Summary: Microlearning courses are designed to address the specific needs of learners based on their learning styles. Microlearning can bring great results when it comes to corporate training. This article showcases 3 effective examples of microlearning.
Effective Microlearning Examples For 2022
Microlearning modules keep the learning short, to the point, and engaging for the learner. They present information in small bits, thereby helping the learners retain the knowledge better. Small bits of content enable the learners to stay focused on one concept or topic at a time. Microlearning courses are well known for their versatility. These resources can be curated as part of structured learning. You can provide the courses to learners to facilitate the application of the knowledge or skill at the moment of need.
Microlearning uses different media types like images, videos, infographics, and others to present the information in interesting and memorable ways. You can combine microlearning with other learning approaches like gamification, scenario-based learning, video-based learning [1], and more to create a higher impact. Microlearning can also make boring topics highly interactive and help you teach them more effectively.
Microlearning courses are designed to address your employees’ specific learning needs, thereby saving time both for the employee and the company. Since most of the eLearning courses are made with a mobile-first mindset, learners can access the microlearning courses on the device of their choice, anywhere and anytime [2].
Summary: Custom eLearning courses are designed to address the specific needs of your learners and the business needs of your organization. This article showcases 3 effective examples of custom eLearning training.
Effective Custom eLearning Examples
Custom eLearning solutions help boost learner performance. Custom eLearning courses are designed using the content, colors, themes, and images that are unique to your organization. These solutions are specifically designed for your employees based on your organization’s training needs, job roles, and business needs and strategies.
Custom eLearning content developed using modern Instructional Design and visual design principles will undoubtedly create an impactful learning experience for the learners. You can use a wide variety of learning design formats such as animations, scenarios, interactivities, gamification, and videos to keep learners engaged and involved.
There are many learning strategies available, along with the latest tools and new technologies to consider for implementation. Custom eLearning training helps improve overall productivity and creates a positive ROI by enabling your learners to develop new skills and competencies.
This article will look at 3 effective and impactful examples of custom eLearning training:
1. Use Custom eLearning To Explain The Process Better
The example shown here is a custom eLearning training module on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The objective of the training is to explain how employees can ensure the security of personal data in the organization and how to fulfill all general data protection rules and regulations.
These training modules are designed to provide the employees with practical knowledge on how to perform various operations with information assets following the GDPR compliance workstream. The training modules include interesting interactivities and video clips to explain the process better. Here, registering a new asset is clearly explained in a video with a live example so that the learners can easily understand and follow the steps.
2. Use Custom eLearning To Design Visually Appealing Courses
We all know that organizations use different software applications for their business operations. Your employees should understand the importance of software licensing and why it is important to protect business operations from unethical practices and cyber threats. There was a requirement to create an engaging custom eLearning course with varied interactivities on the concept of licensing and compliance.
This is a custom eLearning module on software licensing and compliance. The course is beautifully designed using pleasant colors, themes, graphics, and interactivities. The main objective is to create awareness among the company’s associates on software licensing and ethical practices while using software applications developed by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The learners can see a visual map of their learning journey in the initial slides. They can select and learn the topics in the respective order to complete the module successfully.
3. Use Custom eLearning For Easy Access To Product Information
Custom eLearning solutions deliver information to employees faster and in real time. This is especially useful for sales and marketing teams who are at the forefront and present the information on products and services to clients and talk to the final consumers directly. The example shown here is from a custom eLearning course developed for the salespersons of a leading manufacturer and marketer of nuts, dried fruits, and spices in the Middle East. The company is a renowned brand of pure and natural flavors.
The example shown here is a part of custom eLearning training modules on product knowledge. The main objective of this training is to provide information to sales executives and sales supervisors on various products like dried fruits, nuts, pulses, grains, spices, herbs, and snacks. The course covers the product range in each category, specialty of each variety, origin country, health benefits of each product, and so on, thus providing complete knowledge to sales teams. Moreover, the course is responsive so that the employees can access it on their smartphone, tablet, or laptop, whenever and wherever they want.
