Many companies that were role models for in house training in the 1990’s are struggling. And the number of truly effective training programs has grown shockingly small. But lately, they’re making a comeback.
Successful companies must understand how to engage their learners using today’s technology. In the process, diverse channels open that enable information to flow within a company and their extended enterprise. Here are five strategies to keep your training program up to date, relevant and utilized.
A Balanced Diet is More Nutritious
Learning takes place in many ways – on the job, social and formal. Social learning has more impact than formal learning even for companies that provide decent instructor led and online training. Successful training programs must provide traditional content as well as online social engagement.
Know thy Learner
Until you understand how they like to interact, you cannot successfully present their training. What technologies do they embrace? What motivates them? What information are they likely to share? How do they like to share it? Effectively answering these questions will allow you to provide the tools your Learners will actually use to connect. Connection is critical!
Follow the Leaders and Reward Them
Provide a mechanism to recognize and reward your community leaders. This is the key to the success of Facebook and Twitter. Studies have shown that gamification of learning and social contributions through a point or merit system increases Learner engagement by 50% to 100% or more. (Read our post on the benefits of eLearning gamification)
Access is the Key to the Kingdom
Content is King, but if your people can’t get to your content, it might as well not exist. Few training programs are on par with the mobile accessibility their workers experience in their personal lives. Over 25 percent of people in the US access the web exclusively on a mobile device. This is a global trend that is increasing. I wouldn’t say everything is going to be mobile but everything needs to be accessible from all device types.
Where’s the Beef?
In the age of digital information, dilution tends to be a problem. It is easy to paste thousands of words into a file but what is of value can get lost in the fluff. In addition, the attention span of the MTV generation has decreased. If you can provide “just the facts” in a clear and logical presentation you’ll find that “less is more”.
The Accord LMS has an award winning web Content Management System and includes integrated social tools with gamification. To learn more about how to provide an innovative training solution for today’s learners please contact one of the experts at info@accordlms.com today.