Organizations must train and retrain their employees to ensure their workforce has the right skills to stay competitive and meet industry requirements.
However, this need has rapidly sped up in recent years thanks to the rise of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and other forces like globalization reshaping jobs like never before. In particular, soft skills, such as teamwork, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence, are becoming invaluable today as work intertwines with automation and AI.
LinkedIn’s “Jobs on the Rise 2024” report emphasized the importance of training amid changing skill sets, noting that the skills needed for today’s job market have changed by roughly 25% since 2015 and will shift by 65% by 2030. Unsurprisingly, investment in learning and development (L&D) continues to soar, with 89% of L&D professionals agreeing that building employee skills and upskilling is vital for success in this ever-evolving future of work. Nevertheless, despite this near-universal agreement on the need for training, current training methods remain inefficient and thus unsuitable for today’s demands.
Why Current Training is Insufficient
Whether it is onboarding or upskilling, most training programs use the uninspired and unengaging model of webinars and online courses, followed by a brief question-and-answer section that is little more than a comprehension quiz. These methods are ineffective, specifically because employees don’t have an opportunity to apply the information they just learned in a real-world scenario, making it difficult for them to retain any meaningful material.
Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve describes the phenomenon of learners being unable to retain new information. This mathematical formula shows how fast we forget something after we learn it. Shockingly, employees forget 70% of what they learn within 24 hours, and 90% after the first week. Despite L&D professionals’ efforts to overcome the learning curve, many businesses are unsatisfied with the results.
Research from Gartner shows that 64% of managers are not confident that their employees can keep up with future skill demands. Employees aren’t confident either, with seven in 10 expressing that they have not mastered the skills required to do their jobs effectively. Perhaps most disconcerting is that staff training costs surpassed $100 billion in the US for the first time in 2022. Spending more money isn’t the answer, but a deliberate departure from current training methods is.
Digital Humans: A New Approach to Employee Training
For businesses to prepare their staff for the workplace of tomorrow, they need to embrace the technologies of tomorrow—namely, digital humans. These advanced solutions will empower L&D leaders to drive immersive learning experiences for their staff. Digital humans use various technologies and techniques like conversational AI, large language models (LLMs), retrieval augmented generation, digital human avatars, virtual reality (VR,) and generative AI to produce engaging and interactive scenarios that are perfect for training.
Recall that a major issue with current training methods is that staff never have opportunities to apply the information they just consumed, resulting in the loss of said information. Digital humans avoid this problem by generating lifelike roleplay scenarios where trainees can actually apply and practice what they have learned, reinforcing knowledge retention. In a sales training example, the digital human takes on the role of a customer, allowing the employee to practice their pitch for a new product or service. The employee can rehearse in realistic conditions rather than studying the details of the new product or service and jumping on a call with a live customer.
A detractor might push back and say that digital humans lack a necessary human element. Ironically, digital humans are much more humanistic than current training methods, where an employee watches pre-recorded videos and reads training material. Ideally, every employee would have one-on-one sessions with a trainer, but that is simply not feasible—especially when companies need to train multiple employees. Leading digital humans use avatars and other technologies like conversational AI,LLMs, and even personality systems to be warm, friendly, and encouraging, making training not only immersive but also as empathic as possible in the absence of a human teacher.
The Benefits of Immersive Learning
There are several advantages of digital human-led training solutions. Chiefly, they help L&D leaders create immersive experiences for employees, which are superior to passive methods like reading or watching videos. Research from a leading digital human solution provider found that digital humans were more effective than text-based learning methods. Digital human users also demonstrated much higher information retention. Unsurprisingly, those who used digital humans were far more likely to recommend such methods over text-based ones.
Additionally, research from PwC found that immersive learning (specifically, in this study, VR training) outperformed typical ‘classroom’ environments in key areas such as soft skills, which will be indispensable to helping teams navigate complex workplaces in the future. Likewise, the research discovered that immersive learning helped trainees feel more confident in applying their newfound skills.
Immersive training is also faster and more cost-effective than traditional modes of learning. Recently, retail giant Walmart, seeking to provide learners with the most realistic, hands-on training experience possible, partnered with immersive content specialists to create a live-action Pickup Tower course in VR. This immersive learning course helped Walmart cut training time by 96% and reduce travel- and personnel-related training expenses significantly.
Walmart noted it was especially pleased with the solution’s ability to recreate lifelike situations, which spared them from creating such scenarios in a store with real customers. In the same way, digital humans simulate real-world circumstances that enable employees to put their training into practice without fear of failure or potential profit loss.
Future-Proofing Through Better Training
The skills required to perform work will continue to evolve, leading to entirely new jobs that didn’t even exist 20 years ago. It is imperative that organizations prepare accordingly for this future by equipping their workforce with the skills they’ll need to succeed in their current and future roles. Moreover, L&D leaders must move beyond outdated learning methods and embrace solutions like digital humans, which can support immersive learning. Such a transition toward technology-driven training will ultimately be just as vital to long-term success as any other modernization effort within a business.
About the Author
Ashley Johnson is Senior Director of Marketing at UneeQ. With 15 years of experience in corporate and product marketing, Ashley Johnson is a highly respected leader in AI, emerging technology, and enterprise B2B marketing. As the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications at UneeQ, Ashley spearheads initiatives that amplify the role of digital humans in transformative customer experiences, particularly in entertainment and commercial sectors. Her thought leadership extends beyond UneeQ—she’s a sought-after speaker on AI ethics, synthetic media, and responsible tech adoption.
Ashley has played a critical role in the growth of numerous startups, guiding them through pivotal milestones, including IPOs, acquisitions, and securing major funding.
Her extensive skill set spans competitive analysis, program management, and launching award-winning products, while her expertise includes AI/ML, SaaS, and blockchain technology.
Ashley is also a Certified Scrum Master, Product Owner, and OKR Coach, with a deep commitment to continuous learning and industry innovation. In previous roles, she led product marketing for high-growth companies, delivering multi-million dollar results and shaping go-to-market strategies for complex B2B solutions. Ashley’s robust understanding of generative AI and immersive web further solidifies her as a thought leader on the frontier of AI technology.
