What Employees Love In Online Training Courses
Given that there are so many benefits associated with online training courses, it's no surprise that employees often prefer it over traditional face-to-face training courses. But what, exactly, do employees love about online training courses? Answering this all-important question will allow you to make your online training courses even more effective and memorable, due to the fact that you can focus on what really matters when it comes to the overall training experience.
- Online training courses to be accessed anywhere, anytime.
Employees love the fact that they can access their online training courses anywhere, anytime. They don't have to stay after hours in the office to complete mandatory training, or to be stuck at their desk if they want to learn more about a specific task or process. They can even access their training on-the-go by using their mobile devices, if applicable. So, prior designing your online training courses you need to think how you want your employees to access your online training courses or events, to avoid compatibility issues. In addition, employees are looking for online training modules that allow for quick and convenient knowledge absorption. In order to offer your employees this perk, however, you may need to consider developing microlearning practices. Both mobile training and microlearning are two corporate eLearning trends with great potentials, not to mention that employees love them! So, you will definitely need to further explore their benefits and their potentiality to support the needs of your overall online training strategy. - Online training courses to incorporate social elements.
Employees love the fact that they don't have to keep up with their colleagues or be held back by those who may be progressing more slowly. Online training courses give them the ability to move at their own pace, so that they get most of their individual training experience. This also gives them the opportunity to properly absorb information and skill sets before moving onto the next online training module. For example, if an employee finds one online training module more challenging than the other employees, then he/she has the chance to devote more time to exploring this particular online training module before advancing. However, enjoy learning at their own pace, does not mean that they enjoy learning on their own. Keep in mind when developing online training courses, to incorporate social learning and group collaboration elements. Employees can benefit from the experience and expertise of their colleagues via online training exercises, for example. As such, you'll want to consider adding in various group projects, such as scenario role plays or problem solving exercises, or online social learning activities. These social learning activities may come in the form of online forum discussions and peer-based feedback via document sharing. - Online training courses to be convenient!
What employees love in an online training course is to be convenient and easy to use. The online training courses should be fairly easy to access, to navigate and to complete assessments, and to see the results. With the click of a button employees want to delve into a subject, watch a video that explores a complicated task, or engage in an exciting eLearning presentation. In short, online training courses should make it simple and straightforward for the employees to expand their knowledge base and improve upon their skill sets. However, this isn't to say that online training courses should be easy to complete. To the contrary, online training courses should be challenging enough to engage the employees and demanding, so that you don't run the risk of boring them. This will enable them to get real value from their online training courses. - Online training courses to be interactive and immersive.
The amazing thing about online training courses, and what employees love, is that you can lose yourself in it. Online training courses should be interactive and allow for complete immersion. Scenarios, eLearning Games, simulations, and a wide range of other components can create training experiences that draw in the employees and make them feel like they are an essential part of the overall training experience. Employees can make choices that are risk-free, but still allow them to see where those choices would lead them in real world settings. Simulations give them the power to carry out real life tasks, without having to worry about making a mistake that could lead to reprimands or dissatisfied customers. In many respects, online training courses offer them a safety net that they can use to master skills and acquire knowledge in a secure environment. - Online training courses to offer an emotionally-centered experience that helps employees to connect.
Whether you are integrating characters, avatars, compelling images and graphics, or real world examples, you are emotionally connecting to your audience in a profound way. This is yet another thing that employees enjoy about online training courses. When developing your corporate online training strategy you should focus to encourage an emotional connection between the employees and the subject matter, no matter what that subject matter might be. This way, employees can sympathize with the characters that in fact impart important information, learn about real world examples that highlight the benefits of the subject matter, or read stories that help them to develop skills and broaden their scope of knowledge. Creating emotionally-centered online training experiences is of high importance, because they give employees the chance to relate to the subject matter and to learn the importance of acquiring the information that is being offered. It makes it personal and relevant, which not only boosts motivation and excitement, but helps them to achieve their learning objectives.
This is, by no means, a complete list of the things that employees love about online training courses, as there are several additional reasons why employees are fond of online vs. traditional training courses. However, when designing your next online training courses, try to integrate these preferred and high valued aspects of online training to create meaningful experiences for your employees.
If you're still undecided about whether corporate online training is the ideal solution for your company, the article Reasons Why You Should Invest In Corporate eLearning offers 10 convincing arguments for why online training may be worth every penny of your investment.
On the other hand, if you are already convinced and you are about to convert your corporate training into an online format, the article Questions You Need To Answer To Successfully Move Your Corporate Training Online features the key 6 questions that you'll want to ask in order to successfully move your corporate training online.