5 Tips to Create and Deliver the Right E-learning Content- Utilizing the 'Goldilocks Principle'

With changing corporate training demands of modern learners, the need to deliver the right kind of training content is becoming evident. There is a fairy tale of a small girl named Goldilocks, who avoids the porridge bowls that are too cold or too hot. Instead, she prefers choosing the one which is just right and moderate. This concept is also applicable for workplace training where employees choose e-courses that cater to their pertinent learning needs.

• Too hot content: The text-heavy online training courses are very boring, resulting in poor learner engagement and retention levels.

• Too cold content: When e-courses lack relevant information, it gives a negative impact on the overall learner performance and knowledge retention.

• Just right content: Different learners have different training needs from onboarding and compliance to sales enablement, skills development, and more.  Therefore, it is essential to deliver the right content to the targeted learners which result in improved employee participation and workplace competency.

What is the Right E-learning Content? 

It is crucial for organizations to provide e-learning courses that meet their personalized needs. There are several tips for designing just the right kind of training content. These include:

• Understand the audience

The initial step is to understand the type of audience and their custom training needs. So, it becomes crucial for trainers and managers to choose the right topics for the right learners through surveys, group discussions, and assessments.

• Create digestible content

If you talk about applying the Goldilocks principle in e-learning, then creating an easy to access and quick to digest training content is essential. For instance, short and crisp chunks of information can be delivered across mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, enabling learners to digest information anytime and anywhere.

• Design the content right

Sometimes, even a perfect training course is considered too hot because of its poor design structure. A clutter-free design is preferred while creating training modules which boosts the overall learning experience. Also, engaging elements such as avatars and tool tips are embedded with e-courses to aid learners easily access every module, engage better, and progress more during the program.

• Reduce choice overload

Once you choose the relevant topics of training, the next important factor is to ask the learners whether they are prepared to apply what they learned in real-life scenarios? Or whether the entire program focuses more on a specific module in comparison to others? The feedback from the learners helps organizations to bridge the gaps between the content created and training goals.

• Use additional resources

Additional resources are also added with e-courses, enabling learners to explore the content of their choice at their own pace. These may include videos, external links, tutorials, and more which maintain learners’ interest and avoid boredom through the entire course.

The above-discussed tips focus both on understanding the bespoke training needs and creating the content in the right way. Modern learners readily engage with the right training content, leading to increased levels of participation, retention, and overall learning uptake.

Suggested Further Reading: Using the Goldilocks Principle in Your E-learning Courses by Damian

Retail, Healthcare, Aviation, and More: Top Industries Adopting Simulation-based Learning Approach for Corporate Training

As the workforce is getting smarter and the business environment is becoming more dynamic, organizations are adopting strategies to upskill their employees and improve overall on-the-job performances. The modern corporate world is increasing focus towards delivering simulation-based learning solutions to develop employee skills, boost knowledge retention, and pave towards ways which boost business growth. Industries such as retail, healthcare, education, and more, are expected to drive the scope of simulations to train their modern workforce.

Let us discuss the benefits of simulation-based learning approach in various industries:

• Retail

With technological advancement, the scope of simulations to train the retail workforce is increasing. An immersive simulated training environment helps to improve the overall product awareness, customer retention, and business sales. Whether it is about seeking customer attention, training new hires or more, simulations in e-learning help managing real-life scenarios at the workplace. For instance, retail companies can easily showcase any situation to the new hires through simulations, thereby helping them to understand the new work environment, industry compliance, work culture, and more.

• Aviation

Undoubtedly, training in the aviation industry is costly, and therefore simulations serve as a viable solution, making learning more affordable and accessible. Airline companies utilize a wide range of advanced virtual reality technologies such as 360 degrees headsets, full-motion headsets, and more. These also aid to train the aviation staff on crew operations, aircraft maintenance, inspection, and more. The virtual environment helps employees to practice in a complex work environment and improve their overall workplace efficiency.

