For many of us, learning is an activity we associate with sitting in a classroom listening to an adult or expert imparting knowledge.

Yet, our brains are wired for learning and growth, no matter where we are or what we are doing.  From an evolutionary perspective, our ability to learn has shaped us as a species and continues to do so. 

Newborn babies learn through their developing senses and interactions with the world, and this process becomes increasingly complex as we progress through life. 

As our thoughts become more layered, it can be challenging to remain open to the idea of continuous learning.  Other priorities take over, and it can be difficult to take on new concepts.

In order to do this, we have to be in the right place psychologically, and this is why developing a growth mindset can be useful. 

The term “growth mindset” was coined by Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, Carol Dweck.

She argues that an individual’s views of their ability can be placed on a continuum, from those with a “fixed mindset” to those with a “growth mindset”.  

In an interview in 2012, she describes the difference between the two states of mind in the following way: 

“In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that's that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb. In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don't necessarily think everyone's the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it.”

With this research in mind, a growth mindset is a psychological state anybody can develop with the right attitude, making them all the more receptive to new ideas and concepts.

But how might you go about doing this? What changes to thought patterns or behaviours might you need to make? The tips below should help you to get started: 

1. Admit that you don’t know everything

Admitting when you don’t understand a concept or how to solve a problem can be challenging, particularly in a professional context.  You want your boss to think you’ve got everything under control and that you’re doing an amazing job 100% of the time, but this is humanly impossible! It’s much better to ask for help when you need it or to clarify with a question.  This means you’ll be able to learn something new and avoid the stress of not understanding how to progress with a task.

Every conversation you have is an opportunity to learn something new. Whether you’re the CEO or an intern, our experiences are all different and we can learn a lot from what a colleague or team member has to say.  You can do this by asking more questions when you talk to people and mine for new information.  You might be surprised who teaches you something new. 

This is a key component to having a growth mindset. When colleagues give you feedback on a piece of work, it can be hard not to take it personally, but try to remove yourself from the situation and act upon what they are saying. You can even seek out feedback.  This is a great way to grow in your role and gain insights from your peers or those with more experience.

As human beings, we are susceptible to second-guessing ourselves and being afraid to put ourselves out there.  While negative self-talk is useful from an evolutionary perspective to save us from sticky situations, in the relatively safe and comfortable modern world, it can be quite destructive and limiting.  

If you have a fixed mindset, you might believe that it is impossible for you to grow beyond the talents and skills you already possess, but this simply isn’t true.  While, as Carol Dweck explains, you might not become Einstein, the brain is plastic and capable of forming new neural pathways throughout life. The opportunity for growth and learning is always there, we just need to harness it. 

5. Understand your strengths and weaknesses

When you understand where your strengths and weaknesses lie, you can identify which areas to devote your energy to, and which need more attention. You might benefit from taking a course or asking for help, particularly if a certain skill you aren’t confident in is required for your role. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

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Our brains are wired for growth. In order to do this, we have to be in the right place psychologically, and this is why developing a growth mindset can be useful. 

How to develop a growth mindset for learning

Think for a moment about your favourite streaming service, YouTube channel or blog.  What draws you to it?  To ensure you keep coming back, there needs to be a range of content tailored to your preferences as an audience member. 

When it comes to online learning, the need for a variety of high-quality content is exactly the same, but this goes beyond satisfying consumer demands. 

A selection of learning content and activities can be the difference between an engaging workplace learning experience, or your colleagues checking off yet another item on the growing to-do list.

With this in mind, let’s explore why variety is a key element to engaging your colleagues in learning. 

Knowing what makes an online course engaging is the key to convincing your colleagues to take time out of their busy schedules for learning. When you provide staff with content they can really connect with, they are far more likely to see the upside, and this will create momentum. 

As part of this process, it is important to offer a variety of learning content. Here, we explain how you can use variety to make the learning experience more meaningful for your colleagues:

Engage participants using multiple types of learning experience 

Multiple types of learning experience are important if a participant is to remain engaged with learning content. 

For example, you might look for courses that include a variety of activity types. One part of a lesson might ask participants to watch a video and record their thoughts.  The follow up task might be to apply this new knowledge in the workplace and reflect on the process.

