Now is the Time to Invest in Training and Education

Christine Kim is the VP of Client Learning and Enablement at Basis Technologies, and has been developing our certification programs since 2015. In 2021, Basis Certified was awarded Best Education Program by AdExchanger.

The Great Resignation has not spared the advertising industry. According to a new Advertiser Perceptions report, one-third of advertising professionals plan to leave their current positions within the next two years.

The same study found that most advertising professionals use an average of nine platforms for a typical ad campaign, and touch seven of those platforms on an average day.

The combination of these two statistics highlights one of the biggest challenges raised by the Great Resignation. Brands and agencies aren’t just losing employees—they’re losing highly skilled employees, who take a wide variety of technical qualifications with them when they go.

The top challenge when a team loses members is training new employees. So while it’s tempting to deprioritize employee education, companies would do well to set up robust training programs, now more than ever.

Below, I have dug into Basis Technologies’ approach to education. While I typically leverage these tips for educating Basis clients and the industry as a whole, they're just as important for internal training!

Don’t Be a One-Hit Wonder

In other words, don’t put together an education program and then forget about it. Engaging learners beyond the basics can be a struggle, but don’t let that deter you from creating a multi-level program that will cater to the entire learning process. After all, learning is a journey—not a destination!

Diversify Content Presentation

We’ve all been there: There’s nothing worse than sitting through an intensive training that consists of one person talking for several hours. According to a 2019 Forrester report, one training program saw completion rates increase by 50% when they broke materials from longer courses down into small modules.

Put the Learner First

The same Forrester report states that while there is a correlation between education and revenue, this is not the place to put revenue first. Think about what would benefit the learner, and the money will follow. 

Harness the Power of Competition and Gamification

Who doesn’t want to win? At Basis Technologies, we like to throw in random trivia games or play a round of jeopardy to showcase how much people have learned.

Establish Key Performance Indicators

Allow yourself different KPIs for different phases of your education programming. For example, when first launching an on-demand course, the KPI can be registration numbers. Once your programs begin to mature, begin shifting KPIs to number of courses completed or overall time spent. When all else fails, it’s always a good idea to include a survey to receive feedback in real-time. After all, the people using your program will be best-situated to share what’s working and what’s not.

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Here at Basis Technologies, we cater to different levels of education as well as exclusive content for our customers through our Certified programs. Interested in learning more? Check it out!