Many companies, from global organizations to small business, have chosen to move away from traditional learning methods in favor of eLearning. Online courses have proved incredibly effective for employee training, in areas of compliance, professional development and acquiring new skills.

For staff, eLearning delivers a training solution that is flexible, efficient and convenient, with employees able to learn at their own pace and in the comfort of their own workspace. However, while we talk a lot about the benefits of eLearning, online courses can also have their drawbacks – just like all training methods.

If you’ve just enrolled in an online course for the first time, or are thinking about using eLearning materials at work, it’s important to be aware of the problems you may come up against when learning online. This way, you can be prepared, and ready to overcome any challenges in your learning journey!

The most obvious difference between eLearning and traditional classroom teaching is that you won’t have the usual face-to-face interactions with your teacher and other learners. For some people, especially extroverts, who bounce off the energy of others, this can be a problem. However, for introverted employees, having the choice to complete training in your own comfort zone, without any distraction or interruptions, can definitely be a positive!

If it’s important to you to have a strong sense of connection with your trainer and other learners, think about ways in which you can recreate that connection online. Thanks to technology, it’s really not that hard to do. These days, many remote workers and telecommuters are able to remain just as closely networked with workmates and leaders working out of the office. And collaboration technology continues to make remote teams just as efficient and productive as traditional workplace environments.

Before taking your online course, think about how you can connect with others through Skype, video chats, conference calls, social media groups and discussion boards.

Online courses offer students and employees a very flexible, convenient way of acquiring new skills and knowledge. But participating in eLearning can actually require extra levels of self-motivation, discipline and time management.

Just like in traditional teacher-led learning environments, problems will soon arise if you don’t put in the proper time and effort. Some people find themselves a bit lost in online learning environments, without having a teacher or instructor in the same room to constantly look over their shoulder or urge them on. If this happens, it’s important to overcome this challenge, as you don’t want to slip further and further behind.

Read through our previous article on knowing how to study effectively for your online course. This will really help you maximize your eLearning experience and results, with helpful advice on:

As with any kind of learning materials, staff or students will fail to engage with an online course if its content doesn’t apply to the real world. In classrooms, universities and employee training rooms alike, it’s natural to want to know that you can apply your new skills and knowledge to real life situations and work environments.

If you enrol in an eLearning course, but are unable to see any value or benefit, that is definitely going to be a problem – especially if the course is compulsory for your job. To combat this, look for courses that use scenario-based training and offer real-world benefits.

These eLearning course are designed to place learners in the real world, rather than relying on predominantly text-based learning. Using eLearning scenarios makes training far more interactive, engaging and effective for learners. If you aren’t able to choose the training courses you participate in, do some research into scenario-based courses online, then have a chat with your manager or employer about the benefits these courses could bring to you as an employee.

Thinking your tech skills aren’t good enough

The next problem you might run up against in eLearning is thinking that your tech skills aren’t good enough. Unfortunately, many people, particularly older generations, miss out on the world of online learning because they’re intimidated by technology.

If this is you, or someone close to you, you can overcome this challenge. eLearning professionals and online course creators must design materials in a way that’s accessible to all people – not just the ones who are tech savvy!

A well-designed eLearning course will be easy to navigate, able to be used on a wide range of devices (including mobile) and will feel intuitive to the learner. Don’t let fear of technology stop you from taking advantage of all the knowledge out there – online courses can really help advance your career. What’s more, as you change your mindset towards technology and overcome challenges, you’ll become a more resilient and effective learner.

Not having support from trainers or teachers

On that note, it can also be a problem when learners aren’t aware of the support available to them – for tech support and learning assistance in general. Unfortunately, it’s a common misconception that online courses offer no support to employees or students.

Because in fact, one of the best things about eLearning is that you can work at your own pace, from anywhere in the world, while still being able to tap into the experience and skills of your trainer and fellow learners. In the same way that we suggested making sure you have the right tools to collaborate and connect online, make sure you’re aware of the support channels available to you.

Most eLearning courses will have a comprehensive FAQs section, an instant messaging tool, discussion boards and support staff you can email or chat with online. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your trainers and instructors – that’s what they’re there for!

