When you resign from a job, the last thing you probably want to think about is handing over the reins to a new person. Most likely, your focus is already on your next exciting career move. However, creating insightful handover notes can make a massive difference for the incoming employee, your teammates, your manager, and the business overall. 

Many of us have probably experienced a job where we were thrown into the deep end from day one and left to fend for ourselves with no handover notes and no direction. Or, worse, a few days in you discover there are a million questions you wish you’d had an opportunity to ask your predecessor. To put it mildly, it's not much fun. That’s why thorough, detailed handover notes are crucial.  

Handovers are an essential process for any organisation. While organisations usually place a lot of focus on onboarding, offboarding exiting employees and completing a formal handover process is just as vital. 

When an employee leaves a position — regardless of the circumstances — they should always carry out a proper handover process to ensure a smooth transition. Having exiting employees hand over their workload will help the new hire hit the ground running and know exactly what’s expected of them.

If you’re an employer or manager, it’s your responsibility to ensure incoming employees receive a detailed handover — whether they’re joining the team long-term or just covering the position for a maternity or long-service leave stint.

Unfortunately, many organisations neglect this handover process, with a study by Aberdeen Research finding that 71% of organisations say they have no formal handover process in place. We think it’s about time that changed. 

So, here’s everything you need to know about handovers for exiting employees. We'll start by asking why you need to prepare a good handover, before looking at what to include in your handover notes and asking what managers can do to help with the handover process. 

Why do you need to prepare a good handover?

A good handover (sometimes known as offboarding) will help new team members settle into their position more quickly and feel comfortable and confident with their new job.

A detailed handover can also benefit other staff and the broader business, as you’ll find much less disruption to team workflows and productivity rates.

As RWA Insights explains, "[handovers] are particularly important if a role is being taken over by a new  member of staff, who will be unfamiliar with the organisation in  general. Clear, detailed notes that fully outline any processes and  procedures will help the incoming member of staff settle in and get to  grips with the job more quickly."

Additionally, when long-term team members leave an organisation, there’s always a risk of accrued knowledge and experience departing with them.  In fact, research by Digital Skynet finds that 27% of all Intellectual Property (IP) loss is down to human error such as this. Handovers reduce the risk of IP loss by helping to transition knowledge between the exiting team member and the new hire.

Despite this, HR leaders dedicate 8x more time to creating, implementing, and administering onboarding programs than offboarding (or handover) programs. What’s more, only 29% of organisations say they have a formal program to transition employees out of a company. Yet, research shows that organisations with a formal handover process are 14% more likely to improve retention and 11% more likely to improve engagement. 

Additionally, a recent report found that 76% of IT Leaders believe a lack of offboarding processes represents a significant security threat. Further research suggests that lax offboarding processes lead to $300 million in lost revenue and $8.3 million in cyber security breaches per year! In light of the great resignation, where companies are dealing with employee resignations and offboarding more than ever before, these statistics should be alarming. 

Naturally, the detail and length of a handover will vary depending on the complexity or seniority of a job, as well as how long the position is being covered. However, a standardised handover strategy is essential for all high-impact teams.

According to Emily Das, an independent adviser at HR Consultants Ltd, incoming employees should spend at least a couple of hours with the outgoing staff member. 

"It's absolutely critical that there is at least a basic handover, because in a small firm, jobs often cover more than the employee was originally recruited for," says Das.

For a long-term handover, there should always be both a face-to-face conversation and a written document.

"If it's a key role, it might even be worthwhile bringing the new employee in early for work shadowing," suggests Das. This process would see both employees — old and new — working together for up to a week, so the new team member can carry out tasks under the guidance of the experienced employee and ask any questions that may arise. 

To see some of these tips in action, start your free trial with Go1 today to access a dedicated course on Successful handovers — How to make a smooth transition. 

Your handover notes should include all the information the new employee will need to ensure a smooth transition. When preparing handover notes, mentally go through a typical week in your role, noting all the significant tasks, processes, and people that a new hire will need to know. 

"The handover should be structured, take at least half a day and include all the employee's day-to-day tasks," says Das. "There should also be a written note, with specific instructions about systems or projects, and useful contact numbers.”

