Imagine you’re starting a new job at a large company.
You’ve got access to all the tools and applications that help you with your daily tasks. To understand these tools, the team lead has sent a bunch of training materials, including videos, PDFs, and an e-learning course.
The problem is, there’s too much to go through, and some of it doesn’t even apply to the tasks you need to do right now. You end up feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.
This is what many employees experience with traditional learning methods. It’s outdated and doesn’t address the real needs of users.
But what if there was a better way to teach employees and help them adopt new tools faster? That’s where interactive learning comes in. This mode of learning offers real-time help, personalized guidance, and a smoother, more engaging experience.
In this blog, let’s explore how interactive learning compares to traditional methods and why it’s becoming the preferred choice for modern businesses.
Traditional Learning: A Thing of the Past?
Traditional learning methods have been the standard for decades. These methods rely on instructor-led sessions, online courses, and workshops. While they have their benefits, they come with their own set of problems. Here’s a quick look at how traditional learning works and why it can be inefficient:
Instructor-Led Training (ILT): A trainer teaches a group of employees how to use a new tool. There’s a lot of back-and-forth discussion, and everyone learns at the same pace.
The problem is that some employees may feel the session is too slow, while others may struggle to keep up. This means employees spend a significant amount of time learning things that are not relevant to their job or at a pace that does not suit them.
eLearning/Static Courses: In this case, employees take online courses or watch videos at their own pace. Sounds good? Umm…better than ILTs, but still, these methods are passive.
Employees might just click through content without fully understanding or retaining the information.
Did you know 90% of people forget what they learnt in the next 24 hours? So, if you have trained 10 employees, 9 of them forget. Even if that one employee who has retained enough knowledge might not get real-time help when needed.
Workshops and Seminars: In this type of learning, employees work together on exercises or case studies, learning by doing.
The problem? Workshops can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with complex tools or software. Plus, they don’t always provide follow-up support when employees have questions later on.
In short, traditional methods can feel like a one-time solution, but they often fail to create lasting learning and engagement. When it comes to complex software, employees need something more flexible and practical.
Interactive Learning: A Better Way to Learn
Now, picture a scenario where you don’t have to memorize every part of a software tool. Instead, you get help exactly when you need it. Imagine using that software every day, and as soon as you struggle with a task, a helpful guide appears on your screen, showing you the next step. This is the world of interactive learning, usually powered by Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs.
Interactive learning is all about providing support in the moment, when it’s most needed. Here’s how it works:
Real-Time Guidance: Interactive learning offers on-demand, in-app guidance that shows up as soon as a user encounters a roadblock.
This means that instead of waiting for the next training session, employees get help in real-time while they’re working on their tasks.
For example, if you’re using Salesforce and get stuck on creating a report, interactive learning tools will provide step-by-step guidance directly on the screen, showing you exactly what to do next.
Microlearning: Instead of overwhelming employees with long courses, microlearning breaks information into bite-sized chunks that can be easily understood.
Employees can learn in small, focused bursts, which helps them retain the information better and apply it faster.
For instance, a simple two-minute video might show you how to update customer details in your CRM, and that’s all you need to know at that moment.
Personalized Learning Experience: Every employee has different needs, and interactive learning platforms personalize the experience for each person.
Continuous Learning: Unlike traditional training, which often feels like a one-time event, interactive learning fosters continuous learning.
Faster Onboarding and Training: With traditional training methods, employees often require weeks to become proficient with new software. However, with interactive learning, users can begin to see results within days.
Why Interactive Learning Works: The Benefits
Here are a few benefits of interactive learning that are worth discussing.
Higher Engagement: Interactive learning creates a more engaging experience because it meets employees where they are, allowing them to learn at their own pace. They get guidance in real-time, and they can interact with the content instead of passively watching videos. This leads to higher satisfaction rates and better retention of knowledge.
Reduced Training Costs: Traditional training methods often require a significant investment in instructors, materials, and time. With interactive learning, businesses save money by eliminating the need for constant in-person training sessions and costly support resources.
Better Adoption of Software: One of the primary challenges companies face is getting employees to fully adopt software. Interactive learning solves this by making the learning process intuitive, efficient, and enjoyable. With interactive learning platforms, employees learn directly in the software they are using, which boosts adoption rates and reduces frustration.
Improved ROI on Software Investments: Traditional methods often fail to yield a measurable return on investment. However, interactive learning platforms focus on driving business results. They track key metrics, including process completion rates and error reduction, ensuring that software investments deliver tangible value.
Conclusion: Interactive Learning for Employee Productivity and Improved Business Outcomes
Remember that overwhelming first day at a new job, when you were trying to navigate software with no real-time help? Now imagine if that frustration is completely eliminated.
Interactive learning offers exactly that.
Real-time guidance.
Personalized support.
Engaging learning experience.
Traditional training methods fall short when it comes to providing immediate, on-the-job assistance. On the other hand, interactive learning ensures employees get the support they need, exactly when they need it. This results in faster onboarding, improved user adoption, and a substantial increase in ROI.
So, if your organization is facing any of these challenges, then interactive learning might be the solution you’ve been looking for:
Struggling with low user adoption of complex software?
Facing high training costs and time-consuming onboarding?
Looking for real-time, contextual support to increase productivity?
Wanting to ensure a higher ROI from your software investments?
What Next?
If you checked any of these boxes, it’s time to consider an interactive learning solution like Apty. Why? It’s designed to make software usage intuitive, boost efficiency, and drive measurable business outcomes, all while simplifying the learning process.
In simpler words, Apty combines real-time guidance, AI-driven automation, and personalized support to make software adoption a smooth and efficient process for businesses.
Whether you’re implementing a new software tool or just trying to improve user adoption across your existing systems, interactive learning offers a way to keep your employees engaged, reduce training costs, and get the most out of your software investments.
And, with tools like Apty that focus on outcomes, the future of learning looks brighter than ever. So, next time you’re stuck with a software issue, wouldn’t it be great if a helpful guide just appeared on your screen, showing you exactly what to do? That’s the power of interactive learning, and it’s here to stay.
Ready to make a real change in your software adoption process? Reach out to us at Apty to learn how we can help you optimize your software investment and make the learning process effortless for your team.