In recent years, the use of audio and podcast in particular has become increasingly popular in the field of Corporate Learning. From instructional videos and podcasts to interactive multimedia presentations, these resources provide a dynamic and engaging way for learners to absorb new information and improve their skills.

In order to ensure that these resources are truly effective, it is crucial to evaluate and measure their impact on the learning experience. But with so many different statistics and methods available, it can be difficult to know where to begin.

Retention rate: the percentage of material that learners are able to recall and retain after listening to an audio lesson. This can be measured through quizzes, tests, or other assessments.

Engagement rate: how actively and attentively they are listening to the audio material. It can be measured through self-report surveys or through tracking software that measures how much time they spend listening to the audio.

Comprehension rate: the percentage of employees who are able to understand and apply the material presented in the audio lesson. This can be measured through quizzes, tests, or other assessments.

Speed of learning: How quickly they are able to learn and retain the material presented in the audio lesson. This can be measured through assessments or by tracking the time it takes to complete a course.

Satisfaction level: How satisfied learners are with the audio learning experience. This can be measured through self-report surveys or through interviews with employees.

It is important to note that these are just a few examples of the many different statistics that can be used to measure and evaluate learning with audio. The specific statistics used will depend on the goals and objectives of the audio learning program, as well as the needs and preferences of the students.

It is difficult to provide a specific percentage for the amount of knowledge that can be absorbed through audio format, as this can vary widely depending on a number of factors. 

Some of the factors that can influence knowledge absorption through audio format include:

The quality of the audio: If the audio is of poor quality, it may be more difficult for learners to understand and absorb the material.

The complexity of the material: Some types of material may be more difficult to understand and absorb when presented in audio format, particularly if they involve complex concepts or require visual aids to fully grasp.

The learner's prior knowledge and experience: If a learner has prior knowledge or experience in a subject, they may be able to absorb new information more easily through audio format.

The learner's learning style: Some learners may prefer to learn through audio format, while others may find it more challenging and may prefer other learning methods.

Overall, it is difficult to provide a specific percentage for the amount of knowledge that can be absorbed through audio format, as it can vary widely depending on these and other factors. It is generally recommended to use a combination of learning methods, including both audio and visual materials, to help learners fully understand and retain new information.

Spend less than a coffee
a day per Employee. And it’s much more tasty.

Measuring the Impact of Audio Learning in Corporate Training

In today's fast-paced world, learning has become an essential part of our daily lives. However, not all learning is created equal. Casual learning and lifelong learning are two distinct approaches to acquiring knowledge, and understanding their differences is crucial.

Casual learning. That specific term refers to learning that takes place outside of a structured environment. It is typically driven by personal interest or curiosity, and often happens spontaneously. For example, reading a book on a topic of interest, watching a YouTube video on a new hobby, or listening to a podcast on a specific skill. 

Casual learning is often enjoyable and relaxing, and the learner can choose what they want to learn and how much time they want to devote to it.

On the other hand, lifelong learning is a deliberate and ongoing pursuit of knowledge that occurs throughout a person's life. It is a structured and intentional approach to learning, often with a goal in mind. 

Lifelong learning can include pursuing higher education, attending workshops or seminars, or taking online courses. Most companies now value lifelong learning as one of their core value. Before an employee who doesn’t keep on learning will soon become an obsolete employee.

Unlike casual learning, lifelong learning requires discipline and commitment, and the learner may need to invest significant time and resources to achieve their goals.

One of the biggest differences between casual learning and lifelong learning is the level of depth and expertise that can be achieved. 

Lifelong learning allows for more in-depth exploration and mastery of a particular subject or skill. Another difference is the motivation behind the learning. Casual learning is often driven by personal interest or curiosity, while lifelong learning is often motivated by career advancement, personal growth, or a desire to acquire new skills. Lifelong learning can also be a way to stay relevant and adaptable in an ever-changing job market.

Casual learning and lifelong learning are two different approaches to acquiring knowledge, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Casual learning is often more enjoyable and less structured, while lifelong learning requires discipline and commitment but can lead to deeper expertise and personal growth. Both types of learning are important and can be incorporated into a well-rounded approach to personal development.

Casual Learning vs. Lifelong Learning: What's the Difference?