• Healthcare

Simulations in the healthcare domain help to replace the actual surgical scenario and replicate crucial aspects of the real world interactively. Highly interactive 3D elements help the learners to understand the content better. Learners can imagine themselves in familiar situations and can recall better, as well as assimilate the new learning process.

Simulations in e-learning are ready to shift the entire Learning and Development landscape of the corporate environment. L&D teams are now involved in creating simulated e-learning solutions aligned with evolving training needs. Simulations hold the potential to replace the boring classroom lectures with immersive communication. In a nutshell, simulations help the new-age workforce to learn from their mistakes, gain hands-on experience and enhance their overall performance. By using simulations for different scenarios, organizations help their workforce to engage better, retain for long, and achieve expected results.

Driving Salesforce Excellence through Extended E-learning: The Trend is Emerging

With modernization, the need to adopt effective e-learning approach to train the workforce in retail companies is increasing. The retail companies face a wide array of challenges when it comes to educating their external workforce, especially sales employees who are mostly on the go. Therefore, the delivery of extended corporate training solutions through personalized mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets serve as a viable solution. Mobile learning is no more a new concept, but rather a successful strategy adopted for corporate training to fulfill the pertinent needs for diversified audiences.

Companies in the retail sector now realize the potential of delivering innovative e-learning solutions for their extended workforce. Therefore, more and more sales employees rely on their mobile phones to access training content because of the following reasons:

• Mobile devices are best suited for delivering training content as small nuggets of information which are accessible at any point of time. With instant access to bite-sized content, sales employees can easily fit training into their hectic schedule- between meetings, at home, or even on the go.
  
• The utilization of robust mobile learning apps helps to align individual learner’s activity across mobile devices. As a result, learners can start a course anytime, do any other relevant work in between, and later continue from where they left off. For instance, sales professionals can undergo training on their desktop, and then resume training on their smartphones, thereby supporting an impactful self-paced learning experience.

• The interface of mobile learning apps and web learning portals is entirely different. Modern learners prefer swiping or tapping the relevant information on their smart device, therefore typing and clicking can be a daunting task on mobiles. Netflix and YouTube are popular platforms where users can access data as per their recent search and learning preferences. Similarly, retail companies use custom mobile apps to adequately train their sales employees and get quick access to relevant information- every time and everywhere.

With the increased adoption of e-learning solutions for extended workforce training, the retail industry is emerging as a dynamically improving sector in the global market. E-learning serves as a one-stop solution by catering to the pertinent needs of all. Today, organizations are increasing awareness among their new-age workforce on what tools and knowledge can drive optimal results. Mobile learning is gaining importance in industries especially retail, where training the geographically spread workforce is the primary need.

Training Diverse Audiences & Driving Business Value through Extended LMS

Today, different enterprises have different kinds of learners who need to undergo effective training. Do you think about training your customers on how to use a specific product? Or do you want your partners to get certified after acquiring enough product knowledge? Then, Learning Management System(LMS) for extended enterprise including customers, resellers, partners, sales representatives and others, serves as a viable solution. It holds the ability to reach out to multiple audiences via the same platform and provide them personalized training experience, based on their tailored needs and preferences.

To stay ahead of the curve, organizations now need to push their talent management beyond the confines of the enterprise which includes the extended workforce. Also, as external employees work outside an organization and are mostly on-the-go, it is crucial to impart them training- anytime and anywhere. Discussed below are some of the benefits of using an enterprise LMS to train the extended workforce:

Engaging widespread audiences through mobile apps

As per the research by Aberdeen, companies that leverage mobile technology to support their learning strategy are 58% more likely to attain best in class outcomes. [Source: https://yourstory.com/mystory/51b8279651-scope-of-mobile-app-de]. With the help of innovative mobile apps, internal as well as external employees can access training courses at their own pace of time and convenience. Learners who have to take out time for training from their busy work schedule can engage and participate more if they can access personalized mobile learning apps on their mobile devices.

Training sales reps, resellers, customers and more

Different target audiences- resellers, customers, partners, sales representatives and others; need different kinds of training based on their bespoke needs. This makes the use of extended LMS an effective solution to train the globally diversified workforce. An effective training for external network aids learners to gain expertise on products, services, organizational policies, industry compliance and more. Training channel partners and customers result in increased levels of knowledge retention, engagement and overall customer satisfaction.