Here are some things you might want to include in your handover notes:

A description of all your daily tasks and processes

Access to all relevant spreadsheets, documents, and files (ensure you share copies of these with existing team members so they aren't deleted or lost when your account is removed)

Ongoing project deadlines and status updates

Information about any regular/recurring meetings

A list of key contacts – customers, clients, stakeholders, managers, team members etc. 

Details of all logins and passwords, and information on who to contact for tech support 

Housekeeping – location of keys, stationery, tools etc.

Any other miscellaneous information that may be useful to help the new hire settle in 

Think about everything you would need to know if you were starting the job afresh. You can also include questions you had when you first started the job. You might even find that preparing your handover notes can be a nice little boost, as you reflect on all the tasks and projects you’ve completed!

What can managers do to help with the handover process?

While it’s up to exiting employees to develop thorough handover notes, managers are responsible for ensuring this process happens in the first place. 

As mentioned, it’s not uncommon for an exiting employee to feel checked out or unmotivated to create detailed handover notes. Therefore, managers should emphasise the importance of this process. Have the exiting employee start preparing for a handover as soon as they hand in their resignation. Make it clear that this is their top priority before they leave.

Give exiting employees time to prepare handover notes 

You might also want to collaborate with employees on their handover notes to provide direction and cover specific things you’d like them to pass on before they go.

At the same time, don’t add to their existing workload by giving them too many new projects or deadlines. Depending on the job, it may be necessary to reduce their workload to ensure they have ample time to prepare detailed handover notes. 

If you’ve made it clear that the exiting employee should focus on preparing handover notes, it's your responsibility as a manager to give them time and space to complete this task.

If you’re an employee leaving a position, do your best to give a detailed handover to the new person. Depending on the circumstances of your departure, you may be feeling disengaged, checked out, burnt out, or just plain excited about moving on! But leaving your job on good terms and ensuring a smooth transition for the next person will show your true professionalism.

Not only is preparing detailed handover notes a sign of your professionalism, but it is rarely a good idea to burn bridges in these scenarios. There's always a chance you might rely on your former employer for a reference in the future. However, more importantly, research shows that 15% of employees ‘boomerang’ and return to work for a former employer. Plus, a massive 40% of employees say they would consider ‘boomeranging’ back to work for a former employer. If you burn bridges by preparing poor handover notes, this option might be off the table. 

Finally, preparing a thorough handover means being respectful to your teammates who are staying. These teammates will carry the extra workload while the new employee settles in, so, a smooth handover will be particularly beneficial for them. By taking the time to carry out a proper handover, you’ll be closing off this phase of your career with a clear mind, ready to start the next exciting chapter of your professional life.

For more insights on offboarding, 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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Handovers are an essential process for any organisation. Here’s everything you need to know about handovers for exiting employees.

The importance of handovers for exiting employees

Do you really need to train workers in the aged care industry?

The answer is a resounding yes. With the demand for care workers rising every year, it’s easy to overlook providing basic training. After all, you’ve got to fill in the vacancies quickly, right?

But, it’s essential now more than ever before that employees receive adequate training, as well as ongoing support for their roles. It’s an important job, but certainly not an easy one.

Caring for the elderly can be a rewarding, yet tough job – physically and emotionally. There’s a lot of different roles that accompany the job and it’s impossible for everyone to automatically be good at everything.

It’s essential to provide a good standard of care for elderly people that need help in their daily lives. 

The US Census Bureau is saying that the senior population will reach 83 million by 2050 – we’re already standing at around 50 million people right now for the first time in history.

Of course, as the aging population continues to grow, so does the demand for workers in the aged care industry. Care workers require a varied skill set, anything from preparing food to caring for ill patients.

In order to maintain a good standard of care for everyone, basic training is essential, as well as ongoing support, to cover all bases of the job.

Let’s break it down and have a look at some of the benefits of training your aged care workers:

So, we’ve briefly touched on this already. But, it’s definitely worth repeating. Basic training is going to preserve a better standard of care across the board for all of the elderly that need some help in their daily lives.

