The year is drawing to a close and it may feel difficult to get your employees engaged with learning.  Encouraging employees to focus on a specific skill and tackle that training in smaller sessions can help the employee feel like training is more accessible.  Our content partners that we are highlighting this month provide a wide range of topics and skills for your employees to dig into.  Looking for other ways to engage employees? Head over to our 12-months of learning calendar to find playlists to help you engage your employees all year round. 

What content partners should you check out this month? 

Based out of the UK, Mind Channel, is one of our more diverse content providers, with over 687 courses in the Content Hub.  With topics ranging from Effective Email Writing to Insider Trading, Mind Channel provides primarily microlearn courses on the topics that matter to your company.  

Looking for some quick wins for your learners?  Check out these courses:

Mind Channel Minute: Writing Longer Emails

When it comes to compliance content, BSI providers us with a variety of content to help any Australian company get started. In addition to their compliance content, they also have a wide variety of content covering hospitality, retail skills, customer service, and leadership.  Their courses come in a variety of formats, often including videos and animation.  

Here’s a few of their most popular courses:

Intellezy, a US based company, is a star content partner when it comes to sharpening your technical and soft skills.  This award-winning content provider covers a variety of topics, including software, devops, and business skills and provides closed captioning in 20 different languages for all of their courses.

Check out their latest additions to our library:

Introduction to HMTL and CSS3 – Beginner

Adobe Lightroom (Classic) CC – Beginner

Microsoft 365 Power Automate – Beginner

November 13th is World Kindness Day, which seemed like a good opportunity to see what in our library can help our customers honor kindness. As a leader, I was drawn to the Small Acts of Kindness series by Mindscaling. Mindscaling is a great content partner that provides us thoughtful microlearning for leaders to help them navigate leadership and management.  Small Acts of Kindness by Mindscaling is made of four short modules, including Assume Best Intentions, Create Energy Around You, Kindness is the Killer App, and Nourish Your Team.  I particularly liked the module on assuming best intentions.  As a leader, I feel that this is one of the most important things I can bring to work with me every day.  By assuming that people are coming to the situation with the best intentions, it becomes easier to communicate and resolve issues, with an understanding that everyone is trying their best. 

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

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What content partners should you check out this month? This October edition focuses on employee learning engagement. In particular, how breaking training up into smaller sessions can help the training to feel more accessible.

The Go1 Content Insider - October 2022 edition

What content partners should you check out this month? This October edition focuses on employee learning engagement and training accessibility.

A global feminist agency working to advance gender equality and end violence against women and girls.

We are excited to announce a global partnership with The Equality Institute (EQI) to help advance gender equality in the workplace. Founded in 2015 by Dr. Emma Fulu, EQI was born from the belief that an intersectional feminist approach would help organisations reduce inequities that exist both in the workplace and in society.

EQI combines world-class research with creative communications, allowing them to promote an evidence-based approach to translate complex research and ideas into products that drive real impact. 

Their new course, Gender Equality Foundations, is supported by Go1’s Social Impact team. It brings world class experts on race, gender, domestic violence and disability together to create an intersectional resource for addressing gender inequity at work. 

It focuses on understanding gender and gender inequality and giving learners the tools to take action to drive social change and create more inclusive environments, including workplaces, built on a culture of respect and belonging.  

“Gender equality is something that impacts all of us and we need to be part of the solution. This course is an invitation for you to join us in creating positive change.”  
 Dr. Emma Fulu, Founder and Director of EQI  

Equality Institute - Launching Gender Equality Foundations

With this announcement, Go1 users can now access The Equality Institute course on Gender Equality Foundations. This is a foundational course and will help workplaces understand Gender Equality while also driving engagement with other core topics like psychological safety, inclusive leadership and embedding inclusion, which are available in the content hub library.

"This is a resource that tackles foundational topics that are core to the success of modern workplaces. From intersectionality to leading diverse teams, it sets a rhythm for engaging people at work with further learning. It has been inspiring to see this learning program come to life across countries and to see the joy, expertise and curiosity that drives EQI turn this into a challenging and engaging learning program”.  

