Too often, employees react to mandatory training as an unwelcome obligation heaped on to an already demanding workload. But it doesn't have to be that way. Whether your company requires training on customer service standards or workplace ethics, employees can be motivated to learn when they are challenged, surprised, and, yes, entertained.
To help you create training that keeps employees interested and learning, Designing Digitally, Inc. offers these six tips:
Create a strong theme and an even stronger narration
When creating a theme and a script for your training program, grab employees’ attention and surprise them. Incorporating pop culture references or even inside company jokes adds an unexpected twist to the material. One of the fastest ways to turn off participants is by reciting a list of tips in a dry, monotonous tone. Make the content lively and you'll be amazed at how employees react.
Focus on the learner
Tailor the message to the employees you want to reach. Motivate employees to want to learn by making the content relevant, compelling, and challenging.
Vary the outcomes
Often employees are required to repeat mandatory training every year. To keep employees interested, it's important to create dynamic content that offers different outcomes depending on the path the user chooses. Yes, this is more work for the developer. But in this way, employees repeating the course continue to have opportunities to learn rather than just review the same static material.
Engage to enlighten
Interactivity is a must to create interest and motivate a learner. Encourage active participation through mini-games and dynamic interactions with varying end results depending on the employee's actions. Try to avoid true/false or multiple-choice questions. These test-based, rote forms of learning are less likely to engage employees.
Let form follow function
Avoid focusing more on looks than content. Make sure you have a strong theme, learning objectives, and outcomes prepared before doing any graphical work. Function, then form is the best approach. In this way, you can make sure you cover what to teach first. Then you can refine how it is taught and give the training the "beauty mark" it deserves.
Make it competitive and social
Incorporate gamification into training modules in the form of badges, points, or bragging rights. Competition and rewards provide employees with a greater a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when the course is completed.
Finding ways to make mandatory training engaging and challenging takes some thought and effort. But the results are well worth it. With a focused theme, dynamic interactivity, and a bit of competition, mandatory training can become a more valuable, satisfying learning experience for employees. And they might even have some fun while they're at it. For assistance in making your training fun contact Designing Digitally, Inc. today!