What Activities Should You Include In Your On-Demand Training Plan?
A well-trained workforce is an asset in today's market. Nowadays, staff should be well-equipped to instantly provide industry-specific insights, and handle ever-piling workloads while supporting their colleagues and maintaining diverse skill sets. On-demand training activities are ideal for bearing this weight in any high-demand industry and producing cross-functional teams. By providing training in an on-demand format, companies can ensure that their team stays knowledgeable about the latest industry trends and daily processes while making certain that Just-In-Time support safeguards are in place in their moment of need. If you're interested in implementing on-demand training but remain unsure about what activities to include in your program, take a look at our suggestions.
Just-In-Time Support With Six On-Demand Training Activities
On-demand training allows for flexible delivery as it can be accessed at any time and from any place. A well-rounded training curriculum that's formatted for on-demand delivery should accommodate a variety of activities that are able to address on-the-job queries or issues at a moment's notice. Of course, structuring a training initiative requires planning and careful execution; below, there are six customizable on-demand training activities listed for your benefit:
1. Content Libraries
Compiling and organizing training content into libraries is the first step to creating a well-rounded training plan. These content libraries can accompany employees throughout their tenure with the company, whether they are entry-level or senior-level employees. Content libraries are typically stored in a Learning Management System, which in itself is a valuable resource for any training strategy aiming to provide JIT support. They can operate as a course catalog and house a variety of different course formats, which can be extremely beneficial for employees with different learning preferences.
Organizations have the freedom to select microlearning courses, gamified learning, manuals, and how-to guides, as well as short lectures illustrating essential, day-to-day processes. Lastly, their infrastructure makes them easy to maintain, while their environment makes keeping them up-to-date, by adding or removing content, very straightforward. Leveraging this versatile form of JIT support, companies can implement training curricula that boost knowledge retention and provide assistance at a moment's notice.
2. Doubt Sessions And Mentorship Programs
Mentorship initiatives are showing up time and time again in L&D strategies, and rightly so. While the nature of on-demand training slightly clashes with the general idea behind mentorship programs—that someone is available for regular, lengthy discussions to guide someone on their personal and professional journey—it doesn't mean that one initiative cannot incorporate the other. If your training is delivered in an on-demand format, the same can happen for your mentorship program. Easier said than done? Not, really.
On-demand training isn't always used as a last-minute call for help in a time of crisis. It can also be accessed during slower work hours or during time slots specifically allocated for Learning and Development activities. Companies can allocate and fill those time slots with doubt sessions, during which more senior members can discuss queries or issues with the newest additions. Alternatively, they can be allotted for live one-on-ones with experts or mentors; mentors themselves can aid in the process by filming short lectures illustrating essential concepts and processes.
3. Live Discussion Forums
Discussion hubs, employee forums, or live chats leverage peer review to provide immediate support between team members. Colleagues can congregate and discuss work-related issues, or exchange valuable information and on-the-job experiences. In addition to JIT support, chat portals can help in longer-term knowledge retention and build stronger interpersonal connections between members. Peer-to-peer learning has proven to be an extremely effective method of learning as it combines social, collaborative, and experiential learning—all that during work hours! If you plan on launching a specific software to accommodate your on-demand training activities, make sure that it includes a built-in messaging system or a comment section. Alternatively, you can create a separate group chat in your internal messaging system specifically for on-the-job queries.
4. Course Summaries
Providing course content summaries relies heavily on the UI of your chosen LMS or training software. Ensuring that your software is user-friendly and scalable enough to allow users a preview of the content can go a long way. While summaries don't necessarily add or take anything from the content or the learning experience as a whole, they can provide a quick refresher for any emergency situations that may arise. Being able to quickly scan a content summary, employees can decide whether this resource is what they need to access in order to solve their problem. Alternatively, course content summaries may even provide the answer your employees need with nothing more than a quick review of the course's description.
5. On-Demand Refreshers
One would think that on-demand activities are actually on-demand refreshers—and they are. In this case, however, let's consider those refreshers as short, step-by-step reviews or quizzes on important topics that employees can complete every few months or each business year. Compiling a set of on-demand refreshers can not only provide instant support in a time of need; these refreshers can also be part of competency-based training and incorporated into quarterly assessments and evaluations. The content of your chosen on-demand refreshers will depend upon each employee's position and experience, the nature of their work, and the needs of the company. For example, if your organization needs to optimize a specific process, the teams responsible for conducting said process will have to get refreshers on the appropriate procedure. Refreshers for the same team may include different resources for each member to fill different knowledge gaps and cover different role aspects.
6. Collaborative Whiteboards
Similar to chat portals, collaborative whiteboards accommodate information exchange between team members using simple built-in tools to attach notes or documents on a plain canvas. These whiteboards are perfect for brainstorming sessions, or for compiling essential training information into distinct, easily accessible clusters. Moreover, they can accommodate a variety of multimedia tools and file types, which offers flexibility when it's time to upload new documents or notes, or when one needs to review what is attached to the board.
Conclusion
Coming up with a cohesive training strategy can be a time-consuming process that requires planning and resources. Ensuring that your workforce is equipped with an all-inclusive portal of training materials can provide instant support and save money, time, and work hours in the long run. Through Just-In-Time support, employees can feel secure in their knowledge that sufficient resources are available in their moment of need—this can lead to better performance results, increased knowledge retention, and reduced on-the-job risks. If you plan on implementing on-demand training activities in your L&D curriculum, make sure that they are accessible enough to address routine, day-to-day practices, as well as emergency situations. And, if you're on the lookout for software that's ideal for housing an agile learning program, we have a list of The Best Content Development Companies To Help You Create Your Virtual Training Programs.
