Category: Learner Engagement

The Perks of Offering Training Programs for Retail Employees

by Danny Brenes

Training programs for retail employees can turn millennials and Gen Z—who are becoming the largest age group in the industry’s workforce—from casual workers to loyal associates.

I got my first job when I was 18. For little more than a year, I worked at a call center, taking calls for a sports betting company. I had to give betting lines to customers, update scores, and ease the nerves of people risking a lot of money during games.

I was horrible at it.

The job wasn’t really exciting or challenging; most of the time, I was bored out of my mind and was only looking forward to checking out and leave.

I remember the one time I actually felt I was learning something: About eight months into the job, they taught me how to take horse bets. A guy named Nick, an expert in horse racing, sat down with me and taught me all I needed to know about the “sport of kings;” he also told me there were far greater opportunities in the horse racing department and that I had potential.

Sadly, that was a one-time deal: I didn’t receive further training whatsoever. I scarcely took any horse bets, never heard of open positions in their department, and whenever I ran into Nick, he barely said hi to me.

That sounds sad and impractical, right? Having an unmotivated young workforce is something you’d want to avoid, right?

Well…

Millennials (such as myself) and Gen Zers make up an increasingly large part of the retail workforce. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center [1], millennials are already the largest generation in the US labor force.

Moreover, according to EY, this young core of retail employees actually want to learn and improve in their jobs, which is great for businesses: Companies want to turn their employees into associates who can provide great customer experience and boost sales. “(Millennials and Gen Z) find career-focused perks and professional development opportunities more important than other opportunities,” says the EY study.

Here’s the bad news, though: Lessonly [3] research revealed that 46 percent of retail associates don’t receive enough training to perform their jobs effectively, and 54 percent of retailers are looking for better associate training and enablement.

In How Training Can Engage and Retain Millennial and Gen Z Retail Associates, an article published by Training Industry, author Taryn Oesch explores how training programs for retail employees can turn uninvested workers into trustworthy associates who want to build a career within their company.

Training is a genuine investment, especially when it involves younger employees who are only now starting their career path. Oesch says that training lets team members know they are valued. “Providing clear career paths, for example, shows associates that you believe they are important and can improve retention by showing them their long-term potential with the company,” she writes.

Further, she quotes Annie Hodson, a Solution Architect at SweetRush, who says that “many retail employees may not know about the many career pathways available to them within a particular company once they achieve new skills.” Talent development programs can help companies retain Gen Z employees, and show them they have a path for growth at the organization.

We’re learning more about these demographics and what they value in their work environments all the time. “Authenticity is important to millennials and Gen Z employees. They want to be part of organizations that have similar values and that they feel like they are doing good things in the world,” Hodson adds.

For a more in-depth look at how training young employees can turn into a great business decision, head over to Training Industry and read Taryn Oesch’s full article, How Training Can Engage and Retain Millennial and Gen Z Retail Associates.

training programs for retail employees

 

Resources

  1. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/11/millennials-largest-generation-us-labor-force/
  2. https://www.lessonly.com/blog/2018-state-retail-employee-training-infographic/

 

Learning Rush Alert: Sales Training Best Practices and Techniques

by Carolina Montero

Enjoy this curated list of articles featuring sales training best practices and techniques.

Of all the areas in which companies invest in custom learning solutions, sales training continues to be at the top of the list. And for good reason: from building product knowledge to honing sales skills, improving the performance of sales professionals has a direct impact on the bottom line.

What will engage your sales audience—and motivate them to complete your training—when they could be spending that time making sales? Some of the sales training best practices and techniques we’ve found to be effective are keeping it short (microlearning), offering learning at the point of need (mobile learning), and adding in some friendly competition (gamification).

We’ve curated this list of great sales training best practices and techniques from industry experts to help you create compelling and effective sales training programs. Check out the articles below!

Set Clear Objectives for Better Sales Training Results

Before you start designing your sales training program, begin with the end in mind! Define outcomes, identify gaps, and formulate a team approach. This article features sales training best practices and techniques that ensure your program addresses your business need.
Read more: 3 Steps to Creating Sales Training Programs That Deliver Business Objectives

Consider Educational Marketing

Discover how we use educational marketing (also known as education-based marketing) to win the hearts and minds of sales associates who work at independent dealers.
Read more: Educational Marketing: Win the Hearts and Minds of Sales Associates

What Do Sales Professionals Want to Learn?

