6 Minutes of reading
In a constantly changing world of work, the role of L&D Managers is becoming crucial in the adaptation and reinforcement of employees' skills. However, vocational training is still too often perceived as an administrative obligation rather than a strategic lever.
To reposition training as a real strategic asset, it is essential to align it with the company's objectives and demonstrate its impact through measurable performance indicators. In this blog, we share 6 tips on how to enhance your training offer, improve its impact, and guarantee stronger learning.
Training, a strategic opportunity for the company
Our State of Learning 2024 Report reveals that 58% of L&D managers believe they are at the heart of their organisation's performance. However, their work is still marginalised in many companies. Only 26% of senior L&D professionals say their senior leaders are heavily invested in L&D, whilst 41% revealed that less than half of their suggested L&D actions are rubber-stamped by senior managers.
Tip 1 - Set your vision
When it is aligned with the company's strategy, L&D becomes a driver of performance and a key factor in the engagement of employees.
Anne-Marie Cuinier, a consultant, trainer and speaker specialising in digital learning and training, analyses the trends and best practices that are transforming the learning experience. "The first mistake companies make is to design training courses without a clear strategic vision,” she explains. “Too often, training is added to an LMS catalogue without thinking about its positioning, its added value or its alignment with the company's strategy. The result is that it goes unnoticed or does not meet the real needs of learners.”
In our return-on-investment (ROI) guide, we advise on the best approach for connecting L&D with business objectives. Download a copy to find out more.
Tip 2 - Understand and meet learners' expectations
One of the most important levers for improving the attractiveness of training courses and working towards reducing time-to-skill is to analyse the needs of your learners in depth. Training can no longer be thought of solely in terms of the skills to be acquired. Instead, it must meet the specific expectations of employees. Learners expect a tailor-made offer, adapted to the relevant skills they need for their jobs and professional aspirations.
Redefine how you view learners
Cuinier asks us to think of learners as our customers, who ‘have expectations, motivations and obstacles.’ She advises that we ‘adapt the training offer, the tone of the communication messages and the channels used to capture their attention, which will ‘make them want to learn.’
Just as businesses conduct market research to understand the needs of their customers, L&D teams should consult their learners on their learning habits, preferences and needs.
Tip 3 - Adapt formats to maximise engagement
Learner engagement depends on the ability to offer training formats that are adapted to their habits and work pace. According to a study by Gartner, employees only have an average of 25 minutes per week for training.
Faced with this constraint, it is essential to offer varied and flexible formats, ranging from e-learning to virtual classes and face-to-face sessions. Cuinier encourages being mindful of the user experience: ‘‘Training must be perceived as an attractive product. To achieve this, it is necessary to play on storytelling, gameification and a fluid and intuitive UX design.’
To meet these challenges, you need an integrated approach, which combines the functionalities of an LMS (Learning Management System) and an LXP (Learning Experience Platform). If there is an alliance between your LMS and LXP, you have a platform that structures training management and simultaneously optimises the user experience. It will enable you to create an engaging, personalised and accessible learning experience for your learners whilst benefiting from the smooth administration of training courses with precise monitoring of learners' progress and performance.
Tip 4 - Integrate training into everyday life
On average, an employee juggles more than nine different digital tools per day. To prevent training from being perceived as an additional constraint, it is essential that it be integrated naturally into the daily lives of employees. The concept of ‘Learning in the Flow of Work’ is based on this idea: training must be available in the tools employees use in their daily work.
For Rise Up client AKKODIS, training has been integrated into the routine of employees via the Microsoft Teams application.
The integration has enabled employees to learn without leaving their working environment. A personalised learning schedule now exists within their individual agendas, and they receive automatic reminders through Teams. AKKA created short microlearning modules to deliver just-in-time learning on topics of immediate relevance to their consultants’ challenges. “Short training works the best on the app, because when you receive a message in Teams, you easily switch to the chat and close the training,” commented Nathalie Macq, Learning Program Manager at Akkodis Technologies.
Tip 5 - Effectively communicate the training
For a training offer to be fully effective, it is essential to promote it through an appropriate communication strategy. Training, even if it is relevant, will only be perceived as useful if it is well communicated internally and learners understand the value for them.
It is not enough to send a simple email announcement or publish a video teaser. One-off communication - as opposed to continuous follow-ups - will see learner engagement drop and completion rates remain at around 15 to 20%.
Think about how you can ‘market’ your training. The key lies in the regularity and diversity of actions to ensure that the training is not perceived as an isolated event, but rather as an ongoing opportunity for development. Communication must be thought of as an ongoing campaign, punctuated by several actions to maintain interest and stimulate employee engagement.
A strong communication plan includes a variety of formats and channels: internal newsletters, displays on company screens, publication on the intranet, participation in team meetings, launch webinars or even information breakfasts.
The involvement of managers and internal ambassadors is also essential for encouraging employees to take the training seriously and share inspiring feedback. What is more, integrating testimonials and success stories into communication demonstrates the concrete value of the training and encourages wider adoption.
Tip 6 - Measure and prove the impact of training
Finally, measuring the impact of training is an essential step in ensuring its continuous improvement and proving its effectiveness. Collecting regular feedback makes it possible to identify areas for improvement and to refine the offer according to employees' expectations.
The key indicators you use will depend on the team you are evaluating, but they may include: measuring sales volumes following sales training; reviewing customer satisfaction levels after customer experience skills training; or taking stock of staff retention rates following HR training.
Transform your training courses into real learning experiences!
By tying L&D to business goals, providing an engaging learning experience, executing a well-structured communication plan and continuously measuring impact, it is possible to transform training courses into truly effective learning experiences.
Rise Up works with organisations to keep their teams up to date, ensuring that training is both an immediate solution and a long-term strategy. Our mission is to redefine training, making it effective, accessible and perfectly aligned with the immediate and future needs of companies and their employees. Our priority is to help businesses reduce the time-to-skill, i.e. the time it takes to acquire skills, by making training a strategic asset and integrating it seamlessly into daily operations.
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Our latest expert guide covers how to both achieve and measure clear value from your L&D, supporting you to make impactful changes to drive return on investment through L&D.