Online Learning Increases Employee Engagement: How to Create Online Training Programs That Work

In my last two posts, I discussed why it’s important to incorporate the seven learning styles into adult learning and how online learning programs can do that effectively. In this post, we’ll look at some best practices for creating effective online learning programs that work in your organization, as well as practical steps to help you get started.

Training Magazine recognized the Top 125 Training Programs and Initiatives; these were my top two:

Baptist Health Care created the Be Ready Suite of Educational Tools to improve patient-centered care by increasing compliance with an accrediting body for health care institutions. Though initial phases consisted of town hall meetings to discover patient-care opportunities and training needs, the suite of tools pulled from a variety of educational learning styles. An initial survey helped leaders develop action plans that allowed employees to engage in learning through simulations, role-play, online training, “Blue Tube” videos, and demonstrations evaluating and measuring success for each goal.

Sprint Nextel Corp has created an online training portal, i-Comply, that is time and cost efficient as well as easy to access. Since implementation, compliance has gone up to 100%! Now employees are able to find all policies and learn how to apply them. The portal is described as including, “interactive puzzles, a graphic novel, a comic strip, a game show, a scenario-based video, a news show, a virtual superhero, a soap opera, a digital short, and podcasts employees can download to mobile devices. i-Comply learning is sometimes viral as employees talk and share e-mails about their favorite components.”

Eight Ways to Incorporate Online Learning in Your Organization

Now that you see what industry leaders are doing in this area, let’s look at what you can do to get started.

1. Take a look at your current training programs. Determine which of your current  2-4 hour training courses could be created as an online program. Start simple: which topics could be easily taught through videos, audio, or online journals?

2. Focus. Pick one course that you’d like to develop into online learning.

3. Analyze the content of that course and determine how many modules are in the course. For example, if you chose a coaching course, you might  discover that you cover three modules, or key topics, in the 2-4 hour live training, such as: 1) why coaching is important, 2) the needed qualities of a coach and, 3) how to ask open-ended questions.

4. Integrate multimedia. Find a video, audio, or powerpoint that explains the concept you want to convey for each module/key topic.

5. Plan. Create a sequencing of the modules online.

6. Pilot Test. Run a pilot group of 8-10 people through the online modules.

7. Elicit Feedback. Evaluate the course through group feedback.

8. Constantly Improve. Tweak and improve for the next group of participants.

Examples: The Nature Conservancy and UBS

This takes time, but is worth it to increase retention and learning.  I have two clients that are successfully using my Online Learning Center (OLC): UBS and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

TNC incorporated my custom-designed, 4-week, online Management 101 training program into their year-long manager training program. Here is what Meg Severson, a TNC Human Resources Specialist said about it: “Anne Loehr recently conducted a customized Management 101 program for The Nature Conservancy. We used her Online Learning Center and all of the participants found it to be a very rich and rewarding experience. The lessons were relevant, critical for effective and productive management, and applicable to solving real managerial problems. All of the participants were located in different states, but the program still allowed us to learn in a collaborative, peer-to-peer environment that really created camaraderie.”

The lessons were relevant, critical for effective and productive management, and applicable to solving real managerial problems. All of the participants were located in different states, but the program still allowed us to learn in a collaborative, peer-to-peer environment that really created camaraderie.

UBS used my online training program to help their Financial Advisors increase generational knowledge. It was a dynamic 6-week course that increased sales. Patrick Sweeney, the Associate Director of Learning Delivery for the US Wealth Advisor Program said, “Anne has a new, fresh approach that is really eye opening to successful financial advisors and their teams.  Her approach is insightful and impactful. Participants leave her sessions understanding how to effectively communicate and build relationships with the different generations they need to impact.  Anne also is a gifted facilitator who was able to keep all of the participants engaged over the several weeks that she did the program for us at UBS.”

In my 3-part series, we’ve talked about creating online training programs that work through incorporating the seven adult learning styles, why online training programs matter, and best practices to creating a program that works for your organization. I know this can feel like a lot, so take small steps.

For now, start thinking about how to present information more effectively using the seven learning styles; then start revamping your training, one step at a time. As you move through this process, feel free to leave a comment, shoot me an email or tell me on Twitter.