Designing Digitally
04/13/2021
With much of the world still adjusting to new changes, such as integrating a remote workforce and requiring online access to connect team members to vital company resources, eLearning is more valuable than ever.
Online access provides a business solution for employees to continue basic tasks such as emails and file sharing and opens various learning and development opportunities. eLearning has been an effective training method for employee growth and will be long after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
Here are a few ways online learning can help grow your business and employees.
With online learning, you can deliver critical information at the exact time of need. For the many remote workers balancing their work and home life, this is a necessity. For workers on the go, they can use modules to review the proper steps before an audit, inspection, or report for a business violation to HR. Alternatively, businesses can use modules to onboard employees on job duties.
See eBook: Developing a Mobile Learning Solution That Embraces Anytime Anywhere Learning
With eLearning, you can cater to the full spectrum of learning styles while staying in line with today’s technological advancements. Employees can take the training online via a computer, mobile phone, tablet, or even a VR headset. With the ability to add in gaming mechanics such as leaderboards, avatars, awards, and more, and creating immersive learning through serious games and simulations, training can be more enjoyable to learners than ever. These learning methods are known to increase motivation and the desire to perform by using friendly competition to drive performance results.
Many people have been adjusting to new workspaces and schedules, which alone can create stress and challenges, so the last thing you want to do is create training and learning opportunities that will add to that stress. Instead, you want to offer information in a format that caters to your employees’ situations. With online learning, you can deliver information in bits and pieces that will be much easier to digest than trying to absorb large amounts of new information at once. With microlearning, you can focus on specific items at once, allowing your learner to become an expert in that topic before moving on to the next mini-lesson. Often, companies will create microlearning courses to prepare employees in various categories and then create a more complex analysis course to test retention. For example, ELFA did this for their “Fundamentals of Equipment Leasing” course on learning how to lease finance equipment to customers.
Read also: Tips to Avoid Cognitive Overload in Employee Training Programs
As much as we love online learning for L&D at Designing Digitally, we also know it’s not a walk in the park. As with taking on any task, especially a new one, planning is needed - and expertise. Creating an eLearning course that caters to your specific company and employee needs is not something to be taken lightly. It needs to be well thought out and include the necessary team members to ensure the audience will gain the intended information and meet desired goals.
Here are some expert tips from our Instructional Design team that will help you in your online learning planning and development to expand on the previous benefits above. Partner or not, we are here to help see that your eLearning course succeeds.
Your employees typically aren't taking mandatory training on their phones. They're completing training at their desks or on company-issued training devices during work hours. Don't invest money and effort to make your online training mobile compatible unless you have a specific use that warrants it. For example, the “PING Golf Club Fitting Learning Simulation” is developed for mobile devices to be utilized when partner store employees assist customers during their shopping experience for new clubs.
Invest in creating a memorable learning experience that will have actual value to your learner. It's worth the expense to make a fantastic, interactive game rather than a basic eLearning module that will battle with everyday distractions. You can show your learners you respect their time and intelligence by giving them training worth taking.
If you're training learners on how to complete a process or procedure, be sure everyone in your organization agrees on the process’s steps. Course development comes to a screeching halt if teams have to wait for a client to debate how the process is supposed to go. Additionally, ensure that you have the needed support from your team and know how to obtain buy-in from the necessary management and stakeholders.
It is no secret that eLearning has come to the rescue for many companies during the challenges created from the COVID-19 crisis, and it will continue to help companies improve performance for many years to come.
If you are ready to convert your traditional training to eLearning or need an update to some outdated content from the past, we are here to help. We will consult with you to identify training needs and take the development worries out of your hands. To learn more about us and the proactive support approach we take on learning evolution, contact our team today.
Please note this article was updated by our team on 4/13/2021.
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