6 Software Features To Facilitate Your Staff's Experience
We’ve all sought knowledge online, whether it was a YouTube tutorial or a new movie review. And because we’ve interacted with the net so frequently, we have pre-set expectations about how things will be formatted. When a product or service contravenes our assumptions, we may feel lost, annoyed, or confused. When said product is corporate training software, we resist it or may disengage altogether. How can we assess and identify the features our employees are primed for, so we can avail and improve training results? Here are 6 employee training software features that your modern employees expect to see when they log in.
1. Mobile Responsiveness
If you’ve purchased an LMS without mobile capacity, you might as well just take it back. It doesn’t have to be a stand-alone app. But it does need to be easily accessed on your employees’ smartphones or tablets. If you’re not willing to go the app-way, at least ensure the software adjusts responsively to mobile. This takes the form of rich buttons instead of links, re-arranged page layout, limited text, compressed visuals, and optimized multimedia formats. Your staff expects employee training software that travels with them and allows for any time, anywhere support. Whether they’re on the sales floor or meeting with a client half a world away.
2. Gamification
Mobile phones were initially built for phone calls. Later, they delivered text messages, before growing into pocket-sized computers. At that point, they could send emails, surf the net, and give you directions. Today, they’re mostly used for instant messaging, mobile games, and selfies. So, when you incorporate them into training, you need to mimic these qualities. That way, you reduce distractions. Ensure your mobile courses have leaderboards, badges, bright colors, buzzers, playful icons, and fancy avatars, just like their favorite mobile game. These features should carry over into the desktop versions of your LMS as well. Another perk of incorporating gamification into online employee training is motivation. Employees are able to track their performance and compete against peers, which fuels their engagement.
3. Progress Tracking
When you’re reading a paper book, you can physically see how far you’ve gone, and how much is left. With TV shows or movies, the clock can help you gauge your progress. Or you can check the little red bar at the bottom of your screen. Employ this concept in your online training software. Let them see how many minutes are left in the session, or how many course lessons are remaining. You could use sliding timelines or vertical progress bars. It’s a simple and useful motivator, both on the desktop and in their purses/pockets. When selecting a new employee training LMS, look for a tool that allows customizable tracking. For example, you can transform the traditional bar into an interactive map that aligns with your theme.
4. User-Friendly Interface
Ask anyone to show you the apps on their phones, then tell you which ones they use the most. Ask them why and dig into their neglected apps as well. On their computer, ask the same question about apps in the ‘start’ section that they’ve never explored. You may find some of those apps remain un-open because they’re hard to use. The person who installed them opened them for the first time, couldn’t figure them out, felt foolish, and logged out. Have your employee training software tested by everyone on the tech-savvy spectrum. Note the places where they get stuck and write down their questions. You can always tweak your app as needed and design a guided tour of all essential features. However, it must have a user-friendly UI to begin with if you want to reduce the learning curve.
5. JIT Library Support
Traditional forms of training focus on depth and breadth. Some modern texts do include a summary at the start or end of a chapter. A bit like ‘previously on …’ and ‘next week on …’ As for websites, almost all of them have alt text now. You hover on a link and it pops up a paragraph summation. Learners expect this feature in their employee training software too, but in the form of a glossary, appendix, or reference library. Each library entry is a brief how-to or definition they can consult in emergencies. It sticks to single content points e.g. ‘how to help a client pick a product color.’ Your new software must support bite-size mobile support so that every member of the team can quickly bridge gaps.
6. Flexible Navigation
Digital reading isn’t like a novel. You don’t have to go from Page 1 to Page 10 all in one sitting. It’s more like ‘choose your own adventure’. Trainees want the freedom to start with Chapter 1, jump to the end, come back to the middle, then restart. Ensure your training software makes it easy to navigate back and forth within the course. So that they can cover topics that address their current challenges and apply the info immediately. Especially for audio and video on mobile, where the size of the screen becomes an excuse to omit rewind-pause-forward functionality.
Conclusion
Deciding to offer employee training via mobile is an excellent idea. But not all responsive employee training LMS solutions are equal. What features do trainees think they’ll find? Particularly those whose absence could put them off your course? User-friendly interfaces, mobile compatibility, progress tracking, gamification, emergency references, and non-linear content access. Review your course to see which of these is missing, then make an affordable plan to add them in.
Does your current LMS surpass employees’ expectations? If not, use our online directory to find a replacement and improve ROI. You can search by features, spec support, deployment type, and other criteria to vet all the top options. As well as read online reviews to evaluate the pros, cons, and overall satisfaction scores.
Download the eBook Is It Time For New Employee Training Software? Your Guide To Finding The Right LMS Match to make a strong business case for new employee training software and choose the best solution.
