The Newest Ways to Engage Learners

by CoSo

October 24, 2016

In 2009, a Gallup State of the American Workplace report came out that showed organizations that were able to successfully engage both customers and employees could experience a 240 percent boost in performance-related business gains.

Most organizations must not have gotten the word. Six years later, another Gallup report showed only 32 percent of U.S. employees were engaged. 32 percent! This means two-thirds of the American workforce is essentially checked out.

So how can you inspire greater enthusiasm across your workforce? A big part of this comes down to giving your workers the know-how to do their jobs more effectively. Corporate training, which when done properly can be a business driver in its own right—42 percent of companies say eLearning has led to an increase of revenue.

So, the next time you host an eLearning session, here are some ways to get employees thinking less about their next lunch break and more about how they can contribute to the success of your team:

• Show learners how this new knowledge can further their own careers.

• Fully understand your tools to ensure you’re making full use of your engagement capabilities.

• Consider your visual elements—include both animations and animated instructors!

• Use fun or dramatic examples and story progression techniques to trigger our natural affection for well-crafted yarn.

• Use gamification, role playing and more to create rivalry and collaboration among learners. “Choose Your Own Adventure” story flow is a great way to involve learners while showing them the pitfalls and payoffs of bad and good decision-making.

• Anonymous chat is a powerful feature—use it! This lets learners ask the “dumb” questions without fear of ridicule.

• Engagement doesn’t end when the lesson is over. If you make your material available later, especially in the form of short, searchable videos and other content, they’ll continue learning (and applying that knowledge) long after the lesson.

Happy teaching! 

To learn more about how you can add more engagement to your eLearning strategy, watch this free webinar on the last tools.