Tracking individual performances

To track and measure the performances of employees outside an enterprise is a daunting task. The deployment of extended e-learning platforms helps to create reports based on the time a learner spends on specific courses. Consequently, it helps to track training completions and create reports based on their overall performance during training.

Undoubtedly, Extended LMS boosts the overall satisfaction of the external workforce as they can connect more and apprise themselves on newer products with their prospective clients. Providing training outside the organization is an important strategic tool to help organizations improve their business line.

3 Business Cases to Deploy LMS in the Retail Sector: Creating the Digital Workplace

With ever-evolving market needs, the personalization of customer experience has become equally critical for any retail business. When it comes to training the workforce in this sector, retail companies face a plethora of challenges from doing their day-to-day operations to managing high turnovers. To transform the overall training experience, it has become significant to engage maximum learners and optimize knowledge retention.

Therefore, modern Learning Management Systems (LMS) are deployed by the retail industry to boost corporate training experience, thereby affecting overall business productivity, customer satisfaction and sales.

Significant Scenarios to Use Modern LMS within Retail Enterprise 

The extensive use of personalized mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones has improved the scope of workforce training. These also help to manage effective communications with the customers, inventory information and quicker delivery. As the retail industry owes its success through optimal customer satisfaction and improved business sales, deploying robust enterprise LMSs for workforce training is crucial. Let us discuss some of the instances where modern e-learning platforms aid the retail workforce in addressing their training challenges:

• New hire training

To effectively train the new hires within the retail enterprise, it is crucial to impart custom e-learning solutions via modern LMS. For instance, if an employee joins the sales department, then they need to seek training on how to engage customers and boost overall sales. Companies provide mobile learning apps to deliver personalized training experience for all. This helps to enhance the accessibility of training courses for the employees – who can utilize their time learning anytime, while at home or even traveling.

• Training on compliance 

Training on the Code of conduct is another challenge faced by this industry. Therefore, a powerful e-learning platform is utilized to deliver mandatory compliance training to retail employees. For instance, the company's existing HRMS (Human Resource Management System) can be integrated with modern LMS to fetch employee data and push automated notifications about the upcoming training. The LMS also triggers information about assessments and retests; along with providing recurring training sessions by setting expiration dates for certifications.

• Training on the latest products

Whenever a retail company launches a new range of products, it becomes essential to familiarize the employees with the new products. For instance, modern LMS is used to deliver game-based learning solutions to train the sales force in a more fun way. When the employees earn scores or badges during training, they get motivated to learn more, collaborate better and retain for long.

The incorporation of modern LMS within the retail organizations begin with the need to affect the overall efficiency and productivity of employees as well as the business on the whole.

5 Crucial Features Supported by Online LMS

Taking Your Business to the Next Level 

The demand for seamless e-learning services and a robust infrastructure to align with personalized training needs are evolving. To effectively train the workforce spread across different demographics, an efficient online Learning Management System (LMS) is essential. In today’s digital era, modern LMSs support improved collaboration among peers, optimal learner engagement and customized training delivery. Most of the organizations understand the need to invest in the latest technologies which focus on boosting learning efficiency, workforce retention and engagement levels.

In the realm to address these challenges stands the need to deploy an online LMS to cater to the ever-evolving needs of all. With the use of latest technologies, workplace training ensures to leave a strong impact on how courses are created and delivered. With changing learning preferences, individual goals are also changing towards team participation and knowledge retention. The key to an effective corporate training initiative lies in the use of modern online LMS supporting the following features:

1. Mobile app support:With the majority of employees working from remote locations, the use of mobile devices to access training courses via mobile apps is also increasing. This approach called as mobile learning includes accessibility of online content, flexibility to download e-courses and access them, when offline. The effective delivery of online courses via mobile learning apps enable employees to learn at their own pace of time and convenience.
2. Social learning:
   