You can’t have an untrained workforce providing such an important support function for seniors, without at least knowing the basics. After all, these are the people that need help the most.

Looking at the situation from an employee’s perspective, providing care can be a demanding job. Nobody likes to be thrown in at the deep end.

Training is going to help ease that strain and allow employees to have the support they need to become better at their job. With more confidence and learning new skills, comes better morale and job satisfaction. Not to mention better aged care. Everybody wins!

For an employer, providing basic training makes sure that everyone knows what they are doing and can be trusted and left to do their job properly.

Plus, employers can provide updates on important changes in the aged care industry, as well as give employees the chance to increase their skills. Everyone knows that supported and happy staff means they are more likely to stay for longer.

So, you’ve decided it’s time to invest in basic training for employees. But where do you start and how exactly do you do this successfully? Thankfully we have the answer and that’s online e-learning courses.

These are great for employers on a budget, as well as providing training to different departments. This makes it particularly useful for the aged care industry where roles vary.

When it comes to the aged care industry, online e-learning courses have you covered. They provide a host of courses that are available to provide support and fun ways to learn for your care workers.

From understanding more about the manual tasks involved in aged care to learning how to follow the best food handling techniques and sanitation, there’s a course for everything.

With the wealth of courses available, it’s never been easier to train your staff. What’s more, online e-learning courses make training more interesting and way more fun for your teams.

Now you don’t have to send your employees to training courses or events - You can choose courses with animation and amusing videos, as well as interactive quizzes and even games instead.

One of the best things about online e-learning courses is that they can be accessed from anywhere. They are instant to add to your LMS and employees can use their own mobile devices and tablets to learn in their own time.

There’s no need to take time off for training anymore – employees can choose when and where they want to learn. Whether it’s on the bus on the way to work or at the weekend in the comfort of their own home, they’re quick and totally accessible for everyone.

The aged care industry is one of the fastest growing industries right now and it’ll continue to be this way for the foreseeable future. That’s why the need for basic training is essential.

Training is going to help sustain a good standard of care for the elderly, as well as support staff and make sure they are competent and happy in their roles. As an employer, when everyone else is happy, this makes your mission much easier to fulfill.

Online e-learning courses make it easy to provide basic training on demand, anytime and anywhere. It’s cost-effective, quick and educational, providing your staff with everything they need to provide the best care for the elderly.

What are you waiting for? There’s a whole world of courses out there that are perfect for the job!


Get Go1 for Aged Care for your team today! 

Training basics for the aged care industry

Are you counting down the days until your annual leave? It’s most likely that your employees and colleagues are feeling the same way, now that the end of the work year is clearly in sight! As we move into December, it can be hard to keep employees motivated in the final weeks of the year – but rather than ignore the issue, why not choose to tackle it head on?

With the holiday season full of distractions such as Christmas shopping, family commitments, vacation planning and endless events, employee productivity and focus can start to plummet. Many workers are also just plain tired and looking forward to a break, shifting into a lower gear as they start to wind down for the year.

At this time of year, employers and managers might notice staff taking longer lunches, skipping meetings, or checking out mentally from their work tasks. In fact, a recent study revealed that employee activity levels in North America drop by 52% between mid-December and the New Year.

But rather than getting frustrated with your employees, or yourself, it’s best to have some strategies in place to keep focused and stay on track. By doing this, you can make sure your business continues to hit targets and reach organisational goals, while ending the year on a positive note with your team.

Here are three things you can do to keep energy and motivation levels high right up until the Christmas break.

The key word here is achievable. Having a clear and realistic goal in sight can really help to keep employees on track and engaged in their work.

If you’re a manager or team leader, work with each staff member to establish a goal that you want them to achieve before they go on annual leave. This could be hitting a sales target or deadline, landing a particular client or gig, securing a set number of new customers… anything that will help to motivate and boost their performance.

Or why not set an end-of-year goal as a team? By hitting this target together before the break, you’ll be ending the year on a high note and setting a positive vibe for the following year. Remember, make sure it’s a realistic and achievable goal – the last thing you want at this time of year is low morale.

