Moving the dial to lift digital literacy
We know that digital skills are becoming essential in the workplace, as well as in the community. But are we doing enough to support our staff to build their capability in this space? Local research shows that currently, 20% of New Zealanders do not have ‘Essential Level’ digital skills. How can we start to move the dial on lifting digital literacy? The workplace is ideal for building digital confidence. If you’re rolling digital change at your work, consider these top five factors for success:
1. People need time to learn new technology
You may find that some staff need more time as they have not quite mastered some foundational skills necessary to access the new app. Set aside time for learning, not the ten minutes it took someone who is already digitally savvy.
2. Let people know who they can go to if they need help
If they know this from the outset, and it is encouraged to seek this support they will be less likely to disengage.
3. Practice makes perfect
If staff have learnt something new and then don’t use it again for a few weeks, the chances are, they will forget it. Can you set up practice times, check-in times, or scenarios when preparing for a digital change rollout?
4. Provide a safe zone in which to learn
“I don’t want to wreck it.” There is a real fear that if something goes wrong, the system will break or the device will never work again. Could you set up a trial site for the new app? A training module that works like the real thing? A training account that could be used with limited access? Or set up times in the day where things are deleted as you knew they were done in the practice time.
5. Build on what they already know
A good place to start is to look at what people already know. You can get a copy of our digital skills checklist here: https://www.upskills.co.nz/resources/digital-skills-checklist/
Next steps
Building staff digital capability is super important, for the individuals, the workplace culture and productivity outcomes. We would love to hear what you are doing in this space or reach out to see how we can help!
Utilising workplace literacy and numeracy funding to support the underpinning digital literacy skills can be a great way to kickstart your organisation’s digital journey. Talk to us about co-designing an application with digital literacy front and centre.
