It’s not contested that your organization requires training; the real question is how. What factors account for your online training strategy, especially in regards to content generation?
An Essential Overview Of Factors To Bear In Mind When Planning Your eLearning Content Strategy
Which items go into your training plan? And how does this criterion influence the type of training you end up offering your staff? Maybe you attended a workshop or saw a clip online. Or maybe you heard about a popular training event and you’d like your staff to attend. You could even be considering an eLearning content catalog backed by a well-known vendor. These are some factors that can inform your training decisions. What else plays a role? Here are the most crucial things to bear in mind when planning your eLearning content strategy.
- Price Point
In some ways this is the most important aspect. It’s not just about buying the cheapest software or pre-built courses. You can assess the expense of hiring a full-time content developer vs getting a per-hour consultant. And weigh both against the cost of buying training content from a course catalog. In either case you need a realistic budget that maps out every step of the implementation process. From choosing the best training solution to monitoring performance post-launch. However, purchasing an online course from an eLearning content catalog is generally more cost-effective if you don’t already have a dedicated development team. Or the tools they need to produce a high-quality finished product.
- Skill And Performance Gaps
When we send children to school they initially learn basic, universal requirements (literacy and motor skills). Then as they get older, their curriculum is tailored by and to their interests and talents. Or by regional and cultural market drivers. Similarly, the online courses you offer your staff may be driven by industrial trends. Or by regulatory requirements. But the best type of training derives from staff preferences. Find out what skills they would like to learn. Then combine that information with corporate gaps you have identified. Staff appraisal sessions and online self-assessment tools are both good data sources. They show you which areas require training. Then you can figure out the best way to avail these training resources.
- Organizational Goals And Outcomes
Training has lots of different functions. The overarching ones are raising profits and maintaining industrial compliance. But every business has its own specific training targets. Maybe they want to increase their market share or make waves within a specific demographic. The focus might be to trim turnover and enhance retention. Or maybe it’s to prepare for regional and global expansion. These training goals will significantly influence your eLearning content strategy. For example, a firm that’s launching an international franchise will place more emphasis on language, inclusion, diplomacy and cultural exchange.
- Existing Resources and Tools
If we were to use the example above (global franchise), the business will shift decisions accordingly. They may take a multilingual hire and train them in content creation. This may feel like a more intuitive option than spending thousands of dollars on pre-translated training software. Similarly, their eLearning content strategy may be to hire inexperienced locals and teach them relevant skills. Or to pick experts from HQ and give them a deep-dive in communication and geographical expectations. Then deploying them as expatriate branch managers.
- Work-life Balance
One of the most overlooked elements you should include in your eLearning content strategy is maintaining a work-life balance. Many organizations focus on professional skill building and performance management. But they overlook the importance of employee wellness. Every member of the team must be able to work at peak efficiency to achieve the best results (and business outcomes). Plus, they’re more content on-the-job if they have the resources they need to manage stress, improve their overall health and break negative habits.
- Volume Of Trainees
This may not seem important, but it can be a large factor. For instance, every new employee requires onboarding. But how often do you bring in new staff? This will indicate how frequently your orientation software gets used. Which in turn specifies how much you’ll spend on it. Or how the onboarding course is framed and laid out. If your training process is ongoing you want easy-edit functionality so you can tweak it for each incoming class. As part of your eLearning content strategy, you could bring in consultants for annual content reviews. Or you could assign a designated L&D expert to monitor the online training course continuously and tweak it on a daily and weekly basis. In the case when buying online training content from a catalog, check back often for new resources that might help your new recruits.
- Compliance Risks
A crucial aspect of your eLearning content strategy is mitigating risks. Thus, you must identify compliance issues that may lead to costly violations and on-the-job accidents. Then find the best approach to reduce these hazards and keep your employees up-to-date. For example, buying online training content that covers everything from business ethics to conflict resolution so that your team can navigate everyday work challenges.
There are a variety of elements that contribute to your training tools and strategy. Cost matters but it goes beyond the price tag of your software. It may include the salaries of tech support. Other aspects involve the number of people you need to train and how often the online training course is offered. Think about your organizational training goals and the specific skill gaps you’re looking to fill. Finally, think about the features and resources that are currently available to you. See how they fit your needs and find a way to incorporate them into your eLearning content strategy.
Scan the eLearning content catalog to be able to fill in your training gaps and create a more holistic L&D strategy for your team. You’ll find anything from marketing skills to safety, health and employee wellness, as well as workplace compliance courses to reduce risks and keep your staff safe in the workplace. All without having to invest countless resources to create content from scratch, invest in authoring tools and hire an in-house development team.
To know more about the content catalog offered by Adobe Captivate Prime, please write to primecontentadmin@adobe.com.
Yes, we always need to ensure training goes beyond “checking the box”
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