Advances in technology, changing customer expectations, globalization and the pressing need for agility means that businesses need to constantly upskill and reskill their employees to remain competitive. Employee training is, therefore, essential to develop a competent workforce in an evolving talent landscape. There are several employee training platforms to create, deploy and deliver training at scale, and across geographies. Plenty of these training platforms promise performance-based results and higher engagement, however, companies usually find themselves short-changed on their funds to invest in these platforms. So, what is the way forward?
Before investing in an employee training platform, it is good to understand its features and tools and how well it will integrate with your existing IT systems, the level of technical skills and infrastructure that would be required to implement the system, and post-implementation support you will receive.
In this article, we explore the best features of an employee training platform to help you make an informed choice and maximize your return on investment.
1. Customizable Platform
While an employee training platform may offer you a complete library of content resources, tools, and courses, you will still need to make some modifications to the system to meet your needs. It is therefore important that the platform has a user-friendly interface to allow you to personalize your employees’ learning environment, for example, the employee login page and dashboard. Then you may want to white label it to reflect your brand. So, choose a platform that gives you these personalization capabilities or otherwise you may have to hire a developer to make these modifications.
Also Read: Best Online Learning Platforms for Employees
2. Responsive Content
An ideal employee training platform should allow you to develop simple, intuitive and clean responsive designs which are viewable on all devices such as tablets, laptops and smartphones and can run on different operating systems, such as Windows, iOS, and Android. This is especially important for employees on the move and on a very tight schedule and need flexibility while taking a course.
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3. eContent Development Tools
The employee training program should have an easy-to-use authoring tool that allows you to design content varying from simple MS documents to highly interactive courses. Such a tool usually includes pre-built templates, media technologies, tests and tools which you can manipulate to create and modify content and ensure it is compliant to eLearning formats such as SCORM (1.2, 2004), HTML5, xAPI/TinCan, AICC, and LTI.
4. Tracking and Analytical Tools
It is important to monitor employee progress during a course and also the effectiveness of the course itself. The employee training platform you choose should include tools for training and analytics that allow you to track employee progress in real-time during the course delivery, analyze outcomes based on predefined metrics, and graphically present readily available data-driven reports for insights and action. Also, make sure that the system allows you to export custom reports based on specific datasets. The software should also enable employees to evaluate their performance through assessment and feedback needed by them to improve.
5. Easy to Set Up and Scale
Your learning management system should be easy to set up and scale. The best option is to choose a cloud-based employee training platform which can be scaled for a high level of traffic. Since your training material will be used across geographies, the software should also allow you to standardize the course content across locations. Also note, the platform should be able to integrate with your existing systems such as financial support, employee databases, and product development, or allow you to migrate your existing data to the new system.
6. Blended Solutions
The employee training platform should allow you to offer blended approaches like AR, VR, interactive videos, next-gen gamification, social learning and microlearning for blended learning and mobile learning. It should also include tools for collaboration and communication, allowing you to communicate with the instructor and peers. For instance, the employees can leave a query on the messenger and the instructor replies within a fixed time frame. Or they may post on social media or external communities triggering debates and discussions, ensuring a greater connect with the subject and making learning more interesting and relevant.
7. Tools to Reinforce Learning
It is common for employees to forget what they have learned. So, it is important that the employee training platform provides paths to reinforce learning. This could be through discussions with peers on discussion forums, videos, chat rooms. Besides, they should also be allowed to revisit topics and refresh their skills. For example, you should be able to create microlearning or concise content in the form of videos that the learners can access anytime and anywhere to reinforce learning.
8. Gamification and Scenario-based Learning
The employee training platform you choose should provide you access to the latest digital media technology to create highly immersive and engaging content. One of the greatest benefits of online learning is that it allows you to create personalized training paths and allows learners to progress through the course at their own pace while earning points, rewards, badges and other recognitions along the way till they successfully complete a course or module. As a case point, the content can include branching scenarios that allow the employees to create their learning paths, encountering pitfalls along the way and retracing their steps till they reach the required milestone. Gamification of learning is another way to achieve this goal, enabling individuals and teams to compete and hone their skills.
Also Read: Gamification – The Secret Sauce for Employee Engagement?
In conclusion
Online training has gained ground ever since it made its appearance over a decade ago. It has several advantages to its credit, the main being that it gives learners greater control over their learning, access to a rich repository of resources, and a platform for interaction with peers, thought leaders, subject experts, within the organization and across locations. The ongoing COVID19 pandemic has created an urgent need for transitioning to online learning and training, motivating companies to look for suitable employee training programs to impart training at scale across geographies. While there are several such platforms available in the market, an uninformed decision could adversely impact your investment besides wasting crucial time and other resources. The above article provides some tips to help you make an informed choice.
If you are looking for an ideal employee training platform, you may wish to consider KITABOO Insight, the platform of choice for leading organizations to deliver their learning and development programs. The software is rich in tools and features to create highly interactive content, has an extensive library of resources to create and update content, and an easy-to-use interface and dashboard with customization options, themes, color palettes and slide masters to create fit-for-purpose eLearning content.
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Kitaboo is a cloud-based platform to create, deliver & track mobile-first interactive training content.
Snehnath Neendoor
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