In recent years, podcasts have exploded in popularity as a form of entertainment and education. Latest reports say that the audio on-demand market is growing by 30% every year and the podcast market by 15% until at least 2030.

With the advent of smartphones, anyone can access thousands of podcasts on any topic at any time. The versatility of this medium has also made it a valuable tool for coaches and learning & development managers who are looking to revolutionize pedagogical practices. 

There are many ways in which podcasts are being used to enhance learning experiences and how specialists can leverage this medium to deliver effective content.

Podcasts provide a unique set of benefits that make them an excellent tool. They can be consumed at any time, anywhere, making them an ideal fit for today's fast-paced world. They also allow learners, whether they are working professionals or students, to learn at their own pace and give experts the flexibility to create content that is customized to their needs. Additionally, podcasts can make learning more engaging and interactive by incorporating sound effects, music, and interviews.

2: Examples of Pedagogical Practices that Exploit Podcast Audio

There are many ways in which learning professionals can use podcasts to enhance their pedagogical practices. One of them is to provide additional resources and perspectives on a particular topic. They can also be used as a platform for employees (or students) to create their own podcasts, encouraging them to explore their interests and develop their communication skills. Furthermore, podcasts can be used to create immersive learning experiences, such as storytelling.

While podcasts offer many benefits, creating effective content can be a challenge. To ensure that your podcast is engaging and informative, you should start by identifying your target audience and tailoring your content to their needs. You should also focus on creating high-quality audio, with clear sound and minimal background noise. Finally, you should promote your podcast through social media and other channels to ensure that it reaches your intended audience. It is being said that producing a podcast is 20% of the work after all…

Podcasts are an increasingly popular tool for learning experts of passionates who are looking to transform their pedagogical practices. By exploiting the unique benefits of this medium, you can create engaging and interactive learning experiences.

How Podcasts are Transforming Pedagogical Practices

Contrary to what one might think, the success of podcasts is not necessarily conditioned by the size of the audience, especially in B2B where one is addressing a niche audience. Better yet, it's an interesting snacking format, as it can be based on blog posts, white papers and other content produced by marketing. Is the podcast underpriced? That's the conclusion of a recent study. Here's how it works...

43% of decision makers listen to podcasts in their buying journey

‍
It's a fact: podcasts are now a leading channel for B2B content delivery. According to a new study by Sapio Research, 43% of B2B decision makers say they consume podcasts to inform and enrich their decision-making. That's as many as newsletters, webinars and social media, yet companies are putting more resources into these formats. Second place goes to trade journals (39%), followed by general newspapers and virtual events.

In fact, the popularity of podcasts among B2B decision-makers aligns with the success of the format in all spheres of society. In April 2022, more than 195 million French podcasts were listened to worldwide, an increase of about 80 million in just one year. Even better: in France, more than 8 out of 10 podcasts are listened to in their entirety. In the U.S., 38% of people over the age of 12 (109 million people) listen to podcasts every month, an increase of 32% in one year, reports Edison Research.

The podcast, a format that is less expensive to produce than you might think

‍
The success of a B2B podcast should not be measured by ratings. It's not like a radio show, where the size of the audience determines the cost of advertising. "A niche show with a small audience size, consisting of your ideal customers and prospects, is perfect," the study reads.

Also, the podcast doesn't have to carry original content. It is the ideal medium to enhance blog posts, white papers, surveys, interviews, etc. Finally, it is an excellent catalyst for engagement on social networks.

Study: you dismissed the podcast format a little too quickly...

Yes, you read the title correctly! Try to take the problem upside down.

Why update and unlock new professional opportunities? It's tedious, time-consuming and requires a lot of motivation.


Because when we live in a world that constantly demands our attention, it's easy to get distracted. Moreover, we are drowned in a tsunami of information, so how can we be sure that we will not waste even more time looking for the right content.

In addition, we often lack inspiration: what are the applied skills we should train?


How often should we train? Every day ? Every week ? When does the urge take us? (So ​​for some, never….)


At work, it is difficult to have clear directions. Your manager has probably already told you that "it would be good if you informed yourself about these subjects", without really giving you a methodology on how to get there.

