How mLearning Can Help a Business Going Green

Are you trying to make your business eco-friendlier? This is an important time to do so, since 60% of customers state that sustainability is a major factor when choosing a product or service. There are a variety of things that you are going to need to do.

You probably already appreciate the benefits of using renewable energy to power your facilities. However, there are other eco-friendly business practices to be aware of. One thing that you may want to do is create a remote workplace.

There is growing evidence that remote workplaces may be better for the planet. However, it takes time to come up with the right strategy to make sure your remote workplace is productive.

One thing that eco-friendly companies need to do is use online learning models. At the beginning of the pandemic, online learning was becoming more popular. Colorado State University reported that it was also better for the planet. Corporate learning mechanisms continue to advance as more organizations adopt hybrid operating models. With the increased use of smartphones by the majority workforce and the increased popularity of remote working, mLearning is taking the front seat in the continued professional development of employees. 

How Can mLearning Improve Employee Training Experience for Businesses Going Green?

M Learning or Mobile Learning allows employees to access the training materials from multiple devices at any location and time, offering them the most flexible option of completing their training seamlessly. It can be the perfect setup for eco-friendly businesses trying to create remote workplaces.

mLearning enhances employee engagement and participation as it is convenient and allows flexibility in the training schedules. Consequently, employees can manage their professional journey in the organization by themselves. 

What Is Employee Lifecycle?

Eco-friendly businesses need to make it a priority to understand their employees’ lifecycles. Employee lifecycle is a method to understand employees’ engagement and relationship with the organization throughout their employment. It typically consists of seven stages: pre-employment or attraction, recruitment, onboarding, development & growth, employee retention, offboarding, and brand advocacy. 

Stages Of Employee Lifecycle v/s Mlearning

It is essential to understand the seven stages of the employee lifecycle to understand the learning needs at each stage and determine the right development opportunities for employees at an eco-friendly business.

1.      Pre-Employment

The first stage is pre-employment, where the organization prepares a comprehensive plan to attract potential employees with the desired skills and talent. It can allow candidates to log in to their mLearning platform, giving them access to attractive and interactive pre-employment training modules.

In this stage, training and development can take the following forms.

1. Online Simulations

Organizations can use simulations to give potential employees a peek into the company’s work culture, on-the-job experience, and responsibilities of the employees and teams working on real-life projects. The interested candidate may access it by simply clicking a mLearning module on their mobile devices.

2. Pre-Employment Training

Organizations can impart pre-employment mLearning courses and offer internship opportunities to brief potential employees about the company’s values, vision, and business goals.

2.      Recruitment

Once the organization identifies suitable candidates that align with company values, vision, and goals, it is time to bring them on board. The organizations prepare a detailed recruitment plan to get the right talent into the right teams within the company.  In this stage, the Learning and Development (L&D) teams of the organizations may offer the following mLearning modules to the potential candidates: 

1. Streamlined Application And Selection Processes

Interested candidates may log in to the company’s mLearning platform and access the application portal, along with a guidance manual. They may fill in their details and upload documents directly to the company’s database from their mobile devices.

2. Online Assessments

Human Resources (HR) teams of the organizations may send the online assessments to the selected candidates on the mLearning platform, thus enhancing their recruitment experience.  

3.      Onboarding

New joiners must be well-versed in the company’s history, operating structure, IT systems, hierarchy, company culture, teams, projects, etc. It can be overwhelming for the employee to grasp such a wide variety of information within short timeframes. In this stage, the organization conducts orientation programs and helps new joiners develop the necessary skills, knowledge, and behaviors to contribute effectively. 

The organization may organize the following mLearning activities at the onboarding stage:

1. Gamified mLearning Modules

Gamified mLearning modules are interactive, entertaining, educational, and engaging. Gamified mLearning allows employees to level up and earn rewards and prizes, just like a gaming app. They enable the employees to retain new information for more extended periods. 

2. Mobile Microlearning

Microlearning uses the technique of imparting comprehensive knowledge to employees through bite-sized modules. The employees can access these modules on their mobile devices anywhere and at any time.

4.      Development And Growth

Employees expect to climb the career ladder and grow professionally in the organization. This stage inextricably links to employee retention in an organization. Organizations must provide employees with the right tools and opportunities to grow throughout their tenure. 

1. Compliance Training

Once the employees have been with the organization for a considerable period, they must undertake compliance training regularly while working on multiple tasks and assignments. Easily accessible and flexible mLearning modules are ideal for employees to complete compliance training without being overbearing. 

2. Skills Training

Skills training for employees is essential to keep up to speed with the modern economy and maintain the organization’s market position. mLearning modules offering engaging skills training can help the employees gain more confidence and be ready for any challenges coming their way during a job. 

5.      Employee Retention 

This stage focuses on ensuring that the employee stays with the organization. 

Employee retention depends on several factors, such as salary, incentives, team morale, work culture, and growth opportunities. A review of employee experience helps the organization to identify improvement opportunities in the existing training and development program. The HR teams can utilize the mLearning platform to seek employee feedback and suggestions on their overall experience with the organization. 

6.      Offboarding

It is crucial to have a system in place to ensure a smooth exit for the employees who wish to leave the organization. The offboarding stage primarily consists of mechanisms to hand over and train the employees who are likely to replace those leaving the organization.

Additionally, organizations may facilitate other offboarding formalities, such as exit interviews and evaluation via mLearning platforms. 

7.      Brand Advocacy

Organizations must ensure that employees leave without friction and on good terms.

Employees can advocate for the organization’s brand even when they leave the organization. HR teams can keep in touch with the ex-employees through alumni engagement programs and by offering limited access to a mLearning platform for occasional sharing of information to attract them back into the organization.

Businesses that Want to Go Green Should Use MLearning to Train their Employees

Mapping mLearning to the employee lifecycle enables a green organization to provide a holistic learning experience to their employees. Understanding the learning needs of employees at every stage of employment helps set them up for success and ensures higher retention and engagement rates of employees. Furthermore, using the mLearning platform to impart the necessary training at different stages of the employee lifecycle eases the pressure on the employees to undertake the mandatory training within set timeframes.