Dos and Don’ts of Online Employee Training

As more organizations make the switch to asynchronous, online-only eLearning, it’s important to continuously capture the needs of the learner. What may have worked before COVID-19 might not cut it in today’s online employee training.

Previously, we discussed 10 common corporate training pitfalls, which touched on some important points:

• Keep learning relevant
• Avoid including dated material
• Don’t make your learning heavy on text

With these in mind, read on to learn about the dos and don’ts of online employee training.

Do use a capable learning management system (LMS)

A good eLearning program won’t do much if your LMS is difficult to use or doesn’t accommodate the needs of your learner. According to this eLearning Industry interview, things that learners hate the most about their LMS includes poor mobile optimization, weak progress-tracking options, and inefficient communication tools. If that sounds familiar, then it could be your LMS either doesn’t make it clear how to access these tools, or it doesn’t have them at all. Above all, it’s important that your LMS is agile enough to adapt to what learners need when they need it.

Do ensure your learning meets accessibility standards

Authoring programs, like Articulate Storyline and Adobe Captivate, are great for building visually appealing and engaging eLearning courses with some base accessibility functionality. The onus, however, is on the designer to ensure that the course is accessible.

Some ways to improve accessibility include:

• Using Sans serif fonts
• Writing alt text for images
• Avoiding learning activities that involve clicking and dragging

There are many other considerations to meet accessibility standards. Read our 8 Ways to Make eLearning Accessible to learn more.

Do implement gamification

Gamification in some form is expected in learning programs. Learning should be an enjoyable experience even for adult learners, especially if the content is necessary for learners to succeed in their roles. Badges, leaderboards, or experience points (to show progression) can be a fun and meaningful way to increase learners’ engagement in their training programs. And why wouldn’t they? Levelling up is fun!

Do create meaningful assessments and activities

Learning assessments should link to learning outcomes and the course material. Assessments need to meaningfully assess how well the learner has understood the content. Look for opportunities as well to include reflection exercises, or other activities that aren’t just multiple choice questions. Scenarios should be realistic to both help the learner relate to it and connect it more easily to work expectations. Prompts for the learner to follow should allow for nuance and critical thinking, with feedback on why some outcomes are more ideal than others.

Do keep your content evergreen

In certain circumstances, this may not be possible, and that’s okay! Although content on best practices, procedures, policies, or other information changes will need necessary updates in your course, look for ways to keep your content as evergreen as possible. This could mean something as simple as avoiding referencing learning or technology trends that may not be relevant a few years down the line, or by separating content you know is bound to change into its own module or learning item.

That said, older examples may still have merit if they help meet learning outcomes. If there is a “tried and true” resource that learners find helpful, then it’s fine to continue using it so long as it doesn’t conflict with learning objectives or other learning materials you’re providing.

Make a note of any shared statistics and how often they’re updated. For example, if new statistics are released annually, consider if it would be more beneficial to show the learner where they can access the latest statistics instead of embedding the data directly into the course.

Don’t restrict delivery to one type of eLearning

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to any learning program, regardless of how it is delivered (in-person, hybrid, online only). As such, you shouldn’t assume that any learning programs developed in the past should follow the same approach in the one you’re developing now. For instance, are your employees keen to learn, but don’t have enough time? Consider if microlearning may be a better alternative. Are there other versions of the training that can benefit learners? Hybrid learning still allows learners to learn at their own pace but has the benefit of an instructor that the learner can connect with. Consider infographics, webinars, videos, and even audio-only formats as well.

Don’t be tempted by shiny gimmicks and unproven trends

Technology is important for eLearning development, but unproven and costly technology may not be the answer. In fact, tech shouldn’t be used to drive your training outcomes.

Without a doubt, you’ve seen significant talk about artificial intelligence in the past couple of years. If you’re on LinkedIn, you probably don’t have to browse too far on your timeline to see an advertisement or shared post about AI. Many tech companies are pushing Generative AI to eliminate the “tedious” parts of designing a competency-based learning program. It promises to build curriculum, write learning objectives, and, in some cases, create video.

There have been several concerns raised with Generative AI, such as:

• How it treats intellectual property
• Data security
• Environmental impact
• Information accuracy

Note that the eLearning you ask AI to “create” is very likely taken from another source without permission and without proper credit. Generative AI is also very expensive to implement, and the information it provides may not be accurate. While it is funny to read Google responses on how you should eat rocks or prepare pasta with a gasoline sauce, this can have far more serious implications when you’re trying to design credible learning materials. This is especially true if you’re not certain where the information is coming from.

Don’t be too formal

Is there a time where a teacher or speaker took a complicated, seemingly boring topic, and was able to get you to understand it in a way that was engaging? What kind of tone did they use? Was it formal and heavy with jargon, or was it more casual and possibly conversational?

There are many ways to deliver course content in an engaging way. While the course may not call for a fully informal tone (including slang), the writing should still help to guide the learner while addressing them directly. Some expressions include:

• “When you are done, move to the next screen to continue.”
• “You are now ready to move to the next module. See you shortly!”
• “Please take a look at the three examples onscreen. Notice a pattern?”

See how this tone grabs the learner’s attention and guides them? For adult learners, it’s important to give them the information they need, with clear directions and examples that showcase why the training is necessary. This is absolutely possible with a tone that is more casual, but still professional.

Don’t be rigid in your eLearning design

Always keep your audience in mind when designing online training; this might mean deviating a bit from how you designed learning materials in the past. As you work on your coursework, ask yourself:

• Am I delivering a lot of information the same way throughout?
• Am I relying too much on the same types of activities?
• Is there too much information at a time?
• Is this engaging enough?
• Are there ways to implement collaborative learning?

It’s good to follow a cohesive structure in your learning programs that maintains your organization’s branding and styling throughout. Finding ways to present your material differently, however, can keep your coursework from becoming too static and can help maintain learner interest. With online learning, there aren’t any opportunities for an instructor to work with their learners to adjust their approach if something isn’t working. If you feel that something isn’t quite right with how the material is being presented, you might need to change things up! It can only lead to a better course for your employees!

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