Dr. Cam Cliff, Senior Manager – Impact @ Go1  
  

Get in touch if you would like to learn more about this partnership.   

Customers can access The Equality Institute as part of their premium subscription to the Go1 Content Hub.  

Their new course, Gender Equality Foundations, brings world class experts on race, gender, domestic violence and disability together for change.

Advancing gender equality with The Equality Institute

While GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) can be a dry and complex subject, it’s also an incredibly important part of data compliance. For that reason, some of your employees should have a deep understanding of GDPR, and all of your employees should at least have a basic knowledge of GDPR principles.

To do that, GDPR compliance training can be taken online, with courses covering the subject at a wide variety of levels, from beginner through to advanced. But what is GDPR and why is it important for employees to learn its principles?

GDPR is a set of data protection rules published by the European Union that outlines how businesses store and process personal data. The full GDPR regulations came into force in 2018, and contain a mammoth 99 articles. Many consider the rules to be complex and extensive but also agree that they help protect consumers' data and how that data is handled by organizations.

GDPR is so important because it focuses on consent, giving customers the choice over who stores their data, for how long, and for what reason.

Because of how long winded GDPR guidelines are, it’s critical that your business has a full understanding of the rules.

If your business processes customer data then you need to ensure that you’re GDPR compliant. If your business is not found to be compliant, then it risks fines of up to €10 million, or in some cases higher.

A business is responsible for complying with all GDPR requirements, as well as ensuring it’s in a position to demonstrate that it’s compliant. In order to do this, part of its GDPR responsibilities includes introducing the correct procedures, technologies, and relevant training.

At certain organizations, such as those processing sensitive or large amounts of data, a DPO (Data Protection Officer) must be appointed. A DPO is responsible for the strategy and implementation of data protection within that organization,

A DPO can be an existing employee, a new employee, or appointed externally.

Because most employees work with data in some form, it’s recommended that all employees take some form of GDPR training. This is the responsibility of the business, or the DPO if the business appoints one, to arrange. Failing to train employees means there is a risk of non-compliance, which in turn risks a potential fine and damage to your business’s reputation.

GDPR compliance training for employees is available at all levels, from beginner modules to advanced topics. Which level particular employees require depends on several factors such as seniority, how much data they handle, the type of data they handle, how they process data, and whether they speak directly to your customers.

However, it’s vital that all employees at least have a basic understanding of GDPR and its principles.

Yes, GDPR training can be taken online via eLearning platforms such as Go1. Online training is a fast, cost-effective, and convenient way for all employees to learn the basics of GDPR, as well as advanced training where required.

For more information browse our range of data compliance courses.

As we’ve already highlighted, it is your business’s responsibility to ensure it complies with GDPR guidelines. For that reason, there are many ways in which you can ensure compliance:

Raise awareness of your employees by offering mandatory training. eLearning can be a cost-effective and convenient way to deliver training, and if your company uses an LMS (learning management system) you can monitor who has completed the training and who needs additional support.

Audit customer data to determine whether all data is relevant and how it’s shared.

Ensure you have procedures outlined so you can respond to requests asking for what data you hold for an individual.

Make sure you let customers know how you collect, store and use their data with a relevant privacy notice.

Have a detailed strategy for detecting, investigating, reporting, and rectifying a data breach.

How often should you take GDPR refresher training?

Due to the importance of data protection and keeping customers’ personal data safe, GDPR refresher training should be taken annually. Not only does this ensure employees have the most up-to-date knowledge, but it also demonstrates that your business is doing everything it can to protect your customers’ data.

As we’ve already discussed, online GDPR training can be taken at various levels of complexity depending on the role and seniority of an employee. The following courses are useful across beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels:

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Do online GDPR courses offer certification?

Yes, many online courses offer GDPR training and certification. While browsing eLearning platforms check whether this is something provided once the course has been completed.