And unfortunately still too often, you are told that it would be good "to try to train you outside of your working hours, because we are very busy at the moment".
Okay….

But at the time of the big resignation and where the balance of personal and professional life takes on another dimension, the employees will not (or no longer) make the effort and prefer a good Netflix and Chill vs 1 hour of training behind their home computer.


So staying obsolete in your market is quite simple, because you don't put forward the right arguments or the right tools to employees. And finally if we have too many choices, we end up confining ourselves to what we know.

Who has never tried a Netflix browser to find new content, but was not sure if the content would please us - finally decided to watch for the hundredth time: Friends, HIMYM or an episode of The Office ?

I plead guilty (and I see your smirk, I know for you too).

However, the solution is quite simple. But first, you have to change your attitude! Some examples that some know by heart.


📍 “I don’t have time to train myself”

>> Take advantage of your in-between or downtimes, those times when you're commuting, at the gym, shopping, cooking dinner, or walking your kids (who are crushing) by stroller. Because your day is busy enough at work and there is ALWAYS something happening that will distract you from your planned day.


>> Upskyld solution: an app that plugs onto professionals downtimes to help them to upskill more easily.


>> What learning medium works best for you? When do you read? When you watch a video? When you listen to audio content? You have to know what suits you best so that training does not become a chore.

For me, for example, it's the audio. Why? I can do other things at the same time (shopping, eating, going to work), it helps me to concentrate and stop fiddling with my phone (saving a lot of screen time), I don't risk taking my post while reading an article (clearly it smells of experience) and then it's more ecological than watching a Youtube video.


>> Upskyld solution: an auditory listening matched with a compelling learning experience. Because we believe an engaging listening is better to learn, we added a smart note tool to help you organise, plan and deep dive into the skills you’ve selected.


📍 “Yes, I will test this (tool, campaign, strategy) when I have time”

>> Except that this excuse, everyone knows it and those who use this excuse will never take the time. And then often we take notes to be able to write them down and test them, but we struggle to find the information, classify it, organize it and above all put it into practice.


>> Upskyld solution: organise your notes and sync them for your managing tool, such as Notion or Trello. Share your findings with the community and get inspired by the public notes left by Upskyld users.


📍 “I don’t know where to start, what skill should I focus on?”

>> This is a very recurring problem: what skills are sought after and required in a job, in a market or even by an employer?

But there are solutions to that - you can already look at the recommendations on Upskyld by type of job on skill inspirations. Also discuss with colleagues to see what are the hot topics of the moment or browse a little on LinkedIn.


>> Upskyld solution: we’ve categorised the skills by type of jobs to inspire the ones unsure about where the learning journey should begin. We’ve focused so far on digital positions such as marketers, salespeople, product and entrepreneurs.


Well, you got it, there really is no excuse for not finding the time to train. So why is the average per professional 24min per week on training?

It's time to question yourself because the person next to you will have already taken the lead and will be more competitive in an ever-changing market.

How to remain obsolete in your market?

We’ve seen a lot of discussions, webinars, podcasts, and so on around this question: how can organizations stimulate their employees and develop the best skills from a distance?

Meanwhile, the pandemic has shifted the center of employee attention away from work, driving phenomena, such as the Great Resignation. Around 65% of employees say those past 2 years have made them rethink the role that work should have in their lives. Employers desperately need to invest in retaining and growing their talent. Better analytics and insights (and more accountable ROI) are important for HR departments to unlock more learning and development budgets and power up employee and team skills.

And all Talents need to keep on staying ahead of the curve with their market and their job, to say relevant in a fast-growing environment.

Traditionally, large parts of corporate learning and development budgets are wasted on solutions that are not being used by employees and therefore have limited (up to no impact) on the efficiency and happiness of the workforce (Forbes). It is said that companies spend on average 1.300 dollars per year and per employee.

HR clients pay increasing attention to ROI and measurable success when purchasing learning and development solutions. The problem is that when employees get a certification or pass an exam, they don’t necessarily build upon what they’ve just learned.

They say “knowledge is power”, but how does it translate in real life? Whether it be in life, in self, in one’s career, or in any other sphere of one’s existence, begins with education. If one does not know better, he cannot do better. Therefore, the person who has decided to invest in continuous learning will always be ahead of the one who seized to upskill.