Summary: Knowledge retention is one of the main challenges of training. Scenario-based learning has proven to be an effective learning approach for facilitating knowledge retention. This article showcases 5 examples of scenario-based learning.
How To Use Scenario-Based Learning Effectively
Scenarios help learners understand how the knowledge they gain can be applied in a professional environment. The scenarios can be related to a day-to-day office scenario, product or service sale to a prospective customer, customer service experience or insight, particular skill development, team-building exercise, resolving common business issues, etc.
Scenarios help enhance the interactivity of your eLearning courses by providing experiential learning to the learners. By putting the learners in real-life scenarios, you can train them in certain key areas, improving their understanding of the concepts. A scenario-based approach to learning or training can help learners immerse themselves in the course. With scenario-based learning, you can make learning more engaging and interesting.
This article will look at 5 effective and impactful examples of scenario-based learning:
1. Dialogues In Scenarios Create Interest In Learners
Compliance training can be boring for most learners [1]. But it’s mandatory training. We have created a scenario-based eLearning course involving senior employees of the organization and newly joined employees.
In these scenarios, the newly joined employee moves around in the organization and meets seniors to learn more about the mandatory compliance aspects. The scenarios include several dialogues between employees from different departments. Learners found the approach very interesting, and the course completion rate was more than 95%. The course was appreciated for its unique way of teaching compliance-related topics.
2. Cover Safety Training Using Real-World Scenarios
Safety is a matter of concern involving employees from all departments in an organization. Scenario-based learning is an effective way to train employees on safety aspects. We have developed a scenario-based training course on safety in the workplace. This course covers the importance of safety in the workplace, how to ensure safety by using the right equipment, following the safety rules, having the appropriate plan to complete a task, etc.
The real-world scenarios are used to explain the various aspects of safety, the appropriate use of safety equipment, the need to have all the right systems and tools in place, and so on. All the safety aspects are clearly explained using interesting and engaging scenarios from the real world and past events. The course was received well with positive feedback.
3. Real-Life Scenarios Help Engage The Learners
Training videos can include real-life scenarios to explain the concepts better to the learners. The following screenshot is from an eLearning course on retail customer service. The course uses scenarios that depict real-world situations faced in sales. The scenarios are beautifully designed with the help of real characters, animated characters, and graphics.
Such scenarios can help the salespeople explain a product or service to a prospective customer, motivate the customer, and close the sale. You can use such impactful scenario-based learning strategies to provide engaging experiences to your learners.
4. Scenarios Make Skill Training Easy For Your Employees
You can effectively use scenarios to provide specific skill training to your employees. Interesting scenarios provide more fun and engaging experiences to the learners, making the training content more engaging, memorable, and enjoyable [2].
This is a two-minute scenario of unethical behavior at the workplace. This is a part of the training course on Ethics at the Workplace. Apart from scenarios, the course has various activities and gamification elements. This course contains several such scenarios. The scenarios in the course have been developed with real characters, animated characters, graphics, and images depicting real-life situations in the workplace. The learners received the course well with a good course completion rate.
5. You Can Use Scenarios To Explain Technical Knowledge
A content delivery network (CDN) is a network of servers that are distributed globally. Content providers, media firms, and eCommerce companies use CDN to deliver their products to end-users.
We have developed a scenario-based eLearning course covering CDN basics and how it functions in the real world. The scenarios have been developed using animated characters, multi-colored icons, and animated graphics. All these provide an immersive experience to the learners. The course received very good feedback from the learners.
Conclusion
Scenario-based learning helps employees acquire skills and handle similar situations more effectively. It helps reinforce knowledge and build better retention. It also helps employees sharpen skills like critical thinking and decision-making. To learn more about how you can effectively use scenario-based learning, contact us or write to me at suresh@tesseractlearning.com.
Gamification for serious learning has been used for nearly a decade but there is still a question mark on its impact and ROI.
While“Have fun as you learn” resonates well with learners, these approaches are often looked at with skepticism by the corporates. Of the various myths associated with what Gamification can do/can’t do, here are the three I have encountered the most:
Gamification in eLearning doesn’t really help learners learn.