Hopefully this has put your mind at ease, when it comes to common eLearning problems. Remember, all training and teaching methods will have their pros and cons. What’s important is that you’re able to identify the challenges and are willing to overcome them.

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Common eLearning problems and how to overcome them

Designing an eLearning course for your staff or students? We recently published a handy eLearning course design checklist, to help you feel confident that you’re designing your online course in the best way possible for your audience.

Our comprehensive design checklist will help you make sure you’re covering important aspects of eLearning design throughout the process – such as accessibility, navigation, graphics, multimedia and assessments. Why are these factors so important to course design? Because you want people to be able to get what they need from your online course - and enjoy taking it!

If you’ve already read through the design checklist, and are looking for more in-depth discussion of online course design, you’ve come to the right place. As we said in the checklist article, the design process plays a major role in how effective and successful your course will be, with factors such as graphics, multimedia and accessibility all playing a part. Even the fonts you use in your course materials can have a positive or negative impact on learners.

Karla Gutierrez, Inbound Marketer at Aura Interactiva, recommends looking at the science behind what makes an eLearning design effective. “If you learn the science behind good eLearning design and use it properly, you will be able to connect with your learners, make them care about the subject and even change what they do and how they think,” she says.

So let’s look closer at what makes a good online course design, in terms of the fascinating science behind the design process.

Using Gestalt’s Theory of Perception and Visual Hierarchy

One of the interesting concepts Gutierrez raises is Gestalt’s theory of perception and its consideration of visual hierarchy. According to Gestalt, the human brain is wired to make sense of the world by ordering and structuring diverse elements into an organized, logical whole.

How is this important to eLearning course design? Well, you need to work with visual hierarchy, rather than against it. As Gutierrez explains, when designing your online course, "your screen's organization should create a visual hierarchy – leading the learners’ eyes from the first thing they should see to the next, in the proper order."

She recommends following these guidelines when designing each screen of your course:

Create a definite focal point for the most important element of the screen – doing this will lead the learner’s eye and attention to that part of the screen

Use large, eye-catching fonts for headings and sub-headings – this will help important information stand out

Make clear sections on the screen, using boxes and frames

Use plenty of white space to further define your sections and make things less overwhelming for learners

Using Shapes and Icons to Help Learners Navigate Content


Another concept Gutierrez explores is the way in which visual content is digested by learners. It’s important to use design tactics to streamline the scanning process for your students or staff. There’s no doubt about it, learners will be bored and frustrated by long endless screens of text – so you need to use design elements to break them up.

As Gutierrez explains, “this is where shapes and icons come in. The use of shapes and icons helps organize content into a scannable and easily digestible form. This discourages distraction, and helps learners make sense of your content quickly.”

Shapes, lines, arrows and icons can be used to successfully point out info, allowing people to quickly identify and grasp the most important concepts on each screen. Shapes can also control the speed and direction at which learners take in content. Think about the way arrows guide your eyes across the screen, or bullet points lead you through information in a very clear and logical way – the clever use of shapes is particularly important for eLearning, where people are being asked to digest and absorb a lot of information in short periods of time.

Using the Psychology of Color and Emotions


Last but not least, Gutierrez discusses the psychology of color and how this needs to be considered when choosing the colors of your eLearning course. The use of color is about much more than just aesthetics and making things look ‘pretty’ – color also has a strong impact on the way we feel about things and respond to them. Even if that's happening on a subconscious and intuitive level.

In fact, 90% of quick decisions we make regarding products are based on color. Color speaks to our emotions, with red often signifying anger, blue bringing a sense of calm, and yellow evoking happiness or joy. Certain colors can also have particular cultural associations – think about how green and red are used at Christmas time, orange is traditionally associated with Halloween, and how blue and pink are marketed in a gender-specific way.

You should also consider the age of your learning audience – in general, older people tend to prefer darker, more mellow colors like purple, green and blue while younger learners may be drawn to bolder, brighter colors of yellow, red and orange. Whatever colors you decide to go with for your course, Gutierrez suggests using "a harmonious color palette that works to enhance your information, not distract from it."