The results of a survey on the learning preferences of salespeople reveal that reps and managers have different expectations and desires for training methods and topics. This article describes modern training strategies that you can use to deliver sales training that sales professionals want to learn and will retain.
Read more: How to Make Sales Training Actually Stick

Using Training to Improve Sales Skills

Two challenges that often arise in developing sales training are short attention spans and working with sellers’ distinct selling styles. These five techniques will help you improve your team’s skills while addressing these challenges.
Read more: 5 Training Fundamentals Every Sales Manager Should Know

Generation Z: Entering the Retail Sales Workforce

One of the common entry-level jobs for young people is retail sales associate, and as Gen Zers reach their late teens, they are starting to join the workforce. This article will give you an introduction to the most “connected” generation and ideas for training this audience to sell.
Read more: Gen Z: Training to Unlock a Generation’s Potential

Check out our previous Learning Rush Alerts:

 

Educational Marketing: Win the Hearts and Minds of Sales Associates

by Danielle Hart

Educational marketing is the sweet spot at the intersection of training and marketing, with the same end goal of behavior change.

The Challenge: Our client, a large consumer goods manufacturer, discovered that 92 percent of customers wanted a knowledgeable salesperson to sell them products. However, sales associates work in independent stores with many brands to sell, and they’re not mandated to take product knowledge courses from individual brands.

The Solution: Create highly engaging educational marketing that makes associates better salespeople.

What is the “moment of truth” in sales that can create a happy and loyal customer? For many brands, it is the interaction between the sales associate and the customer. Whether it’s a five-minute call or a half-hour conversation, that interaction is the key to capturing a loyal customer and a successful sale.

The sales associate has to know, believe in, and recommend the product based on the customer’s needs. But what happens when the sales associate works for a retailer and has countless other brands from which to choose to meet the customer’s needs?

The business challenge is to engage sales associates so they promote your brand first. In other words, you need to win the hearts and minds of those associates.

The solution lies at the intersection of training and marketing. These two disciplines each bring their own perspective on motivation, but at the end of the day, they have the same end goal to influence behavior change. Working in synergy, they can create an extremely powerful tool to increase sales: educational marketing, also known as education-based marketing.

Educational marketing is often discussed in relation to providing customers educational materials in order to support buying decisions. However, when sales associates are the “extended enterprise” (a non-employee population), an educational marketing program can introduce them to the brand and its differentiators, the product line, and questions to ask to ensure the product is a good fit for the customer. Educational marketing can be any combination of training courses (both online and in person), performance support, and promotional or motivational pieces customized to the specific needs of the sales associates.

What Makes Educational Marketing Different Than Sales Training?

Consumers are increasingly reading reviews and researching online before making any purchase decisions. Special consumer groups such as Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) are known for seeking information on products. Educational marketing has gained prominence because of these changes in purchasing behavior.

While traditional sales training and marketing typically focus on the features and benefits of a product, educational marketing goes much deeper in providing specific information (i.e., the materials used or its technology). Educational marketing offers tools and resources on how to best use or gain the greatest benefit from the product or service. For example, when providing information about a tire product, our client offers tips on what to do when you get a flat and explains the tire pressure management system. This helps associates be fully prepared when a customer walks in the door—better informed, ready with tips and advice, and more likely to close the sale.

Educational Marketing: Lessons Learned

Here are some of the key lessons we’ve learned from developing educational marketing programs:

  • Embrace uncertainty and get creative. Traditional analysis doesn’t work in the extended enterprise because you don’t have the same access or control that you have with your employees. Look within your own organization—particularly the marketing department—to yield great information to build your program.
  • Pay attention to intrinsic motivation and “what’s in it for me” (WIIFM). A common challenge in sales training for the extended enterprise is associates not being required to take courses. Many brands encourage associates using extrinsic motivation—tangible rewards (such as jackets, hats, or other merchandise) or even cash incentives. Our client learned that associates are also motivated to take courses for intrinsic reasons: They wanted to be better salespeople.
  • Be engaging and relevant. Typically, sales associates in retail environments are a younger demographic, such as Generation Z, so you need to meet them where they live: online. Competition for their attention is tough—not just from other brands, but from the information age in which we live. You need to stand out from the crowd, be true to your brand, and connect with the audience.
  • Don’t underestimate the power of branding. Match the level of your overall pride and quality as you create the education arm of your brand. Be consistent in your message and presentation of every educational marketing piece you create, including training courses, videos, email announcements, and reminders.

