4 More Proven Things You Need To Make Effective Training

So now you have to make effective training! Remotely teaching people online with live video calls and webinars is not good enough anymore. You are not alone.

This post will give you the second *four things you need to do or be aware of if you want to create effective training.

To make effective training, you need to follow an eight-phase process.

1. Analyze the need
2. Develop a learning strategy
3. Scope the solution (budget)
4. Source and curate existing content
5. Create new content
6. Distribute
7. Evaluate performance
8. Plan for obsolescence

*Check out the list post on the first 4 Proven Things You Need To Make Effective Training

Create New Content

Deciding how to make the content is as simple as choosing a waterfall, rapid, or a hybrid development strategy. What does that mean you may ask?

The waterfall method (ADDIE) has been around for a very long time. It is sequential – like a classic assembly line process – and produces identical courses in the end.

Rapid development (prototyping) is sequential but development and implementation begin during the design phase. The rapid development process is more agile to changes along the way whereas the waterfall requires you to go back upstream to make changes.

Creating new training material doesn’t have to take months anymore. I suggest embracing rapid prototyping. However, I recommend you use a series of review cycles to arrive at quality deliverables. For example, a professional instructional design review cycle includes two rounds of review by the internal team. Whether you are writing or developing the course, provide two rounds of feedback for each deliverable.

Author

To author the content, use an online tool like Articulate Rise. Avoid building your content inside of a traditional LMS so you have portability in the future. It’s common for people just getting started to purchase space on an LMS and make the wrong choice because of price or features they thought they needed. If you build your courses inside the LMS then you run the risk of being stuck in that system. And, most LMS course building interfaces are not as easy to use as Articulate Rise.

Asset Library

As you author your new courses you will need images, fonts, colors, icons, infographics, backgrounds, and logos. The best way to handle all of these assets is to create a Training/Learning Asset Library. The library is a shared set of folders that makes the authoring process easier.

Once you have the courses authored it’s time to share them with your learners. This is also known as distribution.

Distribute

The most common method of distribution is an LMS (Learning Management System). With your existing and new courses built, reviewed, and ready for fresh eyes, it’s time to set up your people for success. Distributing the content is easy to think about as a three-step process:

1. Make the content
2. Upload the content into the LMS
3. Assign the content to your learners

Communication Plan

Effective distribution requires a solid communication plan. From the first welcome email to the feedback surveys, communicating with your learning audience will ensure that actual learning is taking place. Three things that should be in your comms plan are:

• Welcome email
• Login tip sheet
• Performance support plan

Take a breath. This is a lot. But fear not, each of those items is templatized already. I’ll share those resources with you if you message me directly. As you distribute your learning content, you need to stay laser-focused on evaluating the performance of your learners and the effectiveness of the courses.

Evaluate Performance

Evaluating performance happens on two levels: how the learner does and how the course content performs at helping the learner succeed.

Learner

Online learning is typically evaluated in one of two ways: completion or mastery. Think of this as pass/fail versus a letter grade. Course completion can be about accomplishing the new knowledge that is later tested in person with peer or manager interaction. If you strive for mastery in your organization, then consider a scored assessment that requires learners to master the content with a score of 80% or better in order to advance through the curriculum.

Either assessment method is only as strong as what you do with that result. Be able to answer these two questions: How will you praise the ones who accomplish completion or mastery? How will you help those that do not?

Content

To evaluate the performance of your new course content, establish a plan that includes a focus group and a feedback/iteration plan. The focus group or pilot group is a cohort of people who represent the larger audience. Choose people who will take it seriously and offer honest feedback. Use surveys and live interactions to gather feedback on the courses. Design survey questions that allow you to gather data. Use a Likert scale that goes from strongly agree to strongly disagree to allow your pilot audience to respond quickly.

Feedback survey statements:

• Overall, I was satisfied with this course.
• I will recommend this course to a colleague.
• The information was relevant to my job.
• The presentation of the information was easy to understand.
• The length of the course was appropriate.
• I learned new content that I can use in my job.

Once you receive the feedback from your pilot group, make the changes to your courses and re-upload the new iterations. The new versions will be more polished and ready to be used for the months or years to come.

After you have rolled out the new content to your entire learning audience, you are not done making effective training. You still have to support your learners while you act on your plan for obsolescence.

Plan for Obsolescence

Most companies I’ve worked with over the years fail here. Here’s how you can be different. Create a training calendar. Assign someone to be the master of that training calendar. The calendar should depict when online courses are available, new ones will be rolled out, and when existing courses will be updated. If you plan ahead, you will be prepared for content that is obsolete. We know when our cellphone is obsolete or when our jeans wear out, but what makes a course obsolete?

Questions to help you write your obsolescence plan:

• Does the course feature a live-action video?
• Does the video feature people from the company? Are they still with the company?
• Are the actors dressed appropriately?
• Are the actors demonstrating behaviors that are no longer acceptable?
• Are the products featured in the course still relevant?
• Has there been an innovation that needs to be taught?
• Has the company’s branding changed?

Once you know what you need to pay attention to, it’s easier to plan for obsolescence. Make notes and reminders in your training calendar to revisit your obsolescence plan at regular intervals: quarterly, semi-annually, annually, or triannually.

Helpful Links

4 Proven Things You Need To Make Effective Training
Quality Training Standards

Conclusion

Now that you have reviewed four more things you need to make effective training, it’s your turn. Apply this content to your own situation and comment down below or reach out to me. Share how you are making effective training.

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