Hopefully this glimpse into the science behind eLearning design helps you to feel more confident in the design process. With this information, as well as our eLearning course design checklist, you'll be well equipped to create online courses that are well-designed, engaging and enjoyable for your learners.

Building resilience is one of the best ways to help reduce stress levels in the workplace. In today’s fast-paced work environments, employees with increased levels of resilience are known to be far more productive, successful and happier in their career. They’re also able to bounce back from obstacles or adversity, often with renewed strength.

That’s because with improved levels of resilience, you become more adaptive and flexible to stress or sudden changes. This means that when confronted with challenges, both at work and in your personal life, you’ll feel better prepared to deal with them as they arise – comfortably and calmly.

Are you keen to start building your own resilience? The good news is that resilience is a skill that can be learned and improved upon. And just like a muscle, the more you practice being resilient in everyday life, the more you can increase your resilience over time.

We’ve handpicked three of the very best eLearning courses for you to enrol in, to help you become more resilient at work.

This practical online course offers a great introduction to the topic of resilience, with the aim to help you change your health, your thinking and your life. Through Power Up your Resilience , you can develop the skills you need to bounce back from adversity, manage stress and reach your full potential in life.

The eLearning course is broken down into seven videos, based on content from Dr Sven Hansen, founder of The Resilience Institute. Dr Hansen is a medical practitioner with a background in special forces and sports medicine, and since gaining an MBA in 1993 has focused on applying the science of resilience to business.

You’ll cover a wide range of topics in this course, as you discover how building resilience can help with all aspects of your life, including your health, emotions, sleep patterns, stress levels and relationships with others.

Dealing with Change and Building Resilience

Dealing with change is a large part of learning to be more resilient and managing stress – particularly in the workplace. This popular eLearning course has a definite business slant to it, making it very effective for staff training.

Dealing with Change and Building Resilience is presented by Clare and Anne of BrainSmart, graduates of the Neuroscience of Leadership and Change and Positive Psychology. From this background, they help learners to understand the nature of stress and change from the perspective of evolution and the brain. This can help you better manage your emotional responses to situations that usually trigger a stress response.

return to thinking clearly and rationally regardless of the levels of pressure

problem-solve in a calm and considered state.

Want an online course that you can complete in an hour? Personal Resilience in an Hour is top of the list for a short and sweet introduction to resilience that’s well worth your time.

Trainer Chris Johnstone has three decades of experience teaching resilience skills, with feedback from past participants vouching for his professionalism and warmth.

The course consists of an hour of video content, covering seven practical strategies you can use when faced with challenging situations. The eLearning course also contains handy PDF downloads for each strategy.

What makes this eLearning course different? It also introduces emotional first-aid practices you can use to steady your nerves when you're feeling anxious or stressed, and teaches learners how to use a storyboarding process to design resilient responses. Johnstone also shows how inspiring examples of resilience in news stories can help you identify key elements of resilience.

Remember, being resilient can also mean knowing how to seek support when you need it – whether it’s talking to a friend, colleague, manager or a professional counsellor. So if you’re struggling at work and feel overcome with demands and stressors, putting your hand up can often be the strongest thing to do.

Top online courses to help build resilience

When it comes to corporate training, blended learning is a “bulletproof” approach. This type of training is highly flexible without sacrificing the depth of learning experience you can get from a classroom or face-to-face experience.

Your learners get to take advantage of the most effective parts of both synchronous learning and asynchronous learning.

There are a number of blended learning models that you can choose from and each one has a different set of advantages. In order to find the one that meets your company's goals, it's important to have a clear idea of what your objective is before you design the course itself.

Once you have a clear understanding of your objective, have a look at the following blended learning options:

This model incorporates both online study materials and classroom (or one-on-one) instruction. When you’re looking for flexibility this is hands-down one of the best corporate training options available.

The emphasis is placed on rotating some or all aspects of the learning experience to keep the learners engaged and help them retain the material.  For example, you can have your learners rotate between physical stations that emphasize different skill sets or modules, or you can have learners rotate between the classroom and online modules where they can go through different simulations and scenarios. Trainers are available to act as a guide for the learners and help add depth and context to the materials when needed.