Gamification adds fun to learning but does not drive learner performance.
Gamification appeals only to millennials.
The fact is that well-designed Gamification based trainings provide help to both organizations and learners at many levels.
We rank #1 in eLearning Industry’s list of Top 20 eLearning Gamification Companies for 2019!
We—as a top Gamification company—are here to help you implement Gamification strategies that will engage your employees better and drive performance gain.
Take a look at this Infographic where we list 5 key Gamification Trends in 2020, packed with tips and ideas you can use.
Gamification is a great strategy to provide an immersive learning experience. When designed well, it provides an engaging learner experience that is action-oriented, aligned to learning goals, and helps learners walk away with a sense of achievement.
We hope this Infographic provides you the right tips that you can use to increase the impact of Gamification based learning solutions in your organization.
An organization’s success hinges on many factors. Good leaders drive performance by creating higher performing teams that generate better business results.
As a result, the leadership development training is a significant part of the overall training in most organizations. These trainings need to be designed to not only meet current business goals but also future goals. Well-designed leadership trainings increase employee engagement, enhance productivity, and improve retention levels. Most significantly, they help nurture talent as you ready the organization for its future goals. Without this investment, you will not have the strategic or competitive advantage.
None of us are born leaders, and the way to acquiring leadership skills is through multiple channels like:
On-the-job (experiential) learning.
Structured, formal learning.
Semi-structured (Self-Directed) learning.
Social or collaborative learning.
Mentoring
Coaching
In this article, I outline how you can use eLearning based training to enhance the impact of your leadership training.
I begin with a set of challenges associated with the design and delivery of leadership trainings and then show you how eLearning can come to your rescue.
Challenge 1: Too many things to do, too little time…
Given the business dynamics, leaders have a lot on their plate and there just isn’t enough time to invest on learning. But the bottom line is that in today’s fast-paced world, the need for continuous learning is essential to sustain success.
The answer lies in using techniques like eLearning to provide leadership trainings that enable them to effectively juggle between their jobs as well as find time to build or hone their leadership skills.
How eLearning would help: eLearning stands out as the preferred mode of learning on account of its strengths that mesh well with the way today’s learners want to learn. The key benefits eLearning offers for leadership training are:
It provides anytime, anywhere access.
It can be used to provide a personalized learning plan.
It offers learners the flexibility to move across devices (smartphones or tablets to laptops or desktops).
It is self-paced (provides control to the learner to drive the pace to learn).
It is available on demand.
It provides training and other learning resources at the time of need, within their workflow.
Additionally,
Once built, it can be easily deployed to reach a wider audience.
Provides a consistent messaging.
Can be updated easily and redeployed quickly.
Enables organizations to easily track the learning journey.
Furthermore, eLearning enables organizations to address the needs of a multi-generational workforce and factor for globalization challenges with ease.
Challenge 2: Once is not enough—I need more and often…
Successful leaders make an ongoing investment on learning to stay ahead and lead by example. You cannot create leaders by investing on only discrete trainings during the year. Instead, there is a need to provide learning pathways that can connect with learners all through the year and equip them at many levels. They should also foster a spirit of continuous learning.
How eLearning would help: eLearning can be used to provide leadership trainings that will help employees as follows:
Offer bite-sized, action-oriented formal training that features multiple nuggets connected through a learning path.
Provide ongoing connects through nuggets for practice and mastery.
Reinforce acquired learning and avoid the “Forgetting Curve” from setting in.
Push challenges periodically to stimulate review or further learning.
Provide ongoing updates to keep them in sync with the latest info.
Recommend additional reading.
Challenge 3: One size does not fit all –How to address the multiple facets of leadership training
Leadership trainings aren’t for the senior talent alone. It needs to be offered at several junctures during their career and these training needs require different approaches at each level. Take a look at three key levels to see what is needed at each level.
Early to mid-career leadership training: This is aligned to early talent spotting and grooming them for Team Leads and entry-level managerial positions. The focus at this level is primarily on increasing self-awareness (helping them move from individual contributors to leads/managers) as well as how to motivate and build high-performing teams.
