This post was originally published by Olivia Adkison on lessonly.com.
Have you ever read a book that completely captivated you? Or maybe watched a show that made you feel like you were right there with the cast? Or listened to a podcast religiously? Me too. Interesting storylines and conversations stick with us. I just finished a book that’ll stick with me for a while because it was just that fun to read. But workplace training feels different, doesn’t it?
I’m going out on a limb and guessing that you don’t binge-watch the safety and compliance videos from 2007 just for fun when you’re at work. You probably didn’t stay up late reading your company’s training binder from cover-to-cover just for kicks and giggles either. Unlike our favorite novels, Pixar movies, or true-crime podcasts, people simply don’t come back to team training content for more. This is, in large part, for two reasons:
- We don’t present content in engaging ways that people want to learn.
- We don’t provide relevant and timely content for learners.
Long story short, we need to build training in a way that’s mindful of human nature. We need training that looks more like bite-sized, short-and-sweet lessons as opposed to multi-day training sessions from 9am-5pm. We need training that can be completed asynchronously. We need up-to-date content that evolves as companies, teams and people do. We need computer-based training programs and interactive training software.
As of this year, we’ve officially helped more than 1,000 teams and three millions learners roll out training programs that aren’t painfully boring and drab using our computer-based training software. Especially in a remote environment, sticky training that aligns people who aren’t geographically in the same spot is essential. So, in the spirit of keeping things short and engaging, here are two quick tips we’ve learned that’ll show you how to create computer-based training courses that stick.
1. Make your training evolve as your team does.
Step one to making information stick: Make it relevant and timely. Waiting for high fidelity, heavy production lift training is not feasible when it comes to getting new hires and seasoned employees aligned stat. But, training management software allows Admins and Managers to update and assign lessons in real time so everyone can get on the same page in minutes.
One of my favorite things about our online training software (and I’m most definitely biased) is the simplicity of both the builder and learner experiences. It’s intuitive and no matter who’s coming and going from your company, you’ll be able to democratize training. Creating lessons, establishing subject matter experts, and deploying training isn’t a one-and-done situation. You can reassign lessons, teach new folks how to create and edit training, and more. By eliminating these bottlenecks around who can create content/training, you’ll be able to rapidly share information and truly evolve your learning and development software as your team changes.
2. One of our favorite computer-based training advantages? Microlearning.
Anyone who builds training lessons in our platform knows that microlearning works. Bite-sized lessons are better simply because learners can fit training into their downtime as well as refer back to specific information once they complete the lesson. Gone are the days of long-winded training sessions with glazed over eyes in the classroom or on the other side of a screen.
In Lessonly by Seismic, trainers can build lessons, learning paths (multiple lessons), and certifications. A best practice we share with customers? Make sure a single lesson only takes your learners 6-10 minutes to complete. This translates to about 10-12 sections per lesson (preferably no more than 15 sections) and each section contains:
- A maximum of 3-5 blocks of text
- A maximum of 3-5 images
If you’re wondering how much content to put into lesson-form or simply curious about how to divvy up the content you have into smaller chunks, consider the following ratio. One lesson in Lessonly by Seismic should be approximately equivalent to one of the following:
- A 20-slide deck presentation
- A doc/PDF with 3-4 pages of straight text or 6-7 pages with heavy imagery
- A ~20 minute video
- Typically no more than 3 separate documents
Every team is different though, and what makes the most sense for your team as you approach breaking down the long-form content that you currently have into more manageable pieces of information may look a little different. The bottom line is this: Piece the information and training content you have now, whether it exists in free online learning platforms or in binders, into sections that don’t overwhelm your team. The results they’ll drive and the time you’ll save will make it all worth it.
Lessonly by Seismic is computer-based training software for fast teams
Our intuitive lesson builder makes it easy to create online training courses quickly. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s build great training, together. Jump into a free lesson to experience it for yourself.
