The success of an organization depends on its growth rate, which is dependent on the professional growth of employees, among other things. Consequently, organizations invest handsomely in Learning and Development programs, commonly known as corporate training. Organizations may conduct corporate training programs in offline as well as online modes. With the world approaching the revolutionary digital transformation, online training programs (e-learning) have gained popularity and found a permanent place in the organization’s training programs.
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Types of corporate training
Corporate training programs are designed to fulfill the training needs of the organization’s employees and are generally of the following types.
- Pre-boarding and onboarding programs
- Hard and soft skills training
- Compliance training
- Knowledge training
Today, there are several systems for online corporate training, depending on the learning objectives and desired outcomes. It may be a combination of webinars, virtual classrooms, microlearning, video modules, presentations, or course-based learning.
Challenges of training employees
The talent team faces numerous challenges while developing the corporate training program. Some of them include:
- Keeping the training interactive
- Engaging employees
- Staying focused on predetermined learning objectives and outcomes
- Ensuring consistency across all geographical locations
- Improving the effectiveness of learning
Out of all the challenges of online corporate training programs, the most crucial remains engaging employees.
How can an organization make its training program engaging for its employees? The following section discusses some of the solutions for making corporate training engaging.
How to make corporate training more engaging
The possibilities for improving the quality of corporate training are endless. The technology-driven digital world is fast-paced and changing continuously. Talent teams across the globe are working tirelessly to keep their training programs up to speed with the latest, most-successful design strategies.
To effectively increase the engagement of your employees in the online corporate training programs, you may consider the following solutions.
1. Set clear objectives and learning outcomes
Clear learning objectives and outcomes are the essences of an online corporate training program. They help in keeping the program crisp, structured, and focused. A comprehensive structure will keep your employees interested in progressing through the course and enable them to retain most of the learning.
You may also inform the employees that they have to stay proactive and participate in the training program.
2. Converse and connect
Some training modules may include virtual classroom sessions or video conferences. You will have the perfect opportunity to interact with your employees at the beginning of the module.
You may engage your employees in discussion activities, including role-plays, to help them connect and stay active.
Design the module in a way that it does not become a lecture. Ask opinions and thoughts of the employees and incorporate them into the training. They will remain motivated and stay attentive throughout the session.
3. Use multi-media
Adding diversity to your training program will introduce a new level of excitement and engagement among your employees. Training is crucial for an employee’s professional development. It is also vital for the organization to ensure that the employee is keen to learn and grow without feeling burdened.
Multi-media will introduce the fun element to your training. When you can convey a piece of information using a 6” X 6” infographic, why would you want to choose a document running to four pages explaining the same thing? You can combine audio, visual, or written elements to introduce multi-media in your training program.
4. Throw in some mini-games
Concepts such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality are transforming the gaming environment. Organizations have started introducing these concepts into their training programs in the form of mini-games.
A gaming environment seems to portray a relaxed time but heightens one’s analytical and critical thinking skills. Incorporating mini-games into the training program will bring much-needed enthusiasm among your employees and keep them pumped up throughout the rest of the session.
5. Conduct Knowledge Checks
To understand the effectiveness of your training program, you must also conduct regular knowledge checks of your employees in the form of polls, pop quizzes, and short assessments.
Today, many tools are available to introduce automatic grading systems to training quizzes. You may also use this tool to redirect the learner to the part of the module where they may find the correct answer. Since the employees have freshly undertaken the training program, the immediate feedback helps the employee to learn quickly and effectively.
6. Introduce microlearning modules
What is microlearning? In simple words, microlearning means bite-sized learning. It thrives on the idea that learning modules should be of short duration and to the point to ensure maximum retention.
Microlearning may be used as a supplementary method to enhance the overall learning experience of your employees.
7. Organize workshops
You cannot expect the employees to understand and implement their learning just by going through the training material, no matter how clear and easy to grasp. The training may even require one to practice a new software or operate a piece of new equipment.
You can facilitate this requirement by organizing small workshops after the training for the employees to engage and practice what they have learned.
This may include incorporating a dashboard that replicates the components of the new software, or it could be a metaverse that will help the employee to learn to operate a piece of equipment without worrying about the consequences if something goes wrong.
You could also make these platforms available for the employees to come back and practice at their leisure.
Conclusion
A successful corporate training program may be difficult to find. But the effectiveness of a training program can be measured by its ability to engage the employees to the fullest. Designing a training program is a complicated process. It is also vital for organizational growth.
All the time and resources spent on the development of an engaging corporate training program will yield fulfilling results.
With the focus on making it interactive and causing active participation of the employees, you can create an effective online corporate training program for your organization. However, you must remain open to change and continuously work towards upgrading the program to stay up to speed with the world.
