Marsh McLennan [NYSE: MRSH]

Humberto Morales, Regional Support Manager, Marsh McLennan

In my role as the technology support manager for a region that includes over 2,000 people, one of the most frequently asked questions is: “How do we help our colleagues learn better about technology?” Daily, we receive very similar inquiries: how to better use the available tools, how to resolve small everyday issues, how to make the most of what they already have installed. However, when we propose training, the most common response is the same: “I don’t have time.”

This finding is revealing: users are indeed willing to learn, but they expect brief, focused proposals with a clear impact.

Research Methodology

The research was conducted in two stages:

• A survey sent to over 400 colleagues in the Buenos Aires office, with a response rate exceeding 25 percent.

• In-depth interviews with 10 percent of the total employees, selected to delve deeper into preferences and obstacles related to technology training.

Key Findings

1. Preferred Training Formats The question about learning formats yielded an interesting distribution:

• 38 percent prefer short, specific tutorial videos (less than 5 minutes).

• The second most valued format is in-person workshops, highlighting the need for direct interaction.

• 14 percent opt for written guides, while long tutorials and live virtual sessions are relegated to minorities.

2. Ideal Training Frequency The majority (41 percent) believes that training should be received "when necessary," suggesting that employees prioritize timely training aligned with their immediate needs. 38 percent prefer a monthly frequency, and only 21 percent would be willing to receive training weekly.

 Employees are willing to train—if it’s brief, personalized and clearly useful to their daily work.  

3. Usefulness of Continuous Training Almost 90 percent of respondents consider continuous training in technological tools to be "very useful," and the rest rate it as "somewhat useful." No one considers it unnecessary, highlighting the value employees place on such initiatives.

Delving Deeper: What Motivates and What Hinders Training?

In the interviews, clear patterns emerged:

• Training must be brief, personalized, and practical, tailored to the real needs of participants.

• Content applied to everyday work is especially valued, such as using macros or pivot tables in Excel with real company data.

• Power BI and data analysis are the most requested tools for training, followed by PowerPoint, especially for the commercial area.

The main obstacles remain time and the perception of relevance: employees are willing to train if the training is directly useful for their tasks and if they can clearly visualize the impact on their daily work.

Conclusions and Next Steps

The research confirms that the key to successful technology training in companies lies in personalization, brevity, and immediate applicability. The challenge for support and training areas is to design flexible programs with agile formats and relevant content that allow employees to invest their time efficiently and perceive a tangible return in their performance.

In the coming weeks, we will share an action plan based on these findings, aiming to optimize the learning experience and enhance the use of technological tools within the organization.