Advancements in training are always happening, whether it’s new innovations in technology or new training styles.
We’re here to help you stay up-to-date by providing 6 tips for modernizing your employee training:
- Create An Employee Lifecycle
- Use Extended Reality
- Foster A Culture Of Ongoing Learning
- Use A Learning Management System
- Adopt A Blended Learning Program
- Engage Learners Through Gamification
Think back to corporate training in the 2000s. The standard for training revolved around high-speed bandwidth, the creation of the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), and informal learning. We’ve come a long way since then, with current trends revolving around extended reality (XR) technology, advanced software, and intricate learning management systems (LMSs).
At Roundtable Learning, we create training programs for our partners with the latest technologies and learning methods. These programs help to improve employee retention, engagement, and productivity, ultimately boosting an organization’s bottom line.
Since it can be challenging to modernize your employee training, we’re here to help by providing 6 tips for modernizing your corporate training through streamlined approaches and technologies.
In this article, we’ll discuss 6 ways your organization can modernize its employee training programs.
1. Create An Employee Lifecycle
Your employees drive the success of your organization. By creating an employee lifecycle, your organization can provide ongoing support from the time an employee is hired until they retire.
An employee lifecycle can cover various topics, including: onboarding, diversity and inclusion (D&I), health and safety, and more.
By referring to an employee lifecycle, your organization will accomplish the following:
- Nurture skill development in your employees
- Recruit and onboard more qualified candidates
- Better retain your current workforce
- Strategically approach employee separation
An employee lifecycle serves as a roadmap to help training tracks for learners and identify key learning objectives employees need. With an employee lifecycle, your organization will provide development opportunities targeted for your workforce that not only grow employees themselves, but help your organization continually evolve.
Learn More: Employee Lifecycle
2. Use Extended Reality
Extended reality (XR) is a universal term for immersive technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). By integrating XR into your training, you can immerse your learners in a multisensory environment via headset, smartphone, tablet, or desktop.
To integrate XR into your training program, your organization should complete the following steps:
- Identify your training and business goals through a training needs analysis
- Determine gaps in existing training areas (e.g. safety, technical, leadership)
- Consult with your training partner to determine the best XR technology match
- Run a pilot program, then launch organization-wide
When used strategically, XR has a profound impact on learning programs by shortening the time participants need to learn, reducing the number of learner mistakes, and boosting the amount of knowledge retained. With the right XR training partner, your organization can provide interactive learning opportunities to your workforce that boost your bottom line and return on investment (ROI).
Read More: How To Build A Powerful Onboarding Program With Extended Reality
3. Foster A Culture Of Ongoing Learning
In a culture of ongoing learning, employees have opportunities for continued education and daily learning. Your organization can foster a culture of ongoing learning at your organization in any of the following ways:
- Encourage certifications — Certification programs reinforce existing knowledge an employee may already have or teach them something new.
- Support employees’ attendance at various events and conferences — Events and conferences are an excellent way to get your employees involved in networking and skill-building activities outside of their normal work environment.
- Upskill employees through role-training — By investing in ongoing learning programs, your organization can continue to upskill your workforce, introduce new concepts, and reinforce new material.
By fostering a culture of ongoing learning, your organization will demonstrate your commitment to employee development, while also giving your employees ownership over their own knowledge acquisition. This cultivates a workforce that is not only more productive on-the-job, but also more committed to your organization long-term.
4. Use A Learning Management System
A learning management system (LMS) allows organizations to host, deliver, and track their training content. By implementing a LMS into your training, your organization will gain insight into project tracking and metrics that indicate the overall success of your training programs.
To successfully implement a LMS, check out our 4 tips:
- Create A Content Plan — With a content plan, your organization can determine which courses are performing best, the most useful content, and best methods for engaging learners.
- Develop A Benchmark — Pull a full report on your current LMS by gathering as many statistics and metrics as possible. This way, your organization can set a benchmark for the success of your new LMS.
- Prepare For Growth — It’s likely that your organization will grow, so you should prepare for added costs, integrations, support hours, and users so that your LMS can keep up as you expand.
- Create Expert Administrators — With expert administrators, your organization can provide the best experience for learners and eventually train others on how to administer the system.
With a LMS, your organization can better organize, manage, and track training materials, ultimately reducing the time and costs associated with corporate training.
5. Adopt A Blended Learning Program
Blended learning is a modern learning approach that brings together traditional and digital techniques to create a fully comprehensive program fit to any learner’s needs. By implementing both synchronous and asynchronous styles into one program, blended learning effectively instructs employees through a style they prefer, while also reinforcing main ideas through various activities.
To implement a blended learning program at your organization, you should follow these 6 steps:
- Complete a training needs analysis to uncover your goals, current gaps, and solutions.
- Decide what metrics you will track to measure the success of your program.
- Set a realistic budget by examining internal resources.
- Determine what learning modalities are the best fit for your learners’ needs.
- Develop content and run a pilot program.
- Fine-tune, then roll out the program.
By following the steps outlined above, your organization will provide learners with a modern approach to training that effectively meets objectives and engages them.
6. Engage Learners Through Gamification
It’s not a new concept that learners enjoy healthy competition and rewards when learning.
You can integrate gamification into your learning strategy through any of the following methods:
- Reward badges to learners after completing activities.
- Develop a dashboard where learners can track others’ progress.
- Create daily goals or streaks to encourage learners’ participation.
- Integrate mini-games or quizzes into learning activities.
By integrating gamification into workplace training, your organization will add an element of healthy competition that increases engagement and motivates employees to learn.
Read More: How to use gamification in training (with actual examples)
Is Your Training Modern Enough For Your Learners?
This article has covered 6 ways to modernize your employee training — from creating an employee lifecycle to using gamification.
Ready to modernize your existing training or start from scratch? We’ve got you covered! Book a meeting with one of our learning experts or get started designing your program today!