Learners also take on new information best when it is broken down into bite-sized chunks.  If the content you choose includes a range of tasks and activity types, it will definitely tick this box. 

      2.  Provide participants with the opportunity to use different thinking skills

 In order for a learning experience to be engaging, participants also need to use a wide range of thinking skills.  

Certain tasks will require more brain power from learners than others, and a good online course will ensure activities encourage different types of thinking.

For example, activities which ask participants to be more creative or to problem solve will be far more engaging and result in deeper learning. 

However, sometimes participants will simply need to recall facts.  This process is less engaging but necessary for certain topics.

All you need to remember when making a selection is that the best courses will include activities with a range of thinking skills.     

      3.  Appeal to different personality types and interests

Each of your colleagues will have different personality types and interests.  If you have access to a variety of learning content, you will automatically appeal to a broader range of people. 

Participants will also have the option to explore content at their own pace.  For example, if they are interested in the content covered in course A over course B, they can select that which is more relevant and interesting to them.  

      4.  Factor in a personalised learning journey

Personalising learning is the difference between content being engaging or boring.  Content needs to address an individual’s learning needs as accurately as possible, and advancing technology is helping to simplify this process.

Some courses will do this better than others, or perhaps include features which enable you to integrate learning with platforms your workforce uses regularly.

Giving your colleagues access to a wide range of learning materials will help to make the process more tailored to their learning needs.

      5.  Create an authentic learning experience

The most useful learning experiences will be those relevant to your colleagues’ professional context and aspirations. 

Many online courses include practical stories, which are particularly important for workplace training. 

If the learning content you select includes a range of practical examples and ways for participants to apply their learning in the real world, their experience is far more likely to be both authentic and useful. 

When a participant takes a course, they will also generate ideas and questions along the way.  With a variety of content to choose from, they can select material to explore ideas or thoughts as they pop up.

With Go1 Premium, you’ll have unlimited access to a growing library containing thousands of learning resources, from top training providers around the world - all in one easy subscription.  

Why learners need a variety of content to stay engaged

Throughout our lives, and often at pivotal moments, we need support from a guide with life experience. Having a mentor to help you navigate a period of growth can make all the difference, and point you towards decisions that are best for you.  

Everyone can remember that teacher they really clicked with, who showed them a whole new perspective on life, or even ignited their passion for a certain subject.

Mentors are proven to be beneficial in both our professional and private lives. 75% of executives say mentoring has been critical to their development, and mentoring programs are known to add value to larger organisations.

With this in mind, we will be looking in more detail at what a mentor is and how they can help you on your path to professional and personal success. 

In a professional context, a mentor is a person experienced in their field who shares wisdom with a protégé or younger person. They actively take an interest in the younger person’s development. While a mentor doesn’t have to be older than their mentee, this is the dynamic in the majority of cases. 

When defining the role, it is important to distinguish between that of a mentor and a coach. While the concepts are similar, a mentor provides counsel or guidance, whereas a coach will instruct or train. 

The benefits of mentorship are widely documented. It has been shown to improve career outcomes, employee engagement, and employee retention to name a few, and there is extensive evidence that it improves organisations as a whole.  

In his book, Mentors: How to Help and Be Helped, comedian, writer and podcaster, Russell Brand, writes about eight mentors who have appeared in his life.  He reflects on his relationships with them and how they have enabled him to grow. He describes a mentor as, “somebody who can take you to the frontier of yourself.”

1. Highlight where your talents truly lie

Understanding where your true talents lie can be challenging at times.  Professionally, you may be in a position that demands a wide range of skills, not all of which you are equipped for. This can mask our talents and make it more difficult to know where we should direct our energy. 

While you may know where your strengths lie, a mentor can help you to work with this and focus on your natural abilities. They can also teach you how to apply them to your work, or redefine your career to play to your strengths. 

The right mentor can offer you an untapped fountain of wisdom. It is most likely that they have had the benefit of being in your position before, and have been through a process of growth to get to where they are today.  

This experience gives them inside knowledge that can be valuable to you.  Their guidance can show you how to take steps forward, while also carving out your own path.

As human beings, we are susceptible to second guessing ourselves and being afraid to put ourselves out there.  While negative self-talk is useful from an evolutionary perspective to save us from sticky situations, in the relatively safe and comfortable modern world, it can be quite destructive and limiting.  