Where can you take an online GDPR course?

Go1 has a range of online GDPR training courses which can be accessed instantly. For more information on how Go1 can help develop your employees, book a demo with a member of our expert team today.

GDPR governs how businesses can use, process, and store personal data. Learn how to train for this essential legal framework with Go1.

Understanding online GDPR compliance courses | Go1

Understanding online GDPR compliance courses

It’s no secret that we live in a mobile-first world. To prove this point, there’s a good chance you’re reading this article on your phone right now. If not, your phone is most likely within arm’s reach, especially if you’re among the 90% of Millennials who say they have their phones on them 24/7. 

Over the years, we’ve focussed heavily on eLearning on this blog — whether it be the benefits of eLearning, the impact of eLearning, or tips for creating a stress-free eLearning environment. And, of course, eLearning isn’t going anywhere. However, in an increasingly mobile-first society, it has become paramount to add another prong to your learning strategy, focusing not just on eLearning, but on mobile learning (mLearning) too. 

Already, the average person spends 3 hours and 15 minutes on their phone per day, checking their phone 58 times. Research by Google breaks this down further, finding that 80% of people own a smartphone, while people are almost twice as likely to solely use a smartphone (27%) than solely use a computer (14%). What’s more, 65% of all digital media is viewed on smartphones. 91% of the time spent on smartphones is spent using apps, of which about 50% is used for some form of learning. 

In other words, mLearning’s potential is almost limitless. With this in mind, we’ll ask the question on everyone’s lips: what is mLearning? Following this, we’ll outline five key benefits of mLearing, demonstrating why it is essential for any modern, forward-thinking L&D team.

Mobile learning, otherwise known as mLearning, is any form of learning that occurs on a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device. mLearning can take many forms, from compliance training to upskilling to microlearning, and everything in between. mLearning’s convenience and versatility mean it’s especially valuable for microlearning, with estimates suggesting it will be the most popular form of microlearning by 2025. mLearning contrasts with eLearning, which takes place on a laptop or desktop computer.

Easy LMS expands on this definition, explaining that mLearing is “a new way to access learning content using mobile devices. It’s possible to learn whenever and wherever you want, as long as you have a modern mobile device connected to the internet.” 

Likewise, eLearning Industry defines mLearning as “a broad term that refers to the process of learning via the internet or network using personal mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and digital notebooks. Mobile learning has been around in one form or the other since the early 2000s but soared in popularity a few years ago because it allows students access to education anywhere and anytime, provided they have a mobile device.” 

This final point is significant, as mLearning’s popularity has grown exponentially in recent years. According to the Global Mobile Learning Industry Report, mLearning is the fastest-growing market in the learning sector, with an average growth rate of 20% year-on-year. The global mLearning industry was valued at $22.4 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $80.1 billion in 2027. For context, the global eLearning market was worth $215 billion in 2021. 

While mLearning’s vast popularity might come as a shock initially, if you stop and think, you may realise you are already engaging in mLearning without even realising it. As mentioned, 64% of all digital media is viewed on mobile devices, while approximately 50% of the time people spend on mobile apps is dedicated to learning. 

If this sounds high, ask yourself: do I listen to podcasts that teach me something new? Have I ever looked up a how-to tutorial on YouTube? Have I downloaded an app to learn a new language? Or an app to help me manage my money or learn about investing? Perhaps even a brain training app to keep me mentally sharp? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you’re already engaging in a form of mLearning.

The best part is that mLearning can take place anywhere. As such, mLearning is far more versatile than eLearning. A survey by Merrill Lynch found that learners complete mLearning modules in a variety of different locations, such as: 

On an aeroplane/during business travel (32%)

Accordingly, it’s no surprise that many L&D teams have embraced the mLearning trend. One-quarter of L&D professionals say their organisation already offers mLearning. While this leaves plenty of room for improvement, 61% say their organisation plans to implement mLearning in the next two years, underscoring the rapid growth rate in this sector. 

