EXP around their feedback. We also continually adapt it to ensure that it’s intuitive, easy to navigate and most importantly, delivers on their needs. With our new approach to learning, we’re enabling both employers and employees to thrive.”
“Every CHRO is struggling with the same thing and every CEO is asking how to keep their employees engaged in the hybrid space. Talk to us, and we’ll show you how,” Kevin concludes.
Sound interesting? Then we would love to chat to you and set up a free demo of our platform. Contact us today!