In the competitive world of sales, product knowledge alone is not enough to transform associates into brand advocates. Combine the power of training and marketing to create an exciting and authentic educational marketing program to win their hearts and minds.

Interested in learning more about SweetRush’s approach to educational marketing? Check out our Branding and Communications page.

Training Gen Z: Unlock a Generation’s Potential

by Danielle Hart

What are the characteristics of Generation Z? Learn best practices for training Gen Z.

As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now will later be last
Cause the times they are a-changin’
—Bob Dylan

Bob’s right. Times indeed are a-changin’. In the fine tradition of the generations before us, we shake our heads at the generations to follow and define them using catchy labels. But if you’re anything like our clients, you’re looking beyond clever catchphrases to get a handle on the newest employees on the block and discover best practices for training Gen Z.

Spotting Members of Generation Z

Look around you. See that 18-year-old grocery store cashier? She runs a TaskRabbit business parallel to her day job. And this 16-year-old, nose to screen with his smartphone, is a minor YouTube celebrity with over 25,000 followers. That 15-year-old runs her own online NGO that connects disadvantaged children with mentors. Impressive, aren’t they?

Spotting members of Generation Z is easy! Youthfulness is your first clue. Born between 1998 and 2010, Gen Zers are under 21, and many are ready or will soon be ready for the job market. They form 25 percent of the population of the United States, and by 2020, 30 million of them will join the workforce. Without a doubt, they are the most “connected” generation to date: their absolute ease with technology is your next clue. Approximately 98 percent own mobile devices, and over 90 percent use social media, communicating via smartphone apps such as FaceTime, Snapchat, or WhatsApp. They crowdsource their information online and through their peers.

Training Gen Z Shifting generations in the workforce

 

Training Gen Z Employees

Learn what makes Gen Zers tick. This generation watched its Gen X parents struggle through the recession and its millennial siblings stagger under student debt in a weak job market. So it’s really not surprising that job stability is a priority. Gen Z tends to view a job as a means to an end: it pays bills but leaves them free to pursue other interests.

Gen Z employees are usually independent and self-directed, and they value opportunity for growth through training and sponsored higher education. Employers that value diversity and ethics and that offer egalitarian work cultures along with growth win with them. For Gen Z, equality is synonymous with access to information, so keep the information flowing. As my colleague Gail Eisenstein, a lead instructional designer, explains, members of “Gen Z don’t see tradition as a reason for doing something. They want to know why, they want feedback, they want to be heard! Believe me, they’re not shy about voicing opinions. Ten years ago, training needs analysis was hard work because employees were cautious about speaking up, even about issues that impacted them. Millennials and Gen Z, on the other hand, are very vocal with opinions and feedback.” And knowing what makes Gen Zers tick allows you to speak to them and motivate them.

Lack of growth opportunities is a big challenge to retail employers and Gen Z alike because the industry doesn’t typically lend itself to rapid advancement. So find ways other than promotion to build engagement. Offer young employees exposure to information, other forms of growth, and involvement outside the classic advancement ladder. Gail points out, “Gen Z doesn’t always view growth as promotions or [moving into] people management. So plan for alternative performance rewards like specialized training, paid networking workshops, promoting your company’s ‘do good’ efforts and skill building, etc.” Since Gen Zers value learning and growth, training is definitely a big deal, and tailoring your training program to their needs will win you brownie points.

Training Gen Z working in retail sales

Training Gen Z: Challenges and opportunities

While Gen Zers value the growth opportunity that training offers, instructional designers will have three big challenges ahead of them:

  • Gen Z workers are said to have the attention span of a goldfish, but they are just different—and they are multitasking experts. Your chances of getting members of Gen Z to click their way through a lengthy, text-heavy course are virtually zero.
  • Gen Zers connect to a variety of different devices: laptops, tablets, smartphones, game consoles, and television. Your content must be compatible on all platforms.
  • Members of Generation Z are “digital natives” and access information online. Your content must stand out in the sea of content.

Some other important considerations for training Gen Z:

Experiential blended learning: Members of Generation Z are experience seekers and problem solvers. In our experience, combining interactivity and visual elements works well. Ownership over the learning experience through customer journey mapping or branching simulations resonates with them, and they often enrich trainings with their perspectives, values, and experiences.

