How To Overcome Frequent Coaching Challenges With Customized eLearning
Tips for more employee engagement
As companies increasingly turn to digital learning as a solution for their dynamic workforce, custom eLearning solutions increasingly dominate the training modalities. Research by Brandon Hall found that 85% of companies reduced the use of Instructor-Led Training (ILT), while the use of digital learning modalities such as Virtual ILT (VILT) increased by 60%. To ensure the success of your employee training program and increase organizational excellence, an innovative instructional design strategy is critical. Here are 5 common training challenges and the design solutions to overcome them.
Boring training content
Learners do not often have the luxury of choosing their training topics, although they strive to personalize the learning experience. Especially if the topic is serious or technical (e.g. compliance training programs, medical device procedures or manufacturing processes, etc.) it can be challenging to increase engagement and interest in the content. However, you can make the training content more attractive by making it more interactive.
Gamification
The easiest way to make custom eLearning solutions more engaging and interactive is to incorporate gamification into the activities or the entire course. Granted, that doesn’t mean turning a learning activity into a game. Gamification can be as simple as assigning a scoring system to learners’ responses. For example, create a training simulation or scenario that prompts learners to choose from a range of options. Each option can have its own value and can help increase or decrease the final measure of performance.
Experiential learning
Recovering practical skills can be difficult in digital training environments, but there are some training technologies that can help. Interactive videos, 3D models and augmented / virtual reality were used effectively to convey complex processes. In many cases, text-based practical skills training may not captivate the reader or simply cannot influence behavior. Bring learning to life and make it more meaningful by helping staff learn through learning.
Low motivation
Even the most visually stimulating custom eLearning solution will be ineffective if the learners are not motivated to consume the training content. One possible solution is to make training mandatory. However, learning outcomes are greatly improved when learners are committed and committed to learning. In order to understand the factors that contribute to the motivation of your employees to learn, an initial analysis is generally required (e.g. focus groups, interviews, surveys, etc.) as each audience is unique. However, there are some motivational theories that give us some insight:
- McClelland’s theory of needs
This theory teaches that we are driven by one of three needs: the need to reach and to achieve; the need for belonging, belonging and social acceptance; and the need for power and the ability to control other people. Find out what needs are driving your audience and present the training in the context of that need. - Vroom’s expectation theory
People will be motivated when they believe that their efforts will be successful and when they believe that they will be rewarded. Always make sure that the workout you create has a valuable benefit or reward associated with it. - Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
This theory teaches that we are most motivated by our highest needs: the need for belonging and love, the need for respect and recognition, and the need for personal development. Connect the training with the higher needs of the learners and you will have them excited.
Irrelevant content
The easiest way to lose learners’ attention and turn them off from a learning experience is to give them information they don’t need. Throwing mountains of material at them in the form of moderator guides, participant guides, presentations, written activities, and frequently asked questions may seem like a thorough approach, but it can be a mistake. Take the time to curate your content. Decide what is most important to the learners. Then eliminate the rest. Design the learning paths of your custom eLearning solution so that it flows logically from one topic to the next. Also, create a user interface that organizes training materials intuitively. If your learners are having trouble accessing the training content, they likely won’t find it when they need it.
This is how you make training content more relevant
If the learners feel that the training content has little to do with their role or does not promote their personal development, they quickly lose interest. So align your custom eLearning solution with specific business goals and performance goals first. Then emphasize the importance of training in improving individual performance or making their job easier. Get advice from managers and individuals who understand the day-to-day performance requirements of the job. The feedback from many sources will help you understand how your current training program compares with the needs of the company and its employees. Once you have a vision of the main types of training, you can identify the gaps in your current program and shape them accordingly.
Missing data
How do you know if your custom eLearning solutions are making a difference? Measure the effectiveness of the program using a learning platform that evaluates your learners’ progress. This can be as simple as giving learners a pre-test before training to assess their level of knowledge and then comparing it to a test taken after the training is over. Monitoring learners’ performance after the training can also provide an indication of how well their knowledge and behavior are being retained after the training is complete. When an employee’s quality of work increases in the area in which they have been trained, the training has been effective.
Conclusion
Building effective custom eLearning solutions generally requires an innovative instructional design strategy and user experience. However, aligning with the motivational factors of your employees can be a challenge. By doing careful analysis, you can ensure that the content is engaging and relevant. This will do a lot of the motivational work, but it’s still important to know your audience. Maximize the impact of your training by focusing on the design factors you can control and the human factors you can influence.
AllenComm
AllenComm’s experts solve business problems with beautiful custom learning solutions. We bring creativity to the teaching design. We change behavior and influence decisions. We’re building a better workout.