Still, this leaves 13% of teams who don’t already offer mLearning and don’t plan to implement mLearning in the next two years. If we haven’t already convinced these holdouts, read on to discover five key benefits of mLearning.

When in doubt, it’s a good idea to give your learners what they want. And when it comes to mLearning, learner preferences are resounding. 64% of learners want training to be accessible on their mobile devices — with many adding that this isn’t just a preference but an essential need. 

If that wasn’t resounding enough, a study by Merrill Lynch found that 99% of participants believe mobile instruction supports their learning. But don’t just take our word for it. In that same study, learners put the benefits of mLearning into their own words. 75% of learners identified convenience, time savings, and training with no distractions as the key benefits of mobile learning.

Additionally, 71% of Millennials say they connect more with mobile learning than L&D activities delivered via desktop or other formal methods. Taking this a step further, 46% of learners use mobile learning before they go to sleep at night! 

The message is clear: learners crave more mobile-friendly learning options. 

The benefits of mLearning don’t stop with giving learners what they want, as implementing mLearning can also positively impact learner engagement. 

According to Course Method, after implementing mLearning, 72% of users report increased engagement with the learning materials. Further, the average completion rate of a mLearning course is a massive 82%. 

If learners want more mLearning opportunities and mLearning increases learner engagement, then it follows that people will also be motivated to spend extra time learning. 

According to a study by Capterra, mLearners typically study for 40 more minutes per week than people who complete traditional eLearning courses. 

People don’t just spend more time learning — they also improve knowledge retention thanks to mLearning. According to a report by Lynda, “one global pharmaceutical company achieved a 53% improvement in knowledge retention among staff members by using mobile learning to introduce a new product.”

So far, these statistics have focussed on the benefits of mLearning from a learner’s perspective. Fear not, as the benefits of mLearning from a business perspective are also significant. 

For example, 55% of organisational leaders experienced improved business growth after implementing mLearning. Among these improvements, 76% of leaders said mLearning enhances business efficiency.

Finally, mLearning can boost motivation and productivity. 

70% of learners say they are more motivated when they can complete a course on their smartphone. 

What’s more, mobile learners complete training materials 45% faster on average, thereby boosting productivity. In fact, during their study, Merrill Lynch produced an incredible 4,270 hours of extra productivity by using mLearning rather than eLearning. 

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter today to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

mLearning’s potential is almost limitless. With this in mind, we’ll ask the question on everyone’s lips: what are the benefits of mLearning over eLearning?

The benefits of mLearning over eLearning

Picture this: it’s been a really long day at work. You’re absolutely exhausted after attempting to tackle what seems like a mountain of work, not to mention attending multiple meetings that definitely could have been emails. You’re looking forward to home time and know it’s coming soon.  

You look at the clock to plan the last few minutes of your workday, only to discover it’s barely lunch time. Four hours of the typical workday still to go. Heartbreaking. You’re so tired.  

There’s no way you can work to your full potential for the rest of the day. However, there’s also too much work to complete for you to stop.  

While you could just push through the tiredness, that may not result in your best work. Never fear, there is a way around this; energy management. 

No, we don’t just mean an extra cup of coffee to get a boost of caffeine (though that’s not necessarily a bad thing). Energy management is about tackling exhaustion before it hits, or at least before it affects your ability to work to your full potential. 

Here, we’ll offer practical steps to help you effectively manage your energy so that you can bring your best self to work and kiss those days of exhaustion goodbye. 

For those unfamiliar with the term ‘Ultradian rhythms’, it may sound like something a dodgy local psychic would tell you to ‘tune into’. We’re happy to report that it’s much more than that. There’s real neuroscience behind it that you can use to optimise both your workplace productivity and energy. 

Ultradian rhythms are 90-to-120-minute cycles where our bodies slowly progress from a high-energy state to a low-energy state.  

You can recognise when you might be entering a low-energy state if you begin to experience signs like hunger, restlessness, and yawning.  