Design challenges and case studies are also great ways to engage their critical thinking. And they flourish in a structured safe space for reflection and collective learning. Gen Zers are collaborative, so incorporate group feedback or discussion sessions wherein employees can share experiences and correlate them to principles just learned.

Just-in-time learning and nano-learning modules: These are the perfect solution to short attention spans, and learners won’t be overwhelmed with content.

Gamification or virtual reality: Use technology in training! Long-life content such as onboarding material could use custom-designed games to subliminally push your organization’s messaging.

Videos: Think visual! Creative, edgy videos, such as the wonderful cup of tea video discussing sexual consent, help push your message across. Short video lectures by subject matter experts, mentoring or apprenticeship programs, and virtual instructor-led training (vILT) will also be effective.

Training gen z and video Multiplatform: 

Loosen your death grip on the LMS. Reach out on different platforms. Remember, members of this generation spend about 15.4 hours per week on their smartphones, so use apps and mobile games to boost the visibility of your content.

As boomers retire and Gen Z steps up to the plate, employers and trainers need to revisit training programs and repertoires to evaluate what will and will not work for learners. While generational trends can provide a general direction, keep the individual needs of your audience in mind when making training design decisions. Gen Zers have the potential, but it’s up to us to help them unlock it.

Learning Rush Alert: Designing Successful Learning Solutions

by Carolina Montero

Designing successful learning solutions means crafting an experience that engages your learners.

Imagine that you need to buy a dress or a suit for a formal event. What do you do? Maybe you take a look around the store, search for something that you like, and then…There it is, on the rack, the perfect one. You are not sure if it’s the right size or what fabric it is, you just know that the cut, color, and style are perfect. The outfit immediately engages you and makes you come in for a closer look.

Now think for a moment about your next learning solution. You want it to be engaging. You want it to be just like that dress or suit that captures the buyer’s attention. In this case, however, you want to capture your learner. You want your learning solution to be so engaging that the learner wants to not only come closer, but engage with and finish the course motivated and pleased with the learning experience.

So how do you make that happen? One important factor is taking a look at the visual design. As Jane Bozarth recently wrote in her piece for Learning Solutions Magazine, “Designing for Learner Success,” visual design can either “enhance or interfere with learner success.”

At SweetRush, we take creative design for engagement very seriously. We know that every audience is different, and every client comes to us with important business and performance objectives to achieve. We seamlessly blend content creation and visual design into our solutions to achieve optimal results.

On May 24, SweetRush Chief Creative Officer, John-Carlos Lozano, and SweetRush Director of Client Solutions, Erin Krebs, spoke about Design for the Mind: UI and Visual Design for a New Generation of E-Learning at the ATD 2017 International Conference in Atlanta. With their presentation topic as inspiration, I’ve listed a few blogs to help you amp up your next learning solution — and make it as irresistible to the learner as that outfit for the party!

Visual Design Meets Instructional Design: Are You Ready?

How do you change the perception that training is “boring” and make sure you’re ready for a new generation of learners? Read more

Designing for a New Generation of eLearning. Designer’s Survival Guide: Top 10 Tips

Discover 10 tips to ensure success in learning by closing the gap between instructional design and visual design. Read more

Visual Perception. Designer’s Survival Guide: Tip of the Week

Are you familiar with the Gestalt principles? In this blog post, John-Carlos explains these principles, which give us an understanding of the fundamentals of human perception. Read more

What Makes a Visionary Learning Strategy?

by Tim Coffey

SweetRush thought leaders share their experience working with learning and development organizations that have adopted a visionary learning strategy.

The quintessential example of a visionary is Martin Luther King Jr., who led the fight for civil rights with strength and compassion. Visionaries like King have one thing in common—they all have a clear, long-range view of how things should be.

True visionaries pair their vision with their ability to manipulate a medium or system to enact change or make something beautiful. Think of Mozart’s artistic vision paired with his innate understanding of the notes on a piano.

At SweetRush, we’ve been privileged to partner with hundreds of highly successful organizations. We’ve worked with true visionaries, from CLOs to directors to program managers, who challenge the status quo and shape a new vision for learning in their organizations. We are always excited to push our craft to new heights by collaborating on and contributing to visionary learning strategies.

