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Features

Published May 2007

High-Tech Learning for Low-Tech Employees

  Jim Haudan and Rich Berens

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Yogi Berra said, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” Although that creative statement of the obvious causes both a chuckle and reflection for many who hear it, it is the profound reality in the case of high-tech learning for traditionally low-tech positions. This is a new and exciting period in which digital learning technologies have finally evolved from futuristic science fiction to current practical reality.

For more than 10 years, learning professionals have been talking about integrating “high-tech” into their businesses “in the future” — and now the future is here. Just three years ago, you could develop powerful interactive learning technologically, but it couldn’t be used easily. Now, technology has advanced to the point where aspiration and reality are closer than ever. What was futuristic is now the norm.

To take full advantage of any powerful shift, we must start by changing a mindset that no longer serves us well and see the real possibilities before they become obvious to everyone.

The two critical mental mind shifts we must make to take advantage of this change are that high-tech learning is practical now, and traditional low-tech employees are truly high-tech learners today.

Businesses traditionally considered low-tech (e.g., restaurants, hotels, consumer service business and retail) are in the middle of a training revolution. Low-tech workers are demanding high-tech training. Today, high-tech training for low-tech jobs is about what’s possible for employees everywhere.

The technology that redefines possibilities has matured, and this revolution is happening right now. If your business isn’t considering implementing high-tech training within two years, you’ll definitely be at a disadvantage.

Who are Today’s Low-Tech Workers?
When most people talk about low-tech jobs, they assume the difficulty of the work and the intelligence of the worker are connected. It’s time to rethink that.

Many of these jobs might not require college degrees, but the people in them are far ahead of their counterparts from several years ago in their ability to access, understand, process and apply information. We have a new class of employees, and the notion they are less savvy is wrong.

Virtually all of today’s younger workers (and a surprising number of older ones) are undeniably tech-smart. Thanks to the Internet, communication technologies and sophisticated computer games, even agricultural workers — far from stores and restaurants — now have at least basic technological abilities. So, to be relevant to all employees at all levels, training low-techs with high-tech must be less about generations and educational levels and more about how we live our lives.

The “low-tech” individuals in these jobs should have that label changed to “screen-agers.” They represent the generations of people who now access most of their information, conduct their personal relationships, find entertainment (gaming) and basically conduct a large portion of their lives with technology or online.

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