Mid-career leadership training: At this level, the focus shifts toward improving skills to lead larger teams (may include leading a business unit) and skilling them to understand organizational and business dynamics. At this level, they also need to be upskilled to craft business strategies. Here, training alone would not suffice and there must be provision for Social or Collaborative Learning, Coaching and Mentoring as well.
Senior-levelleadership training: Given the position (Sr. Executive or CXO position), the training needs change dramatically. They now include complete business planning, competition analysis and business strategy, as well as aspects like innovation that are necessary for an organization to create and sustain a differentiator. At this level, the training needs to have a mix of formal learning and Self-Directed Learning. It also needs to have a blend of Coaching and Mentoring.
How eLearning would help: Although eLearning cannot address all the leadership training needs listed above, it can be certainly used to form the core.
You can design a learning and performance ecosystem to offer the leadership training. This will support a multi-modal approach and will go a long way in fostering a culture of self-directed and continuous learning.
Techniques like Microlearning can be used to create bite-sized and action-oriented learning nuggets that are connected through a learning pathway for each level.
You can leverage on Microlearning to offer highly personalized learning pathways (mapping to career pathways).
You can use the diverse formats of Microlearning (including Video Based Learning) to offer trainings that would resonate with learners at each level. These diverse formats can address different learning styles and the varied preferences of the multi-generational workforce.
They can have suitable interjections of other approaches like shadowing, collaborative learning, and coaching and mentoring to complete the spectrum.
Some of the eLearning strategies that can be adopted for leadership training across the three levels are:
Complex Branching Simulations – To stimulate critical thinking and decision making.
Case Studies – With scenarios for analysis and application.
Scenarios/Challenges that reflect the job dynamics – To help relate to the situations and gear up for problem solving in a safe environment.
Investing on effective leadership training will certainly ensure better alignment to your business mandate and this will help you sustain your business and strategic advantage.
As I have shown in this article, you can use eLearning to create a successful and effective leadership training.
I hope I have provided adequate pointers that you can use. If you have any specific queries, do contact me or leave a comment below.
In the last 2-3 years, we have seen a significant shift that is impacting the way online training must be delivered.
Modern learners are moving away from traditional and prescriptive learning. Specifically,
They want the learning to be in sync with their lifestyles.
The learning should be integrated seamlessly into their workday.
They understand the value of “continuous learning” and expect the L&D teams to provide this environment in the workplace.
The content should be searchable and must be packaged to address specific needs and trigger the desired action.
They are not satisfied by the access to “learning pathways” but they need these to be highly personalized “career pathways.”
The learners want learning designs and experiences to echo the way they access Google or Amazon or Netflix.
Essentially, they want the flexibility to get the right learning resources fast, easily and on-demand.
They want access to the learning content and resources on the go, on their devices, and they do not want to log on to an LMS every time they have a need.
Additionally, they want meaningful recommendations that keep them connected and encourage them to come back for more.
As a Learning Consultant, I see L&D teams feel challenged by this shift. As I see it, this is the new normal, and L&D teams must re-strategize to meet this mandate.
The crucial change is from a “push” based training that is mandated on an LMS to a flexible “pull” based training that aligns to learners’ lifestyle and workday.
The next gen platforms like the LXPs are leading the way in offering this learning experience wherein the learners can define their own learning path. There are many other measures that you can adopt that will help you successfully meet this mandate. Let us begin this exercise by looking at the different perspectives from key stakeholders (L&D, Business, as well as employees). From this analysis, we will identify the critical employee needs that you need to incorporate in your learning design, and then, I list the possible approaches that will enable you to create effective and high-impact training.
The L&D Team’s Perspective
From the L&D perspective, their mandate is driven by Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and typically includes:
Trainings for Upskilling.
Trainings for Reskilling.
Cross-functional Training.
Training to fix an identified gap.
Practice sessions to hone skills or for proficiency gain.
To support the primary training, they also need to provide for:
Just-in-time learning aids that are available in the learners’ workflow (so that they do not need to go to the LMS) and can be easily accessed at the time of their need.