A mentor can encourage you to challenge your thought processes, especially the negative thinking loops you might find yourself in.

As well as highlighting your strengths, a good mentor can develop your self-awareness and show you when you are at your best.  Self-knowledge is an ongoing and difficult journey throughout life (never not learning!), so having a guide at various points along the way can be very worthwhile.

Your mentor will likely be experienced in the field you wish to progress in, and have years of experience.  Over time, they will have gained a long list of contacts, many of whom could help you develop further.  If you are transitioning to a new line of work, this could be particularly helpful as you are effectively starting out again. 

It is clear that working with a mentor has advantages. But how do you go about finding one?

Unfortunately, finding a mentor isn’t necessarily an easy process.  It often happens organically between two people, and grows into a mentorship without being formalised. As Russell Brand explains, a mentor also needs to be, “somebody you can realistically emulate.” 

Nonetheless, you can first identify an area of growth you would like to focus on, then make connections with people you think could help you to move forward.  Over time, these relationships might develop into a mentor-mentee dynamic.

Many larger organisations run mentoring programs, which benefit both the mentor and mentee.  It can be equally rewarding to share hard-earned knowledge and wisdom, and those taking on mentors might even learn a thing or two from their protégés! Overall, it is a win-win relationship. 

Five benefits of finding your perfect mentor 

One of the most important factors instructional designers consider when developing eLearning material is the user experience.  Online courses are created with the learner in mind - the objective is for them to gain knowledge they didn’t have prior to taking the course.

Despite this, it can be hard to find high-quality, engaging learning content that goes beyond learners ticking the necessary boxes.

When information is presented in an interesting, attention-grabbing way, this can be the difference between the learner being able to apply their new found knowledge, and forgetting it completely after completing the course.  

We recently looked at how to assess learners’ engagement in online courses. Regularly assessing learner engagement is crucial to a successful learning and development strategy.

In this article, we will explore how to select engaging online content and the features you can look for to help with this process. 

Depending on the quality of the learning culture in your organisation, it can be challenging to convince your colleagues that taking time out of their busy schedules for learning can be beneficial. 

Knowing what makes an online course engaging is the key to combating this. When you provide staff with learning they can really connect with, they are far more likely to see the upside, and this will create momentum. When searching for the right content for your team, start by asking the following questions:

Personalising learning is the difference between content being engaging or boring. Content needs to address an individual’s learning needs as accurately as possible, and advancing technology is helping to simplify this process.

Having to listen to a familiar concept being taught in great detail is neither engaging or useful. When the average employee has only 24 minutes per week to learn, even slightly irrelevant content is a waste of precious time. 

2. Are opportunities for active learning included?

Active learning involves any activities which encourage the learner to participate in learning beyond consuming media, such as text or videos. 

When learners are actively engaged with a task, they will need to use high order thinking skills to complete it. These include applying new knowledge to practical contexts, or using the knowledge they have gained in a creative way. 

An example of an “active” task would be to ask the learner to read a text and record five key points as they do so. It doesn’t have to be complicated, it just needs to go beyond basic consumption of information to be more interesting. 

3. Does the course have clear learning objectives?

Clear learning objectives are essential to any well-designed lesson. Without them, the purpose of the learning can easily go astray, and the learner will become disengaged quickly.

It is also important that these objectives are referenced throughout a lesson, not just at the beginning. This way, the learner can stay on track as they complete each activity, and reflect on whether or not they have achieved that objective. If they haven’t, they might need to revisit a section of learning or do further research.  

When assessing the quality of learning objectives, look for action verbs that describe what the learner will be able to do by the end of the course.

It is also important not to confuse learning objectives with learning goals, which are longer term and less defined. Objectives are included to give structure to a specific lesson or course. 

Practical stories help to put learning in context, and are particularly important for workplace training. One of the main goals of staff training is for the participants to be able to apply their knowledge in a practical context. Acknowledging this during the learning process makes the transition from online to real-life scenarios much easier. 

Stories also give learners a familiar context to work with. This forms a great basis for gaining new knowledge and information, as they can make connections between new information and situations they already understand. 