Henry Ford said, “anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty”. Learning is certainly a prerequisite for growth and the catalyst for positive change, which is why we should never stop but instead see it as an opportunity to learn in the long run. This is what we called a lifelong learning journey.

Learning is not (only) confined to formal mediums of education such as university courses or short courses and certifications, for example. It also extends across informal mediums which offer valuable information that can assist you in various aspects of your life or career. These mediums include informative articles, webinars, conferences, and podcasts written/realized by reputable sources and field experts.

Here are some of the benefits of consistently nurturing your potential through investing in lifelong learning. It can be tough to break bad habits - i.e learning as you go, “when you have the time”, but it will be worth everyone’s while. Companies’ time and Talents’ time!

Become a leader in your field and stay ahead of the competition

By making the choice to consistently brush up on your knowledge of your industry, you’ll find yourself in a better situation than your competition. Keeping ahead of industry advancements, understanding new techniques, or studying competitors’ strategies, will give you the ability to make sound decisions within your role. 

Those who fail to enhance their skills and their knowledge will quickly find themselves falling behind – especially in a world where one’s value in the workplace is often measured by how much they know, how current their skills are, and whether or not they are able to adjust and remain versatile in the modern business environment. Basically, if you’re not an expert, some companies might hire someone else who will be.

Making learning a lifelong commitment will give you leverage over your competition, giving you a better chance of swiftly scaling the corporate ladder. As previously mentioned, those who know more can do more. 

Those who are well-informed are able to make better decisions, are able to successfully implement modern (sometimes surprising) strategies and techniques; and offer fresh new ideas based on their newly acquired knowledge and expertise. Employers are looking for individuals who show agility in various areas within their role and will invest in individuals who are likely to drive the business forward.

Self-confidence is one of the main ingredients for success. Those who aren’t confident in their abilities usually end up self-sabotaging without even realizing it (we all did it at some point in our careers). But this could be avoided if Talents keep improving and upskilling in the long run. Improving your expertise and skills will give you the self-confidence you need to progress through life, as well as in your career - as in feeling confident in what you have to offer.

It’s a no-brainer that through gaining a better understanding of the intricacies that come with performing your role you’ll be able to make smarter business decisions. This is exactly why they say knowledge is power. It gives you the tools you need to make decisions that are in the best interest of your objective.

People look up to those who can teach them something. This is partly due to the person’s charismatic confidence in their abilities, but also largely due to the fact that they’re inspiring pioneers. By constantly feeding yourself and staying on top of the market and latest trends, you will inspire people to follow your advice. Companies also value those experts as they can benefit their reputation on the market.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to make the choice to invest in your abilities and feed/nurture your potential.

Now the important part is to decide how to get to that place. 

What do you think is the best method to stay ahead of the game and upskill to become the market expert you want to be.

How to break bad habits and start a lifelong learning journey?

When speaking about learning with podcasts, many people do answer they learn very good with audio, or even very bad. Leaning trough audio. That's what it it all about here. And it's called Auditory learning.

Do you know the 4 main types of learning?

One of the popular theories is the VARK model, which identifies four types of learners: 

Most people are a combination of these four styles, but more times than not, they have a predominant style of learning. Each of these styles has a complementary way of teaching. At Upskyld, we decided to focus on the Auditory style! 

Because we believe that it fills well those moment of downtime. You can learn anywhere, at any time. Of course, there is no right answer! Your preferred learning style is the way in which YOU learn best. Tell us what is your favorite way of learning?

Many digital markets, sales or startupers people love learning new things through listening to podcasts, especially business podcasts, because it's more efficient than viewing a screen, but also because focusing on something you listen to 👂, is much easier than watching a video on your screen. Nothing is popping to catch your attention. No slack, no mail, no ad. You can't listen to several sources at the same time. In the case of Upskyld, the podcast host is talking to you, directly to your brain 🧠 .

Some learner doesn't like audio learning, because they complain not being able to save the information. But that what learning is. You need to learn, how to save information more easily. It does mean you need to train yourself. At the beginning with short information. Then with longer episodes. 

