Fundamental Support Resources For Your Workforce Development Online Training Program
With most digital products, you can get assistance whenever you want. There’s always a number you can call, often toll-free. Or you can email your vendor, talk to a chatbot or just Google your response. But as an organization, you’d probably prefer your solutions to be more self-contained. One option is to create your own online training library of support resources. They should be easy to find and easier to use, so employee training participants can apply them at will. Here are support resources to include in your workforce development online training program.
1. Bite-Size Online Training Tutorials
Often, employees don’t have much time to train. They’re already at the office 40 hours a week, maybe more. And a lot of them spend several more hours on their daily commute. So, when they do have a few minutes of downtime, they might want to use it for self-improvement. Career is a big part of that because it helps them provide for themselves and their lifestyle. On average, an online lesson should be 15 minutes max. But employees sometimes need even smaller cut-outs and chunks they can study in 2 to 5 minutes. Ensure your online training course has lots of these, especially for task-based activities. A quick how-to could literally save their office life.
2. Skill-Bridging Serious Games
While we judge others more harshly than we judge ourselves, we’re often cognizant and critical of our own faults. It’s part of human nature. In the corporate space though, this might not be so clear. We know we’d like to earn more, but we’re not sure how. Instead, we twiddle our thumbs and anxiously strategize on how to convince the boss. A workplace development online training program can help, especially if your organizational leadership is invested. Rather than fault-finding—which isn’t always productive—give employee training participants the ability to identify their dearth of skills through self-assessment. Then you can incorporate serious games to teach these skills and bridge the gaps.
3. Easy eLearning Feedback Portals
There are lots of situations where your employees will need to 'talk back'. They may need you to clarify a tough topic or suggest additional online training resources. They might want to recommend some way you could improve their online training. Or it could be a breakdown in the eLearning course they’d like to escalate. I’ve already noted chatbots, call centers, and email assistance. But especially within an organization, give employee training participants a direct channel for human assistance. Offer an anonymous option for the times when they need to mention sensitive matters. They might be worried they’ll be singled out, so anonymous chat rooms and virtual suggestion boxes can be helpful.
4. Shareable eLearning Infographics
Online training isn’t just for staff. Sometimes you have to perform extended enterprise education. This applies—for example—to customers and external sales teams. And there will always be scenarios where a well-designed eLearning infographic can solve the problem. It could be a subordinate asking their boss for clarification or a customer asking for specs on their latest upgrade. Build up an index of eLearning infographics. They should be simple, focusing on one topic/product at a time. And they should be in compressed files with reasonable resolution. That way, it’s easy to share them via messaging apps, but you can still zoom in and see the details.
5. Convenient Playback Tools
We’re all pretty used to YouTube and other video sharing platforms. But there are certain online playback systems that are a little less democratic. They don’t have buttons to pause or rewind. They don’t even have options to mute or to manually control captions. This may seem like a small thing, but it can be quite frustrating, especially for busy employees who study in spurts. Make sure your employee online training LMS audio and video players have these functionalities built-in. And design them in ways that can be easily employed, even on a tiny mobile screen.
6. DIY Diagnostic Tools
A crucial support resource to include in your workforce development online training program is eLearning self-assessment. You need to give employees the power to spot areas for improvement on their own and at a time when it’s most convenient. This may be in the form of pop quizzes, serious games, or other interactive diagnostic tools that disclose hidden gaps. Be sure to follow up with targeted eLearning feedback and recommendations so they know how to move forward.
Workforce Online Training Framework Essential… Mobile Access
This may not be seen as an online training resource exactly, but it’s something to be on the lookout or while you shop for your new workforce development LMS. After all, even if your employee training participants have sedentary desk jobs, they’re still time-barred. So those little pockets of study are unlikely to happen on-the-job. They might catch a break in traffic, or while watching their kids. Workplace online training programs that can be accessed on their smartphones, tablets, or laptops are therefore essential. Native mobile apps are the best option because they offer more functionality. Plus, many apps have an offline capability, so they can study even when you’re not linked to the net. But if your employee online training LMS or pre-pack software doesn’t have one, you can still get something optimized for mobile. Either responsively or adaptively.
You want to ensure your workforce development program is successful. Otherwise, it’s a waste of everyone’s time and money. So, are there any online training resources you can incorporate to improve your eLearning course’s chance of success? Plenty. Bite-sized tutorials for employee training participants in a time crunch. Mobile access, for the same reason. Serious, task-based games that focus on specific skills. Efficient eLearning feedback and user-friendly playback. Finally, load your online training course with shareable eLearning infographics that refresh their memory and facilitate peer-to-peer interactions.
Do you want to discover more about the benefits a new LMS can bring to your business? Download the eBook Going Global Without Going Over Budget: Tips To Launch A Remote Workforce Development Program With The Right LMS, explore ways to bridge the gaps and enhance your business strategy.
