LMS Implementation, Online Learning

3 Questions to Ask Before Launching a Corporate Online Learning Course

by Debbie Williams

Corporate online learning is prized for its ability to save companies money, benefit the environment, provide on-demand training, boost employee productivity, and increase workers’ ability to retain training information by up to 60 percent.1

Online learning is so helpful in the workplace that corporations have reported it as the second most valuable method of training they use, according to eLearning Industry.2

Integral to a corporate eLearning program are online courses, which are the vehicles that deliver training content to employees. Before launching a corporate online learning course, there are a few questions company leaders should ask.

3 Questions to Ask Before Your Corporate eLearning Course Goes Live

Implementing a corporate LMS is the first step in initiating a successful online learning program for your employees. The second step is ensuring the eLearning courses that comprise the program are effective. Here are three questions to ask before launching a corporate eLearning course:  

1. “Is this course functional for users?”

First and foremost, make sure your online course is user-friendly and functional across a variety of devices. To do this, test the course with dummy users, in different browsers, and well before it’s scheduled to launch.

“Become a ‘white-hat jerk’ and do all the things that someone might do just to mess with the course. And above all, record your tests, the results, and the fixes for tracking on that project and for use on future projects,” stated MicroAssist.3

Testing the course a couple weeks before it’s scheduled to launch will give your IT team time to mitigate any technical issues before end users run into them.  

2. “Will this course fit easily into an employee’s workflow?”

If you want a corporate online learning course to be really effective, consider slicing it into small segments of training that don’t take individuals away from their work duties. This type of training is referred to as microlearning and fits right into an employee’s workflow. Microlearning doesn’t detract from worker productivity, but adds to it.4

Microlearning has a place in just about any corporate eLearning course since it can quickly close learning gaps and grab and maintain the attention of learners. Also, microlearning modules are often mobile-friendly, just as corporate eLearning courses should be.  

3. “Is this course available to learners via mobile device?”

If you want to ensure costly training content is consumed by learners, make it available 24/7 on any mobile device.

Most employees love having mobile access to corporate online learning courses. This enables them to interact with training during times that are most expedient for them. Here are a few interesting statistics5 that prove how convenient and consumable mobile learning is:

Of those who use mobile learning…

  • 52 percent use it in bed after waking up.

  • 75 percent use it at work.

  • 17 percent participate in it during exercise.

  • 55 percent use it while waiting in line.

  • 74 percent make use of it while traveling.

  • 46 percent use it before bed.

Making a corporate online learning course mobile-friendly will encourage learner participation and get your company the best possible ROI for training.  

Make Your Corporate Online Learning Program More Successful

Engaging eLearning courses are foundational to a successful corporate online learning program. A learning management system that enables microlearning and mobile learning, as well as features authoring tools and content management, will help you design and deploy corporate eLearning courses that get results.  

Interested in making your company’s eLearning program even more effective than it already is? Read Best Practices to Create a Best-in-Class Corporate L&D Program to learn how.

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References:

1. eLearning. Top 10 eLearning statistics for 2014 you need to know. https://elearningindustry.com/top-10-e-learning-statistics-for-2014-you-need-to-know.

2. eLearning Industry. 10 reasons why you should invest in corporate eLearning. https://elearningindustry.com/10-reasons-why-you-should-invest-in-corporate-elearning.  

3. MicroAssist. Testing your online course: what and how to test before launching. https://www.microassist.com/learning-dispatch/testing-your-online-course/.

4. Training Industry. How microlearning improves corporate training. https://trainingindustry.com/articles/content-development/how-microlearning-improves-corporate-training/.

5. Michaels and Associates Learning Solutions. Where do people use mobile learning (infographic). http://mnalearning.com/resource_view.php?id=71/.

Debbie Williams

Debbie Williams

Director, Marketing