But even at Upskyld, we know that auditory learning is not enough. We strongly believe in the importance to use several senses to save the information. That's why, for example, we decided to offer some assessment (quiz), after each podcast episode you're listening. You can prove yourself you got it... and train yourself. 

Listening to business podcasts for learning is only interesting if you're able to reuse the newly acquired knowledge. That's why we definitely recommend to take some notes during your listening or immediately after that. Not easy, right ? That's how we imagined to help Upskyld users offering a new way of taking notes. Our skillbook, a smart note tool, is directly integrated in your podcast tool and help you to take notes faster, displaying the most useful keywords and names of the episode you juste listened, helping you to deep-dive a mention into your search engine.

Maybe you have other ideas too to optimize our auditory learning tool. Give us your feedback.

And now, as we love to say at Upskyld, happy listening... and happy learning.

Why you should use auditory learning

We wanted to explain why at Upskyld, we chose to build our product with our community and our future users. If this strategy doesn't ring a bell, it's called public build-in and some startups have been using it for some time, such as Lemlist. Well, they explain it in this podcast. Sorry it’s in French, but a lot of good content on this site for those who would like to jump in >> https://www.buildinpublicpodcast.com/

Why? Consumers today want authenticity. More than just a trend, they are in search of truth and transparency and that's good, it's precisely our values at Upskyld. A more sincere and committed communication that requires a profound transformation of marketing strategy.

This consists of staging a story linked to your brand in order to convey emotions and values specific to the brand. The concept is simple, we want to tell the story (the real one, with both failures and successes!) of our app AND our brand! The goal is to tell a story more than to sell a product.

For this, it is necessary to exchange, share and involve the community in the decisions, and this as often as possible. Of course, we are not going to ask for the colour to put on the walls of the office, but to collect everyone's feedback, then to prioritise the feedback.

The “public build-in” model removes a significant problem of storytelling: the lack of authenticity. Indeed, by dint of telling stories, we very quickly become suspicious in the eyes of our target and this can be felt at the slightest deviation.

In my product training (thanks Product School by the way), we are taught that it is necessary to iterate as much as possible in the MVP and Beta phase in order to find a coherent and solid PMF for the users.


Telling the story live by directly transcribing the choices and current events allows us to prove our words by our actions, it makes the story 100% authentic. We want to be closer to our users and in view of the success stories of those who have used this method, this is the best way to get there.


It is our interactions on social networks and our proximity to the Upskyld community that will allow us to obtain a large amount of feedback. Moreover, with the team we are super happy to see the enthusiasm received and the number of people who have registered for the beta - pressure is on!! Obviously, we take all the feedback, good and bad - that's how we will move forward to build a great product, which can help professionals as much as possible in their objective to remain relevant in their market.

This will also allow us to project ourselves more effectively in our projects and our developments, both in terms of the product and the direction of the company.


Social networks, and more particularly LinkedIn (not yet the time to attack full time on the others for the moment), are for us the ideal gateway to exchange with the community. This is also why you see our co-founders posting regularly! Because with this strategy, the more active you are, the more the community will be on the lookout for new things. I

We’re going to have to double the dose, we hope you're ready...

This is where the difficulty lies! Importantly, you have to build a community to involve and that is the hardest part. This is why word of mouth and mentions and recommendations are essential for Upskyld.

Even if the public beta version is not ready yet (please don't cry…), we want to stay close to our future users and not lose the momentum. We still have work to do on our content strategy, but we're working hard on it, there's a lot to come!

We also have to find a fairly active rhythm of sharing, so that our community can follow our evolution. Here too, we are still in the launch phase so a little patience and soon we will have more privileged content appointments.

Spend less than a coffee
a day per Employee. That's an easy choice.

Why did we adopt a "Build-in Public" strategy?

Do you have an idea that might change people's lives? Career? Both?

The second step is then to quit your job (or finish school?) and take the plunge to be 100% dedicated to the project. You’ve done that too?

You started building a first version of the product and do you think your target audience will love it? Motivation and excitement are so important when launching a company and a product. However… (yes you saw it coming miles away, right?)

You need to TEST it before actually releasing it on the market! Why? To validate your concept, nothing beats real-life experimentation. This step will allow you to secure your future investments by adjusting your concept and your value proposition if necessary.