Advantages of the Rotation Blended Learning Model: 

Material can be delivered virtually or in a classroom environment

This learning model spends more time emphasizing online training and mixes in a smaller amount of group instruction. Many times designers will create these courses in a way that allows learners to work with their peers rather than depend on the instructor for all of their answers. This model relies much more on teamwork and individuals who are self-motivated and don't need a tremendous amount of guidance or assistance.

Important: emphasizing collaboration is one of the keys to helping your learners retain the information that you’re introducing in the Flex Blended Learning model.

Advantages of the Flex Blended Learning Model:

This learning model relies 100% on online based coursework – even if the material is being delivered in a classroom environment. Many times trainers or instructors will deliver pre-recorded training modules and then provide guidance and support across multi-channel platforms, such as email, instant messages, or chatrooms.

One of the advantages to this model is that it significantly reduces your training overhead - the material can be recorded once and delivered over and over again.

Many companies find that it's more efficient to set specific times when instructors are available to answer questions and provide guidance for students – whether it’s through chat rooms, webinars, Skype or in a face-to-face environment. This cuts down on time spent messaging back and forth with individual learners and going over the same solutions multiple times.

Benefits of the À La Carte Blended Learning model:

Easier to customize to individual student needs

The Enriched Virtual Blended Learning model

This model focuses on real-time lectures and/or face-to-face training and then delivers additional material after the training has been completed.

Usually the additional coursework and resources are delivered online and designed to help reinforce the material and raise retention rates. You can make use of online games, role-playing, presentations, webinars and more to help ensure that the learning process continues even after the classroom material has been completed.

Advantages of the Enriched Virtual Blended Learning model:

Can be highly customized to each individual team

Can be completed online or in the classroom

Once you’ve chosen the right blended learning model for your organization and you’ve gone through your first rollout of your training material, you want to get as much feedback as possible to find out how you can optimize the experience for your learners and get the best results out of the training.

To help the process along, here are a few questions you can ask with a simple survey:

What was your favorite part of the training?

What did you feel like could be improved?

How would you describe your experience using the tools provided?

How would you rate your instructors teaching methods and abilities on a scale of 1 to 10?

Did you enjoy the online or face-to-face learning experience more?

What suggestions do you have to help us improve this course in the future?

When it comes to corporate training, blended learning provides the high degree of flexibility that modern learners are looking for. Today we have an entire generation that has grown up with multimedia learning options at their fingertips, so it’s no secret that the most effective companies of the 21st century will deliver training that reaches out to learners via platforms that they will recognize.

At Go1, we give you access to over 100,000 different learning modules to help you deliver the most effective training for your teams. If you want to learn more about how you can use blended learning in your organization, here are a few courses you may consider:

Leadership Development Through Blended Learning Curriculums

Blended Learning: Personalizing Education for Students

Tips to use blended learning in corporate training

The profession of human resources requires people skills. Individuals working in HR management interact with a great number of people on a daily basis; they are in charge of handling employee relations, interviewing, hiring, training, payroll and benefits among a few other responsibilities. An HR manager has to know how to efficiently communicate with his/her employees if they want to contribute to the growth and smooth operation of a company. However, one should bear in mind that communication is an act that does not solely require talking but also listening.

In order to create a pleasant, functional, and prosperous working environment, an HR manager needs to understand the importance of taking the time to actually tune in and hear what the employees have to express. In other words, listening is a key factor that contributes to good communication and a healthy work milieu.

The following are a few tips that can help HR managers improve their listening skills:

According to numerous studies, 55% of communication is body language, 38% is attributed to the tone of voice, and only 7% is the actual words spoken. This brings us to the conclusion that HR managers are highly advised to pay attention to these subtle details, as they could help them discern more efficiently what the employees are really trying to communicate.

As important as the actual words are, intonation, volume, and pace combined with facial expression and body language are also a paramount part of the speaking process. Paying attention to these nuances can also help an HR manager read between the lines and acquire extra information.


Furthermore, another reason why one should avoid using electronic devices during a conversation is to show respect. If your employees see that they have your full attention, you will gain their respect more easily and they won’t feel devalued.


Additionally, active listening means giving the speaker room to make their point. Avoid jumping in to voice your own thoughts, as it can cause the speaker to think that the point they’re trying to make is irrelevant to you. Once the speaker is done, and is ready to receive a response from you, feel free to address the issue and give them your opinion.


