Building a digitally literate team

Digital literacy isn’t just about using a computer. It’s about giving your team the skills they need to be effective in today’s digital environments. It’s essential to their success — and for your organization’s success.

But despite how critical these skills are, and 92% of jobs requiring digital skills, many organizations aren’t taking the steps needed to develop them

In this article, we’ll explain why digital literacy matters so much and how to help your employees move forward in a digital world.

Why does digital literacy matter?

Digital literacy is about solving real problems at work. For employees, it can directly benefit:

• Efficiency: Employees who know how to use digital tools efficiently get things done faster and with fewer errors. Automating simple tasks or using shortcuts in spreadsheet software, for example, can save significant time and resources.
• Collaboration: For everyday internal communications, email is dead. Whether remote or in-office, employees need to know how to communicate and collaborate online using tools like Slack, Teams, and Google Workspace.
• Problem-solving: Digitally savvy employees don’t let IT issues become a major roadblock — they can troubleshoot and find solutions themselves, leaving IT to handle the bigger challenges.
• Security: Basic cybersecurity skills protect your company from risks like phishing and data breaches. Recognizing phishing attempts, managing passwords, and following secure data-handling practices are key to digital literacy.
• Adaptability: Continuous upskilling for digital competence can help teams keep up with new technology and market changes so your organization stays agile and competitive.

What digital skills should employees have?

The key skills employees need to build digital literacy are:

• Data handling: Data visualization, statistical analysis, and effectively using spreadsheets are seen as mandatory skills across many industries.
• Communication: Virtual etiquette, document collaboration, project management, and asynchronous communication tools are present in almost every business today.
• Security: Phishing attempts and password breaches are some of the top threats to businesses. Basic security practices, such as recognizing these attempts and handling passwords safely, are essential.

Building your program in three steps

1. Assess what your team needs

Start by understanding where your team stands. Use surveys or self-assessments to identify gaps in their digital skills. From there, set clear, measurable goals like:

• Achieve 90% completion rate on a digital tools course (Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and Teams) within 6 months.
• Reduce phishing incidents by 60% after completing cybersecurity training.

2. Create a digital literacy checklist

Identify the core skills your team needs. Likely topics include:

• Basic digital skills: Foundational skills like using email automations and spreadsheet formulas, or competencies in cloud storage, collaboration tools, and digital communication.
• Advanced tools and software skills: Training on specific platforms your organization uses, like CRM systems, project management tools, or analytics.
• Security and privacy: Data protection, cybersecurity best practices, and handling sensitive information should be a part of the list.

Be sure to get buy-in from leadership and align the program(s) with your company’s goals.

And if you’re stuck on where to start or don’t have time for all of this, we have a free-to-download digital literacy curriculum checklist that can get you started.

3. Choose the right tools and resources

Now we may be a bit biased here, but a content aggregator can be a cost-effective option for helping your employees learn faster while making your job easier. Content aggregators like Go1 give employees access to courses for upskilling on digital skills, compliance training for cybersecurity, and even certification prep all available with one company subscription. 

Content aggregators offer all of this in multiple formats to help you increase engagement and retention. You’ll find:

• Modules that break down training into bite-sized sections for better retention.
• Blended learning options to mix up online courses with live sessions for engagement.
• Hands-on practice with real-world examples to make learning relatable and memorable.

Get your team ready with Go1

Digital literacy isn’t just about teaching technical skills. It’s about building a team that knows how to navigate digital tools confidently and effectively. When your team is appropriately skilled, your organization can tackle today’s challenges head-on.

With Go1, you don’t need to overcomplicate things. We provide easy-to-integrate training content that’s relevant, accessible, and designed to make digital learning a simple part of everyday work.

Ready to get started? Book a demo and see how Go1 can help your team become digitally literate, without the hassle.