How to Know It’s Time to Refresh Your Employee Training Content and 7 Tips to Help

Employee training is crucial to the success of companies and their workers. Organizations that want to foster a culture of professional development need to offer employees a tailored training program. It’s likely that your company already has some kind of training pathway, but let me ask you this…is it working?

Studies indicate that poor employee training correlates with a lack of work engagement and a high turnover rate. Plus ineffective employee training makes it difficult for your employees to accomplish daily tasks and meet workplace expectations. That can lead to unmotivated workers and stagnant business growth. Workers want to be valuable employees with skills development opportunities to help them advance in the organization. But poor training practices often drive talented people to other companies. 

In the wake of the Great Resignation and a global recession on the horizon, HR professionals and L&D leaders are left with fewer resources and fewer workers. Many departments have reprioritized their strategies to do more with less this year. This might not sound like the best time  to do a training program overhaul. But if you want to build a strong, lasting workforce, you need to refresh your training material as business needs change–and it’s crucial to make sure you do it right.

This guide will take you through seven tips to help you modernize your training content, even if your budget isn’t what it used to be. Before we dive in, how do you know if it’s time for an employee training refresh?

Is your employee training content out of date, not tailored to specific roles, or just plain boring? Have the needs and goals of the organization changed recently, or has the company outgrown its current program? Are your workers looking for ways to advance in the business, but lacking the skills to get there?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it’s time for an employee training refresh. Here are seven ways to enhance your training content.

1. Assess your content for outdated material

The first step L&D teams can take to revamp their training content is to weed out all the outdated material. Job roles change, tools and processes evolve, and so should your employee training content. This is especially important in specific industries such as healthcare and technology which must adhere to strict regulations, protect consumer privacy, and provide quality results. 

It’s also highly likely that your company has changed since first starting the business all those years ago. Much of your material is probably not relevant anymore. Use research-backed strategies to assess your content, like scheduling regular material reviews and leveraging employee feedback surveys. 

2. Make training objectives and explanations clear

Before you refresh your employee training program, be sure to set clear objectives and expectations from the beginning of each learning program. This will help reduce confusion among your employees and keep everyone on track to reach company-wide goals. 

One way to create a clear plan of action for your training content is to develop detailed guidelines for each lesson plan. You can also improve clarity in your training by emphasizing learner accountability through assessments and quizzes. It can also be useful to help employees stay organized with tools like checklists, calendars, and learning milestones. 

3. Leverage visuals and video content

Incorporating visuals and video content into employee training materials can be highly beneficial. Visuals and videos help capture attention and make the learning process fun. The human brain processes visual content 60,000 times faster than text. That’s why your L&D strategy should rely heavily on visual elements such as videos and images. 

There are several different ways to leverage visuals in your employee training materials, like utilizing screencasts, animations, and infographics. Ever heard the phrase a picture is worth a thousand words? Visuals simplify complicated concepts by taking advantage of our natural affinity for visual learning. 

4. Utilize learning management systems (LMS)

HR is about more than just processing payroll and reporting incidents. The human resources department is often also responsible for ensuring that workers complete their required training programs and certifications. The best way to keep track of worker progress on mandatory training is with a learning management system. LMS is an invaluable tool for streamlining your employee training process and reducing training costs. 

After L&D develops an effective training program, HR typically oversees the completion of these programs. With an LMS, HR and L&D teams can manage assignments, track progress, and measure results all in one place. A good LMS solution will include powerful automation features such as reporting, analytics, language support, performance tracking, collaborative authoring, and scalability. 

5. Incorporate gamification and interactive elements

Using gamification and interactive elements can be an effective way to engage learners and keep them focused on the task at hand. It can also break up long training sessions by providing employees with a fun, creative outlet.

In a 2022 study, learners revealed that they enjoyed learning with gamification because it helped foster enthusiasm, provided immediate performance feedback, and promoted goal setting. The results of the study showed that gamification has a significant effect in helping learners retain information. You can use leaderboards, quizzes, rewards, and incentives to make your employee training content more interactive–and increase engagement with healthy competition.

6. Look into automation solutions

Automation solutions are becoming increasingly popular when it comes to employee training. By automating processes like course scheduling and knowledge assessment, you can save time and increase efficiency, while reducing the risk of errors. 

Automation can streamline workflows for onboarding, payroll, timekeeping, benefits admin, employee training scheduling, and performance feedback reminders. You can use employee training templates and checklists combined with automated training workflows to help guide your staff through their training programs. 

Popular automation solutions for HR and L&D functions include: Bob, Cascade HR, HR Cloud, Kissflow, Tallyfy, and Zapier.

For companies that want to reduce the number of learning tools they use, there are also all-in-one learning solutions on the market like 360Learning. This combines the features of a LMS, LXP, and learning academies into one centralized platform–and enables you to leverage internal subject-matter experts to create impactful learning experiences (and fulfill mandatory compliance training) across your organization.

7. Measure and evaluate the results

Finally, it’s essential to measure and evaluate results to ensure your learning program is meeting its objectives. Many LMS solutions come with features to help you track and measure the results of your training programs, like analyzing completion rates and using data-driven insights to inform future training programs. 

Tracking different training metrics like course completion rate, average course rating, time to completion, and participant satisfaction allow you to monitor course performance over time. That way, L&D can create training programs that are more impactful and relevant for their workers and organizations.

Start creating better employee training today

If it’s time for an employee training refresh, you don’t have to wait to get the ball rolling. These seven tips are powerful tools to help L&D teams create better employee training programs and maximize their resources. The results? A happier, more efficient, and better-trained workforce with the skills to help your business flourish. Get a personalized demo to see how 360Learning can future-proof your employee training programs.