Setting these kinds of end-of-year goals is also a good idea for freelancers or anyone who works remotely or is self-employed. These workers are just as likely to experience the same drop in productivity and focus – but without a manager to keep them on track!

Whether you're working solo or as part of a team, get really organised and map out all the deadlines and targets you need to hit before you go on leave, working backwards from your last day of work. Knowing exactly what you need to deliver, on a weekly and daily basis, will help keep your head clear in this last hectic month of the year.

While December is always a busy month, it’s the perfect time to recognise the hard work of your employees throughout the year. And this can really help to keep staff motivated and positive right up until they go on leave.

There’s no doubt that positive feedback and recognition is an important part of increasing employee motivation and engagement – people are much happier, and work harder, when they feel valued. It also shows that you’ve been paying attention to their efforts during the year.

Managers – why not organise a team event to celebrate the wins of the year with staff, as well as those achievable goals we mentioned above? It could be a simple team lunch, or a day spent out of the office doing a fun bootcamp or yoga class, tree planting, or volunteering at a local charity. Ask your employees how they’d like to celebrate – they’ll appreciate it.

Many companies also give out end-of-year bonuses or awards. But as James Clark, Content Marketing Specialist at DATIS HR Cloud, says, there are plenty of other ways to reward staff that don’t involve money.

“Keep in mind there are rewards and gifts outside of bonuses and gift cards. Offering extra days [off] in the new year to the hardest worker of the quarter is a way to motivate employees without offering them an instantly redeemable monetary reward,” Clark suggests.

It’s also really important that employers and managers lead by example at this time of year.

There’s no point setting team goals, giving out awards or taking the team out for lunch if your own motivation and energy levels are down. Your employees will respond to your vibe – and if you’re struggling to keep it together at end-of-year your whole team will be in trouble.

As we said above, now that we’ve hit December you’re most likely counting down the days until your own annual leave. And you know your employees are feeling the same. The best thing to do is pitch in and get the job done, so everyone can head out on annual leave knowing that the year has ended on a successful and productive note.

Clark says that true leadership during this time of year “comes from executives rolling up their sleeves and working hard side-by-side with their employees. If executives expect their employees to push themselves to the limits by the end of the year, they will have to do so as well.”

Establish goals, show staff their hard work is valued, and keep your own motivation and productivity levels up in these last few weeks. All of these things will have a positive impact on your organisation and team in this final month of the year, and you can head off on your holidays knowing you've closed off the year well.


Get 600+ courses from $4 per user per month 

Keeping employees motivated at the end of the year

One of the many cool things about the Go1 platform is that it allows you to easily assign learning to your team members – automatically. How? By using the groups functionality within the Go1 portal.

By taking a little bit of time to learn how to use the groups feature, you can start automating assigned online courses to your learners. What’s more, Go1’s bulk upload feature allows you to add users to groups at the same time as you add them to the portal, and then easily automate the assigning of learning to members within groups. Sounds pretty useful, right?

Our most recent episode of The eLearning Assist, Episode 4, gave plenty of information and insight into this feature.

Weren’t able to attend the webinar? Or want a closer look at the content covered on the day? Here’s a 20-minute recap of Episode 4, for anyone who missed out.

Every episode of The eLearning Assist is run by a different member of the Go1 team so that you can tap into the knowledge within the team, covering all aspects of eLearning from creating content, learning principles, improving processes, selling courses, compliance, and expanding your training program.

In Episode 4 of The eLearning Assist, we had Scott Cooper and Camden McKenzie from the Go1 team, talking us through the groups functionality within the Go1 portal.

As you’ll see in the recap, the webinar covered all aspects of:

Through Camden’s live demo, you’ll see how you can apply these concepts to really improve the way you deliver training to your team. And as Scott said during the webinar, “this is a really valuable tool, that everyone using Go1 should be using to make life a bit easier.”

The sessions are free for anyone to attend, and are a great chance to learn some new skills that you can apply in your organisation.

Remember, the Go1 team are here 24/7 with live support. So if you have any questions about what we covered in the webinar, or need help setting up your portal, please get in touch as we’d love to help you out. Also, if there are any topics that you would like to see us cover in our next episode, let us know!


