5 tips to knock your training program out of the park
This week marked the summer midpoint of the 2017 Major League Baseball season, which of course brought with it the ever-popular MLB All Star Game and Home Run Derby. Both did not disappoint. In a powerful performance by Yankees rookie and league home run leader, Aaron Judge crushed this year’s Home Run Derby, hitting “nearly four miles of home runs… including four of more than 500 feet.” The 88th Major League Baseball All-Star Game also delivered some excitement with the American League’s 2-1, tenth inning win over the National League.
When it comes to your career and your digital learning program, we know you’d much rather knock it out of the park than end up deadlocked with your fiercest competitor. So, to pay homage to this week’s competitions, not to mention all of the great baseball we’ve seen played since April 2, 2017, use these five tips to help you step up to the plate and go for the grand slam:
- Play as a team: Your training organization may not have the combined athletic prowess of the American League, but you can still work together to elevate the importance of learning and development throughout the organization. The most successful teams combine and complement each other’s skills to win the game and this is no different in business. Consider asking internal experts to help create content to supplement the pre-built courses in your library. It’s also very important to have execs and managers champion the importance of training to motivate and inspire learners to stay on top of required courses.
- Throw the fast ball: It may be a baseball cliché that pitching wins ballgames, but it’s true. Modern training needs to be quick, so serve up speedy courses that your learners can complete in a flash. This doesn’t mean the info will blow past them and not be retained. In fact, studies show that learners retain smaller bits of info better when they’re woven into regular, daily workflows. This also means avoiding throwing curve balls, like expecting learners to complete training in unrealistic time frames or using un-intuitive technology that hinders the education process.
- Keep your players in shape: Training can’t be a once-a-quarter endeavor if you want to have a team that runs circles around the competition. In order to keep your players at peak performance levels, training needs to be incorporated into their weekly or monthly processes. This ensures that they stay abreast of changes and new products, services, or requirements. You’ll stay in better shape too, as you work to keep content fresh and relevant on an ongoing basis.
- Aim for the fences: Just as a batter wants to send the ball into the stands, your learners want to hit home runs in their careers. A key component of many successful corporate training programs is training towards upward mobility in the organization. You can create programs that guide learners along clear paths to promotion or other perks and rewards, such as bonuses. Also, it’s essential that your learners aren’t confined to the stadium or the headquarters, so always make it mobile!
- Never stand still: Training needs to continue evolving, especially as technology and regulations are changing faster than ever. You need to not only update existing courses, but also expand your content offerings in order to keep teams fully up-to-speed on skills, products, and procedures that push you ahead of the competition. Check out the Litmos content library for new ideas.
Now, get out there and play ball!