This might seem obvious but the success of an online course is highly reliant on the quality of visual design. Jorge Reyna, scholar of digital media for learning at the University of Technology Sydney, explains that, “design aesthetics have a profound impact on how users perceive information and learn, judge credibility and usability, and ultimately assign value to an online experience.”

Pay attention to the quality of visual content and the learners will reap the benefits. 

A one stop shop for all things training, Go1 makes it easy to compare the best training options available, and find the right resources for your professional development, compliance and business training needs. 

How to choose engaging content for workplace learning

As those responsible for workplace training know, it can be difficult to find high-quality, engaging eLearning content. 

It can be equally challenging to know whether your colleagues find the learning process insightful, or if they are just ticking the necessary boxes.

When looking at how to address a growing need for learning within an organisation, regularly assessing learner engagement is crucial to a successful learning and development strategy.

If employees find the learning content interesting, they are far more likely to take new information on board and be able to apply it to practical situations. 

With this in mind, we have looked at the best ways to measure learner engagement, and which strategies you can use to assess the quality of a learning experience.

What does an engaged learner look like? 

Learner engagement reflects the quality and quantity of a learner’s participation in their courses. It is a measure of how successful a learning experience is for each individual. 

When reviewing how engaged your colleagues are in a course they are taking, look out for the following signs that they are both enjoying the process and on track to learn something new. An engaged learner will be:

Actively engaged - when a learner is enjoying a course, they will actively take part in the process. They might ask questions, or do further research of their own to explore a concept. 

Eager to participate - there are a few signs that a learner is excited to take part in a course or lesson. If you are present while the learning is taking place, their body language and general attitude will give you very quick feedback as to how they are finding the process. If they are completing the learning in their own time, well-structured follow up surveys and feedback will also give you clear indicators.

Willing to expend effort - an engaged learner will go beyond the bare minimum to participate in training. They will strive to do well in the course they are taking, and log in to the training platform regularly. 

Motivated - if a learner is motivated, they will be both willing to expend effort and are eager to participate without too much extra encouragement. They’ll be keen to find out what they’re learning, and eager to engage with new material.

Inspired - this can be a little more difficult to achieve when there is so little time for learning at work, but there is nothing better than a colleague being inspired by a course or lesson they have taken. Being given the opportunity to learn something inspiring will also make them feel valued and happier in their work. 

While data on the LMS dashboard will tell part of the story of learner engagement, the following strategies will give a more in-depth understanding of the learning experience in your organisation:

As your colleagues start engaging with an online course, organise a time to catch up with a few of them to ask key questions about their learning experience. Ask them to be as honest as possible! While surveys are useful, conversations with a few, carefully selected people will provide you with a more in-depth understanding.

Although some eLearning courses will come with in-built feedback features, you might like to design your own surveys to ensure that the learning content is meeting the specific needs of your team. While the majority of content is targeted to specific industries, each organisation is unique and the learning might need to be adapted to suit your context.

Your LMS dashboard is a great place to assess learner engagement. The login and completion rates can be helpful, as if these are low, it could be a sign that the content isn’t quite the right fit. 

If you are seeing low numbers, a few other issues could be the cause. The content might have been engaging, but perhaps the learners found it difficult to use. Maybe they didn’t have enough time to complete it. You may need to do some further digging, but finding out will be beneficial in the long run.  

Although time constraints are a factor with workplace training, finding opportunities to observe learners using their new knowledge or skills in a real-life context can help to determine whether a course has been successful. For example, if you have organised a course for compliance in your hospitality business, look for practical opportunities to check whether your colleagues are able to apply the new knowledge. You could do this through observing their process at work, or chatting with them informally as they complete a task. 

How to assess learners’ engagement in training

When the average employee has only 24 minutes per week to learn, there is an increasing demand for learning to be delivered in manageable, easy to access formats.

Micro-learning is defined as the breaking down of information into topical, bite sized chunks. By engaging with information in such short bursts, the likelihood of retention is increased, making the time spent learning more efficient. 

Having already been hugely beneficial in the fast-paced corporate training arena, micro-learning tools are continuing to shape the ever-changing landscape of learning in the digital age. 

Micro-learning is a relatively new phenomenon in the history of corporate training. Around the same time the first smartphone was released, quick snippets of information in the form of videos, quizzes, interviews and talks were becoming increasingly popular. 

