Creating an Effective e-Learning Strategy for Team Development

Today’s digital workforces are becoming increasingly mobile, with tech allowing us to work from any place, at any time and from any device. This has created the need for companies to provide more interactive training opportunities and ones that extend beyond the boardroom. 

E-learning can be combined with face-to-face or classroom learning to help companies improve their team development and training initiatives, all while saving money and time.

Some of the benefits include:

• Flexible: Employees can access online learning whenever they wish – beneficial for those unable to attend a training course
• Cost-effective: Outgoings can be controlled and kept to a minimum
• Easy access to information: Learning is streamlined as materials are accumulated in one place – which means, no more losing valuable information or relying on handwritten notes
• It’s engaging: The e-learning experience can be enhanced through the use of slides, videos and even games, which are known to improve retention rates

So how can you integrate e-learning into your organisation?

Create a Strategy

Creating a detailed, e-learning strategy will ensure that every employee is up-to-speed with what’s going on in your company, which in turn will help to enhance team development. Here are some things to keep in mind when devising a plan of action:

Define your Goals

First things first: what’s the purpose of the e-learning course? It is to introduce new employees to the workings of your business? It is to educate your entire team on a new process or tool? You need to be specific in your aim and make sure you only offer material you know the learner will find valuable.

Make it Interactive

Including interactive elements within the online course will help to keep employees engaged and will reinforce all they’ve learned. Include links employees can click on to discover more, create stories they can be part of, or hyperlink out to relevant sources to allow them to extend their learning.

Include Real-Life Scenarios

Including examples that draw on real-life events will help your team understand how they can apply the skills and knowledge gained outside of the learning environment. Using videos that draw on your audience’s emotional response – while staying on-topic – can also help them to acquire and retain information and skills.

Make it a Group Learning Experience

Group learning is a key part of team development; so, consider ways to get your employees talking and working together on certain elements of the course. Start an online forum for employees to share insight, get them to problem solve as a group via online chat, or organise a round-up session so your team can share their learning experiences.

It’s simple: provide your team with immersive, interactive training experiences and they are more likely to stay engaged and retain the information and skills learned – and that’s bound to have a positive impact on your bottom line.