When you approach the end of an Ultradian cycle, and therefore a low-energy state, your body starts to crave a period of recovery. During these low-energy states, you may not feel complete exhaustion and decide that you can push through it. While this might sound like a good idea to get work completed sooner, it can have detrimental effects on overall productivity. 

If you ignore the signs of entering a low-energy state, your energy reservoir ends up more depleted overall. However, by paying attention to your Ultradian rhythms and recognising when you may be entering a low-energy state, you can recognise when it may be time for a break. 

If you’re unsure about recognising these symptoms before they impact your day, scheduling intermittent breaks every 90 to 120 minutes can help renew your daily energy. 

Taking regular breaks with the purpose of energy renewal results in higher and more sustainable performance overall.

Okay, we hear you. There’s only 24 hours in a day and even fewer in a typical workday. Buying extra time is simply not possible. While that’s technically true, there’s a way to give the illusion of having extra time in the workday. It comes down to something everyone does all the time: breathing. 

Taking a deep breath in and then breathing out for 5 to 6 seconds not only helps to induce relaxation but can also help turn off the brain’s fight or flight response, which takes over during periods of stress.  

While the brain is in fight or flight mode, it's nearly impossible to think clearly and logically - so of course it’s also nearly impossible to make the best decisions at work. If subpar decisions are being made, that can unintentionally create more stress and problems down the line, thereby taking up unnecessary time during the workday. 

By using breathing techniques to consciously turn off fight or flight mode, you are buying back the time that would have been lost to panic, stress, and unclear decision-making. You can then use that time to get more work done, network with peers, or even plan for the days ahead.

Going for a walk is probably a tip you’ve heard before. It sounds cheesy and may even make you roll your eyes a little. Before you dismiss it entirely, going for a walk does way more for energy management than just helping you to ‘calm down’.  

Just like ‘Ultradian rhythms’, there is genuine neuroscience to back up the effectiveness of taking time out of your workday to go for a short walk.  

When you go for a walk, your brain is no longer actively thinking in the same way it would while you’re sitting at your desk at work. This allows for the dominant left hemisphere of the brain to take a bit of a break and allow the right hemisphere of the brain to have more input. The right hemisphere of the brain is more focused on the bigger picture and allows for more creative thinking than the left hemisphere. 

You never know what incredible new ideas may come to you while on a walk that may have gone undiscovered otherwise!  

Like anything else in the world of work, workplace leaders set the example for energy management in the workplace. Arguably, workplace leaders are some of the busiest people in a business. If you are a business leader, you may be thinking, “I don’t have time for all this energy management stuff.” Some of these tips we’ve mentioned take only seconds out of the day but can add hours of value and productivity. They are absolutely worth doing from both a business and emotional wellbeing standpoint. 

When other employees see that their leaders are committing to managing their energy effectively, they’re more likely to follow suit.  

Even if workplace leaders can’t commit to all these energy management tips, simply encouraging employees to follow them and commending them when they do will have positive knock-on effects throughout the business. Employees will be able to complete more work. At the same time, they can decrease their stress levels and therefore increase their psychological safety at work. 

For more insights on energy management and other L&D news, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.  

Bring your best self to work with these energy management tips

In October we have taken a look at future-focused pedagogies, with content partners delivering strategies for teachers to implement across a range of subject areas, and even across the world!

“Future-focused learning is empowering students to take ownership of their learning by providing an environment which is flexible, innovative and challenging and which will foster students who are capable of making formative decisions based on accessing the facts.” – NSW Department of Education

From project-based learning to transforming learning environments, to forward-thinking mathematical approaches. The courses we bring to you this month are going to empower your students and shed light on how each classroom can empower students to gain the skills needed for our fast-paced, ever-changing world.

Which awesome content partners have we added to the platform?

Think Learning Studio began as a travelling high school (the only one of its kind in the world!) and implemented a rigorous project-based learning program in many countries. Now, they collaborate with school leaders and educators around the world to design dynamic real-world project-based learning models. Watch interviews with educators and students throughout their course to gain insight into what project-based learning is, and how to implement the structure within your own classroom.

