How to Deliver Engaging Mandatory Training to Employees?

It’s not uncommon to see employees frown at the mention of a forthcoming mandatory training exercise. Who would blame them? The previous training programs they participated in didn't help matters, and all they could associate with it was boredom.

This is even more typical of compliance topics because they mean a lot of company policies and regulatory requirements. 

Fortunately, the torture is an avoidable one. Now, companies have found a way to make their mandatory training for employees more exciting and engaging.

This begs the question, what can they do to make this happen? The following tips will answer this and show how to avoid the challenges of mandatory online training.

11 Ways to Deliver Engaging Mandatory Training to Employees

Mandatory training is a crucial part of any organization's efforts to ensure compliance, improve employee skills, and enhance overall performance.

However, it's no secret that employees often approach mandatory training with a sense of dread and boredom.

The traditional approach to training has failed to captivate learners, leaving them disengaged and uninterested.

Fortunately, there are effective strategies to transform mandatory training into an engaging and valuable experience for employees. In this article, we'll explore how you can make mandatory training sessions more exciting and effective while ensuring compliance and knowledge retention.

Integrate Multimedia Elements to Enhance Employee Engagement

No one wants to read bland training manuals with loads of technical jargon. That will make the training exercises a nightmare. When they perceive it like that, it will be a miracle if they remember what they learned.

So, when companies include videos, audio, or infographics in their training, they make it engaging, visually appealing, and easier to remember. However, one should ensure that the multimedia elements they add are compatible with the training platform. 

Imagine a course that includes demo videos or presentations of someone carrying out compliance tasks. Then, compare that to another course where the information is relayed via lengthy blocks of text with no illustration whatsoever. Which one appeals more? The answer is obvious.

The trick is balancing education and entertainment. So, while organizations should include videos, images, and audio in their training modules, they should do it modestly. 

Assessment and Certification

Organizations should always include assessments at the end of each module to evaluate the understanding of their participants.

This engages the participants because they will want to answer the questions and test their knowledge. With this in mind, they will take the training more seriously.

Another thing the companies can do is issue certificates to participants when they complete the training exercise. It gives them a sense of achievement and makes them yearn for the next program. 

Use Instant Feedback 

With immediate feedback, companies will know the strengths and weaknesses of their course content from the employees’ point of view. They can gather feedback by enabling participants to comment or ask questions during training.

Once they’ve gotten the data they need, they will know what personal gaps to target and the areas to improve on. This will result in a better version of the original program. 

Update Content Regularly

Companies should review their courses regularly to keep them in sync with changes in regulations, policies, or industry best practices. Regularly updating content is a part of the broader philosophy of continuous improvement.

It demonstrates that your organization is committed to enhancing the learning experience and is open to feedback and change.

Organizations themselves change over time due to mergers, restructuring, or shifts in strategy.

Training content should adapt to reflect these changes. Updated training materials can introduce employees to new company policies, cultures, and procedures, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

Use Reporting and Analytics Features

Companies can use the platform’s reporting and analytics tools to generate detailed reports on employee progress, completion rates, and assessment scores. It’s like an indirect feedback from the participants.

With the data they get from analytics, organizations can identify areas to improve on and the level of compliance among employees.

Lastly, with these metrics, one can provide personalized learning experiences instead of relying on a one-size-fits-all model.

Integrate Game Mechanics to Motivate Employees

Without motivation, one can't achieve much. While companies can coerce employees to participate in the training, they can't make them learn.

That's solely up to the participants. However, the company can entice them by making the learning experience more attractive. 

One way do to do that is by introducing game mechanics to the course content. This means allocating badges and points for specific training activities, just like in video games.

For example, the company can award points to employees when they finish a module, take an assessment, or begin a new module.

To make the most of gamification, companies should determine what elements are the most suitable for learner preferences.

Read also our guide: How to use Gamification in Corporate Training

Give the Participants Opportunities to Apply What They’ve Learned

If a course content is theory-based, it can get tiring. It will just start a cycle of employees learning and remembering information with no idea of how to apply it in real-life situations.

Now, companies don’t have to subject employees to actual real-life scenarios to apply what they have learned.

They can use interactive simulations to give the participants the opportunities they need to test their knowledge.