The formats and tools used for micro-learning are wide-ranging, including infographics, PDFs, eBooks, flipbooks, animated videos and whiteboard animation.

These tools have benefits over more in-depth eLearning courses, as they are more digestible and easier to complete quickly. They can also be accessed anytime, anywhere.  

Additionally, they are better value and low-cost to produce, which is great news for learning and development professionals with tight budgets to consider! 

Globally renowned industry analyser and research analyst, Josh Bersin, describes a new paradigm emerging in corporate training. He labels this, ‘learning in the flow of work’, which means presenting employees with opportunities to learn through platforms they are already using to work.

The advent of micro-learning tools is paving the way for such advances, as they enable employees to quickly view new material while they are logging in, or engaging with a regular activity in their daily routine.				      										

How to make the most of micro-learning tools

There is no doubt that micro-learning is already having a massive impact in the corporate training sector, but how can learning and development professionals support employees to use the tools effectively? 

These tips will help your colleagues to make the most of the learning tools on offer to them, while respecting the limited amount of time they have:

It is important for learners to take ownership of their training where possible and identify topic areas they may need more assistance with. Using the diagnostic assessment tools available on the LMS dashboard, either instructors or learners can decide which pieces of information they need to view next, and gain knowledge in a targeted way. 

Micro-learning tools are designed to be easy to engage with and snappy. This makes the information easier to digest, but recording the key points after watching a video or looking at an infographic will help learners to further embed the new knowledge. Your colleagues can do this by putting the information into their own words, perhaps by taking notes, creating an audio recording of their thoughts or drawing a mind map.  Encourage them to pick a tool that works best for them. 

An important part of learning new information is engaging with it actively. Watching a video to learn something, while beneficial, is a fairly passive activity, so it is important to engage with the information on another level. Encourage your colleagues to ask questions, or to be curious about the information they have just learned. Do they agree with it all? Or do they have further questions?

Talking about learning with others or sharing knowledge is also an important part of embedding new information. Where appropriate, it might be helpful to give staff opportunities to share and discuss what they have been learning about that week as an opportunity to extend the learning further and swap new thoughts and ideas. 

Finding out what your employees think of the eLearning process in your organisation is also crucial to their ongoing engagement. If a particular course was too easy or too difficult, it is unlikely that they will take an interest in the rest of the content. 

With learning content becoming more condensed and widely available, staying focused without getting distracted is important.  There might also be a temptation to use learning tools to procrastinate. Avoid this by tagging learning time onto the end of particular routines or activities employees are already completing.  

Learners can use diagnostic data to understand if there are any topics they need to learn more about. They can do further independent research if necessary, or perhaps complete an additional online course.

If training is disseminated in large groups, it is unlikely to have the same impact as a more personalised approach. Micro-learning tools are helping to facilitate a more tailored learning experience for different individuals. 

The benefits of micro-learning tools for employee learning

You are about to deliver a team presentation and have been anticipating it for the last month. Although you are well-prepared, a feeling of dread washes over you - at least it will be over in an hour’s time!

This situation will be familiar to many, and while you can learn to become a more confident public speaker, you’ll still need to practice and learn to sit with the uncomfortable sensations. 

No matter how you feel about addressing a large group, research suggests that one of the quickest ways to improve your confidence in any situation is to make small alterations to your body language. 

It is tricky to be aware of how you hold yourself, especially if you sit at a computer for most of the day. Nonetheless, checking in and making a few small adjustments could make you both feel better, and communicate to others that you are self-confident and have a positive mindset. 

Social psychologist, Amy Cuddy, discusses how body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves.

In her popular Ted Talk, she argues that “power-posing” - standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don't feel confident - can boost feelings of confidence, and might have an impact on our chances for success.

In her study, participants sat either in a high-power pose (in an expansive position) or a low-power pose (leaning inward or legs crossed) for two minutes. Cuddy found that those who sat in high-power poses performed better in mock interviews than those who had adopted the low-power poses. 

The two key takeaways from her research were that those who sat in high-power poses not only felt more powerful, but that the poses actively changed their body chemistry.

The New Zealand rugby team performing the haka before every international game is a great example of expansive, powerful body language in action.  

