Employee engagement: 5 ways to engage employees with your learning content

One of the most important and most difficult aspects of being in charge of learning and development is creating employee engagement within an organisation. This means providing learning content that inspires employees to proactively engage in their own personal development. Engaged employees are a benefit to themselves, their company and those in charge of learning within an organisation. However, engaging employees in training is far easier said than done. Here are 5 ways to get employees engaged in your learning content.

Provide high-quality learning content

Ensuring quality in eLearning content can save time and money and increase usage and engagement. In the same way that consumers are uninterested in low-quality entertainment content, employees will stop engaging with your learning programme if they perceive it to be of low quality. Here are a few ways to guarantee quality in your learning programme:

• Provide learning content from reliable sources such as industry experts in the subject field
• Use a learning solution that consistently adds new content
• Ensure the content you are providing has been reviewed by more than one expert
• Track usage to gain feedback on what content learners are engaged in and what they are looking for access to

Keep content short

Researchers surveyed 2,000 participants in Canada and studied the brain activity of 112 others using electroencephalograms. The results showed the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds to just eight seconds. When it comes to eLearning content, shorter doesn’t mean worse and longer doesn’t mean better. Bite-sized learning content provides learners with comprehensive training material without the time commitment required by a long-form course. 

Use a digital platform

Digital training content has been shown to be advantageous for learners when it comes to learning, retaining and engaging in information. Studies undertaken by We Forum found that learners overwhelmingly preferred to train through reading digitally. Bite-sized digital training material allows learners to consume training materials efficiently and in a way they are used to and prefer taking in information. User preference and the improved efficiency of learning online are combined, digital solutions are a fantastic way to provide training. 

Provide a variety of relevant learning content

Give employees access to a variety of relevant learning content. Modern learners need fit-for-purpose, personalised learning solutions. This means they can engage when, where and in what they would like to. This personalised approach keeps employees motivated as they work towards their personal goals within the wider context of the company’s needs.  Relevant learning content inspires employees to take charge of their own learning and allows them to invest in upskilling both within and outside of their roles, ensuring a ROI for the organisation’s L&D budget.

Promote learning solutions

A massive aspect of employee engagement is employee awareness. Without the knowledge of the learning materials available to employees, how can they be expected to take the initiative to learn? Most learning initiatives fail because they are not promoted properly and employees are either unaware or forget they exist altogether. Think of your learning initiatives like a consumer product that needs marketing and promotion in order to be successful. Increasing awareness of the materials available is important but so is promoting a company’s learning culture. Let employees know that management wants them to learn and that they are being encouraged to upskill and reskill when and how they would like to.