This has dual benefits. Firstly, the employees will hone relevant skills. Secondly, by putting their knowledge into practice, they will gain experience.

Accommodate Different Learning Preferences

The most common mistake several organizations make in their training is adopting a standard and universal format. For example, the training could be in the form of a lecture or a manual. It shouldn't be that way. These companies should give the participants a choice in the matter. 

They can design the course in a way that the employees can choose their preferred teaching method. One can include options such as video presentations, podcasts, infographics, etc. People learn differently, and it will be wise for the company to recognize that if they want to enhance employee engagement. 

Create a Support Library

Learning doesn't have to end after the training because employee development is an ongoing process. This is why companies should stop treating training exercises as a one-time event.

So instead of conducting training, seeing to its conclusion, and life goes on, organizations should build support libraries. These structures should have microlearning resources that the employees can use to hone relevant skills and bridge the knowledge gap. 

This way, they can independently continue their training and develop themselves instead of waiting till the next training program. Also, having a support library makes it easier for participants to refresh their memory on what they learned.

Make the Training Brief

When something drags on for too long, it has the tendency to become tiring. Even if companies adopt the tips mentioned above to deliver more engaging training exercises, it will become a chore if it lasts for months.

So, the hack is to make the training programs as short as possible without compromising the quality of the educational experience. Psychologically, things appeal more if they're more fleeting than permanent. That's why when one tells somebody that they can't have something, it triggers a desire to have it at all costs. 

In a practical context, there’s no need to include introductory lessons if the participants are already familiar with the subject. That will only make the training longer. An advanced or intermediate course is more appropriate for such an audience. 

Use a Responsive Training Platform to Enhance Accessibility

Unlike traditional mandatory training, learning management systems make it easy for participants to learn in their free time. Furthermore, these systems are compatible with various devices and can adjust automatically to different screen sizes.

So, it doesn't matter if the participant is using an iPhone, Android phone, tablet, or a PC. The training platform is designed to display the most suitable version for your device, making it more accessible. 

Effective Mandatory Employee Training with Teachfloor LMS

Delivering mandatory training to employees can sometimes feel like a daunting task, but with Teachfloor, you have a powerful tool at your disposal that can make the process not only smoother but engaging as well.

Here's how you can leverage Teachfloor's features to ensure that your mandatory training leaves a lasting impact:

Interactive Content for Engagement‍

Teachfloor allows you to create training courses that go beyond static presentations. Incorporate multimedia elements like videos, interactive quizzes, and engaging assessments. This interactivity keeps employees actively involved and ensures that the training material is not only informative but interesting.

Effortless Progress Tracking‍

Keeping track of each employee's progress in mandatory training is crucial. With Teachfloor's intuitive dashboard, you can easily monitor how far each employee has progressed in their training journey. This feature ensures that everyone is on track and completes their mandatory training on time.

Encourage Peer Collaboration

Mandatory training doesn't have to be a solitary experience. Teachfloor enables you to build a sense of community among your employees by incorporating peer review activities. This fosters collaboration, allowing employees to learn from each other's experiences and insights.

Flexible Learning‍

Teachfloor's platform is designed to offer flexibility. Employees can access training materials from anywhere, at any time. This flexibility not only makes it convenient for them but also increases compliance rates, as they can fit training into their schedules more easily.‍

Tailored Content for Your Needs‍

Mandatory training often comes with specific requirements tailored to your industry or company policies. Teachfloor allows you to customize training modules to meet these unique needs. You can align the content precisely with your organization's goals and compliance requirements.

By using Teachfloor for your mandatory training, you're not just ticking off a compliance checkbox; you're providing your employees with an engaging and valuable learning experience that benefits both them and your organization.

Conclusion 

Companies shouldn’t have to bother about the hard task of making their training programs exciting when there are tools designed for that. In the same vein, employees no longer have to endure training sessions because they can start looking forward to them.

eLearning platforms have transformed the corporate training scene with the introduction of various features.

Now, employees can learn at their own pace and convenience and still complete the mandatory training exercise on time.

When companies finally get the hack to deliver engaging mandatory training to employees, they will foster a positive learning culture. Ultimately, this will lead to sustainable growth and relevance for the organization.