10 Tips For Crafting An Engaging Training Program That People Will Enjoy

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Dull training sessions waste time and leave employees disengaged. 

This leads to missed opportunities for growth, skill gaps, and a workforce that simply goes through the motions. 

But don't stress! 

Creating an engaging employee training program is possible and not even that complicated.

Plus, companies with solid training culture experience 53% lower attrition. Heck yeah. 

Are you ready to discover ten tips that will transform your employees' learning experience like nothing else?

Read on, and you’ll be on your way to building a more skilled workforce. 

Tips For Making An Engaging Training Program

Having more skilled employees improves your business's operation. As such, you must invest in creating high-quality training experiences. 

Your employees must enjoy and look forward to the training material and experiences you give them so that your efforts have the greatest impact. 

The following tips will give you all the information you need to transform your employee training programs from a chore into an opportunity for growth and engagement. 

1. Set Clear Goals and Objectives

Creating a training program without clear goals is a recipe for disaster. Before designing training content, answer these questions to help establish the direction you want your program to take:

• What specific skills or knowledge do you want your employees to walk away with?
• How do these goals align with the company's broader objectives?
• How will you measure if your training has been successful?

Once your goals are crystal clear, share them with the learners. This will provide a framework and help them understand why the training matters. Setting training objectives level sets expectations for employees. 

2. Understand Your Audience

Some learn differently. Some people are visual learners, needing charts and diagrams. Others thrive with hands-on activities, while some prefer listening and taking notes.  

For your training program to be most effective, you must figure out the best learning format to use. 

Here’s how: 

• Survey your employees: Ask them about their preferred learning styles. Based on this, you can decide on the communication medium to use. Online courses are fantastic for remote businesses and are cost-effective. You can also replay the content as much as you want. Some employees can also prefer in-person training. Consider employee preferences and go from there. 
• Consider experience levels: Do you need introductory material or more in-depth content for advanced learners? Based on skill levels, you can have different materials to ensure employees are actually learning something but also not learning skills that are out of reach. 

Tailoring your training program to your audience creates a more meaningful and effective learning experience. AI tools can help you effectively and affordably personalize learning paths, making training more relevant and impactful.

3. Make It Interactive

Passive listening is the enemy of engaged learning.  Ditch the endless PowerPoint slides and monologues. Instead, infuse your training program with interactivity by trying these strategies:

• Gamification: Introduce elements like points, badges, and leaderboards to make learning competitive and fun. Creating competition brings out the fury in people and can turbocharge their training efforts. 
• Q&A sessions: Encourage questions and open dialogue. Sometimes, you just have to allow people to ask. If you notice some folks are not participating, call them out directly. You might be surprised at the number of people who don't ask questions when they are not asked directly. 
• Group discussions: Break people into teams to solve problems and share ideas. This can be done in person or online using virtual breakout rooms. 
• Role-playing: Simulate real-life scenarios to help apply knowledge under pressure. Role-playing is highly underrated and especially useful when training sales, negotiation, and presentation skills. Leadership training programs should also include role-playing activities.  

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4. Leverage Technology

Technology opens a world of possibilities for more dynamic and accessible training. Consider incorporating: 

• Videos & animations: Break down complex concepts into digestible visuals.
• Interactive e-learning modules: Allow learners to progress at their own pace. Using a learning management system is perfect for this. 
• VR or AR (if applicable): Provide immersive, hands-on experiences for specialized training.
• Online quizzes & games: Test knowledge in a fun, low-pressure way.
• Online resources: Update your website to include resources your employees can quickly access. 

Yes, in-person classes are great. You get the opportunity to communicate with colleagues and instructors directly. 

BUT… 

Online learning is also fantastic. You can learn at your own pace, rewatch videos you didn't pick up the first time, and watch content asynchronously. It is super time- and cost-effective, as you only need to create it once (and make periodic updates, of course). 

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5. Incorporating Real-World Relevance

Adults learn best when they understand how the training directly benefits their work lives. Make the connection explicit by:

• Using job-specific examples: Ditch generic scenarios and tailor examples to learners' roles.
• Assigning relevant tasks: Practice makes perfect! Let them apply learnings to actual tasks. Having “Homework” or “Challenges” at the end of each module related to job function is ideal for solidifying understanding. 
• Simulations: Create scenarios that mirror their challenges on the job. For example, if you are a Salesforce consulting firm, you could role-play a scenario of requirement negotiation with a client based on a Salesforce implementation. 

