Some organizations see training as a compliance requirement, a hoop to be jumped through, and a necessity. Others, however, attempt to reap maximum benefits from their training. If training is valued and implemented as more than just something that has to be done, your organization will see the biggest benefits. In order to level up your training, you need to consider whether you’re merely treating it as a necessity or attempting to use it to its full potential. Are your leaders considering the exact training requirements of your employees? Are you providing access to a wide array of training topics aimed at growth as well as compliance?

Studies show that surprisingly few organizations tailor their training to employees based on their roles. This leads to a reduction in engagement and growth because employees are less keen on the eLearning program. Any organization implementing eLearning should pay particular attention to this issue and act accordingly in order to make the most of training.

Any organization can benefit from training their employees well and going above and beyond to encourage learning and growth, but only if it is done in the right way. Your LMS needs to be up to the task. Using a basic LMS that doesn’t support customized content or a cheap LMS that’s downloadable online won’t do your organization any favors.

Your eLearning courses should ideally address the actual needs of employees rather than just focusing on the bigger picture. For example, you won’t reap the full benefits of eLearning if all you offer is mandatory compliance training and basic training for new hires. Any sort of “off-the-shelf” content that’s generalized also won’t do you any favors. Having something that employees are excited about and can apply in their everyday job roles is the key to receiving a good return on your eLearning investment. The training will be more engaging and motivating if they are actually excited to learn and feel as though the content is applicable.

Since most training programs aren’t aligned with what actually engages employees and don’t focus on going above and beyond, the majority of them fail to inspire and teach and only end up leaving negative impressions. If the content isn’t in line with their needs, employees and organizations rarely see any tangible benefits despite the time and effort involved in eLearning participation. If your training isn’t actually interesting, engaging, and relevant, you won’t see the desired return on your investment.

Your organization as a whole and your employees are more likely to value your eLearning courses when they are carefully designed. But how exactly do you go about making sure that your eLearning is actually having a positive effect on your learners? Let’s talk about some key points to consider if you want to upgrade your training and maximize the benefits of eLearning.

Is Your eLearning Actually Having a Positive Effect on Employees?

Ask For Feedback

Feedback is key for improving almost anything, and eLearning is no exception. In addition to talking to your employees directly, taking standard surveys with standard questions is an ideal way to gather their feedback. To ensure the success of a training course, it is necessary to analyze the skills of all employees. Starting here will help you to identify what skills your employees need to improve on so they can, in turn, improve their performance. Your employees need to learn according to their needs and starting with feedback and determining skill levels is the best way to figure out exactly what those needs are.

Customize Your Courses

Customizing eLearning according to the needs of an individual is always better than having basic, generic content. If you tailor your courses to learning needs, employees are far more likely to actually be engaged, enjoy the learning experience, and retain necessary information. What’s more, with customized course experience that shows you care about development, a sense of trust is also established, and employees will feel more confident and motivated about improving their skills and performance.

Beyond simply tailoring content to different job roles, complete LMS customization is the best way to engage employees completely and truly invest in eLearning. Your eLearning program will shine if your LMS is flexible enough to allow users to choose the course they want and give them the ability to build their own courses based on their needs. The system should be able to find relevant content for learners when they answer frequent questions. Understanding the user’s interests, likes, and relative terms will allow the system to recognize them and provide appropriate content. Ideally, an eLearning course should combine instructor-led courses with interactive components and targeted learning.

Keep Learning Short and Sweet

Since most learners are short on time, modules and content should be delivered in a way that’s precise and concise. You want your employees to be able to access eLearning when it’s most convenient for them, and often, learners don’t have huge chunks of time to dedicate to long modules. What’s more, despite their desire to learn, most people are under tremendous pressure to complete their other work responsibilities. Long, tedious content will only put learners off and prevent them from accessing the platform to engage in learning. Break content up into short chunks that are easy to digest. This also makes it much easier for learners to retain information.

It’s no secret that a good LMS and eLearning strategy is essential for organizations to progress and for employees to develop, learn, perform, and succeed. But a basic LMS that’s only meeting minimal requirements isn’t going to do your organization any favors. In fact, you’re likely to be wasting money since learners won’t be engaged and probably won’t benefit. If you want to upgrade your eLearning and actually ensure it has a positive effect on employees, you need to make sure you’re providing custom, tailored content that’s delivered through a high-quality and engaging system.