Furthermore, selective hearing is another practice an HR manager should implement to improve communication. Selective hearing is the concept that refers to paying attention to a specific source of a sound or spoken word. This listening method is a great way to avoid receiving partial messages, and encounter possible misunderstandings, as the sole focus is on the spoken word.


Also, allowing the employees to have an extra moment after they appear to be done (in case they omitted to add something) is also another sign of patience that every good HR manager should strive towards.

And last but not least, taking time to ask back-up questions and conduct short summaries of what’s been said might also take some extra patience, but it will definitely pay off in the long run.

Overall, whether you are a manager at a small business or a huge corporation, building good interpersonal work relationships is important. One of the best ways to run a business smoothly is to practice good communication skills, and not forget the importance and power of active listening.

After taking a career sabbatical to become a mother, Jackie Edwards now writes full time on topics ranging from business and finance through to tech and IT. In her spare time, she volunteers for a number of local charities that support people with mental health issues

How should HR managers become good listeners?

There’s no doubt about it, the modern workforce has become increasingly complex. Faced with heavy workloads, short turnaround times and high deliverables, many workers are being asked to continually do more – with less. It’s no wonder so many employees feel like they’re constantly running on empty. That’s why it’s so important to be aware of your core needs at work, if you want to start performing at your full potential.

For Laurie Coe, Vice President of The Energy Project, it’s evident that “the way we’re working is no longer working.” Coe believes that many employees aren’t able to perform at their full potential in today’s complex work environments.

Recently, The Energy Project partnered with the Harvard Business Review on a ‘Quality of Life @ Work’ assessment which examined the feelings and responses of 20,000 employees worldwide. The survey found that individuals have four core needs at work:

Emotional – the need to feel cared for and valued

Mental – the need to be empowered to set boundaries and focus in an absorbed way

Spiritual – the need to find a sense of meaning and purpose at work

If you feel like you need to make a change in the way you work, you need to think about how you’re addressing your core needs. It’s also essential that managers pay attention to the needs of their employees, to maintain positive levels of productivity and engagement. Let’s look closer at these different types of employee needs.

No matter what role or industry you work in, it’s important to take care of your physical energy. As the Energy Project’s report outlines, employees need regular periods of daytime rest to renew and recharge throughout the day. In fact, did you know that 90 minutes is the maximum amount of time humans can maintain attention on a task before losing focus?

After 90 minutes of being absorbed in any form of cognitive work, it's in your best interest to take a break – even if it’s a short one. This is because human beings are not machines. Our bodies need to work with our natural rhythms of renewal. Choosing to power through and continue working will only result in feelings of fatigue, irritation and lack of focus, which over time can lead to burn out.

So be sure to listen to your body throughout the day. Step away from your work, get a glass of water or cup of tea, or go for a short walk. If you’re an employer or manager, encourage workers to take regular breaks and lead by example in this practice.

As well as looking after your physical wellbeing, it’s important to be aware of your emotional needs and how they’re being responded to. Even people who are quite assertive and confident in their personal life can struggle to express how they feel in the workplace.

While you may think that your feelings about your job can be kept separate from your actual work, your emotional energy has a very strong influence on how well you perform. Emotional energy needs to be fueled by a sense of satisfaction, safety and trust in your work environment. Feeling unsure, uncomfortable or unsafe at work will have a negative impact on your productivity and results.

On the other hand, feeling valued, respected and safe allows employees to focus and deliver their best results, while helping to foster a positive work culture.

These days, workers are presented with a continual stream of incoming information, more than any other generation before. Technology, for all its good points, allows us to be always available, always connected, always switched ‘on’.

This means we very seldom have the chance to switch ‘off.’ And being constantly interrupted by phone calls, text messages, emails and social media notifications makes it hard to focus all our attention on one task.

Protecting your mental energy is about making sure you allow yourself to focus – on one thing at a time. While some people think it’s impressive or cool to be constantly busy and doing ten things at once, it won’t do your career any favors. In fact, multitasking is not at all conducive to absorbing information and retaining focus, most often leading to lower quality work and higher levels of anxiety and burn out.

