2023: The Year to Engage Your Online Learners

As we set sail on a brand new, shiny year we are filled with thoughts of growth and development. Top of the list for many organisations is continued or increased online learner engagement. We have previously discussed the importance of employee engagement in many articles across SAFEWARE, however growth in this area has never been more paramount. It is proving more and more of a challenge to keep employees engrossed with online content and the way of digital transformation. However, in this article we are going to bring your through 5 easy and effective means in which to help you encourage your employees to stay engaged in their online training, content or forums. When implemented and sustained, an organisation will see clear benefits. After all an engaged employee is a productive employee!

Feedback

Employees love the opportunity to have autonomy in what they learn and the way in which they learn. Giving learners this element of control allows them to feel heard and in turn builds a relationship of trust and understanding. A simple solution for this is to offer learner feedback forms on your learning management system – which are tailored and developed for this exact reason. As well as having this feedback form, the crucial element is to take onboard their feedback and show implementation of the expression of their opinions. This helps to create a structures and an ideal learning environment. Feedback forms can allow opinions from the aspects of delivery, content, assessments, registration and much more. It is a simple yet effect tool to keep learners happy and engaged with their learning.

Group/Collective Learning

Through various studies, statistics have shown that group tasks and activities assist to promote learning. Organisations see an increase in completion rates, innovation, overall productivity, participation rates and creativity. But how does an organisation leverage group or collective learning to benefit employee engagement in an online environment? Learning management systems now come equipped with intuitive tools to assist the organisation to adapt to this. Tools such as breakout rooms, forums, class group chat instant messaging, just to name a few. These tools allow all learners to engage with each other on the same level, becoming more involved in all elements of their learning and therefore boosting engagement.  

Communication

Support for employees learning online must be easily accessible and consistent. Therefore, concise communication is imperative for all learners and must be readily available in various methods. For example, learning management systems can boast online forums, private direct messaging between instructor and learner, comments sections, supplementary files and documentation in repositories that is permanently accessible. As well as this, online learners need to have the traditional means of contacting their instructors, such as via email. These options need to be available for a well-rounded communication experience. Employees that have that added support tend to be more engaged in their training, as well as having greater retention.

Delivery

More often than not, lack of diversity in online training strategies results in learners lack of engagement. There are several learning styles that employees have - visual, auditory or kinesthetic. Visual learners retain the information by sight, auditory by sound and kinesthetic by movement. Therefore, it is important that a cross section of each is readily available across your learning management system’s delivery methods. Some delivery formats you can use are video, text, audio, or presentations.

Motivation

Motivation plays a key role in engaging your employees. Incentives to work harder, more productively and effectively is what an organisation must strive to achieve. This kind of motivation can come in a variety of ways. Focusing on the value of the learning and development and how engaged learning can help them to expand and grow their knowledge for future opportunities. However, sometimes an incentive like a certificate of completion or gamification can help in motivating learners. Offering both simultaneously can give well-rounded motivation and increase engagement.  

Organisations must rise to the challenge of keeping their learners engaged in their online training. In doing so, said organisations will notice a sizable and positive difference in the success of your training program and the subsequent value and productivity. Make sure to add the latest resources to your material so that your learners knowledge is always up to speed with the specific topic and compliance.

If you are having trouble with choosing a learning management system, need further help with hybrid/remote workers training online or just wish to get more information, the SAFEWARE team would be delighted to assist for a chat and offer a free demo of our platform.

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Learning and Development Strategies 2022: What trends are here to stay with online learning?

It is evident that in the past two years the way in which organisations strategize in terms of learning and development has changed dramatically. For so long, classroom-based or in-person training was the leading training method. However, as the global landscape evolved and the pandemic impacted the every day lives of millions, organisations had to find a new, better and more intuitive solution. This is where online training or elearning came into play. The pandemic meant that adoption of online learning was at an accelerated rate.

In 2022, “normality” has somewhat resumed, which begs the question - which trends are here to stay when it comes to online learning? From a business point of view, we must analyse and evaluate which trends have had the greatest and most successful impact on our businesses. Measuring return on investment when it comes to online learning can be tricky, but some useful tips on measuring ROI can be found in our previous article HERE.

