Why don’t more companies use a learning management system or other online training tools? An all-too typical company procedure for greeting new employees is their subjection to a long and dry training session. What does this training typically entail? It might mean simply the distribution of books, magazines, pamphlets or online documents. This kind of material is often simply handed to employees, who are left alone to make their way through it.
The thought is that each newcomer will simply absorb the training content like a sponge, diving into its dry, sandy depths to later emerge with all the golden nuggets of knowledge secured. New staff members, it is expected, will settle and fit right in with very little prepping.
Why does this phenomenon occur? Often it’s because the company simply doesn’t have a real training or orientation plan. Companies often assume that traditional training methods, such as offsite training, are costly and unnecessary. Or whoever is in charge of training doesn’t have the time, or hasn’t anticipated having to make time, to be involved in employee training in a meaningful way. Handing out training content in this way certainly is easy, but ultimately ineffective, time-wasting, and damaging to employee morale.
Why is dry-as-dust training a bad idea? It’s a waste of time. But beyond that, the trainee will surely recognize it as such. This is a disappointing way to be welcomed to a new company, and can give one a bad first impression of a company. Will this job be a waste of the new employee’s skills? he or she may wonder. Or, is the company disorganized and ineffective?
Online training is a simple, effective and low-cost alternative to training procedures lacking in substance. Using a learning management system to develop and distribute content is a great way to help new and existing employees to become more adept at representing your company.
Use a learning management system (LMS) to create course assignments, tests, and activities to pique trainees’ interest. Additionally, LMS online courses are often flexible to learners’ busy schedules.
LMS providers like Coggno offer a range of user-friendly tools. Trainees can watch videos, simulations and screen recordings. They can complete comprehensive tests and assessments interacting with a simple interface. The variety of ways an LMS can be used to create course content is only limited by the imagination of the training team or individual departments who create it. Podcasts, videos, and interactive quizzes bring training to life and provide a trainee with a convenient and structured learning environment. And using an LMS like Coggno, it’s easy to update and distribute learning content only as needed.
Online training is a great way to facilitate interaction and cooperation between new employees. Using Web 2.0 tools like discussion forums, blogs, and wikis, students can interact with each other and develop a sense of group dynamic and community, which is often key to trainee success. Not to mention the benefits peer interaction offers during training, including a sense of team unity in the workplace and increased employee morale.
In addition, online training is a great way to aid supervisors or other superiors with the new employees. After all, this is an area in which these dull and dry training programs are often lacking: engagement between higher-ups and employees.
As a supervisor, why not make a personal appearance in your own course? Provide demos, training CDs, and visual tutorials to employees. Rather than relying on stock simulations or outdated company demos, course creators can create, edit and apply videos to their online training course. Many LMSs allow developers to transform their course content into a richer, more dynamic experience for trainees, and give their course a more professional touch. Creators maintain total control over what students view.
With a little planning and user-friendly LMS tools, course developers can create a dynamic and unforgettable. After trainees learn from interactive content, they can be asked to check their knowledge with a quiz. At the end of the training day, they can meet with the supervisor or trainer to touch base and get an overview of what was learned, completing the circle and providing a personalized and effective system of learning checks and balances.
This is the ideal way to introduce your new employees to your company–by helping them get excited about their new job, well trained for their new job, and familiar with each other and their superiors. Using a learning management system helps get your employees off to a great start in your company.
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Coggno.com is an LMS that provides the online educator with a world class set of features and benefits.