We asked some of our own visionaries at SweetRush about what it means to have a visionary learning strategy. We spoke with Lisa Van Damme and Annie Hodson, Solution Architects who work with our clients to analyze training needs and design effective learning solutions. We also spoke with Creative Director Annie Dickerson, whose role is to shape engaging artistic treatments for our learning solutions in alignment with our clients’ design standards.

All three of our SweetRushians are quick to point out the ever-present tension between being visionary and being pragmatic. Vision requires innovation. It can be risky, and business constraints such as budget and time often suppress innovation.
visionary_learning_strategy
Lisa compares this tension to a bungee cord. “You’re trying to jump forward, but the tension increases the farther you go. A strong leader will try to get a little farther with each jump,” she says. You may get pulled back, but you should keep bouncing forward. And with the added momentum of others, you’ll gain some serious ground.

Annie Dickerson considers Tesla CEO Elon Musk to be a modern-day visionary. “He ‘gets’ something that the rest of us don’t. He’s able to take all the data, break it down to something simple, and articulate it very clearly. He clears away the fog so that other people can see his vision.”
visionary_learning_strategy

Having the vision is just part of the equation. The other is cutting through all the noise to make it clear so others may understand. Annie Hodson describes this experience perfectly: “When you start creating a learning strategy, it feels foggy, and you can spend a really long time figuring it out. But when you’re finished, it seems simple and straightforward.”

From our Solution Architects’ feedback, it’s clear that a visionary learning strategy follows a pattern. It starts with a great deal of obscurity, but the solution eventually becomes clear.

What we’re all striving for is a learning strategy that, while visionary, also yields real results. It affects the bottom line or results in measurable behavioral change. With a learning strategy, as with any investment (financial or otherwise), a risk-versus-reward struggle is at play, and sometimes more aggressive, less conventional solutions yield greater results.
visionary_learning_strategy

Visionaries are often idealists, and Annie Dickerson’s “pie in the sky” visionary learning strategy is as idealistic as it gets. She says, “Imagine if every learner could get exactly the learning and the content they need at the time that they need it, in a way they prefer to engage with it, and in a manner that’s delightful. Every learner gets their own customized package for learning.”

That sounds like a vision to strive for, doesn’t it?

Want to read more about visionary learning strategies? Check out these posts from our SweetRush colleagues!

I Have a Dream: Amazon-ified Learning Solutions

by Shauna Vaughan

How can we apply Amazon’s mission to the development of learning solutions?

I like to wear what I call my “learner advocate hat” as an instructional designer. I believe that the learner should be at the forefront of learning design. That sounds like a no-brainer, but too often I see learning solutions (and have been required to design them myself!) in which it’s obvious the learner was not the primary consideration. Too often we design learning solutions because we perceive a need for them and we haven’t (a) made an observation that validates that need or (b) surveyed or assessed our target audience to gauge their motivation to learn about a topic.

I have a dream that learning design—and maybe even LMSs—will turn to Amazon for inspiration. Amazon’s mission is “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.”

Wow! With this stated mission, it’s no wonder Amazon is one of the most successful companies on the planet. In my dream, just as we consumers are driven to shop at Amazon, instructional designers would develop solutions that keep learners coming back for more.

Here are a few ways in which we can be inspired by Amazon’s (very) successful model:

#1. Design the most learner-centric training you can. Be obsessed with making YOUR customers happy, like Amazon is. And by customers, I mean the end users … the learners. Sure, someone else may be footing the bill for what learners too often have to suffer through, but it’s up to us, as instructional designers, to advocate for learners and eliminate their suffering. Breathe life into your learners by breathing life into your learning solutions! You can do this with a thorough front-end analysis and by asking the right questions to learn as much as you can about your target audience. Then keep what you’ve learned in mind as you design and develop the solution.

#2. Personalize it. Recommend learning solutions based on profile, preferences, tracking, and ratings.
If you have shopped on Amazon (and, really, who hasn’t?), you know that the store is continually customizing your experience. The interface shows you comparable products, who bought what, what you might want to buy next, how people rated the products and whether they recommend them, and the list goes on and on. What if our learning management systems did a similar thing? What if learners could rate the courseware and recommend it (or not) to others? I bet there would be a trend toward better design if learners were offered a public voice, as they are with products. I would be up for that level of accountability for my learning solutions. How about you?

