Up until now, you might have thought your training program was good – sure, a bit boring and staid, but it did its job, right?
Err… Not so much. Brinkerhoff and Apking (2001) found that ‘almost all organisational training is a marginal intervention and has only slight effects on performance improvement … If we define ‘training impact’ as simply the transfer of knowledge and skills to on-the-job performance, research indicates that impact of a training program is realised only for about 15 percent of all training participants’.
15%! How terrifyingly bad. Organisations are putting so much time, effort and money into developing training programs that just don’t work! But you’ve probably already realised that there’s something not quite right with your current Learning Management System. That’s why you’re here, after all, isn’t it…?
We present “5 Tips for Successful Training”, a guide to help you create a successful training program that will rock your learners’ world!
5 Tips for Successful Training
1. Make learners curious
When our curiosity is piqued, we become motivated to investigate further. We’re encouraged to step out into the big wide world and explore – no river is too wide, no mountain too high… But enough about Diana Ross. So, how can we make learners curious? There is research to show that highlighting gaps in learners’ knowledge or understanding will kick-start their curiosity – so giving learners a pre-test before their learning commences can encourage them to work harder to fill any gaps they have in their understanding.
2. Make learning fun
Who wants to sit through a boring slideshow presentation, answer unimaginative questions and suffer through a sneezing fit while thumbing through an outdated, dusty textbook? We learn more when we’re having fun: if we enjoy something our brains are significantly more active, meaning we can take in more information. To make your training more fun, make it like a game: add gamification features to your eLearning modules and use great a gamified LMS (Learning Management System) that your learners will be absolutely delighted to use!
3. Self-motivation
Make sure learners know what’s in it for them – what they will get out of working so hard and completing their training journey. Sure, you can tell them they’ll get a sales diploma, or a health and safety certificate, but what does this mean for the learner? It means they’ll be able to sell better, which will improve their performance, aid their progression within the company and open up the possibility of promotion and pay-rises. That’ll appeal to them much more than a qualification that they’re not certain will benefit them – suddenly they’ll be much more enthusiastic to log on to their Learning Management System and get learning!
4. Make it social
Learning is more enjoyable – and also is more ‘sticky’ in our brains – when we do it with other people. Now that doesn’t mean copying other learners or going through a textbook together. It can mean completing the eLearning unit individually but getting together (physically or virtually) with other learners to discuss the content of the module afterwards. We enable this by providing a dedicated area on our gamified Learning Management System specific to the topic at hand. Learners log on to the ‘Insights’ area, chat about the subject, compare notes and share other helpful links and ideas.
5. Make learners feel like experts
It’s natural for human beings to strive to be the best, gain recognition of a job well done and appear to be the top dog in their area of expertise. Our Insights area is perfect for this: the more a learner contributes to the conversation – by sharing information, ‘liking’ others’ posts and commenting – the more ‘experience points’ they get, which push them up the ‘Top Contributors’ leaderboard. Those at the top are seen as oracles of knowledge; they’re the go-to guys and gals for all questions on the topic. It’s possibly not the best thing for their egos, but we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt – they’re working hard and it’s paying off!
Want to find out more about how you can get learners enjoying their training? Download our free white paper but clicking the button below!
