How to Get the Most Value from Online Learning Tools

I wear several different hats. Heck, one is even writing for this blog.

In a job role where I’d have little time for a traditional full-day training class, I still run into real world challenges and like many, I have become accustomed to wanting a solution to a specific problem.

You can benefit from online learning tools with even a small time investment

While I’d love to be a Microsoft Excel ninja, I know that would take a lot of practice. I’m not lazy, I want to practice, but where do I find the time? I often need to solve a specific challenge, not expand my breath of knowledge as a whole.

When I work with human resources and training managers it’s no different, timing and the availability of staff for training are always topics of discussion. A great solution is to provide an online learning environment that provides an always-on learning option for staff. Team members can fit training around their schedules and it provides a solution for training in smaller time commitments. Online learning that is well indexed, offers custom content or coaching, can also meet the need for the user that wants to learn a specific task to complete an existing challenge.

Personal experience: a 3 minute training video saved me lots of time

At KnowledgeWave, I can cheat! It is easy for me to ask one of our instructors for help. I mean why not; they are Office ninjas!

About 18 months ago we instituted a companywide challenge. Walk the talk. Now when we have a learning need we first have to leverage our own online learning tools. Then if we can’t find a solution to our challenge, we can ask an instructor if they can point us to a solution on our learning site. Finally, if that doesn’t work, they can help us, but we must create a video lesson on the topic.

From personal experience, I can tell you this works. In one scenario I wanted to easily and quickly add data and have it update on a specific excel sheet based on data from several worksheets, but I didn’t want to link the sheets. I found a short video about using the Excel camera tool that accomplished exactly what I needed to do. It was so cool, it got its own blog post. A video that was 3 minutes in duration saved me a considerable amount of time. A win like this helps to reinforce the value of an always-on learning solution.

We’ve come a long way from the old, boring flip-the-page CBT

Old school computer based training (CBT) is in the past. I chuckle when I hear the term now. I can’t help but think of the Video Professor commercials. First introduced in the 80’s, CBT allowed users to complete self-paced training on a PC without the need of an actual instructor. While the term is still valid today, the true value of today’s CBT leverages the internet and is not always independent and without guided instruction. When thinking Computer Based Training in today’s terms, consider videos, webinars and live remote classroom instruction as modern forms of Computer Based Training.

Making sure employees use online training tools for the best advantage

We have learned through experience that just because training is available doesn’t mean it will be used by staff. So, how can you increase the usage of the online learning tools you’ve invested in? If you’re like many of our clients, while you may be ok with spending budget to train your staff, it’s important that you can measure and know your users are using the service and benefitting from it.

Here are my top 4 tips to increase your ROI and maximize the return on your training investment.

1. Have a communication plan for your team to encourage adoption of online training tools. Let staff know your plans before the deployment of your online learning platform to get them excited. Make training an employee benefit that builds their skills and improves productivity for the company. Communicate often when you first deploy your learning solution and be sure to solicit and share success stories. Make sure to point users to specific lessons or topics that are of value to you and your company.
   
   
2. Make sure there are options for online LIVE training and that your learning partner can offer live training sessions in shorter durations. A modern online learning platform is no old school CBT and should include more than just click and watch videos. Shorter live hands-on sessions provide the ability for attendees to ask questions and the shorter duration means what they learn will be better retained. Webinars and hands-on classes are engaging and can target specific needs in a supportive environment.
   
   
3. Highlight training that is most important to your organization and your employees. If they have a specific need such as a new version of Microsoft Office, or they want to learn about collaborating with Office 365, highlight that for staff and make sure they find it easily and you're referring to it in your communication plan. Ask your learning partner if they provide custom live options for the most important topics. Custom content is king and results in better adoption with users.
   
   
4. Consider how your learning partner engages with your users. Do they offer in-app messaging to engage your users while they are learning and can help point them to find other included learning opportunities that users may be interested in based on their onsite actions? Do they let members know about live webinars that provide a question and answer sessions?

P.S. If you’re investing in a learning platform let the vendor engage directly with your team: that’s part of their job! Limiting communication can hinder the adoption of your online learning platform. Your vendor wants your online training efforts to be successful, too.

Ask your partner what their communication policy is, and make sure that they can offer an opt-out option if one of your users requests to be removed from their communications.

You can't just build it and expect your employees come, but you can help steer them!