#3. Have what learners need when they need it. Amazon’s website is similar to just-in-time learning. I can think of anything (anything!) and probably find it on Amazon. If I have Amazon Prime, I can have it quickly and with perks. (I won’t get into the rewards program that is Prime, but it warrants further consideration as inspiration.) Not only can I search for and find almost anything, the site is smart enough to make recommendations and customize my interface and my shopping experience. What if learners could go to their learning portal, and the LMS would customize their experience to the degree that Amazon does? What if, on top of that, the learner could (and would want to) search for other training of interest? I have a dream.

Shauna Vaughan joined SweetRush in November 2014 as a lead instructional designer, and we are thrilled to add her voice and experience to the team. Shauna is excited to push the envelope on learner-centric experiences in collaboration with the SweetRush team and our clients. You can find Shauna on LinkedIn and Twitter—she would love to connect with you!
If you would like to learn more about SweetRush’s instructional design approach, check out our page on Effective Learning Techniques.

Photo Credit: Nic Taylor, Flickcr.com Creative Commons.

4 Strategies to Engage a Cross-generational Workforce

by Kerri.Simmons

Let’s say we’re on a call to discuss a new performance improvement project. One of the first questions I’ll ask you is, “Who is your audience?” You might be able to give me a narrow demographic—age range, reading level, preferences, etc. But increasingly you may find yourself reflecting on a particular role and the multigenerational talent that fill it. Doesn’t this make creating a training solution more complicated?

Well, yes and no. The fact is, almost every workforce today is cross-generational, and our clients are no exception. Primarily we look at three generations—Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials—and, of course, they do bring different backgrounds, preferences, and comfort levels with technology. Do we need to get creative? Sure, but that’s what we do!

These four strategies help us develop solutions that engage learners of all generations:

  1. Find the common ground. While learners may come from multiple generations, many learning principles still apply across all of them. By identifying and using these commonalities, we can create training that is relevant for all generations. Take one of the basics—WIIFM (What’s in it for me?). What are the WIIFMs for learning and improving performance in a particular role, regardless of generational differences?
  2. Put the generational differences to work for you. These differences exist, so why not put them to work for you? When we know generational differences are going to be an issue for the audience, we engage SweetRush developers and client team members who represent different generations. By engaging a sampling of the audience up front, we can ensure that the final product appeals to all generations. Is there a way to bring the same collaboration within your team? For example…
  3. Use a generational training advisory board. One technique we like to use is to develop a training advisory board that reflects the diversity of your learners (age, job type, internal or external learner, and so on). We engage this advisory board throughout key steps in the development process to ensure the final course meets everyone’s needs.
  4. Create cross-generational work teams. One of the great benefits of cross-generational learners is the opportunity to learn from one another within the context of the learning experience. When developing instructor-led and virtual instructor-led courses, we always look for ways to allow members of each generation to offer their unique contributions—whether it’s sharing lessons learned from 20 years in the field, or explaining how mobile applications can be used to solve real-world problems.

My colleague Erin Krebs has written and spoken about the newest member of the multigenerational team. You can find her Tips for Training Millennials elsewhere on our site—check it out!

Photo Credit: THE FRANCHISE CO. via Compfight cc

A Few of My Favorite Things: Beyond Drag-and-Drop to Maximize Learner Engagement

by Kerri.Simmons

Drag-and-drop. Multiple-choice. Matching. These tried-and-true activities have become the staples of e-learning. To me, they’re kind of like the coat and shoes you use to walk the dog: They have their place, serve a purpose, and get the job done, but they shouldn’t be your first choice when you need to really dress to impress!

Now, we all know that engaging the learner is essential to the success of every e-learning program. Including interactive elements increases the effectiveness of the training, capitalizes on the latent strengths of digital media, and increases the ultimate ROI of the training investment. Basic activities such as a simple drag-and-drop do fulfill our objective of having learners stop, think about what they’ve learned, and demonstrate their proficiency with the material. Box checked.

But let’s say your objectives are more complex: Rather than just demonstrating knowledge, you need your learners to acquire new skills, or you want to teach them to think critically. To get learners to engage at these higher cognitive levels, you need to carefully construct activities that challenge them in new ways.

Another reason to move beyond drag-and-drop is your audience. In today’s corporate world, we are seeing an influx of new learners (Millennials) who are knowledgeable consumers and users of digital media and games. Growing up with computers and video games means these learners have higher expectations about interactivity out of the gate, which means keeping them engaged requires more-complex activities. (Read more about this in Tips for Training Millennials.)

