5 tips to get your employees excited about online learning

It happens to the best organizations. A modern online learning environment has been set up with great enthusiasm and investment. This new knowledge resource is launched into the company with high expectations. After the launch, all too often... nothing happens. Hardly anyone logs in. No huge influx or sparkling enthusiasm.

What is even more disappointing (and worrying) is that the organization's knowledge level continues to stagnate rather than rise. Perhaps our ideas can give your online learning environment a boost!

5 tips to get your employees excited about online learning

Every entrepreneur knows it: to survive in the business jungle, you must constantly renew and develop yourself. This applies just as much to the organization as it does to the people who work there, because they are the ones who ultimately have to make it happen.

That is why you used to send your employees on a course a few times a year. And that is why you have now moved with the times and set up such a modern online platform.

You thought it would be a breeze. But what if you are disappointed every month by the number of people who actually log in to your beautiful digital learning environment?

Don't give up hope too quickly. We have a few tips for you to help make your online learning environment sparkle again. By smartly adjusting a few things, you can ensure that more people find that knowledge resource and actually get excited about it!

Tip 1: Your online platform as part of your organization

‍Of course, you need to give plenty of publicity to this new way of learning. Eye-catching PR that alerts people to your new online platform is an important first step. But you need more than that. Positive word-of-mouth works even better than the most active banner on a screen.

Be bold and ask managers and employees what they need.

• What do they want to learn?
• What are they missing in the training menu?
• What skills do they need?
• But also: what do they enjoy learning, and how?

Don't have time to schedule a personal Q&A with everyone? Send out an online survey. Simply asking these questions creates an important connection between the platform and the organization.

By the way, you don't have to make all the connections yourself. Perhaps you shouldn't. Otherwise, it becomes too much of a "we recommend ourselves" story.

Invite former course participants to share their experiences. If colleagues notice that online learning can actually benefit them, your platform will truly come to life. People talk about it, get curious, and infect each other with their enthusiasm. That is exactly where you want them to be!

Tip 2: What’s in it for me?

‍It’s only human. We are always more motivated when there is an attractive reward in sight. Don't be alarmed; that reward doesn't always have to be in the form of hard cash or a quick promotion.

A good online platform is the breath of fresh air everyone has been craving. It should answer long-standing questions and offer new things that get employees excited.

If you see your colleague blossom after taking a training, suddenly hit better targets, or work a lot more relaxed, you are far more likely to take a look yourself than when the boss tells you to. Having a laugh or some fun also falls under the heading “rewards.”

A funny video, an active game, or a fun quiz wakes a learner up and invites them to keep going with the training.

There is another simple reward that often works wonders: the old-fashioned diploma. Design beautiful certificates that an employee can print out after completing the training and frame to hang above their bed or desk. It may sound like a stale truism, but an official-looking proof of skills like that still works just fine as a motivator!

Tip 3: Facilitate

‍Don't expect an employee, after a long day at the office, to happily sit down at their screen at home again to pick up new knowledge. Of course, you can ask for some effort, but motivation dries up quickly. Even for the most driven employee, who actually needs to recharge at home.

Make it as easy as possible for your employees to get started in the online learning environment.

Facilitate, in time and materials! Set aside a number of hours per year for gaining knowledge online during working hours. Provide a good computer and a quiet space where they can withdraw for a moment to follow a webinar or take a skills test.

Of course, this doesn't have to be unlimited; you can certainly set limits on the number of study hours.

You can also ask for proof of effort. As long as that happens in a pleasant, natural way and feels like a matter of give and take, the employee feels supported and taken seriously. 

Tip 4: Lots of small snacks also keep your head full

‍Your online learning environment can certainly include a few challenging courses. But make sure there is enough variety, and switch to smaller portions every now and then.

Adding microlearning to your menu makes the threshold for taking part in an online training a lot lower. A 5-minute mini-seminar on a single topic is much easier to block off in a calendar than an intensive half day. In addition, such a learning snack requires a shorter attention span from the participant. As a result, the information sinks in better and sticks around longer.

So preferably break the course material up into several bite-sized parts. As long as those smaller puzzle pieces fit together well, it still forms one big whole. Make smart use of the power of repetition.

Let a few essential basic principles come back repeatedly in different micro-trainings. The knowledge then gets “drilled in” without them noticing, so that the learner puts what they have learned into practice almost automatically. 

Tip 5: Online meets offline

‍Humans are social creatures. They love contact. That goes for learners too (because yes, they’re people too!). So it’s smart to weave that wonderful, state-of-the-art online platform together with the “real” world.

Regularly alternate screen time with a classroom session, where a teacher answers questions in real life and you can have a cup of coffee with fellow students or colleagues.

At a meeting like that, experiences can be shared easily and the best ideas are often born. 

For many trainings, it’s a good idea to build one or more practical skills tests into the curriculum. By putting the theory they have learned into practice, you can not only measure progress and adjust in time where needed. The learner also gets immediate confirmation that the training is useful and applicable in daily life.

That way, they are triggered to keep making use of online learning opportunities.

Want more tips to make your online learning platform sparkle?

‍We certainly can! We are bursting with ideas about online learning. Over the years, we have encountered many wonderful, inspiring real-world examples that we would love to share with you. Schedule a call and discover a few of the benefits of Pluvo.