Reinforcements to avoid the “Forgetting Curve” setting in.
Challenges that push learners and act as nudges to review, refresh, or practice.
Other supporting measures like Coaching and Mentoring.
Increasingly, they are adding measures that can foster a culture of continuous learning and these include:
Leveraging on platforms for Social or Collaborative learning.
Providing flexibility to consume training on the device of their choice and be able to move seamlessly across devices to complete it.
Offering content that is sharp and focused and can be consumed in short bites.
Give options to “pull” content based on their needs, aspirations, or interests rather than mandated courses on an LMS.
Provide controls to decide the quantum of time that learners choose to invest on the training and what works best with the learners.
They want learning designs that are:
Accessible.
Available on demand.
Available within their workflow.
Motivating.
Engaging and immersive.
Relevant, relatable, and personalized.
Intrigue them and encourage them to explore and come back for more.
Challenging.
Rewarding.
To meet the employee needs, you should adopt learning designs that:
Boost the learner engagement.
Ensure knowledge acquisition happens.
Facilitate the application of the acquired learning on the job.
Guarantee the desired performance gain and ROI occurs.
Certify a positive ROI on training spend is established.
How Can You Accomplish This?
Here are my recommendations that will address the needs of all three stakeholders and also ensure that the critical employee needs are fully met. I have layered them into 3 steps, and you can build on from one to the next.
Step 1: Opt for training delivery approaches that help learners learn. More specifically, add approaches that enable them to apply this learning to show better performance or the desired behavioral change. These should include:
Mobile Learning.
Digitalization of ILT (to Blended or Fully Online).
Step 2: Leverage on Learning strategies that have a proven track record of delivering a high engagement quotient and can create a sticky learning experience. Do integrate some of the new or emerging ones too to meet your employee needs and create highly immersive learning designs.
Step 3: Invest on tools and platforms to measure, enhance, and maximize the impact of their training. These could include:
Learning Engagement Platforms – LXP.
Learner Analytics.
Big Data-Reporting and Analytics.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Learning.
I hope this article provides useful insights on your employee’s needs and how you can incorporate them in your learning designs. My inputs will certainly help you create and deliver training that addresses the employee needs and will also help you show demonstrable gain that business units seek. The overall impact will be reflected in creating a more engaged team and you will see your ROI on training spend improve.
If you have any specific queries, do contact me or leave a comment below.
To retain and nurture talent and to remain competitive, organizations constantly invest in training. Today’s rapidly changing business dynamics demand quick skilling or upskilling.
While many organizations predominantly use the facilitated, face-to-face ILT sessions, a significant percentage of organizations use eLearning to offer employee development training. From a “good to have” mode, eLearning is fast becoming the preferred mode of employee development training and performance enhancement.
The last five years have seen dramatic shifts in the way eLearning strategies are transforming learning and impacting employee performance. eLearning is fast becoming a “must have” for training delivery.
Take a look at this Infographic to discover 10 eLearning strategies that will help you create high-impact employee development training.
Adopting the eLearning based approach makes the investment for employee development trainingan effective and scalable method.
While the initial investment in the eLearning based approach is high, it provides a better ROI for employee development training on account of its ability to offer:
Flexibility (can be taken on the go).
Scalability.
Custom trainings for different levels and roles.
Personalized trainings.
Avenues that address the needs and expectations of today’s multi-generational workforce.
We hope this Infographic gives you good insights on how you can leverage the featured 10 eLearning strategies to create employee development training.
Well-designed Gamification based trainings provide help to both organizations and learners at many levels.
The value from the learner’s perspective: The value Gamification based trainings bring in is re-affirmed by user feedback too. I list part of the findings from Talent LMS’s Gamification at work survey in 2018:
80% of employees enjoy using Gamification software at work.
Employees feel that Gamification makes them more productive (87%), more engaged (84%) and happier (82%) at work.
75% of respondents who play games often were more likely to agree that they’d be more productive if their work was made more game-like.
Older employees are more motivated by game elements than younger employees.
