Like any other aspect of running a company, employee training evolves with each generation. Nowadays, nearly every aspect of employment is becoming digitized.
For example, using the latest wireless tour guide system, you can show your employees and potential investors your company remotely without having anyone actually visit the facility.
Furthermore, in order to educate a new generation of workers, you can utilize some of the latest employee training software that money can buy. And quite a few of those tools, both physical and digital, involve audio training.
But can audio tools truly make training and onboarding more efficient than it usually is? And if so, how can these tools achieve such a feat? This article is here to answer those questions.
7 Different Ways in Which Audio Tools Help Train Employees
The 7-38-55 Rule
According to a well-known study by Dr. Albert Mehrabian, we can only decode 7% of the author’s intended meaning by reading their text. That comprehension grows to an incredible 38% if there’s audio involved, and 55% if we include body language. So, instead of providing workers with simple textual instructions, we will get more out of them with a high-quality audio component. It can be a pre-recorded message or even direct audio from a higher-up or a trainer.
Audio Any Time, Any Place
One incredible feature of audio tools is that you can quite literally use them anywhere you want. For instance, if you have a lot of work to do, you can fire up a playlist of audio training files in the background. By doing that, you’re actually learning subconsciously while performing other tasks.
Of course, you can also do that with video lessons, and we highly encourage that you do. After all, video tools are just as important as audio ones. However, if you need to stream the lesson, audio will definitely take up less bandwidth and load a lot quicker than even some of the lowest-quality video formats.
Real-World Examples
People don’t like being spoon-fed dry, emotionless information. Reading a textbook is fine, but they prefer real-life experiences of individuals who can provide insightful opinions. Again, video is an excellent platform for that, but audio snippets can absolutely be just as helpful.
All you need is some pre-recorded audio clips of veteran employees that cover specific topics. By hearing an actual human voice behind the headset, workers will be much more motivated to improve and learn. After all, it’s one of their superiors that’s directly advising them, in a sense.
Just-in-Time Training
Pre-recorded audio is not the only type of tool you’ll be using. Various programs and apps that cover live audio streams and podcasts will come in handy, especially if a remote worker needs immediate help. Sometimes, they will run into a problem that they can’t fix with their current level of knowledge. More importantly, they might need a superior to deal with something serious.
By directly contacting them and explaining the solution in a clear, concise manner, you will help handle the problem quickly. Not only that, but you will also teach a new skill to the employee which they can use later.
Promoting Group Efforts
Using podcasts is a great way to involve all workers in growing and learning. For instance, let’s say you decide to host a podcast for a few months. Each employee who participates can download, share, and re-listen to the podcast over and over again. Furthermore, they can later use it as training material for any new employees that join the company.
But that’s merely the beginning. You can motivate your employees to join the experience by asking questions, suggesting podcasting topics, and providing insight and valuable feedback based on your performance.
The next obvious step is letting some of the veteran workers host their own podcasts. If they are effective enough, that will provide you with more training material and offer additional free content. And helping your employees learn from each other is the cornerstone of growing any business.
Bite-Sized Lessons
Modern employees, but also modern employers, have an incredibly short attention span, and it keeps getting shorter. Nowadays, an average human can only manage to pay attention for a frightening 8 seconds. Therefore, it stands to reason that a worker will not really learn from a 30-page PDF file of text in a productive and timely manner. What they need is something that will engage their senses.
Naturally, both video and audio are perfect for this problem. By reducing all of the lessons into little chunks of audio, you can feed the relevant information to your employees in a short amount of time. And if they so choose, employees can binge-listen to many of these lessons several times a day, learning both consciously and subconsciously.
Perfect for Millennial Workers
Right now, millennials make up the majority of the active workforce. And the vast majority of millennial employees see professional development as vital to their job performance. With that in mind, employers need to focus their efforts on training millennials in the most effective way possible.
On average, millennials are more in tune with modern tech than all other generations, with the possible exception of Gen Z. In other words, they are more likely to learn from YouTube videos, audio podcasts, live streams, and interactive presentations. More importantly, they are also a generation that loves to participate, so interactivity with audio training tools is definitely a must.
Audio Tools and Employee Training: Final Thoughts
As you can see, audio tools are an invaluable part of your employee training toolbox. Not only do they work immensely well, but they are cost-effective, interactive, engaging, and time-saving. After all, if your employee has an hour to learn new skills each day, they will do it more effectively by listening to a 60-minute podcast than by reading a long document in small print.
But the effectiveness of audio tools should not stop you from employing other techniques. Text and especially video instructions still have their place in worker training courses. Let’s not forget that some employees might have hearing impairments. If that’s the case, then engaging their other, functional senses will be the best option. The more training techniques you combine, the more efficient your workforce will become over time.
HR Future Staff Writer