To protect your mental energy, you need to set firm boundaries and be self-disciplined. When you feel your focus drifting off, or feel tempted to break your attention and scroll through your phone, put those thoughts aside and refocus on just one task. While breaks are planned and deliberate, distractions aren’t – and worse, they can really derail you from your task. In fact, after being distracted or interrupted, it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task at hand. Is it worth checking that incoming text message or clicking over to read a news alert?

Leaders can help employees maintain focus and mental energy by respecting and encouraging these boundaries.

According to the Energy Project study, “no single factor influences people’s job satisfaction and likelihood to stay at an organization as much as feeling connected to their company’s mission.”

Having a sense of meaning and purpose in your job is what makes it feel worthwhile. Being connected to an overall mission and working in line with your own personal values is a large part of what makes most humans feel significant. It’s also essential if you want to find your work and career rewarding.

When managers actively support employees in nurturing this purposeful energy, they’re able to create a company culture that reflects this.

Whether you’re an employer or employee, paying attention to all four core needs is the best way to make a positive impact on your organization and your own work life. Next time you're running on empty, or feel like the way you’re working is no longer working, think about your own core needs and what needs to change so you can start performing at your full potential.

Addressing the core needs of your employees

#1: How do you know if your online learning program is truly effective?

#2: How do you know what you should be measuring to gauge effectiveness?

The only way to be sure is to use a proven framework for evaluating your program. One of the most popular and widely-used learning evaluation models was created by Dr. Don Kirkpatrick almost 70 years ago, and yet it’s still being used today because it’s so effective.

The original Kirkpatrick Model includes four separate levels of evaluation:

These are the four primary areas you should be evaluating every time someone completes one of your courses.

Obviously, we’ve come a long way in terms of technology and systems since the original Kirkpatrick model was created, and this means we now have a NEW model for evaluating learning programs.

The new Kirkpatrick model includes several additions that are  much more appropriate for the learning environment (and the learners) of today’s corporate environment.

For example, in the Level I evaluation of the past, reaction was simply measured according to the level of satisfaction that learners were getting from the training.

Essentially you were asking the learner, “Are you satisfied with the training?” and if they were, you could check that off the list.

However, now we also measure engagement and relevance, both of which add a deeper dimension to the overall learning experience. In a world of “always on” social media and information exchange, engagement and relevancy are essential to maintaining attention.

So if you use the Level I model and you determine that your learners are satisfied, engaged, and the material is perceived as being relevant, then you can move on to the second level of evaluation.

During this level you’re going to be evaluating how much of the intended material has actually been retained and utilized after your learners have gone through the training. Are they actually using what you taught them - or did they simply memorize the information without truly learning to apply it?

To find out, you will break things down into subcategories and evaluate:

You won’t just be testing to see if your learners have retained the knowledge, you’ll also be trying to determine their beliefs and feelings about the material they are going through.

If your learners score highly in those five areas of evaluation then you can confidently move on to the third level of your evaluation process.

At this point you will be monitoring performance to determine how much of the learned material is actually being applied in the workplace.

If your learners love the material but they are not applying it correctly on the job, for example, then you will need to take a close look at your program to find out where things are falling through the cracks so you can fix it.

One of the more interesting additions to the Kirkpatrick model is the inclusion of “required drivers” as an evaluation point. This is where you take a close look at your processes for encouraging and rewarding learners for their behavior.

This is one of the keys to getting the material to actually “stick” and ultimately become utilized by your team in the workplace.

Once you’ve thoroughly evaluated the behavioral aspects of your program, then you can move on to the final level and measure the most important aspect of your program.

This is where you’ll be taking a look at your metrics and determining the overall efficacy of your program.

(Interestingly enough, this is also the critical point where many developers completely drop the ball in the course design.)

What many course developers don’t realize is the fact that your job does not end once the learners have gone through your program – the truth is that right here is where the real learning “golden nuggets” can be found.

After your learners have gone through the program you will want to design follow-up activities and evaluations to continuously reinforce the material and make sure that the learners are using it appropriately.

You might use robust Learning Management Systems or you  might choose to use simple surveys and email follow-ups at this point. What matters is that you’re following up and helping your learners retain and utilize the information continuously over time.