Haven’t got a Go1 portal yet? Sign up for free today!

The eLearning Assist: Episode 4 catchup – automating assigned learning with groups

The impact of technology on everyday life is clear, influencing the way we communicate, work, socialise and unwind. With the ongoing rise of social media, dating apps, and entertainment sites such as NetFlix, technology can be seen to have a grip on every aspect of modern life. And while technology trends certainly impact our day-to-day lives, they also have a significant impact on the way we learn.

Trends in technology are having a huge influence on the eLearning industry, where we’re seeing the effects of gamification, virtual and augmented reality, webinars and live streaming on learners.


Today we’ll take a look at the influence of these tech trends on the learning industry, and their impacts on employee training and development.

When it comes to eLearning, one of the biggest technology trends of the moment is gamification – the application of gaming design, psychology, principles and mechanics to learning content.

Gamification can be successfully used for a number of employee training needs, such as induction processes, onboarding, compliance, professional development and change management. And it works for staff of all ages, keeping them interested in and engaged with the content. Take a look at some of the exciting ways in which gamification is being used in the workplace.

The Potential of Virtual Reality in the Workplace

Virtual reality is another big player when it comes to tech trends in eLearning.

As augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) become more accessible in everyday life, it makes sense to apply this technology to learning. And in fact, one of the most exciting aspects of virtual reality is its potential for employee training.

When used in the workplace, virtual reality will result in:

greater collaboration for teams and remote workers

With virtual reality, employees can take part in simulations that replicate the exact conditions which they would experience in the workplace – rather than learning in the traditional training environment with its textbooks and Powerpoint presentations.

Think about the potential – doctors could practice performing difficult surgeries; factory workers could carry out vital safety drills; corporate employees could overcome their fear of public speaking – with virtual reality, the possibilities are endless. See how VR could change your workplace!

Dr. Michael Jurgen Garbade, Founder & CEO LiveEdu.tv, considers streaming to be another key tech trend that is impacting the learning industry.

“Streaming is something that has taken the world by storm and education has not been left out of this growing trend,” Gabarde says.

We can see this in the ongoing popularity of social media platforms that use live streaming capabilities. Trainers, teachers and educators are already using these platforms as part of their learning content, to explore key topics and promote engagement with their learners is a live interactive space.

As Gabarde explains, “streams are popular as a result of [the] real-time and interactive atmosphere which they provide. A live stream essentially places you in a classroom environment on the internet. You can watch the instructor carry out their lesson in real-time and then ask questions or interact with your peers during the broadcast.”

Older training methods, and even those relying on video, simply don’t offer the same benefits that are available with streaming.

How are you using these technology trends for learning and development? Are you incorporating gamification, virtual and augmented reality, and live streaming into your content? The influence of technology on the eLearning space is only set to get bigger and better, so get on board!

How technology trends are influencing eLearning

Are you hosting a work holiday party, but want to make sure everything goes to plan this year?

The festive holidays are nearly upon us, which means tis the season to be jolly! Not only is it one of the best times of the year for social gatherings with family and friends, but it is also a time of celebration for many companies and businesses.

It marks the end of the business year and this means thanking employees for all their hard work over the last 12 months. Of course, everyone really loves the free food and drinks at the holiday party - this is normally the highlight of the year for many people!

We’ve all heard the stories that float around the office the following week about the time someone had a little too much at the work Christmas party.

While these stories can be harmless and funny, often things can turn sour pretty quickly at a work holiday party, especially when alcohol is involved.

Intoxication and employees going overboard when it comes to alcohol can lead to serious problems for your company. We aren’t just talking about spilled drinks – we mean safety concerns, bad behavior and harassment claims.

Too often we’re seeing complaints and problems at holiday parties, which takes the fun away from the festive occasion. The worst thing is that these situations could be easily avoided.

Not only are adverse events departing from the holiday spirit, but it also means that your company is liable for anything that happens between employees – it doesn’t matter that it didn’t happen during normal working hours, you are responsible.

