Change in the workplace could be the result of quite a few factors: updated company goals & strategies, the onboarding of new colleagues/leaders, or the need for more training. Most employees understand that in the modern workplace, technological change happens continually. But the rise of automation is a phenomenon that we should be paying attention to today.

Here are some recent stats about automation, courtesy of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM): 

• Business leaders expect that 17 percent of work will be automated by 2020, according to the 2017 Global Future of Work Survey report from Willis Towers Watson. That’s up from about 9 percent of work that was being done using robotic and artificial intelligence last year and 5 percent three years ago.
• About half the company leaders surveyed said they will require fewer employees by 2020 because of automation, compared with just over a quarter who said that was the case in 2017.
• One of the more dire long-term forecasts says that over the next two decades, 47 percent of U.S. jobs could be lost to automation. The 2013 study by Oxford University researchers Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne concluded that China and India are expected to lose 77 percent and 69 percent of their jobs, respectively.

Making an effort to ease the transitions employees are likely to witness due to automation is crucial to getting an organization back on track and get its team players working productively and confidently. If you are considering an LMS to get your team on board, consider these tips for taking workers’ needs into account:

Preparation and Communication

Executives implementing any kind of divergence from a regular process (or a nonexistent process) should be able to communicate why there was a need for a change and also how it could potentially affect members of the company. Clear and honest discussions are encouraged so expectations are understood at the beginning of the process. 

Input and Autonomy 

A worker with autonomy during a difficult change is the most effective and open. To increase employee engagement, morale and motivation, giving your staff more discretion over how they can complete learnings within the LMS can be a useful tactic. They feel free to communicate their ideas and offer their own innovative solutions, which will benefit an organization in the long run. An employee who bears more responsibility and ownership of his or her work will work harder and smarter, investing more energy and interest in the responsibilities. This helps to solidify loyalty to an organization when the employee feels his or her contributions are heard, acknowledged and making a positive impact.

Acknowledgement of Effort

Rewards and accolades can help seal the deal! LMS usage, paired with positive feedback and reassurance that the change is relevant and helpful, can make new goals attainable for learners. 

Finally, don’t forget to train your employees on the use of the LMS. Providing sufficient, ongoing training is critical for keeping your employees engaged — and for getting buy-in for future rollouts. Workers do not want to have to relearn their jobs each time you introduce a new technology, so provide customized training which allows them to implement the new solution into existing workflow with as little inconvenience as possible.

Ready to test out the Ascendis Leadership Academy for your organization? Start by registering for an account here!