Why Employees Don’t Engage With Online Training Content: 5 Reasons To Consider
Online training courses are supposed to make your employees the best at what they do. It’s important to train them regularly if you want them to remain the top performers in the industry. But sometimes it can be difficult for your staff to engage with your training content.
Here are the top five reasons why employees can’t connect with it.
1. A Huge Amount Of Text
Too much text scares even the most motivated online learners. A text-heavy, graphic-light online course makes the training look like too much work. Especially for busy, stressed employees who require immediate information.
Over time, text becomes monotonous and employees lose their connection to the online training course. This is why you must always have their needs in mind.
Remember that they still have to work hard to expand their knowledge, so present the information in a way that’s easy to process. Make sure that you take care of the visual component by including graphics and videos in your eLearning course design. You can also break long paragraphs into bullet lists or distinct sections with subheads to make learning material easier.
Another great way to break it down into easily digestible parts is using infographics and tutorials. This gives your staff the ability to evaluate every subtopic or step, and comprehend the information before moving onto the next one.
2. Training Is Viewed As A Punishment
As we have mentioned before, training is meant to make your employees the best at what they do. So, they should always be excited and eager to train, right?
That’s not always the case!
The truth is that many employees view training as a punishment. They are able to read between the lines and identify your reasons for training, even if you don’t explain them upfront. If you’re used to training them whenever there are shortcomings or mistakes, training will be viewed as a punishment. Underperformers will perceive it as a disciplinary action instead of an opportunity to grow.
For this reason, you must uncloak your L&D process and add a healthy dose of entertainment to mandatory training. Help your staff understand that online training courses offer a broad range of benefits, so that they look forward to the experience. Provide optional training resources that everyone can access to build skills and expand knowledge.
3. Lack Of A Training Culture In The Organization
Training should be part of your organizational culture and employees should understand its value. Online training shouldn’t seem like a mandatory activity, but a beneficial resource that they can access anytime. If you make it part of your organizational culture, people will embrace it – it won’t be something they have to participate in because the boss said so.
Motivate your staff before online training and get them excited about what the training course has to offer. This may include email newsletters, social media posts, or even free eBooks that explore the advantages.
The key is to make employees feel like online training is a job perk that allows them to be more productive and, eventually, land that big promotion and fulfill their potential.
4. Irrelevant Online Training Content
Online training programs should contain relevant, high-quality information. The content must be good enough to meet the needs of employees and address their individual goals.
No one likes to take part in online training courses that add little or no value to their personal or professional lives. Irrelevant content makes them lose interest and disengage from the experience.
Before the course starts, carry out a training needs analysis. This will help you determine which information to include in the program and which to omit. You can also conduct online surveys to determine their personal preferences and expectations.
Another factor to consider is learning preferences. While one employee may be able to master new tasks by simply reading an online manual, another requires interactive simulations and branching scenarios that immerse them in the situation.
5. Not Respecting Employees’ Time
During online training, employees have an extra workload. They need to complete their office duties, incorporate the training, and make time for their families. Training shouldn’t force them to rearrange their entire schedule or miss out on personal events. Neither should it eat into their working time and lead to a lot of backlog. Too much backlog will result in stress, which makes them disconnect from the online training experience.
There are two common ways to avoid this problem. The first is to create flexible training schedules that allow them to decide when and how they receive the information. For example, incorporate a clickable eLearning course map and progress bar so that they can monitor their own performance. The second option is to provide microlearning resources that come in handy during their moment of need.
Conclusion
Training is vital for your company. But it can only go so far if you haven’t grasped your employees’ attention. It’s important to ask your staff what can make a (positive) difference to their experience. Then try to incorporate their answers to your program.
Are there any recurring patterns you’ve spotted on their answers? What are your staff’s most frequent suggestions? We’d love to hear what you’ve found out!