The value from the organizational perspective: The use of Gamification for learning provides several benefits to L&D teams:
Gamification is a very engaging learning strategy and when crafted right, it helps the L&D teams meet the learning outcomes (similar to other strategies used in traditional eLearning).
Because of a higher engagement quotient, a Gamification strategy provides higher completion rates as well as a better recall and retention.
Gamification can be applied to meet various cognition levels—to help learners learn, practice, apply, or upskill. When applied over a period of time (spaced repetition), it can trigger the desired behavioral change.
In this video, see the 5 Gamification Trends that are worth a closer look. For each Gamification trend, we provide practical tips on why and how they can be used.
We hope the Gamification trends featured in this video give you the required insights on how you can use them to spice up your learning strategy.
Want more? Book a free consultation with us to learn how you can leverage on the featured Gamification Trends in 2019!
To retain and nurture talent and to remain competitive, organizations constantly invest in training. Today’s rapidly changing business dynamics demand quick skilling or upskilling.
While many organizations predominantly use the facilitated, face-to-face ILT sessions, a significant percentage of organizations use eLearning to offer employee development training. From a “good to have” mode, eLearning is fast becoming the preferred mode of employee development training and performance enhancement.
The last 5 years have seen dramatic shifts in the way eLearning strategies are transforming learning and impacting employee performance. In this article, I outline how appropriate eLearning strategies can help L&D teams offer highly customized training that can keep pace with dynamic business demands. I also share the key benefits of this approach and list the eLearning strategies that can help you maximize the impact of your employee development training.
What are the Key Triggers for Wider Adoption of eLearning for Employee Development Training?
In contrast to the facilitated, face-to-face ILT sessions, eLearning has an edge on account of the following aspects. eLearning based employee development training:
Aligns to the way modern learners want to learn.
Provides anytime, anywhere access to learning (across devices, at office, during commute, or over weekends).
Empowers learners as it can be consumed at their pace.
Aligns to learners’ preferences (device of their choice or learning assets that suit their interests).
Matches the varied learning styles (can be offered in different formats to suit diverse learner profiles).
Offers personalized training.
Is scalable (can be re-adapted quickly across geographies).
Provides ease of updating and re-deployment.
Is economical than ILT sessions. It can reach a wider audience group in a shorter time while providing a consistent message.
Can be easily tracked (for the time taken, completion rates, as well as analytics on engagement, assessments, and so on).
Tracks learner analytics and uses the cues to assess the impact and ROI.
Fosters Self Directed Learning.
Promotes Social Learning and establishes communities of learning.
Encourages a culture of continuous learning.
How Can You Leverage eLearning to Make Employee Development Training More Effective?
Adopting the eLearning-based approach makes the investment for employee development training an effective and scalable method.
While the initial investment in eLearning-based approach is high, yet it provides a better ROI for employee development training on account of its ability to offer:
What eLearning Strategies Can Help You Create High Impact Employee Development Training?
There are a wide set of eLearning strategies that you could adopt. My recommendations include 10 eLearning strategies that will help you:
Keep the learners engaged.
Ensure knowledge acquisition happens.
Facilitate the application of the acquired learning on the job.
Accomplish the desired performance gain.
Achieve a positive ROI on training spend.
Microlearning: Short, bite sized trainings that can be consumed on the go and help learners achieve a small goal each time is the new normal. You can use this approach for formal training (multiple nuggets connected in a learning path) or as Learning aids (Performance Support intervention that are available within the learner’s workflow and provide support at the moment of their need). Microlearning can be used to promote Self-Directed Learning as well as to support ILT/VILT.
Video Based Learning (Videos and Interactive Videos): Video is a high impact medium and Video Based Learning can add value to your learning strategy at many levels. You can use them for both formal training as well as for Performance Support intervention. The Next Gen avatar, Interactive Video, enables you to have highly interactive learning interactions and assessments. They are a great fit for trainings like Leadership Development and Sales Enablement.
Mobile Apps for Learning: You can opt for Apps to impart learning, especially for initiatives that have on-going updates.
