Best Practices to Follow When Creating Online Compliance Training Programs for Employees

Having a quality product is not the only thing that ensures higher sales rates since the sales force also has a crucial role to play in the whole process.

People who work in sales need to be problem solvers, considering the fact that they are supposed to be selling solutions not products. So, by having more proficient client managers or salesmen, you can achieve greater revenue.

Employee training can enhance your workforce by providing them with a more comprehensive knowledge that is product related and by improving how they interact with customers.

An effective assessment of the situation can direct the customer in the right direction and convince them to make a purchase. The best way to increase your employee’s productivity is by allowing them to undergo online sales training.

Here, we will examine some of the best practices to follow for creating an effective training program.

Questions should be compatible with learning objectives

Developing the storyboard that encompasses all of your learning objectives is the best way to tackle the issue of course creation. This is how many professionals approach it.

One of the main problems that emerge is how to adequately frame learning objectives with quizzes and tests, which can lead to misaligned results.

So, by allowing your course attendants to jump into a pool of content and testing them right after various learning objectives have been met, you can make the training more efficient. In other words, prepare the questions when you are designing the course.

Your learning objective should include one question which helps evaluate if the input of knowledge has been accomplished or not. Say, for example, your learning objective is to make sure that the employee knows the key differences between a few similar products, create a quiz or a test that asks them to identify each product based on the description.

It would be a mistake, to give them multiple choice questions, since it’s easier for them to earn points on a wild guess.

Tackle one learning point at a time

When you are preparing your program, try to pick up a few things from good instructional designers. It would be really wise to keep an eye on the number of screens in the course and make sure not to merge two heavy learning points on the same screen.

Employees need to create clear distinctions between two or more learning points, and trying to cramp more heavy learning points together at the same time can create a cognitive overload.

To clarify, a learning point is a segment of content that cannot be broken down any further, something similar to a minimal viable product. So, each of your screens should cover one learning point, unless they are too small.

Then, you can use them together. To simplify, use one heavy learning point per screen, or up to five small learning points. Bear in mind that assessment should contain only one learning point per question.

Provide elaborate and quick feedback

Feedback is crucial for both correcting and solidifying the knowledge. If an employee supplies you with the right answer, you should elaborate on why it was correct. These explanations are extremely helpful to reinforce the growing knowledge base.

In case the employee responds incorrectly, do not give the whole explanation immediately. It is possible that a person simply mixed up two learning points, so try to hint at the correct reply and once the employee gets it right, go over the explanation like in the first example.

If the answer is wrong even after the hint, then proceed to explain why they got it wrong.  The same method applies if the employee is partially incorrect. Just don’t say that they are wrong; tell them that they are partially correct.

Create a balance between an easy and tough  question

Finally, you should skillfully design the assessment process, by balancing the number of difficult and easy questions. If the questions are too tough, your employee can become insecure and the lack of confidence will interfere with the future learning.

Questions that are too easy won’t pose a challenge, so there will be no sense of achievement and it may create an impression that you are undermining them plus it can set a low expectations bar, which is also a problem for future learning.

More importantly, if you have too many easy questions, you won’t be able to adequately assess their level of proficiency.

Balancing easy and tough questions gives the most optimal results. Employees won’t feel that they have made any progress and there will be room for improvement. It will allow you to accurately assess their knowledge.

Ideal learning environment

It is not possible for everyone to achieve or acquire the same level of knowledge using the same course. Some people learn better from examples, others need references or simplifications, and there are those to whom you simply need to explain things differently.

It is good for online training to be mindful of all types of learners so you should include simulations, visual aids, and human communication as well. This is the best way to cover all fronts and ensure that everyone has a learning experience that is compatible with their learning methods.

Conclusion

These were some of the best practices for creating an effective online training program for employees. The basic idea is to understand how the learning process occurs and to work in correspondence with human cognitive functions.

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