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6. Provide Opportunities for Practice & Application

Telling someone how to do something is vastly different from them doing it. To solidify knowledge, practice is crucial.  Build in opportunities like:

• Hands-on activities: Let them get their hands dirty with guided practice. These are especially effective at the end of individual modules or sections. You can create mini-projects or tasks that relate to the material you teach. 
• Work-related projects: Assign projects directly linked to the training material. Typically, these require more considerable effort than activities. They are structured to require students to apply knowledge from multiple sections of the training program. 
• "Shadowing" or mentoring: Pair learners with experienced colleagues for observation and support. The trainee would begin by observing the trainer performing the skill they are learning. Over time, the learner would start to apply this skill themselves with feedback from the trainer. Eventually, the trainee would acquire the skill and be able to use it effectively on their own. This is just like on the job training.  

7. Encourage Collaboration

Learning doesn't have to be a solo activity. Facilitate collaboration amongst your learners because it:

• Solidifies understanding: Explaining concepts to others reveals knowledge gaps and strengthens comprehension. You might learn something previously overlooked when others share their knowledge and viewpoints. Lunch and learn sessions or getting employees to teach modules is a great way to do this.  
• Builds community: This creates a sense of camaraderie and a support network. This network can be used to ask questions, get support, and give feedback. Creating a Slack channel or internal communication group is especially useful for this. 

Here's how to foster collaboration:

• Group projects: Teams work together to apply their learning, promoting diverse perspectives.
• Discussion forums: Set up online spaces for knowledge sharing and ongoing questions.
• Knowledge experts: Designate experienced employees to mentor and answer queries.

8. Design for Microlearning

Modern life is busy. Not everyone can sit through hours-long training sessions. Microlearning is your friend!  These effective training programs involve breaking down content into bite-sized chunks, ideal for on-the-go learning:

• Focused modules: Each module tackles a single, specific concept.
• Infographics & short videos: Visual summaries or quick explainer videos are easily absorbed.
• Mobile-friendly: Make content accessible on smartphones or tablets for learning anytime, anywhere.

9. Collect & Use Feedback

The most effective employee training programs aren't static; they evolve. To continuously improve, gathering and implementing feedback is essential.  

Here's how:

• Trainee surveys: Ask open-ended questions about what worked, what didn't, and areas for improvement. (Anonymity encourages honesty!)
• Measure performance: Did the training produce concrete changes in employee performance metrics?
• Adapt: Use the feedback to refine your content, delivery methods, and future training sessions.

As you gain feedback, you should update your programs by adding new content, updating existing content, and cutting out training modules that are no longer relevant. Doing this will ensure your employees are being trained on the most appropriate and applicable content. 

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10. Celebrate Successes

Recognizing your employees' efforts builds motivation and reinforces the value of learning.  Celebrate milestones by:

• Acknowledging achievements: Publicly recognize the completion of modules, certifications, or programs.
• Highlighting learner wins: Share success stories of employees applying their training on the job.
• Small rewards: If your budget allows, consider gift cards, extra time off, or other incentives.

It might seem minor, but giving a shout-out on your internal communication platforms when employees complete training programs and earn certifications goes a long way to promote extra learning. Take the extra three minutes to recognize your employees. 

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What is an effective employee training program?

An effective training program leaves learners feeling informed, empowered, and excited to apply their new skills. 

It goes beyond dry information dumps and focuses on engaging delivery, workplace relevance, and practice opportunities. 

A well-designed program uses various methods to cater to different learning styles, making sure the information sticks and translates to improved job performance.

How can creating a training program help your business?

Investing in a robust training program can reap enormous benefits for businesses. It leads to a more knowledgeable and skilled workforce, filling skill gaps and driving higher productivity. 

Engaged and well-trained employees are likelier to stick around, reducing costly turnover. 

Training also demonstrates you care about employee development, boosting morale and your reputation as an employer. Ultimately, when your people thrive, your company thrives.

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Wrapping Up 

Dull, ineffective training drains resources and morale. 

Following these tips can create engaging, informative programs that benefit your employees and organization. 

Remember, investing in your people's training and development is an investment in your company's future.

So what are you waiting for? 

Try out myQuest today to create a successful training program your employees look forward to!

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About the author

Julian Lankstead is the founder of ClickPioneer & JulianLankstead.com. He helps businesses acquire customers using cutting-edge digital marketing techniques and optimizing business processes. 

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