Gamification: You can increase the engagement quotient by using Gamification techniques that can be applied to pretty much most of your corporate training needs. An extended application can help you meet the tougher mandate of behavioral change. You can use Gamification techniques for most of the corporate trainings including, Induction and Onboarding, Soft Skills, Professional Skills, Sales training, and so on. Increasingly, Gamification is being used for Compliance trainings too.
Scenario Based Learning (SBL): This is a powerful Instructional approach and you can use it across corporate trainings (Compliance, Soft Skills, and even Application Simulations). You can also use them to drive the right behavior.
Storytorials or Story Based Learning: Similar to Scenario Based Learning, stories are a great way to create a sticky learning experience. This approach is versatile and can be used for a majority of corporate trainings. They are a great approach for Change Management or Awareness initiatives.
Branching/Complex Decision-Making Simulations: An extension of Scenario Based Learning, you can create complex, decision making scenarios to help build decision making skills in learners. The journey helps them understand the impact/consequences of their decisions. You can have branching scenarios that are based on choices learners make at specific decision-making points. This approach is useful for Sales Enablement and Leadership Development training.
Personalization: Combination of eLearning and granularity of Microlearning enables you to create highly personalized learning paths. These custom pathways can be created based on role, geography, current proficiency, or learners’ interests. This approach can create a much higher impact training as the learner gets to see highly relevant and specific content.
Curation and User Generated Content: Providing learners access to repositories that have relevant content that is curated by Subject Matter Experts is a boon. This can be personalized too, and goes a long way in fostering a culture of continuous learning. You can further increase learner participation by enabling them to contribute to the knowledge base.
AR/VR/MR: These techniques offer highly immersive learning experiences. However, they are expensive to implement and have longer development cycles. Instead, you can use them as a short nugget in an overall learning journey. This is easier on the budget and uplifts the engagement quotient for learners.
I hope this article gives you good insights on how you can leverage the featured 10 eLearning strategies to create employee development training.
If you have any specific queries, do contact me or leave a comment below.
We all know how time consuming and challenging the recruitment process is. Once the right candidate is selected, the mandate of getting him/her inducted and onboarded swiftly and efficiently is the next challenge. New employees can get disenchanted if they are put through a poorly designed Induction and Onboarding program.
A lot of times while the program may have been structured well, its implementation is patchy. This not only tarnishes the image of the organization but also leads new employees to re-think their decision of continuing with the organization.
In contrast, a well-structured employee Induction and Onboarding program helps the new inductees gain a faster understanding of the following key aspects:
The organization.
Its offerings.
Its goals.
Where they fit in and what is expected of them.
How they align to the organizational goals and effectively contribute to its success.
From the organizational perspective, well-designed employee Induction and Onboarding programs ensure that new employees face a shorter learning curve to gain the required perspective, knowledge, and skills that will help them contribute in a lesser time. It also ensures better productivity and helps the new employees settle down faster.
What Is the Most Commonly Used Approach to Deliver an Employee Induction and Onboarding Program?
We all recognize the value of human touch, and it is indeed a very effective approach to help new employees settle down. As a result, the traditional model of imparting an employee Induction and Onboarding program continues to be the facilitated/ILT approach. Besides facilitated, structured sessions, additional support is extended at multiple levels (through the supervisor, seniors, buddy and so on).
Challenges associated with the facilitated or ILT mode for delivering employee Induction and Onboarding programs
While it is a highly effective and widely used approach, the overall impact goes down on account of the following factors:
Inadequate time spent by managers/supervisors: All of us multi-task and always have other goals and targets to work upon. As a result, the quality time spent by managers/supervisors tends to be lower than what is required.
Varied impact: This challenge is applicable to all facilitated/ILT sessions where the quality and the impact of the session is heavily dependent on the trainer.
Inconsistent messaging: Often, the same session is handled by different trainers and can lead to inconsistent messaging leading to lower impact.
Delays in timely completion: Due to the pressure of other day-to-day tasks, the employee Induction and Onboarding program related tasks tend to get lower priority. If the intake of new employees is small, there can be delays in fully completing the program.
