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What We Learned From Elon Musk On Delivering Personalized Workforce Experiences

Forbes Technology Council

CEO of Rallyware.

“You’ll probably want dynamic personalization, so it’s like you step into the car, it knows who you are, it knows everything you want, and the car reconfigures itself automatically to all your preferences. So you could step into any car, and that’s how it would be.”

This was Tesla CEO and visionary Elon Musk's response in a 2019 interview when he discussed what the future of electric vehicles may look like. 

Tesla has been heralded for its innovative data-driven design approach, which seeks to understand each customer and what they are looking for in a driving experience. This way, the company can tailor the experience to each individual driver and build features that resonate with each user to make driving safe and enjoyable. 

So, should we learn from the innovations in personalizing a driver’s experience and apply it to the ways in which we personalize daily experiences for the members of our workforces? Absolutely, and we are on the cusp of making this a common practice. 

We can also take learnings from Tesla’s innovation strategy as a whole — which has focused on transforming the auto industry. The company is innovative even in its approach to customer service. With Tesla Mobile Services, a team of remote technicians ("Rangers") make house calls to repair vehicles.

This is just another example of Tesla taking customer experience to the next level, going above and beyond. Just like the companies’ ideas revolve around bringing new innovations to market, how can we, as L&D leaders, bring new processes and ways of thinking to the workplace? 

What The Research Says About Delivering Learning To Drive Performance

Today, as performance enablement platforms have risen to the forefront as a new category of critical enterprise tools, they are at the point of having amassed enough data to begin delivering performance enablement experiences to employees. By collecting the right data, these platforms will be able to use this data to ultimately deliver autonomous success navigation systems (similar to Tesla harnessing data to manufacture self-driving cars).

Amidst an ever-evolving environment, HR managers need to quickly adapt to changes and incorporate them into their training programs. Beth Loeb Davies, Tesla’s former director of learning and development, shares Musk’s data-driven vision. She pointed to a big shift occurring today in learning and development, explaining that the development of training programs is increasingly informed by neuroscience. “These days, there’s a lot of science coming out to support new and different kinds of learning and development initiatives,” she said. “Now, I’m expanding my thinking by exploring neuroscience and its application in learning and development.”

As digital transformation continues to shape the world of enterprise, employee preferences are evolving alongside it. When it comes to personalized learning and enablement activities, all signs point to placing an emphasis on a mobile-first mindset. Recent research from our company revealed that usage of mobile apps is growing exponentially, with users favouring mobile apps over web, and 2.8X times more sessions happening with native apps. 

Another key finding also pointed to the sheer power of personalized and smart notifications — offering individuals virtual "taps on the shoulder," either prompting them to complete an activity or congratulating them on their progress. The same research found that some types of notifications were favored more than others, with a higher open rate for those related to new badges received (up to 88%), as well as task completions (up to 65%). 

Data: The Fuel Behind Personalization And Digital Transformation

These findings underscore the fact that employees desire this level of personalization, yet currently, only 2 in 5 companies adapt their programs to each individual, with almost half (45%) providing a standardized offering to all workers, discovered a recent study. Such statistics show that business leaders must personalize the employee experience, in order to attract, engage and retain the members of their workforce. 

Consider this hypothetical situation: In an effort to upskill a sales rep in the best practices for finding new prospects and successful lead generation, they may undertake training in this area. Upon completing these training modules, based on prior performance data and their initial goals of enhancing their sales and digital skills, they may then be presented with a logical next step — training in CRM software tools. In such a use case, personalization is triggered by performance data and is delivered to the individual when they need it the most (i.e., if they have completed a training program, they will be offered additional training in a relevant domain).  

Such a suggestion would not be possible without insights into where your interests lie — insights based on your skills and goals to enhance your digital know-how. Data is the fuel behind this — data about an individual’s prior accomplishments and what their goals are. It all comes down to making better decisions — understanding where to direct an L&D or operational budget, seeing the big picture of future human capital trends, spotting individual performance gaps and delivering the right training. 

In order to excel in delivering ultimate personalized experiences, take time to listen to the needs of your employees and provide them with experiences that are in line with their expectations. Are they looking for a mobile-first experience? Seeking opportunities for reskilling and upskilling? Recognize that all employees are unique in their own way, and taking a one-size-fits-all approach to learning and training will not suffice. Embrace and encourage flexibility. Today, many employees are enjoying positions that allow them to work remotely and have a better work-life balance. 

Just like Tesla offers a personalized experience to a driver the moment they sit behind the steering wheel, learning or business tasks should be delivered to an individual at just the right moment (i.e., when they have reached a new milestone or completed an activity). As business leaders, let’s make 2022 the year of personalized performance enablement experiences, enabling and empowering employees to do their best work. If Tesla can create self-driving cars, imagine what we can do for members of the workforce.


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