How your team can build confidence through body language

Most people can agree workplace communication is very important to a business. After all, when providing a professional service, clear and concise communication with prospects and existing clients is essential. Excellent communication skills are just as crucial when dealing with internal staff. So, how can your team put the science of powerful body language into practice? 

In her book, Presence, Amy Cuddy summarises her research and experiences, offering the following tips to get started: 

This sounds simple, but isn’t always easy to do. If you are performing a task or role, and deep down you don’t believe that you are equipped to do it well, this will come across in your body language and others will pick up on it.  

If you suffer from imposter syndrome in certain situations, yet your boss or somebody else has chosen you to perform a role or task, do your best to challenge your thoughts and tell yourself a different, more positive story about yourself.

2. Being present - presence begets presence

A great way to be aware of the position of your body and your internal dialogue is to stay present in the moment. Cuddy also explains that presence begets presence, meaning that once you are able to start being present, your will gain momentum and find yourself spending more and more time living in the moment. Mindfulness training is a proven way to train yourself in this skill. 

If you notice that your self-talk is negative and your confidence is low, you can make simple changes to your body language to interrupt this negative thinking pattern. A gesture a simple as smiling, no matter how you are feeling or what state of mind you are in, has been proven to interrupt negative feedback loops in the brain, and turn them in a more positive direction.

Again, this action might sound simple, but, like smiling, tweaking your posture can really make a difference. It is easy to start slouching when you are sitting down, particularly when your attention is focused on a computer screen or phone. The more you can check in with yourself and readjust, the more you will reap the benefits of having a better posture.

Cuddy identifies a few poses which are helpful for boosting confidence. These are proven to make changes to the body and mind as a whole, so perhaps try a few out before your next public speaking gig! The images in the top row show “high-power” body language, and the bottom row shows “low-power” body language.

Images courtesy of Amy Cuddy, Harvard University

Good communication plays a key role in maintaining staff productivity, job satisfaction and positive staff morale. It’s also central to the effective dissemination of information across any organisation, and vital for building relationships of trust and commitment.

In Go1 Premium, you’ll find courses on many aspects of workplace communication, including negotiation, delegation, and how to make meetings as productive, engaging and efficient as possible.

This guide from Toastmasters, a non-profit organisation that teaches public speaking and leadership skills, also gives a detailed explanation as to just how much your body speaks. 

How to build self-confidence at work through body language

Cast your mind back to the classroom at school. The teacher begins explaining how to solve a problem you already understand, and you start looking out the window, whispering to a friend or throwing screwed-up pieces of paper at your classmates. 

Fast forward twenty years to a face-to-face training course you are attending for work, and you find yourself in exactly the same situation. Hopefully not disrupting the rest of the group as you have, of course, matured slightly since then, but perhaps doodling or thinking about what will be included in the free lunch. 

Similarly, when learners find themselves completely lost in a session, they are just as likely to drift off or subconsciously focus their attention on something else.

Over time, eLearning content providers and LMS platforms have developed systems to make the learning process increasingly personalised. 

Improved tools for diagnostic assessment have given both instructors and learners the opportunity to understand how well the learning is going, and if there are any topic areas which are particularly difficult for a group to grasp. 

Bersin uses the following example to explain the concept:

“In the application of safety and operational training (an enormous market in most heavy industries), there are now adaptive learning solutions that deliver small 2-3 minute videos each day when an operator checks into work. The learning is carefully curated, spaced, and designed to deliver an outcome – and the employee answers questions (including questions about their confidence in the answers) to give the system enough information to decide what should come next.  This is happening now.”

As technology advances, we are better able to tailor an individual’s learning experience and embed learning into pre-existing tasks or routines. 

What can you do to personalise the eLearning experience?

In addition to using the latest advances in technology, it is also possible for learning and development professionals to create a more personalised learning experience for employees. 

If you aren’t sure where to begin, the following steps are a good place to start:

1. Develop a culture of learning in your workplace  

When organisations prioritise learning and development, employees can become more agile and adaptive, meaning they have an improved ability to cope with and respond to the rapid rates of change expected of them in the digital age.  

This will provide a foundation for a more personalised learning process, with both employees and those in leadership positions valuing learning equally. 