So, how can you make these problems less likely to happen? Well, we think it’s all about changing the setup of your holiday party and making sure everyone knows exactly what’s expected of them. Let’s have a closer look.

What’s the first thing a lot of employees think about when you mention the holiday party? It’s got to be the unlimited alcohol.

While you want to reward your employees for their hard work, it doesn’t mean you need to give them unrestricted bar access. Now, we don’t mean ban alcoholic beverages altogether – we’re just saying everything in moderation.

There’s no doubt we can see a link between intoxication and unacceptable conduct. So, just forget about the open bar this year. Why not provide drink tickets so everyone can enjoy their fair share without overdoing it?

Even simple adjustments, such as serving a full dinner or limited the wine on the table, will make sure everyone stays in the festive spirit and nothing bad happens.

Another way to ensure a fun and happy holiday party for all your employees is to switch it up and focus more on having different games and activities. After all, this is a social event – it’s a great time for employees to bond and get to know each other.

One of the best ways to have a successful holiday party is by reminding employees what is expected of them beforehand. This is the simplest way to point out what’s acceptable conduct and what will not be tolerated.

This way you can set the tone and create a safe environment for everyone. Let’s not forget that the work holiday party is about having fun and celebrating the end of the year after all that hard work!

So, how can you do this? It’s pretty easy actually – e-learning online courses. Let’s face it, a lot of your employees won’t read the boring and long email you send around warning about inappropriate behavior. This means you’ve got to get creative.

Thankfully, e-learning online courses do this for you. All you’ve got to do is select the ones you want.

Just like we use e-learning online courses for employee inductions and ongoing training purposes, they’re also exactly what you need to remind everyone about acceptable conduct at the holiday party.

The great thing is that it’s instant to add to the LMS, cost-effective and engaging for employees. Why send around a lifeless email when you can choose an animated and colorful video that employees are going to remember?

e-learning courses can be general and explain the rules and regulations, as well as highlight your own company policies that everyone should comply with.

It’s going to bring to light the key points that should be in the back of employee’s minds when they are at the party. This can avoid the risk of unpleasant and unacceptable situations occurring.

Often telling a story is an easier way for people to digest the information and it brings to life what can actually happen in real situations. Sometimes this is all that’s needed as a deterrent.

Plus, another benefit of e-learning online courses is that you can choose courses with quizzes at the end and track employee’s process to see who’s completing the compliance courses and how well they’re doing.

By changing the focus of your work holiday party and reminding employees before the event of the company rules and policies on unacceptable conduct, you can minimize the risk of bad behavior and harassment from happening.

This way you can have a celebratory holiday party where you can toast to the accomplishments of the year and make sure your employees feel appreciated. It’s all going to boost the morale in the office and promote a happy New Year for all!


Avoiding compliance issues at your work holiday party

Following on from our recent article on how to prepare before creating eLearning content, we thought we’d put together a checklist to help you out even further. Having a checklist is really handy when it comes to eLearning course design – you can mentally tick things off as you go, to make sure your course design is on track and meeting the needs of your learners.

As we’ve said before, the best eLearning courses always involve a good amount of preparation and planning.

Earlier this year, we published an eLearning course design checklist that focuses on important aspects of eLearning design such as graphics, fonts, multimedia, and accessibility. And our eLearning content article (mentioned above) was all about creating the best content and storyboard for your audience.

Feel free to jump over and have a look at those articles too! But today’s checklist is more about the practical elements of course design – almost like a project management tool for the eLearning course design process.

Covering these practical aspects will help you to keep your course design running smoothly, making the process of designing an eLearning course a whole lot easier.

Are you meeting the expectations of your learners?

I recently came across a great article for eLearning Rapid Blog, which likened the course design process to a pre-flight checklist carried out by flight attendants before taking off. And that’s a good comparison to draw! You don’t want to launch your online course into the world without checking you’ve hit the mark on certain things.

One of the things the author of this article kept coming back to was being aware of expectations – of both your learners and the client. When designing an eLearning course, it’s best to keep this in front of mind throughout the process. eLearning Rapid Blog recommends setting clear expectations, to better understand the client’s needs and determine how training will help. And knowing the expectations of your learners – the employees or students who will be taking your course.