The Learning Future is a strategy and professional learning organisation that supports schools, educators and organisations to thrive in our constantly changing world. Throughout his videos and podcasts, Louka Parry, the CEO and Founder of The Learning Future seeks to transform learning environments, systems and structures to better empower teachers and students to develop the skills that matter most for their learning future.

Maths Pathway envisions a world where every student experiences growth and success in maths. They make individualised learning practical by using tools that put administration in the background and bring teaching to the front, where it belongs. With teacher talks featuring Eddie Woo and Dan Finkel, Maths Pathway bring beautiful and engaging maths to every classroom.

Which great content partners are coming soon to EC Premium?

Sheena and Louise fromThe Literacy Place aim to improve literacy outcomes for students by providing teachers with quality training and resources. In their first course, you’ll find an abundance of practical strategies for guided reading with young learners.

Used by over 250 schools, the coaching program from At My Best opens a positive conversation between staff members and transforms feedback into development actions that have the best impact on student learning, and the school as a whole. At My Best includes effective reflection templates and practical strategies to implement with staff using a simple coaching framework.

Lisa Burman is an experienced teacher, school leader and pedagogical consultant. She supports educators and prior-to-school and primary school leaders to develop site-wide plans for pedagogical change. In her micro courses you will get equipped with knowledge and techniques to enhance student engagement, nurture and empowerment.

Yeronga State High School is located in Brisbane, Queensland. Employing 80 staff and enrolling 775 students, many of which were born overseas, Yeronga provides an international educational experience by offering high specialised English language and literacy immersion. Across the school, all teachers actively access their EC Premium Learning Hub to enter a wide range of courses for their professional development, with a particular focus on leadership, global competence and wellbeing.

Staff are accessing courses that have been assigned to them by their administrator via the Groups functionality, as well as by individually searching for the content that specific to their own needs. In the short time that they have had access to our Learning Hub, a total of 33 courses have been completed by staff. Very impressive!

As a learning designer Dani works with you to design and deliver your professional learning programs, with a particular focus on quality teaching practice. Dani brings a decade of school teacher and leadership experience to the EC team, with a particular depth in the public sector. She has been a program consultant on learning projects for clients including the Academy (VIC), Professional Learning Institute (TAS) and with schools across NSW.

Fun fact about Dani: She has listened to the song ‘You Can Call Me Al’ at least once a day for the last 18 months.

What content partners should you check out this month? This October edition highlights content for school leaders and educators. These content strategies will allow teachers to implement them across a range of subject areas and locations.

The EC Premium Content Insider - October 2022 edition

We’re back again with updates on what’s been released across our technology here at Go1. Keep reading to learn all about the improvements and new features that we are super excited about! 

Greater user insights and feedback, in one place 

Admins will be able to see what courses their learners are liking, disliking, saving, sharing, and the comments they leave in the course completion survey in our new Manager Insights page. They can also see reporting issues on content they have created.  

The aim is to drive insights into learner preferences, by providing administrators data against individual learning resources. You can then validate the satisfaction of the learning experience of your employees and make improvements to your learning programs.  

Auto-reassign on courses so you can set-and-forget your learning 

Automated reassign is now available against course types only, so Administrators can set-and-forget learning that needs to be repeated in a repeatable timeframe. This timeframe can be mandated by their organization’s governing body, or internal organizational policy. Often, this is annual recurring compliance training. 

Send Welcome email in bulk to users, for effective launch and onboarding 

Previously, the Welcome email was sent to new users as soon as they were added to the Go1 Platform. Now, you can choose when to send the Welcome email to a cohort of users, to give you more control over launch and onboarding activities, and support your workflow effectively. 

Bulk-add users to Groups within the Platform, with no more pesky .csv uploads  

Save a lot of precious time by simplifying your onboarding and offboarding workflow when people join or leave your organization. 