2. Encourage employees to take ownership of their learning

It is also important for employees to take responsibility for their learning. The best learning and development strategy, course content and HR professionals can only take employees so far. When your employees understand what they need to learn next and when they need to learn it, they will be able to make progress at their own pace. 

The LMS dashboard, both for instructors and learners can help to make the learning process more personalised. If you have access to diagnostic assessment data, you will be able to see if there are any general gaps in employee knowledge, and be able to address these as they pop up.  

Learners can also use diagnostic data to understand if there are any topics they need to learn more about. They can do further independent research if necessary, or perhaps complete an additional online course.

4. Ask employees for feedback and respond

Finding out what your employees think of the eLearning process in your organisation is crucial to their ongoing engagement. If a particular course was too easy or too difficult, it is unlikely that they will take an interest in the rest of the content. 

It can also be helpful to find out what they thought of the eLearning system. Were the courses easy to follow? Was the content presented in an interesting way?

If learners can see that you value their opinions and they are taking part in the ongoing development of the learning process, they are far more likely to be engaged and invested. 

Personalised learning: the secret to engagement in online courses

With communication in the workplace continuing to change rapidly, we now have an unprecedented capacity for interaction across the globe. And as a result, the daily routine for many workers involves a considerable amount of screen time.

To demonstrate just how quickly things have changed, email came into general use approximately twenty years ago, and the first Apple smartphone went to market in 2007. It’s difficult to imagine both our working and personal lives without these tools now, yet we are still in the infancy of understanding how to optimise the advantages they bring, and the impact they are having on our productivity and wellbeing. 

With this focus on screen time at work, the millennial workforce is craving opportunities for face-to-face interaction and collaboration. The question is how to build meaningful face-to-face interactions into the working day, without using precious time unnecessarily. 

According to research, 93% of communication occurs nonverbally, through body language and tone of voice. Only the remaining 7% is communicated through words. This shows how much we are missing out on when using email and messaging platforms instead of talking to each other face-to-face.  

While employees can use instant messaging platforms to ask each other quick questions, it is important to be aware that much of what is said is lost, and misunderstandings could easily happen without talking things through in person. 

In the early, formative stages of a relationship, face-to-face communication is essential for building a connection and trust between two individuals. 

First impressions really count. It takes only milliseconds to make an initial judgement on somebody new, and reading nonverbal cues plays a huge role in this process. This means that meeting face-to-face is very important for building a better-informed connection between two parties. Without it, a relationship can develop, but the depth of connection and level of trust will be limited. 

When two individuals take the time out of their day to meet with each other, this shows a commitment from both parties to give their attention to the conversation. The full range of communications can be picked up, and a better connection built. If it is a difficult conversation involving conflict, but both parties have good intentions, this will come across much more easily in a face-to-face interaction than in an email. 

If you are meeting with a new client, a meeting face-to-face shows that you have committed your time, effort and money to building a relationship with them. With information and demands on our time coming at us from so many different places, we are now living in what is described as an attention economy. Now, more than ever, your efforts to meet up won’t go unnoticed. 

How to use time effectively is the question on every manager and employee’s mind in the digital age.  It can be so easy to get carried away and distracted by the onslaught of information, finding ways to be more productive are like gold dust. 

Although it may seem more time-consuming to meet with people face-to-face, it can actually improve efficiency in the long run.  Instead of writing ten emails back and forth, your conversation could be resolved in a matter of minutes over a coffee - much more enjoyable!  You will also gain all the additional benefits of having taken the time to meet, so it’s a win win.

If physical distance isn’t a limitation, meeting in person is almost always preferable. When working remotely, or with team mates from different locations, video-conferencing is a convenient way for employees to discuss, plan, and build positive working relationships. 

Sometimes, we need to share information that is only meant for one other person. Meeting in a private setting can build trust between two individuals, particularly when the information you need to talk about is sensitive. This way,  you know that only you and the person you are talking to have heard the information - as long as there’s nobody behind you eavesdropping! 

Although the advantages of face-to-face communication are clear, some interactions are better than others.  Research shows that 92% of attendees choose to multitask during group meetings, meaning they are neither using their time productively, nor gaining many of the benefits quality interaction can bring. 

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