So there you have it - four primary areas to evaluate your online learning program and find out just how effective it truly is. Once you’ve put your program through this framework, you’ll then be able to troubleshoot various aspects of the training and optimize for performance. Do this and you’ll be surprised how much more effective your systems will become.

At the end of the day you’re looking for a return on your  learning investment that you can measure over time. This might be an increase in sales or customer service satisfaction,  or it might be a decrease in employee turnover. Whatever your success metrics are, this model can help you optimize your learning program so you can hit your goals and see a positive return.

If you run a company or organization, you’re responsible for providing your employees with a safe workplace, free from any hazards and health risks. Employers must also be compliant with current safety laws and regulations, while providing appropriate safety training for all staff. One of the most important aspects of workplace safety is the use of personal protective equipment – or PPE.

PPE equipment is worn by workers in many industries, to protect them against health and safety risks. Whether it’s the hard hats worn by constructions workers, safety eye glasses used by welders, or protective coats for lab workers, PPE gear can be life-saving. 

How are you training your employees in workplace safety? And proactively improving their awareness of the importance of PPE? Today we’ll look at how you can use online courses to help promote a safer workplace and ensure the safety and wellbeing of your employees.

Using eLearning to increase PPE awareness

When companies deliver workplace safety training to staff, it’s often presented in one solid block of training, such as an all-day orientation session or two-hour workshop. You might want to consider using online courses instead, to deliver staff training. Online training courses are available for all areas of workplace safety and compliance, including PPE awareness.

eLearning courses provide everything you need to help you deliver effective staff safety training, while making training easier and more convenient for your staff. With online training, employees can log in and complete short modules at a time and place that’s convenient to them. There’s no need for your company to book out expensive conference rooms, or hire instructors and facilitators - with online learning, you can save your company money and cause less disruption to employee productivity.

Improve employee engagement with safety training

With online training, you’ll also be providing staff with a far more engaging user experience. It’s common knowledge that individuals retain more information when training materials are made more engaging.

These days, it’s no longer best practice to have employees sit through lengthy lectures, or wade through endless workbooks. With online courses, you can provide staff with access to targeted online training activities and modules based on their specific job description. This means the course content will be more relevant and interesting to them, and they’ll be more motivated to learn and actively participate in training on these subjects.

Delivering training in a way that ensures staff are properly engaged will greatly help reduce the risk of accidents, injuries and hazards for your organization.

PPE awareness – An online course for staff training

With courses like PPE Awareness, you can make staff aware of the importance of personal protective equipment and its role in workplace safety.

Personal Protective Equipment - PPE - Health and Safety

This engaging online course explains why not taking PPE seriously can have devastating impacts. Through the eLearning materials, employees will explore the consequences of not wearing PPE and look at some common PPE types and the hazards they protect people from. Staff will also learn how to look after their PPE, and report any issues with their gear, so it can continue to look after them.

So many workplace accidents, injuries and fatalities can be easily prevented with proper investment in workplace safety training. By making the safety of your workplace a top priority, you’ll also avoid serious repercussions for your business, including loss in productivity, legal expenses, fines and insurance arising from a workplace incident. There's no doubt about it, committing to the safety and wellbeing of your employees is well worth the investment.

Improve workplace safety and PPE awareness with online training

I admit to being a baseball fan and therefore I have seen Field of Dreams many times.  Yet I do not believe that, in learning, if you build it (the most elegant learning ecosystem in the world) people will just use it.

User Experience is critical for Digital Learning to succeed.  Creating a great user experience means having the ecosystem built out with the technology to find and access content, curated internal, external, informal and formal content, social networks and groups established.  Do not expect everyone to be attracted to the shiney new tech.  Installing a cool tech solution is step one.  Step two is filling the content and creating the frameworks.  Finally, the big third step is communicating and marketing the solution.

Developing and maintaining a solid marketing and communication program builds excitement and ultimately the usage of the new solution.  And that communication as well as the implementation starts at the top, with leaders and SMEs.  Leadership buy in and endorsements are critical.  If you sign up leaders to help market, or, even better, produce content, their teams will take the time to follow.

