Performance Enablement Web Solution vs. Mobile App: What’s the Difference? | Explainer

For business generalists who are interested in digital solutions for work, there are probably all sorts of unfamiliar terms swirling around. Digital technology is of course hugely important these days, with digital transformation expected to reach nearly $2 trillion globally this year. So it’s critical that decision makers, business leaders, senior executives, and other personnel learn the differences between high-value terms that overlap in certain ways, especially as regards a performance enablement mobile app or web solution.

Performance enablement web solution and performance enablement mobile app are certainly two of these terms. They touch each other and connect in aspects but are not the same. In this explainer, we’ll teach you the difference between performance enablement solutions and mobile apps for business. You should come out of this explainer with a larger tech vocabulary, making it easier to select digital platforms to service your organization.

What is a performance enablement solution, anyway?

A performance enablement solution is a set of tools, processes, and methodologies designed to help organizations improve their workforce’ performance and productivity. These solutions typically provide training, rewards, and upskilling programs to help employees acquire the skills and knowledge they need to excel in their roles.

Performance enablement solutions are often used in conjunction with performance management systems to help organizations align their workforce’s goals with the company’s overall strategy and KPIs. By providing sales reps with the resources and support they need to achieve their objectives, organizations can create a more engaged and productive workforce.

Some common features of performance enablement solutions include:

• Training and development programs: These may include online courses, workshops, and training content that help employees acquire new skills and knowledge.
• Performance visualization: These are used to visually represent the workforce’s performance and identify areas where they can improve.
• Goal setting: Performance enablement solutions often include tools and processes for setting and tracking workforce goals, progress, and KPIs.
• Rewards: Prizes, honors, and awards help the workforce understand how they’re performing and engage them with tangible recognition.

Overall, performance enablement solutions are designed to help organizations create a culture of continuous improvement across the sales force, where they are constantly learning and growing, and performance is regularly self-evaluated and optimized.

How performance enablement web solutions and mobile apps are similar

There’s definitely an overlap between the two terms, and they both share one important thing. Both performance enablement web solutions and performance enablement mobile apps utilize the internet – a network connecting computers using protocols to retrieve data/call information. However, the web is different from the internet, and mobile apps are different from the web.

The web, or world wide web, is what you are using to read this explainer. It is a framework for using the internet to call information and read it in webpages – the structure we tend to use for displaying information accessed via the internet. Mobile apps access the internet using programs on mobile devices.

But there is much that performance enablement web solutions and performance enablement mobile solutions have in common. Namely, these performance enablement systems often call the same functions – amplifying performance, driving business results, unlocking entrepreneurship. 

As an example, Rallyware offers data-driven performance enablement solutions to create a unified user experience for the distributed workforce. These solutions ideally give you access to the latest in technology to drive performance. 

Like we mentioned earlier, whether someone is using web solutions or mobile app solutions for performance enablement, they’re going to access roughly the same functionalities and features. With one, you’ll be at a desktop, laptop, or other kind of computer; with the other, they’ll be on a mobile device – iPhone, iPad, Android, etc. 

Users can generally perform overlapping performance enablement tasks: completing training activities, checking leaderboards, reviewing communications, and more.

How web solutions and mobile apps are different

Now that we’ve gone over the overlap between web and mobile app solutions, it’s time to discuss the differences – few but definitely salient. First of all, there’s obviously the difference in interface. Web solutions are great for a kind of multitasking that can sometimes transform into distraction. Everyone has had the experience of reading something on the web, then getting an email and forgetting about that article entirely. 

Users can open multiple tabs and divide their attention between several tasks – often with a loss of productivity, when such behavior is not kept under control. Thankfully, the more engaging that performance enablement technology is, the more focused the user can become. 

On the web, solutions will generally be delivered via platforms as a service – i.e., services that host data on the cloud, rather than the user’s local machine – so that users can log in directly through their browser. You’ll type in a web address to reach the solution’s web page.

On mobile apps, solutions will be delivered through native apps. These will, as a rule, be self-contained apps labeled with a company’s name (think the ‘Facebook’ or ‘Uber’ apps). In this case you’ll access the service by tapping on the app’s icon and following the instructions.

The share of time that users spend on web browsers, as opposed to mobile apps, is slim. According to Statista, in 2021 users spent 7.5% of their time online on browsers and 92.5% on all other apps and games.

So clearly if your performance enablement system is a mobile app, users are more likely to spend time on it and improve their performance, productivity, and work behaviors that way. (That said, users who prefer web solutions would probably like the option to use a web-based interface as well – in case they don’t like being on their phones.)

On a performance enablement mobile app, users can focus on a single task – after all, phones can only display one interface at a time. This is ironic considering how often folks talk about people being “distracted by their phones.” Users are also simply more likely to interact with mobile devices, considering the data cited above. 

The question is: how to get users’ eyes and attention on performance enablement tasks in the first place?

How performance enablement app solutions can drive focus & engagement

How is a performance enablement platform supposed to compete with Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok? Well, Rallyware has done a good bit of research on this. In our 2021 Rallyware Report, we discovered that users did, indeed, prefer mobile apps over the web (including mobile browsers). Users had 2.6x more sessions with personalized learning native apps – that is, white-labeled apps that companies can outfit with their own unique content and branding.

We also learned how to make sure that users are engaging with learning and performance enablement apps. First of all, let’s clarify – notifications are something you should be thinking about when considering a performance enablement solution. Smart personalized notifications count a lot: our earlier research found that users who received but did not open notifications had a task-completion percentage of 0.1%, whereas users who opened more than one notification had a task-completion percentage of 29.4%. 

Smart personalized notifications are tailored to specific users – for instance, a user earns a brand-new badge for blowing through their sales target for the month. A non-smart, non-personalized notification would be, say, a news update that everyone with the app receives.

Speaking of which, in Rallyware’s 2021 Report, we found that notifications about a new badge had an open rate of up to 88% – incredible engagement. If you’re wondering how to make sure that users are engaging with performance enablement native mobile apps, smart notifications are a must – especially new-badge notifications, easy to set-up and automate using the Rallyware platform.  

Conclusion: Society Is Becoming More ‘Mobile’

With fully 92.5% of users’ time being spent on mobile apps, business leaders focusing on performance enablement should ensure their platforms can support mobile technology. Native apps – apps that are branded top-to-bottom for the user organization – are also important, because they relate the app directly to the performance of work activities. 

While web solutions are also important – you will always have users who prefer to use their web browsers for work-based learning and development – mobile apps seem more likely to drive performance-related growth. Ultimately, it’s critical to have flexibility. You want to be able to say, “Yes, we have that!” to every user, no matter whether their preference on solution format is web browser or mobile app. 

Rallyware delivers performance enablement white-labeled native apps and web solutions for companies – unified, all-in-one platforms to drive learning, engagement, and productivity. Click here to learn more and request your demonstration today.