So now that you know some of the reasons your dog-walking coat might not work so well for your dinner business meeting, how do you show up looking sharp and turning heads? Let me introduce you to a few of my favorite things:

Discovery learning
Discovery learning can take many forms, but it is essentially structuring information in an e-learning course so that it is found rather than presented. Participants learn through active participation, rather than by passively receiving information in a presentation format. They learn from both their successes and their mistakes, which keeps them engaged. An example of this is teaching a new software program: Rather than take learners through each type of task step by step (which can be tedious), we give them a task to complete, and then provide tips and feedback as they try to complete it. This is done in a simulated (and safe) environment, of course!

Goal-based scenarios
These types of scenarios remind us of choose-your-own-adventure stories. We set up a certain situation, and provide the learner with a goal to complete. As they make decisions to try to achieve the goal, different consequences ensue. The decision points impact the evolution of the story. Learners may need to evaluate documents or interview other characters to find the information they need to complete the scenario successfully. Coaches may be used to provide tips or highlight key concepts along the way.

Avatars
Studies show that the addition of a virtual character (an avatar) to e-learning courses impacts knowledge retention, course completion, and recall of content. By interacting with a character in a virtual world, learners become more engaged in the subject matter, helping them learn more effectively. Virtual characters increase learner potential through prompts, summaries, flash cards, practice tests, and interactive scenarios, while delivering training in a more interactive and entertaining format.

The list doesn’t end there: We use social simulations, frame games, immersive learning simulations, and many more techniques to maximize learner engagement, knowledge retention, and application of learning on the job. With so many rich, engaging e-learning activities to choose from, one of the best parts of my job is opening our closet and finding the perfect fit!

Tell me… What are a few of your favorite things?

If You Build It and It’s Not Mandatory, Will They Come?

by Erin Krebs

I’ve been working with a client this week who is seeking to develop a training program for an audience that is in no way required to participate in the program. I’m not going to get into the details of the client: Let’s just say that they manufacture luxury widgets, and they distribute these widgets through a nationwide network of independent widget retailers. The client wants to develop a training program for the sales associates and store managers at the independent retailers; but, because the sales associates are not employees of the widget company (they work for the independent retailers), there is nothing that requires them to take the training.

Which begs the question: How do you make training so good that people will take it even if they don’t have to?

Here are a few of the suggestions our team shared with our client:

  1. Develop and deploy a comprehensive marketing and communications plan for your training program. If you’re trying to get an audience to engage in training that their job does not mandate that they take, a communications plan is key. The “what’s in it for me” (WIIFM) argument has to be overwhelmingly strong. A key part of the communications strategy is engaging the right stakeholders. In this situation, there are a lot of people standing in between our widget manufacturers and our widget sellers — including stakeholders in distribution channels, store owners, and store managers to name a few. If these parties aren’t sold on the idea of the training, it’s never going to get to the intended audience — those folks actually selling the widgets to consumers like you and me. Bottom line: Engage your stakeholders early on, and develop a clear and comprehensive marketing and communications plan that gets at the WIIFM for all levels.
  2. Make the training fun (oh, and useful too!). Any training that isn’t required better be overwhelmingly helpful or extremely entertaining — preferably both. With compliance training or required training, we often use tight budgets and accelerated timelines as an excuse to develop less-engaging training. (Not that it is an excuse… It can still be engaging even within these limitations, but that is another blog post.) However, when your audience doesn’t have to take the training, you better pull out all the stops. This can be done affordably and within budget and timeline constraints when thought about strategically and mindfully from the onset.
  3. Keep it short. Think about the attention span of your learners. Five minutes may be all you really get; ten minutes if you’re lucky. You might get fifteen minutes if what you offer is extremely beneficial. Keep any non-required training short and in small chunks so learners can fit it into their day. This holds true regardless of the delivery method.
  4. Make it easy on management. If you design the training in a way that makes it lucrative to managers (see point 1), they can be your biggest advocates for continuing education for non-required training. The whole process has to be easy and require little effort on their part, however. This includes the delivery of the training itself (where it lives, who delivers it, etc.), and giving the manager the communication tools that explain the benefits of the training. Most importantly, the training should not take too much time away from the learners’ real job of selling more widgets.

These are just a few ideas. What do you do to make non-required training lucrative to learners?