Cognitive overload: The new employees are bombarded with so much data in the first few weeks that is difficult for them to assimilate the information. On the other hand, this information is not in a ready to use format when they want to review it or when they need it.
Difficult to maintain consistent versions across the organization.
Difficult to update and roll out.
So, Where Does the Answer Lie?
Opting for an online employee Induction and Onboarding program that leverages Mobile Learning is a superb way to offset most of the challenges associated with the traditional facilitated/ILT programs.
Depending on your organizational dynamics, you can decide on the right blend wherein you can retain some parts in the facilitated/ILT mode but move the larger component online.
Remember, a blended approach will ensure that you will have a right mix of the human touch as well as self-paced learning (Mobile Learning).
How Can You Enhance the Employee Induction and Onboarding Training with Mobile Learning?
Organizations continuously seek approaches that help them effectively connect to today’s multi-generational workforce and deliver employee Induction and Onboarding training that will resonate well with all of them. The learning journey should begin with the employee Induction and Onboarding program and should offer an ongoing connect for the learners to come back for more. Modern learners prefer a training delivery that syncs up with their lifestyle, their preference on how they want to learn, and where they want to learn.
Mobile Learning is a great way to train new employees in a shorter time, with a consistent message that can create the desired impact.
You can select from a range of immersive learning strategies that create a high engagement quotient and will help learners learn and apply the acquired learning on the job.
From an organizational perspective, online employee Induction and Onboarding programs featuring Mobile Learning helps organizations in the following ways:
It helps organizations provide a consistent message.
The program can be easily rolled out to a geographically spread-out workforce.
It can be easily localized.
It can be easily personalized based on the role/business unit.
As data or business dynamics change, it can be quickly updated and redeployed.
It can be scheduled in advance and can be tracked if the implementation is happening, as planned.
It can easily track and assess learner performance, and this data can be used to provide additional support.
It is a cheaper option when compared to the facilitated/ILT mode.
Given the fact that the seat time of the online version is lesser than the facilitated/ILT session, it can be completed in lesser time.
From the learners’ perspective, the Mobile Learning based employee Induction and Onboarding approach:
Provides them the flexibility to learn on the go and on the device of their choice. They can move across devices (from laptops/desktops at office to learn and on tablets/smartphones to refresh).
Empowers them by providing control to them to pace their learning.
Limits the information overload as they can assimilate shorter bites of learning.
Provides them with an easy access to information and learning aids when needed.
Creates a more engaging and immersive learning journey.
Elements like scores and leaderboards enable them to stay cued to their rate of progress and also check on their progress against peers.
What Learning Strategies Can Be Used to Create Effective Online Employee Induction and Onboarding Programs?
To create high-impact employee Induction and Onboarding programs, the approach:
Should be simple and easy to assimilate.
Should outline a clear learning path and time frame.
Should offer a personalized learning journey.
How Can Mobile Learning Be Leveraged to Enhance the Impact of Your Employee Induction and Onboarding Programs?
Here are 8 tips that will help you leverage Mobile Learning for employee Induction and Onboarding training:
Deliver the Induction and Onboarding program in a Mobile Learning format, giving the employees the flexibility to learn on the device of their choice.
Offer Microlearning or bite-sized learning, making it easier for them to assimilate it at their own pace.
Multiply the impact and create an immersive learning journey through Gamification, leaderboards and so on.
Look at adding some learning nuggets that feature Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) to further enhance the immersive learning experience.
Use high-impact formats like Videos, Interactive Videos, Gamified quizzes and so on that keep them engaged.
Offer personalization (based on the role, region, or business unit).
Extend self-paced learning through Social or Collaborative Learning.
Deliver the learning journey through a custom portal for the highest impact.
Increasingly, organizations are opting for a Mobile Learning based approach to deliver their employee Induction and Onboarding programs. This approach delivers high-impact programs that can be taken on the go. It also enables them to offer a personalized learning path to induct new team members quickly and efficiently.
I hope this article gives you the required perspective on how you can leverage on Mobile Learning to offer employee Induction and Onboarding programs. If you have any specific queries, do contact me or leave a comment below.
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