What do you know about your audience? Exactly who is your eLearning course being created for? What do they expect and/or need to get out of this course?

Do you have a learning project or training budget?

You’ll also need to look at the costs involved in creating your online course. Is there a clear budget?

If you’re working for a client, have that conversation before you start designing the course.

A good tip from eLearning Rapid Blog: “even if you don’t need the money, it’s a good idea to build the expectation that you need a budget to go with your training project.” This way, you’re encouraging the client or organisation to invest in learning and development for their employees.

With the Go1 platform, you can easily create your own online courses, from just $1 per user per month.

How are you going to roll the online course out to users?

Make sure you’ve thought about the implementation process before creating your course. You’ll need to know exactly how you’re going to deliver the training materials to employees.

Will you roll it out to managers or senior leaders first? What marketing strategies will you use to launch the course to staff? It’s best to take the time to think about all these factors before you get into your course design.

What approval processes do you need to go through?

We all know that lengthy approval processes can really slow things down, for any project.

You’ll want to be aware of any approval layers and processes you need to go through before getting started on your course design. This is because the changes that can come back from those decision-makers will most likely mean changes for your course design.

eLearning Rapid Blog raises a good point:

“Often you’ll work on a course and then right before launch someone higher up in the food chain gets involved and wants to make changes. Find out who this person is before you get too involved in the project and be sure to keep them in the loop throughout.”

Solid advice! Make note of  all approval processes and key decision-makers at the very start of your eLearning project, so you don't get any last-minute surprises.

How will you evaluate your online course?

Last, but certainly not least, make evaluation part of your checklist.

All projects benefit from an evaluation process, and it’s no different when it comes to eLearning. Surprisingly, while most companies invest a significant amount of time and money into learning and development, very few organisations take the time to evaluate the impact of employee training.

You’ll need to show how you plan to collect and evaluate data and figures, to see whether your online course is successful with learners. You can find useful information in our article about measuring the impact of employee training, including guidelines for using Kirkpatrick’s ‘four levels of evaluation’ model.

Covering off this checklist will ensure you’ve taken the time to consider five very important aspects of eLearning course design:

This will go a long way in helping to keep your course design process running smoothly, while making sure you’re designing your eLearning course in the best way possible for your learners.

Designing an eLearning course? Use our pre-course checklist

Get some inspiration in your tank with a taster of our favourite digital learning projects from this year. From curation to caring, these three elearning examples all strike at the heart of their users and their behaviours - delivering fantastically immersive experiences as well as practical, personalised toolkits - they help shape what we mean by elearning today.

1. Emotional elearning - immersive learning that makes you care

Emotions and elearning aren’t often thought of together. Yet emotional engagement is necessary for the brain to learn. Here’s an example of immersive storytelling that gets it just right.

“A Support Net” from the Open University

Developed in collaboration with Elucidat and Tilt, the Open University’s A Support Net is an immersive branching scenario experience that gives users a chance to influence f a character’s mental health. The decisions they make impact positively or negatively on the character’s wellbeing, building to a final, personalised summary of how they handled the situation. The poignantly scripted and fantastically produced, raw, videos pull the audience in from the off and make the whole experience tangibly real.

Brilliant storytelling and realistic, down to earth video production

Users learn through consequences of their own actions, and through reflection, not ‘telling’

Brings in social polling to show the choices made by others

Personalised final summary profiles the style of support the user gave, and shows different possible outcomes

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2 - Scenarios that don’t break the bank - audio-based sales training

Branching scenarios and simulations are popular in elearning because they get users learning by doing. Or, more accurately, learning by failing, and building confidence alongside competence. But they don’t always have to involve video or dramatic scripts. This audio-driven scenario shows how Sales training simulations can be achieved without snaffling all your budget. See if you can spot a qualified lead.

Do it yourself style audio clips simulate real customer phone calls without expense

Accumulative scoring tracks progress along the way

Final summary compares users’ response with peers and an expert - without ‘telling’ for adult style learning

Simple, clean look and feel can easily be switched into other brands