Digital Academies address the challenges of the modern world of work

As proof of the digital academies ‘pudding’, eCom points to the fact that over 80% of the private sector clients for which eCom is providing digital academies are now in the top 20% of their respective industry sector’s markets. Those in the public and academic worlds are consistently performing in the top echelons of their sectors’ measurement scales.

Alistair Booth, Managing Director of the Scotland-based HR consultancy, outsourcing provider - and eCom client - The HR Booth, said, “We’re finding our digital academy to be extremely valuable in helping us remain profitable in an increasingly complicated and competitive world.”

“Most organisations accept that, in this post-industrial age, the key differentiator – what gives them their competitive advantage in the market – are the talents, skills, knowledge and competence of their workers,” said eCom’s Managing Director, Wendy Edie. “This modern business truth has been accelerated recently – not only because of advances in technology but also because of changes to working practices as a result of the Covid19 pandemic.

“This, in turn, has accelerated digital transformation in the world of work in dramatic and unforeseen ways,” she added. “While these changes and the drivers of change will continue to be felt for many years, the challenges they pose can also be opportunities for organisations to improve - and provide more meaningful and valuable services to its customers.

“This means that investing in talent and learning development is a key competitive differentiator – and such investment is an efficient vehicle for promoting worker engagement and retention. Successful organisations know that continuous learning and development (L&D) is fundamental to keeping their people resilient, engaged and future-ready,” Wendy said.

To address this, eCom’s Digital Academies provide a tailored, fully-branded talent growth portal to meet the needs and strategic goals of clients’ local, distributed and hybrid working audiences. Currently, they are proving particularly attractive for membership groups and associations; trade bodies and professional associations; cultural and internationally-focused organisations; growing businesses, corporations, and enterprises; charitable, non-profit, and third-sector organisations, as well as Government and public bodies.

“A digital academy can be as simple as first-time learning management deployments for new or growing organisations,” explained eCom’s Chairman, Linda Steedman, “but more sophisticated corporate and enterprise solutions can include providing learning content, management and administration; skills, competencies and performance management; digital badges and micro-credentials; exams and assessments; business intelligence and reporting tools.

“eCom is interested in working with organisations that are serious about continually developing their workforce and are looking for a trustworthy partner to help bring this about,” Linda continued. “To build trust in these challenging times, eCom focuses on what people value: empathy; transparency; capability and reliability – ensuring our promises are synchronised with our ability to deliver on them.

“Of these things, empathy is key: no one cares how much you know until they know you care,” Linda said. “That’s why we’re keen to demonstrate our empathy with our clients – to cement our business relationship over the longer term.”

Organisations use digital academies from eCom Learning Solutions to improve communications and knowledge sharing; to improve knowledge flow across their organisations; to align knowledge, skills, and competencies with business strategies; to assess, advance and reward employee knowledge and skills; to improve operational efficiency and performance; and most importantly, to create more value from their greatest asset – their people.