Your workday has just begun and you already see a pile of tasks you have to tackle and meetings you have to attend. There’s always so much to do in so little time.
Time is precious and at least 25% of employees lack the time needed to complete training. Employees try to guard the little time they have to deal with the most pressing concerns on their plates. This results in training taking a back seat — a challenge that’s particularly frustrating for you as an HR leader since employee training is a core part of your role.
Although you can’t add more time to the day, there are some things you can do to help your employees get more training done within their busy schedules. This article describes six powerful tips for training busy employees. Continue reading to learn more.
1. Use Microlearning
Microlearning is a strategy used to deliver complex topics in shorter bursts of content. Instead of only using videos, podcasts, webinars, and in-person training sessions that last for 30 minutes or more, microlearning allows you to break your training into bite-sized segments.
Absorbing knowledge in shorter time segments makes it easier for your team to facilitate interruptions throughout their days. This is particularly important since people in knowledge-intensive occupations (jobs where they need a lot of education, skills, and experience in order to work effectively) are interrupted at work every four minutes. They also spend a day and a half a week in meetings and try to multitask at least twice an hour.
Online microlearning courses are typically 10 minutes or less and can include a variety of training material such as short videos, quizzes, interactive activities, and even games. Here’s an example of a microlearning course from One on One’s diverse library of 30,000+ courses.
Some key features of this course include:
An introduction that summarises the learning outcomes
A short video of an expert explaining the key concepts
A downloadable worksheet the learner can complete at any time. This resource is particularly useful for tactile learners.
A quiz with four questions that help reinforce key concepts
Other microlearning courses with various interactive elements are also available in One on One’s diverse course library. Want something more personalised? Our content development team will help you create the microlearning course you need.
2. Encourage Employees to Create a To-Learn List
Josh Bersin and Marc Zao-Sanders explain the concept of a to-learn list well in a Harvard Business Review article entitled “Making Learning Part of Everyday Work”. In summary, a to-learn list helps employees capture as many learning opportunities as possible throughout the workday. Employees use a to-learn list to record the topics, concepts, thoughts, and practices they want to explore. They look back at this list when they get a moment to reflect.
A to-learn list can also be a powerful part of an employee training program. It can be transformed into an individual training plan which each employee will be more motivated to follow-through with because they now have vested interest in learning. With 91% of employees wanting training that is personalised and relevant, you should include each employee’s “to-learn” list in your employee training program.
3. Use Time Boxing
Time boxing is a term used in agile project management to describe allocating a fixed amount of time for each activity in your calendar. Encourage employees to block out at least 10 minutes each week for ongoing learning. This is their “safe time” in which learning is top priority.
There are apps, such as Sunsama, that can help make time boxing more effective. Whether you use an app or simply your company’s calendar tool, time boxing can be a good strategy for helping your team dedicate time for learning.
4. Consider Peer Training and Mentorship
Ask team members who are more skilled in certain areas to offer training support to their less skilled peers. This practical, on-the-job training increases the chance of knowledge retention. It also encourages a supportive workplace culture where employees are eager to learn from each other.
5. Allow Self-Directed Learning
According to research done by the Society of Human Resource Professionals, 70% of employees prefer online self-paced learning. Use a learning management system (LMS) that allows you to assign courses with deadlines and also allows employees to complete training at their own pace.
6. Make Training Practical
Include opportunities for employees to test their new skills in practical and interactive ways. Practical training can come in the form of on-the-job tasks, mini quizzes within your LMS, and simulations (a form of training that’s preferred by 64% of employees).
So, don’t limit your training to online courses and learning material. Find ways for employees to apply what they’re learning into areas relevant to their job functions. Your employees will be more engaged, responsive, and open to the relevancy of your employee training program.
Let One on One Help Boost Your Employee Training Program
Employees often have little time on their hands to immerse themselves into a training program. This reality has a ripple effect on your employee development plans — LMS usage is low, employees aren’t being upskilled quickly enough, and you can’t track the impact of employee training effectively. Solving this problem means making learning easy, accessible, autonomous, and practical.
With One on One’s LMS, your team can get the micro-learning content and self-directed learning they need. Book a demo to learn more about how One on One’s LMS can support your training needs.
