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What is employee training?
Employee training is simply about educating employees to learn how to use certain skills, techniques, and software for better productivity at work. It also keeps employees up to date about the new changes in technology and the sector. It is possible to train employees by using face-to-face training in a physical meeting or e-learning in a virtual meeting.
Why is training employees important?
Technology changes over time, and so do business life. Companies resisting change are destined to be crushed by the wheels of time. So, it is the employer’s job to follow trends and look for ways to find novel techniques or applications to increase profit. This makes it easier for the company to compete with others in its field.
Employees that work remotely, hybrid, or in the office all need proper training. Even so, remote and hybrid employees have to know how to handle technology well because, compared to office employees, they depend on technology more. Knowing what kind of applications and software to use and how to use them effectively is crucial for better productivity and motivation.
When employees improve their skills and knowledge, they become more motivated, and they work more productively rather than struggling and feeling inadequate.
How to train employees with e-learning?
In 2020, 90% of companies benefitted from e-learning to train their employees. As a growing sector, e-learning offers several advantageous tools to make the training experience smooth and simple. Here are some e-learning tips to make employee development successful.
Choose the training platform wisely
E-learning, aside from its advantages, has several challenges. With remote training, employees cannot be in a physical meeting room. Everything depends on the quality of the technical devices, the internet connection, and the training platform. This is the exact point where the challenge begins.
Deciding on the right platform for training is a real issue. The chosen platform should be adequate for the needs of the company. The tools that the trainer will use before, during, and after the training must be sufficient and easy to use. A platform offering convenient tools will save the trainers from a lot of trouble and improve the training experience.
Plan the content and schedule of the training
Planning is everything. Training employees is an important task that requires the utmost attention and priority. So, such a significant task that influences the future of the company and the career development of employees will need good planning. Otherwise, it will just create poor results when the training is over and it will be a waste for everyone.
The training should cover the needs of the employees. The content, naturally, must be organized according to the exact level of the employees. The timing and duration of the training have to be arranged properly: it should not be too long or too short, and not too early or too late.
Arrange the training materials orderly
If the trainer confuses the right order of materials or neglects to use a certain material, this will distract the learners. It is the last thing an employee would want during an important training session and the trainers lose their motivation and attention as well.
To increase the success of the training, trainers should organize the materials well and check them several times to see if they are in the right order. Timing also plays an important role. Trainers should know which materials need to be used at what part of the session. It is also significant to check if the materials are suitable to be used on digital platforms.
Pro Tip: Creating a course flow with less effort is possible with a simple feature now. Trainers can plan and use materials in the right order before the training. They can upload their materials or create new materials such as icebreakers, polls, quizzes, games, etc. easily.
This feature adds variety to the training and prevents loss of time during the training. By using it, trainers will increase the success of the training visibly as a result of a smooth training session. This will create more motivated employees who are eager to develop their skills.
Use various types of materials
One of the key points to make training successful, and of course keeping the employees engaged, is preparing various types of materials for the training. Only screen sharing and displaying boring PDFs or slide shows will not assist trainers or employees. When there are already lots of distractions, it is beneficial to find interesting ways to teach a subject and keep employees entertained.
Instead of only using boring types of materials, trainers should add photos, videos, audio files, quizzes, games, discussions, etc., to their lists. This way, employees will create original ideas, and the materials that are used will help them remember the subject and grasp knowledge easier than before.
Include fun activities to engage employees
As it is obvious, everyone hates boring training sessions and it is known that employees feel more motivated to work hard when gamification is included. Millennials and Gen Z, the largest segment of the workforce at the moment, are constantly surrounded by technology. The best way to train them effectively is to know how to use fun activities like games.
Training becomes simpler for everyone when games are used to teach a certain topic. Just like how humans remember more of their happy memories, learners also are able to learn more when they have a good time while learning. That being said, e-learning provides lots of opportunities to include games during the learning process and it is beneficial for trainers to use games for this purpose.
Pro Tip: It is easy to integrate enjoyable activities and gamification with the training content now. Trainers can easily use bite-sized information in the activities they create and employees will not feel bored even while learning a complicated topic. These activities and games vary a lot and it is possible to use them when the training is both offline or online!
Language learning, for example, is an important skill for employees and companies always prioritize this. Games and other fun activities are great for language learning, as it is known. Even a difficult skill such as learning a language can be simpler with fun games and other activities by using this feature.
Organize group activities
One of the effective ways to keep the employees engaged in the training is to plan group activities. Gamification, for instance, makes employees compete with each other or forces them to brainstorm during training. This creates a positive and fun atmosphere for them to learn the subject and they retain the knowledge while enjoying themselves.
Group activities are very effective at making employees feel a sense of belonging to their companies as well. Since many employees work remotely or on a hybrid plan, it is difficult for them to build relationships with their colleagues. When healthy work relationships are built in a company, it motivates employees to work more harmoniously and boosts employees’ productivity.
Pro Tip: The breakout room feature definitely changes the course of the training. This tool lets trainers arrange breakout rooms before the training and prevents time loss. All rooms can hear their trainer from the main lobby with no problem! Additionally, trainers can assign games, To-Dos, icebreakers, quizzes, and other types of documents to each group easily.
Test the knowledge of employees
It is crucial to determine how much of a subject employees understand. Evaluation is a practical way to determine if the training is effective and the techniques are appropriate for the level of employees.
Asking the right questions and preparing small quizzes during and after training will make it simpler to test employees. With e-learning, it is even easier to do that compared to a physical learning environment. Trainers can easily prepare fun and interactive activities and quizzes and get feedback faster. This helps keep employees engaged in the training as well.
Record and analyze the results of the training
Keeping track of training statistics is a significant and difficult task for a trainer to perform. It is critical to see how the training is progressing and if there are things that need to be changed or modified in the course of the training.
E-learning has an advantage in this matter as well. In a physical training environment, keeping attendance, measuring employee engagement, and seeing the success rate after a quiz takes time and effort. However, it is easier to measure the attendance and the success of the employees after an activity or a quiz with e-learning. Trainers can easily use certain tools and get results faster!
Pro Tip: Instant feedback is possible with just one tool. Now, trainers can see a report after every session showing the engagement and success rate of the learners. This way, trainers can now see the percentage of employee attendance, exhaustion level, quiz or game results, and engagement index with just a click. There is no need to use multiple services to get accurate feedback anymore.
In a nutshell
The future is here and every individual and institution should adapt to these changes. In an age where lots of things depend on technology and education, the only thing that is left to do is know how to use these two for the benefit of everyone.
With the right tool and training, competing with other companies will not require too much effort. As the number of well-trained employees increases, the amount of motivation and profit will boost as well. As a promising platform, Perculus will have solutions for different problems throughout your journey.
Discover how to use Perculus for training companies and enterprises.