Select multiple groups when assigning learning  

Save time and assign learning to more groups more effectively by selecting multiple groups, when you assign a piece of learning content, across the Platform. 

Ensure new employees are completing training in the right timeframes when they join by applying relative due dates

Relative due dates allow a Learner to complete their training within a specified timeframe, as opposed to a set date. This is an especially important functionality to support the ongoing workflow of adding new employee cohorts to Groups when they join an organization. 


Simpler reporting: Filter by Group from the Manage page of any resource

Track completion status against learning assigned to a Group, within Manage page, against every piece of content, in one simple click. 

Email addresses are no longer visible in Groups to Learners, in order to maintain an individual’s privacy. Admins and Content Admins can still view email addresses in Groups. 

Ensure completion of assigned learning  

Learners can’t opt out of Groups where there is assigned learning, when a group has been selected as ‘Restricted’. 

For all Go1 learners, we have modernised the course completion experience to make it easier for users to provide ratings and depth of feedback. There is now an improved survey to enhance quality and relevancy of courses to users. For learners taking their courses in the Go1 Platform, we have elevated course recommendations to help learners know what to do next and inspire continuous learning, within the player.  

The Go1 research group aims to understand the objectives of our customers and how we can best help you to achieve your desired business outcomes.

Sign up to give feedback on our Platform or Learning in the flow integrations, and see what our Product team is working on. Join the Go1 research group.

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

Welcome to the latest product release blog! Here is a rundown of new features and improvements including an exciting new Manager Insights page, new course completion experience, automated reassign and more.

Product release round up July - September 2022

The advertising industry is one that is fast-moving and ever-changing and requires employees to be skilled in a variety of areas. From knowing how to tell a good story, to managing multiple projects at the same time, having a wide range of skills is vital for progression.

But what skills are required for a career in advertising, and which skills should your employees look to improve if they want to progress within your organization?

What are some fundamental skills required in advertising?

Through advertising, you are attempting to attract your target audience so they spend money with your business. To do that, you need to connect with your audience on an emotional level - but to do that, you need to understand them. As a result, employees need a variety of skills.

One of the key marketing and advertising skills required to carve an impactful career in the industry is creativity. Creativity doesn’t just include coming up with unique ideas for campaigns, but also crosses with other skills such as problem-solving and organization.

There are many types of creativity, including copywriting, graphic design, and ideation. Creativity is a skill that can’t necessarily be learned, but it can be refined and developed so employees know how to appropriately use this important skill.

For more information, check out our blog post on how to boost your creativity.

No team member will possess all the necessary skills or time alone to ensure an advertising campaign runs smoothly, launches on time, and delivers on its KPIs. For that reason, teamwork in advertising is critical. Effective teamwork prevents unnecessary stress, shares responsibility and accountability, and allows each member of the team to play to their strengths.

Teamwork also involves knowing when to accept defeat. Employees may be passionate about their ideas and adamant that it’s the right thing to do - but others may not share the same vision. That’s why egos have to be left at home in advertising, or else employees may find that ego bruised on more than one occasion.

Communication and active listening skills

Communication is a two-way street, which means employees communicating their own ideas is just as important as listening to others. Pitching and ideation can be a collaborative process, so knowing how to communicate is important. Not only is this important within teams, but critical when it comes to pitching to clients and potential clients. Active listening will make sure employees are giving the client what they want, rather than what they think they want.

In order to understand the zeitgeist and what your target audience likes, watches, reads, and spends their money on, market research and commercial awareness are key.

Knowing how to undertake market research and then collate the data to form solid conclusions is the first step of the process, and without it, you risk spending money on a campaign that your audience may not engage with. Plus, it becomes the backbone for how your brand presents itself, from tone of voice through to packaging.

Organizational and time-management skills

Advertising is a busy industry, and there are usually many different projects to work on all at once. As a result, strong organizational and time-management skills allow employees to effectively juggle their workload to continue meeting deadlines and producing work to a consistently high standard.