Trend 1 – Blended Learning for Hybrid Workers

As employees return to the office, we adapt a more hybrid work arrangement. Many are splitting the working week between their offices and their home workspace. As a result, blended learning is one trend that is here to stay. For example, mandatory safety training such as manual handling training is compulsory by law and therefore all employees (whether remote, office based or hybrid) must complete this. We can now complete the theory element of manual handling training online if a practical session is complete within 30 days of completing the theory. This is a more time efficient and cost effective solution for organisations.

The key to successful blended learning is a hybrid training strategy that can communicate effective with and actively include hybrid workers whether they’re at home or in office. This is also where an intuitive learning management system, like SAFEWARE comes into play. Having the capabilities and functionalities to host training content, manage all training records & certification and generating reports that monitor the progress of users (whether home or at the office) in one central location. In times of compliance audits, HR departments can access all certification with ease. To find out more about SAFEWARE please call us on 0818 315 415 or email info@occupli.com to arrange a demo.

Trend 2 – Mobile Learning

The integration of mobile learning into organisation learning and development strategies has been slowly increasing, but because of the global landscape this integration was also accelerated at an alarming rate in the last two years. It is proven to boost employee engagement when it comes to their online learning.  To read more on how online training can improve employee engagement please click HERE. The use of mobile devices when it comes to online training is a way of embracing technology. For example, when it comes to site safety inductions the use of the mobile device can allow you to log into your learning management system and complete the site safety induction before even stepping on a site or into an office. This immediately mitigates risk for the employee, contractor or business, and is favourable to insurance companies and auditors. As mobiles are handheld devices, they are carried everywhere, which makes online training feasible at any time, day or night. It also allows users to have immediate access to any training updates and portals on their learning management systems. With SAFEWARE, users can scan a QR code for automatic registration, making the UX even more efficient when it comes to mobile training. To find out more about SAFEWARE please call us on 0818 315 415 or email info@occupli.com to arrange a demo.

Blended learning for hybrid workers and mobile learning are two trends that will remain consistent across organisation’s online training strategies. With the right learning management system, any organisation can leverage their employees engagement and productivity through incorporating these trends.

How Online Training Can Improve Employee Engagement →

Research suggests it is imperative that management engage their employees with their tasks and work projects. SHRM research indicates that engaged employees are more productive, innovative and therefore receive better results; strengthening an organisation for a better culture and competitive advantage. Monetary incentives are becoming less likely to motivate employees. Personal growth, increased career opportunities and ongoing development are at the forefront of what employees truly desire. According to the National Research Business Institute, 23% of employees are leaving their current roles due to lack of development and training. Many organisations are not providing enough opportunity for growth.

The question that management should be asking is ‘how do we address this challenge?’. The answer is simple, give employees what they crave in terms of development. This is where online training or e-learning comes into effect. Online learning provides interesting, relevant, and interactive content, that supports career opportunities and ongoing development.  Unlike that of classroom-based training, online training offers employees training that can be accessed everywhere, any time, on a variety of devices. It allows employees to complete the training at their own pace. This eliminates any worry about moving at the speed of a class. As well as the content benefiting employees in terms development, this also allow for an interactive and immersive form of learning. This, in turn allows for a more engaged employee!

Not only can online learning benefit the employees, but can also benefit the employer. Finding the best online platform can cut administrative duties in half! In order to find the best online learning platform to implement for your organization there are key elements to look out for, one of the most important being its affordability.  Finding a cost-effective solution, which is easy to navigate is of huge gain for an organization.

SAFEWARE is an online training and induction platform, launched by Occupli in 2019. Occupli is a leading provider of high quality, professional services focusing on Health and Safety, Environmental and Carbon Emissions. SAFEWARE can be used for both blended and online learning. The platform itself is completely customisable. Administrative tasks are made easy with SAFEWARE, as it keeps track of company training records and certification. It can also issue reminders when refresher courses are due. The UX for SAFEWARE is second to none, offering easy navigation through learning programmes, while also offering the functionality of gamification. This again highlights the interactive elements of learning. As Ireland’s largest EHS company, we continually see organisations spending large amounts of time and money on staff/contractor/visitor inductions and training. Not only is SAFEWARE affordable for large scale organisations, it is just as beneficial and convenient to small and medium enterprises alike.

We understand the needs of both employees and employers. Our services offer comprehensive reporting, lower costs, consistent flexibility, and increased engagement

Sources:

Society of Human Resource Management

National Research Business Institute