Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2023 - 36

the form of a knowledge base, social
feed or digital adoption tool. These
resources must be designed for access
on every internet-capable device within
the workflow.
For example, Lowe's retail associates
use Zebra handheld devices to
access information without leaving
the store floor. They can quickly pull
up product information to answer
customer questions instead of walking
away for a lengthy period to access a
desktop computer in a back room. This
mobile-first strategy boosts associate
confidence and improves the
customer experience.
Red BYOD Tape
The most powerful computers available
to many employees are the ones in their
pockets. Sadly, lots of companies still
frown on the use of personal devices
for work activities, including L&D. This
risk aversion makes sense in a world
rife with data privacy challenges. Plus,
hourly employees are limited in their
ability to complete work tasks while off
the clock.
Nonetheless, an effective bring-yourown
device (BYOD) policy offers
substantial benefits. It reduces the
information technology (IT) spend
associated with deploying and
maintaining company hardware.
It shortens the learning curve by
leveraging devices people already
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know how to use. BYOD rapidly
expands the organization's reach and
fosters equitable access to support
resources. But to make BYOD possible,
you must get past the red tape:
◦ Partner with IT to identify and resolve
data security and privacy concerns
related to learning delivery platforms.
◦ Work with legal to establish guidelines
for personal device use, including
activities
permitted
the workplace.
◦ Consider gating access to specific
apps or learning activities for hourly
employees to make sure they're at
their work locations and/or clocked in
for their shifts.
◦ Determine the bandwidth requirements
for all applications to ensure
additional costs are not passed on
to employees.
◦ Provide alternative access options for
employees who do not own mobile
devices or don't want to use them for
work purposes.
BYOD has enabled companies like
MOL Group, a multinational oil and
gas company with more than 2,000
service stations across Eastern Europe,
to provide equitable development
opportunities to their 15,000 workers.
When given the option, 88% of their
hosts chose to access training on
personal devices.
away
from
A Mobile World
Billie Eilish only watches " The Office "
on her phone. That's a silly piece of pop
culture trivia that perfectly demonstrates
the way the world now works.
Smartphones have forever altered
our relationships with technology,
media and information. They enable
us to solve complex problems and
waste preposterous amounts of time.
They set a new bar for convenience
that the workplace fails to reach
thanks to antiquated technology and
legacy mindsets.
The purpose of modern L&D is to enable
behavior change - the right support
at the right time for the right person to
solve the right problem. To accomplish
this purpose, we must take inspiration
from our everyday experience, lean into
prevailing digital behaviors and offer
equitable solutions that look and feel
familiar to the people we support.
We may be 20 years late, but it's finally
time for L&D to find its place in a mobilefirst
world.
JD Dillon has spent two decades working
in operations and talent development with
dynamic organizations, including Disney,
Kaplan and AMC. A respected author and
speaker, JD continues to apply his passion
for helping people do their best work
every day in his role as Axonify's chief
learning architect. His new book, " The
Modern Learning Ecosystem, " is available
at jdwroteabook.com. Email JD.

https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra_dam/en/success-story/retail-success-story-lowes-en-us.pdf https://onlinedegrees.und.edu/blog/mobile-device-security-risks-for-corporations/ https://axonify.com/customer-stories/mol-group/ https://axonify.com/customer-stories/mol-group/ http://www.jdwroteabook.com

Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2023

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