The social media landscape can be very different from other advertising platforms. It allows brands to instantly connect with their audience, with trends being made - and dropped - sometimes within a matter of hours.

Monitoring social media trends is important for everyone in advertising. Not only can you see what competitors are doing, but you can also ensure you remain on trend or, even better, ahead of trends.

What other skills will help boost your career?

There are many more skills required for advertising, and the more an employee develops the better and more rounded they’ll be - and the better your campaigns will perform. This includes listening to feedback, analytical skills, and flexibility.

On top of these, it’s important for those who want to progress in advertising to know how to effectively engage their audience and accurately convey a message. In order to do this, great skills to have also include:

Storytelling skills - in order to pull in your audience and have them engage with your brand, you need to tell a story that is relevant to them.

Writing skills - once you have the right ‘beats’ to your story, effectively conveying them is just as important. You need to write emotively, succinctly, and go easy on the jargon - even if what you’re writing about is complex.

What additional skills are required for managerial and directorial advertising roles?

As well as striving to develop all of the above skills, employees in managerial and directorial roles need additional skills to ensure the success of not just themselves, but also their teams. One effective way to develop these skills is via online management training.

But what advertising manager skills are needed by senior employees of your organization?	

A big part of management is leading a team, which can involve plenty of strategizing, delegating, motivating, and an overall hands-off approach to many parts of the process. Mentoring, guiding, and training their teams will allow managers to support their colleagues so they can produce their best work.

Making difficult decisions can be tough, but it’s part of leading a team - even if those decisions result in a few unhappy co-workers. However, it’s also important that those decisions are guided by rationale and data so they can be backed up.

In order for projects to meet deadlines and remain on budget, advertising project management skills are also needed. Without these skills, teams may not collaborate as effectively, which can result in miscommunication, delays, and a drop in productivity and - ultimately - quality.

A manager should always strive for openness and honesty to keep conflicts to a minimum, but the reality is that there is no way to completely prevent conflicts from happening. When they do, conflict management and resolution skills can quickly and effectively overturn these, and help to prevent them from reoccurring in the future.

As well as being able to accept feedback with grace and understanding, giving effective feedback is also vital. Finding the balance between being honest, constructive, and kind makes receiving feedback much more useful.

Where can you learn more about advertising?

Looking to upskill your team so they have all the skills necessary to develop their advertising careers? Go1 has a wide range of online advertising courses available to access right now.

Advertising is one of the most exciting careers around, but it also has some specific requirements. Check out these top skills you'll need to progress!

The tops skills to progress in an advertising career | Go1

The top skills to progress in an advertising career

As some of the oldest members of the workforce, Baby Boomers have witnessed the workplace repeatedly transform before their very eyes. Experiencing all that change must have felt like quite a rollercoaster at times! 

Riding this metaphorical rollercoaster (whether willingly or otherwise) has meant that Baby Boomers have spent most of their lives learning at work. While many Baby Boomers are approaching retirement age, the learning hasn’t stopped yet, and they don’t want it to. There’s plenty of upskilling and reskilling left to do! 

Let’s dive into the world of upskilling and reskilling Baby Boomers and discover how workplace leaders can best support them through this new stage of their L&D journey. 

Schools don’t use the same methods and materials to teach preschool students that they use to teach high school students. That just wouldn’t make sense. The same applies to those of different ages in the workplace. 

You may be thinking, “we’re all adults at work. Therefore, we should treat everyone the same at work regardless of their age.” That is partially correct. Everyone certainly does deserve to be treated with the same level of respect and have the same number of opportunities to progress at work. However, by accounting for age, businesses can tailor the workplace experience to suit the varying needs of employees of different ages. Tailoring the workplace learning experience is key to ensuring employees receive the most effective upskilling and reskilling. 

Let’s dive into the world of upskilling and reskilling Baby Boomers and discover how workplace leaders can best support them through this new stage of their L&D journey.