Implementing an eLearning program is a significant financial investment, but it’s worth the money when online training courses are effective. If an organization’s eLearning modules are missing the mark, there is plenty company leaders can do improve them using an LMS.
Before you can optimize eLearning courses for your employees, you need to define what effective online training courses are. eLearning modules that result in a good ROI for training, as well as other organizational benefits, are:
A learning management system (LMS) with content management, learning paths, and other helpful features will help you upgrade online training courses to fit these standards.
Is your company getting the results it needs from its eLearning units? If not, you can improve them by implementing these three tips:
1. Review your LMS -- Sometimes, eLearning courses don’t get results because they are delivered through an ineffective LMS. Company leaders can determine whether or not an eLearning system is getting the job done by...
1) Listing their company’s training objectives and creating their own definition of a successful online learning course.
2) Reviewing their current LMS and how it’s fulfilling their objectives (or not).
If your team is putting out significant effort to create compelling online training courses with your current LMS and getting minimal results, it may be time to switch to a new learning management system or other type of learning technology. In this case, use your review session as a basis for your search. Get an LMS overview for every system you consider to see if it will meet your needs.
2. Create a functional learner interface using LMS tools -- Ease-of-use is a key component of online courses that gives employees the skills they need for competency. Make courses more enjoyable by creating a functional learner interface. The more simple and functional an online training unit’s learner interface is, the more likely employees are to use it.
A properly designed eLearning course interface includes strategically placed menus and navigation bars. It is highly scannable and anything but monotonous. Using headers, subheaders, lists, pull quotes, blocks of text, and images in its design will improve interface scannability and increase learner engagement with eLearning courses. Your LMS’s content management feature should help with these tasks.
3. Provide technical and instructional support -- A surefire way to increase the effectiveness of an eLearning course is to give employees more access to online instructors.
Most learners prefer immediate responses to their questions. This is easily accommodated in a face-to-face learning situation, but it’s more difficult with online learning. Make up for this deficit in learner-teacher communication by ensuring online instructors are available at set times to offer instant support through real-time chat and email.
When you choose an LMS with a solid customer service team, your company will have the support it needs to support learning. For example, if an LMS user reaches out to you with a technical issue, you can then contact your eLearning system provider and get the issue quickly resolved so that the individual can get right back to learning. Knowing your LMS provider has your back will enable you to provide employees with great learning experiences and consistent learning support.
No company leader wants money invested into an eLearning initiative to go to waste. Making online courses easy and fun to interact with, reviewing your current LMS to ensure it’s a good fit for your company’s current needs, and offering technical and instructional support to learners will boost the impact of your online training courses, benefitting your company and employees.
Download the LMS Comparison Worksheet to help you find an LMS that supports your business goals, fits within your budget, and has the capabilities your business needs.
References:
¹CommLab India. The importance of online training: 5 benefits for your employees. https://blog.commlabindia.com/elearning-design/online-training-benefits-for-employees.