How To Enhance Motivation In Online Training
Let's be honest. Training isn't the most enjoyable thing in the world. In fact, most employees dread the thought of taking compliance online training courses or dull online presentations. Fortunately, you have the power to turn your online training into an interactive, immersive, and emotionally-engaging experience. The trick is knowing how to motivate your corporate learners and foster a personal connection.
1. Incorporate Social Learning Opportunities
Humans like social interaction. It helps us see things from a different perspective and share ideas with our peers. Social learning activities prevent feelings of isolation and allow employees to interact with their colleagues away from the workplace. Your employees get personalized support from their peers and can address common concerns. They also have the opportunity to collectively problem-solve and expand their knowledge base. Furthermore, employees are able to motivate and encourage their co-workers so that everyone plays an active role.
2. Cater To Personal Interests And Professional Goals
Employees must be able to form a connection with your online training materials. As such, you should incorporate their personal interests and hobbies into your online training course design. That being said, they still need to be able to achieve their professionals goals and fill performance gaps. Use a conversational tone and learn as much as you can about their background. This data helps you customize the online training experience to make it memorable and meaningful.
3. Gamify It!
Gamification allows you to reward your employees for a job well done. For example, they earn a badge for successfully completing a compliance online training course, or move up the leaderboard after acing an exam. Gamified online training courses provide employees the incentive and inspiration they need to fully engage. It also helps them identify areas for improvement. Thus, they're able to continually improve and hone their professional skills. There is a caveat to this though. Rewards should not be their primary source of inspiration, but the catalyst for intrinsic motivation in online training.
4. Integrate Real World Online Training Activities
Real world online training activities allow your employees to gain valuable online training experience and practical knowledge. Branching scenarios, simulations, and case studies help them apply what they've learned and put the information into context. For example, explore all of the steps in a task before they carry out the process on the sales floor. You should also stress the real world benefits of your online training course from day one. Then reiterate the advantages of active participation on a regular basis. Doing so recharges employee motivation as it starts to wan. Be clear about what they can accomplish and how they can use their newfound knowledge in real world settings.
5. Give Them A Break!
Frequent breaks give employees time to assimilate information and retain it for later use. However, they also have the opportunity to explore sub-topics in order to prevent boredom. For example, employees who excel are able to master other tasks or refresh skills during the online training intermission. Lastly, break your online training into bite-size modules to prevent cognitive overload. Encourage your employees to take breaks in between each online training module or activity, and reflect on the key topics or ideas.
6. Offer Self-Paced Online Training Paths
Employees shouldn't have to keep up with their peers. A bit of friendly competition is perfectly acceptable. However, they must be able to explore each topic on their own and fully comprehend the ideas before moving forward. There are two effective approaches that are ideal for self-paced online training. The first is a clickable online course map that allows employees to choose the next online training activity or module. The other is a microlearning online repository that they can access whenever the need arises. Employees have the power to piece together different online resources in order to customize the online training experience. Both strategies require in depth audience research, as you must create online training materials that are relevant and relatable.
7. Cater To Different Learning Preferences
Employees have different learning preferences and goals. As such, they require different type of online resources to make the online training worthwhile. Incorporate a broad range of online training activities and assessments to cater to your corporate learners. For example, visual learners prefer online presentations and infographics. While podcasts are ideal for audio learners. Tactile learners get more benefit from serious games, drag-and-drop online training activities, and other interactive elements. Another factor to consider is their accessibility preferences. Are they using their mobile devices to log into the system? If so, then you might consider a responsive design authoring tool. These considerations play a prominent role in employee engagement, as it makes your online training more convenient and personalized.
8. Keep Your Online Training Goal-Centered
Goals are the guideposts for your online training program. They allow employees to focus on the task and devote all of their energy to the desired outcome. In other words, it motivates your corporate learners to give it their all and ignore unnecessary distractions. Encourage your staff to set goals in advance and break larger goals into manageable milestones. Then include a goal tracker so that they can monitor their progress along the way. Goals should also be paired with realistic timelines to prevent frustration and undue stress.
This article can help you motivate your employees and encourage them to actively participate in your online training program. The focal point of your online training strategy should be employee research to identify their needs, as well as employee involvement to continually improve your approach. Lastly, ensure that all of your online training activities are engaging, entertaining, and goal-centered to enhance the overall value.
Do you want to know how to tap into the power of internal motivation in online training? Read the article Intrinsic Motivation In Online Training to discover some tips for using intrinsic motivation in your online training program.
