6 Tips For Creating A Winning Performance Management Online Training Strategy

6 Tips For Creating A Winning Performance Management Online Training Strategy
Summary: A company's bottom line relies heavily, if not entirely, on the knowledge and skills of its employees. In this article, I will highlight tips and techniques you can use to create a winning performance management online training strategy for any organization.

How To Create A Winning Performance Management Online Training Strategy 

While there is a variety of challenges involved with running a company, one of the most daunting tasks is ensuring that each member of your staff is doing his/her job effectively. Otherwise, you simply aren't making the most of your resources and the growth of your organization will stagnate. But, how do you create a performance management online training strategy that gives your employees the knowledge and skills they need to become an integral part of your company's success?

  1. Make your employers aware of expectations and goals. 
    When you are developing your performance management online training strategy, it's vital that your employees know exactly what to expect, what is expected of them, and what learning goals must be achieved during the online training program. In many cases, employees may be falling behind in their skill development because they simply aren't aware of what is expected of them. While this may often be attributed to a lack of motivation, it is often nothing more than a lack of understanding or miscommunicated objectives and goals. As such, you'll want to be sure to make it perfectly clear what the employees need to know by the time they've finished their training and why they need to learn it. It shouldn't be automatically assumed that they know the goals, because, unfortunately, this may not be the case for all employees.
  2. Have a solid support system in place. 
    Employees  must feel as though they have a support when they need it, whether they are in a formal online training environment or on the sales floor. You can accomplish this by encouraging them to email their facilitators if they have a question or concern that needs to be addressed. You may also give them access to an FAQ or a forum where their colleagues can help them when they need training assistance. If they feel as though the support system is lacking they are much less likely to become active participants in the online training process and get the most out of the learning activities. This is primarily due to the fact that they know they won't be able to receive the help they require, should the need arise, which will create an obstacle in the overall online training process.
  3. Use a wide range of online training activities to appeal to different learning needs.
    Not every employee is going to get the same benefits from every online training activity. While some might respond well to interactive learning exercises, such as branching scenarios and eLearning games others might get more out of text-based stories or case studies. Activities that may be wholly effective for one employee simply won't “do the trick” for another. As such, it's important to integrate a variety of different online training activities that appeal to a wide range of learning needs. Include exercises that give employees the opportunity to feel immersed, inspired, and engaged in the online training experience, so that they can all develop their skill sets and fill their learning gaps in order to do their jobs most effectively. 
  4. Look at employee weaknesses as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles. 
    Every weakness, every skill that isn't finely tuned, and every training gap that exists is an opportunity for growth. Rather than looking at it as an obstacle that is standing in the way of their online training experience, each of these things should be viewed as eLearning challenges that need to be solved through creative and innovative online training design.  As an eLearning professional, you have the ability, by using your knowledge, tools, and expertise, to give them the information they need to be better employees. So, every weakness should be perceived as an untapped talent.
  5. Give them access to on-the-job learning aids and activities. 
    You can also offer your employees on-the-job “moment of need” training in the form of manuals, tutorials, and videos that they can access whenever, wherever. By doing this, your employees have the power to acquire information that can help them immediately, rather than trying to search for it in lengthy online training materials. As a result, they remember it more effectively and are able to boost their job performance right then, instead of having to wait until the formal online training begins.
  6. Performance feedback is essential. 
    Your employees aren't going to know if they are making mistakes and learn from them unless they receive vital performance feedback. You cannot wait for annual performance evaluations or the end of the online training course to let your employees know if they have to modify on-the-job behaviors or fine-tune their skill sets. By giving them immediate and continual feedback they can remedy the situation before the incorrect information or behaviors are committed to their memory banks. Include assessments in your online training course that they must complete in order to progress to the next module and offer them frequent recaps and reviews that give them a general overview of the ideas they need to take away from the online training session. Also, remember that feedback is a two-way street . Ask employees to complete surveys or carry out interviews to get their opinion regarding the online training exercises and the strategy, as a whole. This will give you the opportunity to make changes to your strategy to strengthen weak spots, or to verify that certain aspects of your online training strategy are, in fact, helping your employees.

Use these performance management online training tips to create a strategy that enriches your organization and leads to future growth, both in terms of the company's brand and the professional skill sets of employees.

As it becomes obvious, one of the most effective ways to boost an organization's productivity, profits, and professional accountability is by creating a winning performance management online training strategy. Read the article Top 5 Performance Management Online Training Strategies where I highlight the top performance management training strategies you may want to consider when developing your next online training deliverable.

Looking for ways to give your sales team the on-the-go training they need? Read the article 6 Tips To Use Mobile Performance Support For Your Sales Team to learn about the best tips for using mobile performance support to increase sales figures and keep them up-to-date with your company's new products and services.