In the case of Digital Learning, have leaders propose articles, do short videos and support topics.  Easy to say, not easy to implement when your leaders are already busy.

Leaders are driving and producing.  It can be hard to grab their attention and to get them to sponsor, endorse or participate in programs.  Nevertheless, they are essential.  If participants see their manager or their manager 2 or 3 layers up involved, they will be much more likely to join in.  It can be the biggest single factor in a program’s success.  So, how do you engage leaders?

First and foremost, make it easy for them.  Create a list of your expectations and describe what is involved in each area.  For example, if you want a senior leader to create a video for the program, have the logistics set up.  Can they use a phone or do you need a studio?  Who will write the script? What is the time commitment?  And, of course, what is in it for them?  Or if you want them to speak at a face-to-face event, you need to book them far in advance and work with their admin/chief of staff.  Who will create the slides?  Come to the leader with the Why, the What and the How.

There are lots of great ways that even a CEO can help.  Create the posts, set up the videos, set up a schedule.  Involving leaders can also keep the program business focused.

Depending on the size of your organization, chances are that you have a marketing team, perhaps a corporate communications team and/or a Culture and Engagement team.  Their input on messaging within your company is important.  They typically have a cycle of messages, a brand and often a tool.  Talk about the cadence and focus of internal communications.  Get your programs added to the schedule.  If you have a learning portal or experience network, show them how your tools can help get their message to employees.

Developing a communications plan requires many hands and elements.  It requires you to think like a marketer.   Most companies say “everyone is in sales.”  In this case, creating a successful learning program requires everyone to be in Marketing.

It may seem obvious, but I am surprised how often “pilots” or beta versions of learning programs are delivered without being complete or thought out, especially with new technology.

I was involved in a large corporate rollout of a great technology to over 60,000 users.  The vendor suggested a two-stage rollout plan that would take 3 months to engage.  Stage one was to engage Subject Matter Experts to populate the database.  Those 5,000 SMEs were already identified, we only need to communicate, enroll them and follow up.  However, leadership was anxious to get started to prove the investment.  As a result, we did one big push and announcement to all 60,000 potential participants.  There was no SME content, no leaders and no reason to use the tool.  The best participation at the end of the year was 12,000.  We dropped the program and the investment as well as the effort was lost.

In the If You Build it context, that means that you should launch with content, personalization and social networks established from day one, as well as an ongoing communications plan.

Build marketing, set up and roll out into your plans.  Think like a marketer and build engagement.

Becky Willis has a mix of executive leadership in sales and marketing and deep learning strategy and development experience. Known for strategic and innovative solutions, Becky is an organizational leader who thinks about learning with a business mindset.

Today, Becky is a co-founder of WilLearn Consulting, where she focuses on helping companies, plan, design and develop high performance learning.

Think like a marketer and build engagement with your learning program

If you’re working in the eLearning industry, you’re no doubt familiar with the term SCORM. You probably know that SCORM stands for ‘Sharable Content Object Reference Model’ and that certain systems can be ‘SCORM compliant’.

But do you really understand the way in which the SCORM model works? And how it impacts the potential of your company’s learning and development program?

Today we’ll look closer at SCORM – why it was developed, how SCORM files make online course development easier and why this technical standard is so important for eLearning.

SCORM was first released in early 2000, 16 years ago, and according to Des V. Anderson, CTO at LearnUpon, is “the most commonly used content standard in eLearning… [working] to standardize learning content between the industry’s many developers and vendors.”

What does this mean? Essentially, the SCORM model determines how online learning content and Learning Management Systems communicate with each other. It simplifies how online learning content works with different platforms and tools.

When departments work autonomously, developing their own eLearning courses and delivering them via the LMS of their choice, it can lead to problems with content duplication and information all over the place. With SCORM, a set of technical standards was developed to improve interoperability between eLearning products.

How Does SCORM Make Online Course Development Easier?

Before the development of the SCORM standard, life was much harder for anyone wanting to creating eLearning content. After all, there was no way of knowing whether the content you developed for one platform or LMS would be understood by another.

We look at SCORM – why it was developed, how SCORM files make online course development easier and why this technical standard is important for eLearning