Learn about the elements custom e-learning should include for it to yield optimum results.
When you need to train your employees on areas specific to your organization or topics unique to your company, customized e-learning is the solution. Custom e-learning modules are better than off-the – shelf courses which have generic content and don’t suit your specific training needs.
Customized courses however, require a higher investment in terms of time and financial resources, and it is obvious that you would expect a better ROI from them. How do you achieve this? By ensuring the courses are designed with the learners in mind and include meaningful and relevant content.
In this blog, we will discuss 5 ways by which you can get optimum results from your customized e-learning courses.
1) Focus on key skill sets and subject matter
When creating custom e-learning modules, it is important to focus on the key skill sets you want to teach your employees or the subject you want them to learn. You will have to clearly specify your requirements to the course designers so that you get what you want. For instance, if you need to train your employees in the HR department on basic HRM policies, you need a course with a high level of interactivity and assessments to ensure that at the end of the course, the audience has good knowledge of the HR processes and functions. We provided a similar course to a client who was clear about the results he wanted from the course and he was happy with the results.
2) Provide employees the power to access information when and where they need
Today’s employees prefer to access the information they need anytime and anywhere. Custom e-learning allows you to meet these needs. Training need not be limited to a specific time or place. Learning can be delivered on mobile devices to help employees learn on the go. These modules can be delivered as scenarios, guides, or tutorials in bite-sized nuggets (microlearning modules) that learners can access at the time of need.
For instance, if you need to train your sales team on a product, you can provide them a short course which can be accessed on their mobile devices. They can quickly brush up their knowledge before meeting a client.
When employees are able to get the information when and where they need it, accessibility acts as the motivating factor to learn.
3) Align training with the real world benefits and applications of learning
If customized modules have to create an impact, online training must tie with real world situations. This will teach employees how to apply the knowledge to real world situations. Some ways you can do this are by including case studies in your courses, using interactive scenarios, or having assessments where employees have to make a decision under a specific timeframe.
These modules must include activities that are tied to work-related tasks and processes. This will help employees realize how the course is relevant to their jobs and motivate them to learn and improve efficiencies.
4) Personalize learning
Customized modules should include stories, real world examples, and scenarios. These will help create an emotional connection with learners. When modules contain generic content or interactivities that are not relevant to the learners, they will lose interest. If the course has content which learners can relate to and they feel is specific to their learning needs, they will be involved in the training process.
5) Integrate brand elements in the course
Customized courses must be designed to reflect your company branding and values. This helps forge a deeper connection with your learners and communicates the company’s expectations. In most cases, your employees are the best representatives of your brand to the outside world because they are the ones who interact with clients.
When employees realize the importance given to your brand image, they will align their behavior and work according to the company’s expectations. Custom modules should stress the key factors of the company’s brand image so that employees imbibe and reflect them in their work.
Customized e-learning modules must offer the specific training employees need. They should be designed to include elements that involve the learner and make it relevant, so that they can bring the desired results.