   With the immense popularity of social media sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other channels like Netflix, the demand for a similar e-learning platform is increasing. As social learning is a vital component, modern LMSs are designed in a way to support effective knowledge sharing, peer-to-peer collaboration and enhanced business growth. This is achieved by using various social tools such as blogs, forums and wikis to share new ideas, raise the competency levels and overall learning uptake.
3. Personalized approach:

Personalized training delivery comprises of two major aspects- setting a learning environment to align with the right learning path and delivering adaptive learning experience to cater to the personalized needs of all. Modern LMS can be customized to deliver different kinds of e-courses as per the learners’ different job roles and preferences, thereby reducing training time and improving overall workplace efficiency.


4. Analytics & Assessments:

The Analytics and Reporting feature supported by the modern LMS helps to track individual performances during the training program. Also, the robust platform helps to simplify the skill evaluation process by uploading assessments and tracking learners’ progress at each level. The online learning platform can efficiently save time and money by enabling learners access updated information without using any third-party applications.


5. Video-based learning: 
   The new-age LMS supports video-based content delivery to engage maximum employees undergoing training on sales, compliance, onboarding and more. E-courses delivered in the form of interactive video nuggets allow the learners to understand the context in a better way. The online learning platform supports video learning feature to ensure the delivery of a continuous and socially interactive corporate training experience.

Online LMS is being used by the majority of organizations to impart the ephemera of training experiences through personalization, collaboration, assessments, video-based learning and so on.

Combining Mobile Learning & Microlearning Approaches- The Need is Evident

Today, Learning & Development (L&D) departments have realized the potential of personalized learning through mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The current e-learning strategy is providing the new-age workforce an edge with the flexibility to access online courses at their own pace. The demand for short and crisp content is rising and mobile learning has made it more convenient for the organizations to provide training on the go.

Mobile Learning & Microlearning- Their Key Benefits 

Before, you look at the combined benefits of microlearning and mobile learning, let us outline their individual benefits. Talking about mobile learning first, it allows the learners to access online courses anytime and from anywhere. There are different kinds of mobile learning apps which helps the learners to download the course and access it later when offline. Few benefits of mobile learning are outlined here:

• It supports multi-device support, which means that same course can be accessed on multiple devices, from desktops and laptops to tablets and smartphones.

• It proves as an effective e-learning approach to cater to the diverse corporate training needs including onboarding program, compliance training, soft skills and more.

On the other hand, microlearning is the process of delivering content in the form of short learning nuggets. The trend is fueled by the learners who want to consume bite-sized information on the go. Few benefits of microlearning are outlined here:

• Short content chunks are created to cater to specific learning needs.

• They are shorter in length (between 2-7 minutes).

Why to Choose the Combination of Microlearning & Mobile Learning?

With the broader adoption of mobile learning, microlearning also serves the following benefits:

• Formal training- A learning path can be created by combining shorter bites of content. Considering the short attention spans, learners tend to access more courses on their mobile devices, without any hassle of going anywhere.

• Performance Support Tools (PSTs)- These help to optimize the effectiveness of formal training through just-in-time aid. PSTs help enterprises to boost their performance and leave a strong impact on the entire business.

With technological advancement, organizations are adopting the blend of mobile learning and microlearning to offer a highly engaging experience. The prime reason behind this is that content nuggets can be easily accessed on the go. Several other benefits of this combination are highlighted as follows:

• Delivery of continuous learning experience rather than providing discrete forms.

• Organizations can offer personalized learning experience as per the varied needs of diversified audiences. Some learners grasp quickly, while others may take time, so this enables them to choose the time and place to undergo training.

• This also increases the number of visitors coming to the learning platform, as they can review the same courses time and again.

• Short nuggets in the form of videos, audios and images are easier to digest, thereby helping to improve learner engagement and retention levels.

Certainly, the rising scope of mobile learning and microlearning have overcome the traditional training challenges such as engagement, flexibility, real-time accessibility and retention. With this combination, organizations can witness more engaged employees with the rise in business growth and overall workplace productivity.