A Simple Guide To Motivating Workflow Learning In Your Organization
For many years, corporate training has been viewed less than favorably by employees. This can be attributed to several factors, one of which is its mandatory nature that didn't account for the employees' learning needs and preferences at the given time. Another reason was the dull design of the content, which didn't evoke learner interest. Times have changed as traditional corporate training programs are being replaced by learning in the flow of work, a dynamic learning strategy based on the idea that learning is an ongoing process instead of a one-time event. In this article, we will explore 7 ways to motivate workflow learning, as well as a few forms this innovative training method can take.
What Are Some Practical Examples Of Workflow Learning?
Learning in the flow of work can take many forms depending on the needs of your workforce. Here, we will only mention a few examples of the ways you can support your employees with learning in the flow of work content and tools.
- Microlearning modules: Provide short, focused learning snippets that address specific issues, such as in-app tips for using new software.
- JIT resources: Create a knowledge base that is easy to access and navigate, where all training materials are stored and organized so that employees can solve issues on the spot, e.g., instantly answer client questions.
- Performance support tools: Embed such tools within software and apps to provide immediate assistance. For example, instead of needing to exit an application and search for instructions, employees can find integrated tips and guides.
- Knowledge-sharing platforms: Encourage the exchange of knowledge, insights, and experiences among employees to boost collaboration and improve productivity. These platforms can be anything from forums to social media groups.
- Mentoring: Similarly to knowledge-sharing platforms, mentoring leverages the experience and knowledge of one employee for the development of another. Assign colleague pairs to offer support to less experienced mentees while providing a fresh perspective to mentors.
- Digital content libraries: Such platforms can store short-form as well as long-form training content. These libraries can be useful for employees who want to delve deeper into a specific subject through self-study and research.
- AI-driven personalized learning: Take advantage of the power of Artificial Intelligence and let it make personalized learning recommendations to your staff based on their roles, interests, goals, and choices throughout the training process. This can increase engagement, as learning will be perfectly tailored to each individual.
7 Ways To Motivate Workflow Learning In Your Organization
Despite its benefits, convincing employees to try out a new training method might take some extra effort on your part. Here are 7 ways you can motivate your workforce to take seriously and make meaningful use of the learning-in-the-flow-of-work content, such as the examples we discussed above.
1. Set Goals
A great way to motivate employees to involve themselves in training and maintain a long-term effort is to show them the results of their efforts. But how can you do that if you haven't set goals and expectations? For this reason, we suggest that at the beginning of the training process, you encourage your staff to set a few goals they expect to achieve within a given period of time. When that deadline arrives, these achievements will give employees a sense of accomplishment that will act as a motivator for the future. On the other hand, non-completed goals will give you valuable information regarding what you need to change for better results in the future.
2. Offer Career Advancement Opportunities
Most employees embark on a skill development journey for the main purpose of advancing their careers. Whether it is requesting a higher salary, changing roles, or applying for a promotion, enriching your knowledge base is a necessity. Remind your employees that and motivate them to take action and reach their next professional goal. You can even conduct a survey to identify which positions employees are interested in so that you can direct them to the right training program. Creating a career development plan will not only give you a distinct set of goals to follow but also show your team that you are invested in their advancement, thus increasing participation and engagement.
3. Highlight The Immediate Usefulness Of Workflow Learning
Not all employees are at a stage in their career where they are thinking about promotions or role switches. As a result, you will have to take a different approach to pique their interest in workflow learning. Instead of talking to them about the future, let them know how learning-in-the-flow-of-work content can be of use now. For example, you can train them to carry out a certain process for which they had to turn to a superior until now. Leveraging learning to cut time from everyday tasks and achieve a higher rate of efficiency is a foolproof way to convince your staff to utilize available training materials.
4. Implement Gamification Elements
Explaining the benefits of training and setting goals is certainly effective when it comes to encouraging employee participation. However, something even more effective would be making training more entertaining by gamifying it. Besides, who doesn't like games? Surveys have shown that learning experiences that promote interaction and include gamification elements captivate learner attention much more effectively than traditional training methods. Thankfully, incorporating badges, leaderboards, certificates, etc., in your training program has become easier than ever. Just search for an LMS that allows such features and watch as learning becomes a fun activity for everyone.
5. Give Employees Control Of Their Learning Journey
Despite the many ways corporate training programs can benefit an organization, the employees are the ones gaining the most. Besides, all the knowledge and skills they acquire stay with them for the rest of their careers. Therefore, it's only natural that they should take accountability for the direction of their learning path. Increase employee participation by urging your employees to choose which courses they want to follow, the format of the training material, their pace, and more. This sense of responsibility leads to conscious choices and better learning outcomes, as your staff understands that training directly affects their professional development.
6. Offer Flexibility
For many years, learning happened on the employer's terms, using predetermined time slots, rooms, and materials. Although never an attractive option, it's even harder to implement in the era of instant information and remote working. Nowadays, employees are expected to solve issues and find information instantly. Therefore, if you want to motivate them to learn in the flow of work, provide them with all the information they might need. Use LMSs that are accessible through different devices, employ microlearning features, and organize your training materials well. The more employees can rely on workflow learning content to find immediate solutions to their problems, the more they will be motivated to use them.
7. Reward The Effort
Hoping for a promotion or a salary increase at the end of a training program is a great motivator, but a more immediate reward is often needed. Employees like to feel valued and have their efforts recognized by their superiors. As a result, rewards are always welcome and, in fact, very helpful and encouraging during the training process. Rewards don't have to be monetary, although we're sure your employees wouldn't object to it. A gift card, a certificate, a shout-out in the company messaging platform, or even a personal word of recognition and encouragement are more than enough to assure your employees that they are on the right track and that their work is producing results.
Conclusion
Implementing a new training method in your company and expecting your staff to follow it willingly is an unrealistic scenario. Leadership needs to find ways to encourage participation and motivate employees to get the desired results. In this article, we explored 7 ways to boost the use of workflow learning techniques. It's easy to see that encouraging employees to embrace them mostly requires goal setting, communication, and rewards of various kinds. Keep these in mind as you implement some of the learning in the flow of work examples we shared so that you can achieve the best learning outcomes possible.