Your MVP (Minimum Viable Product), aka the first release to a (very) closed bêta shouldn’t be perfect

Don’t forget what LinkedIn guru Reid Hoffman said again and again: “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product you’ve launched too late.”

To simplify, we could say that the MVP is a Fast, Testable, and Usable version of your product. This is different from an animated mockup, which represents a finished design but is non-functional.

In an MVP, the functional approach is preferred to the detriment of design to allow in particular a rapid launch and obtaining valuable user feedback. The MVP is basically the first step in an iterative process that will lead you to your “finished” solution.

Of course, at first, there is a significant economic benefit because you commit little budget to the MVP of your product. Much less in any case than by rushing, head down, into the development of a more complete solution responding to poorly identified user needs… Ready or not, you will have to iterate, perhaps operate a 360° swift on your product!

Building a community and the first ambassadors around the product will be crucial for your company. All manual, training, and podcasts (hehe) suggest starting with a small group of 10 people that we will refer to as the First 10.

For the First 10, I’d suggest you pick people from your first circle (a bit like your first LinkedIn connections). And no, not your friends who won’t be in your target audience for the product/solution, your mum (although I’m perfecting my pitch till she understands everything, even the NLP bits), your grandpa…

Yes, they love you, but they aren’t your testers, and can’t validate your idea the way you need it. Unless of course, they’re part of your personas. They have to fit your customers’ profile, otherwise, it’s pointless.

Start with 10 people who have a problem for which you’re providing a solution.

Don’t forget that your network is the people who want to HELP you, and you want to help them, and that’s really powerful. The first 10 will be your best friends, and sometimes your worse nightmare because they will be super honest, so be prepared!

Key takeaway: yes, do dream big, but start with baby steps!

Don’t forget that just because you've designed a product doesn't mean users and customers will come to you

As an entrepreneur, it is essential that you actively solicit your first users. It is complex and important work because these First 10 will help you refine your product, iterate it (as often as needed), understand how to position it in the market, and build the reputation of your business.

Collect feedback mercilessly. What did they like? What did they hate? Where’s the friction? Is your product a nice-to-have… or a must-have because it solves a burning problem?

Feedback is a gift! Even if it might hurt because you were proud to come up with a design, a feature, or a UX flow. To launch a product, and more specifically within a “build-in public” strategy, you need to give your ego a sabbatical. No, but really!

User feedback will be a mine of important information to iterate and develop your solution. Using user feedback (and letting them know) is also a great way to build a loyal and productive community. A community on which you can rely when you move on to the marketing phase and want to recruit new customers…

Developing your solution iteratively is the guarantee of obtaining a product that brings maximum satisfaction to your users. Which you can measure thanks to small (but regular) NPS score surveys. My recommendation will be to keep working on the product with the First 10 till you obtain an 8 or 9/10 on your NPS score. And follow the evolution - we started low, very low… But again, that IS normal!

Key takeaway: the First 10 reviews are a shot of (sometimes cruel) reality and an ultimate answer to your question – Is it worth it and will they pay for it?

Build a community (and be patient), and keep them engaged!

Did you get your First 10? Awesome! Now, how do you communicate?

Well… Not necessarily - I’ve seen that some respond well to that channel but not all because it remains a time-consuming tool that they might already use at work. Test and learn, that would be my advice. For instance, I sometimes receive audios from them personally, but I always report them on our common Slack.

You need to keep them engaged, and that involves dedication and multi-canal on your part. Yes, it will take time, but those steps are too important to be neglected!

Send a weekly report on what happened: bugs fixed, improvements, ideas (and from whom, share the light), and the new features. Also share what is coming in terms of features, perhaps vision. They will be your best ambassadors and evangelists, you need to cherish them. Also because they take the time to help you!

To sum up: no, your product will not be perfect right away! You have to be ready to act step by step and know how to question your concept and your certainties. Abandon expectations, specifications, and the roadmap when submitting your MVP to the First 10. Admittedly, these documents are reassuring (at least at first) but you’ll see that a roadmap changes. Prioritize the expression of the user’s needs.

All of the above is basic Product Management shit, but I thought sharing my experience on our current product and adventure with Upskyld will help you! Would love to get your feedback tho… Don’t be shy!

Why are your first 10 users so important?

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