How To Motivate Remote Corporate Learners
The sense of belonging to a community is quite essential for all aspects of life. It gives people purpose and drive to move on. Corporate learners are part of the company’s learning community and interact with colleagues and trainers during traditional in-house training. However, in the case of remote corporate learners, this often leads to isolation, as well as lack of involvement and motivation. In this article, I'll present 7 tips to motivate remote corporate learners and make them see their online training course from a whole different perspective.
1. Schedule Frequent Interaction With Them At Regular Time Intervals
Remote corporate learners have an increased need for frequent communication in order to mitigate their feelings of isolation from the company’s environment. One could say that it is preferable to over-communicate with remote corporate learners, rather than leaving them unsure about the aim of the online training you provide and how they can apply it on the job. It is also advisable to set a specific schedule for communicating with them on a regular basis so that they can establish it as part of their daily routine. This makes them commit to their online training and enables them to organize their time and workload more effectively.
2. Give Positive eLearning Feedback
Remote corporate learners can feel extremely demotivated if they receive little or no feedback at all. Positive eLearning feedback is essential to make them better assimilate concepts learned, as well as to apply them in practice. In addition, it increases the corporate learner’s morale and feeling of belonging to a community. It is vital for corporate learners to feel that online facilitators are there not only to correct misconceptions but also to boost their confidence and inspire them.
3. Develop Bite-Sized Online Training Activities
Remote corporate learners do not always have access to a desktop computer. The very concept of remote corporate learning applies to people who do not sit at a desk all day, either because of their heavy work schedule or family responsibilities. Such people do not have a standard 9-5 workday schedule with free time afterward. Their professional obligations might be scattered throughout the day. The need for microlearning online training activities in this context becomes even more obvious. Remote corporate learners usually do not have the time or patience to pursue lengthy online training modules. They crave for knowledge that’s segmented into small units. This should be taken into consideration during the Instructional Design phase so that the online training course meets the needs of both in-house and remote corporate learners.
4. Utilize The Power Of Social Media
Social media provides us with numerous ways to bridge the gap that the lack of physical connectivity and sense of community bring. Social learning is quite the recipe to deal with alienated remote corporate learners. Online learners can post online resources on subject-related social media pages, interact with fellow colleagues and provide eLearning feedback on posts. Real-time conversations, openness, a sense of connectivity, as well as the ability for anyone to join in are key characteristics of social media groups that help motivate remote corporate learners. They also give them the chance for fruitful online discussions that can lead to better assimilation of the acquired knowledge.
5. Offer Opportunities For Online Group Collaboration
Online group collaboration projects are always fun and unpredictable, right? The truth is that remote corporate learners can benefit from online group collaboration projects much more than their in-house colleagues. Take every chance to make remote corporate learners interact with each other by posing project-related questions that enhance online discussions and interchange of ideas. There are a plethora of Project Management online tools and booking apps that allow remote corporate learners to collaborate by sharing documents and online presentations. Real-time applications help remote corporate learners enjoy all the features of in-person collaboration from the comfort of their home.
6. Provide Face-To-Face Contact Using Video Conferencing Tools
It’s not always viable but it’s definitely advisable. Video conferencing tools eliminate time and space barriers. Scheduling for regular dates when remote corporate learners can meet online and exchange best practices with their in-house colleagues is indispensable. Another good option is assigning group collaboration online projects so that remote corporate learners can work together and make use of video conferencing tools to interact face-to-face.
7. Encourage Receiving eLearning Feedback
Demonstrating that you value the impact of your online training course on remote corporate learners is very important. It also aids greatly in making them feel that they have a say in the whole process and can voice their concern despite the geographical limitations. Online surveys and polls are a very effective way to gain insight into their learning preferences and adjust the online training course to their needs.
Remote corporate learners can be quite a challenging learner type to deal with. These 7 tips constitute some great advice to make demotivated remote corporate learners regain their interest. If implemented from the very beginning, they can lead to a very successful online training experience.
Creating custom online training courses is immensely effective. Read the article 6 Ways To Research Your Remote Corporate Learners to learn how to find out more about the educational background and professional experience of your remote corporate learners.
