19 Easy Learner Engagement Strategies to Implement for Effective Training

Organizations are improving employee retention by offering learning opportunities as their top strategy.

But all this investment goes to waste if learner engagement is low.

And that is indeed a challenge for many L&D professionals, many pinpointing learner engagement as the top area needing improvement in their online training.

Effective training goes beyond information transmission. It involves engaging learners, kindling their curiosity, and facilitating their learning journey.

If the learning material doesn't drive their interest, curiosity, and passion, they are unlikely to retain and apply the knowledge acquired. Wasted time, wasted money.

This article will:

• Provide you with 19 easy yet powerful learner engagement strategies to boost learner engagement during training.
• Introduce 7 methods for measuring learner engagement, so you can check whether your efforts are paying off.

🧠 4 Dimensions of learner engagement

There are four principal dimensions of learner engagement.

You should consider all these dimensions when designing strategies for engaging training.

The cognitive level

Cognitive engagement is the extent to which a learner is willing to focus on the learning task. And the amount of effort they're eager to invest in the work involved.

It's the mental investment the employee is willing to make toward the learning activities.

A cognitively engaged learner will show resilience and persistence in the face of learning obstacles. They'll portray dedication and involvement in the learning tasks and activities.

The emotional level

At this level of engagement, employees feel emotionally connected to their peers, the training context, and learning objectives.

Emotionally engaged learners will show positive emotions towards the learning experience, such as pride, delight, enthusiasm, and curiosity.

The behavioral level

It's the extent to which employees engage in actions and activities that lead to high-quality training outcomes.

Behaviorally-engaged employees are active learners. They show effort to stay on a learning task. They contribute and participate in training sessions.

The social level

Engagement at the social level is the degree of identification and belongingness that learners feel.

Learners engaged at the social level will actively participate in shared activities and conversations. They'll cooperate with their peers and instructors and be comfortable giving and receiving feedback.

🧲 19 Learner engagement strategies

You can achieve all these four levels of engagement through careful design and implementation of the learning and development programs.

Use these effective learner engagement strategies.

1. Set clear learning goals

Define the measurable outcomes learners will achieve from the training programs. And communicate these tangible benefits in a way that resonates with the learners.

When you make the intended purpose of the learning programs clear, it inspires commitment and engagement.

It gives learners the bigger picture of the training program and motivates them to benefit.

2. Align training with the needs and skills of your learners

Misaligning training with employees' knowledge gaps, skill levels, and interests significantly hinders learner engagement.

💡 Try this instead: Make the training relevant to their work and career progression. They'll be more likely to grab it with both hands.

Involve employees in your training needs assessment. Get their input on areas that are keeping them from meeting performance objectives.

3. Cater to all learning styles

Chances are, your employees have different learning styles—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.

They'll be most engaged when the learning content caters to their preference.

Completely individualizing the content for each learning style could be troublesome. Instead, incorporate different methods into your content to appeal to all learners.

Here are some ideas:

• Visual learners – Graphics, explainer videos, visual representations, and charts.
• Auditory learners - Audiobooks and other podcast-style media and one-on-one conversations with peers and trainers.
• Kinesthetic learners – Role play, games, activities, and hands-on experiments.

💡 Tip: Using a training plan template can help you plan the training better and ensure your content caters to all learning styles.

4. Make learning convenient

Go out of your way to make the training program non-disruptive for your employees. If the training sessions are burdensome, learner engagement will be low.

Organize the training so it is painless for the employees. It is vital that they can finish their usual task load without working overtime.

You can implement microlearning: bite-sized lessons that take 10 minutes or less. They easily fit into the learners' schedules—during a commute, between tasks, or during breaks.

5. Make course content captivating

Exciting and inspiring course content that triggers an emotional connection will keep learners engaged.

There're plenty of ways you can achieve this.

Storytelling, for instance, stirs learners' creativity and imagination. It can turn dull learning material into exciting content while enhancing employees' critical-thinking skills. Simulations, relatable real-world examples, and scenario-based learning also captivate learners.

EDGE Fall Protection, for example, uses extended reality (XR) to create immersive and interactive training experiences.

"By incorporating XR technologies, we have created immersive and interactive training experiences that are more engaging than our previous training methods.

For example, rather than simply reading about a particular process, our employees can now experience it in a virtual environment, which helps to keep them engaged and motivated to learn." Michael McCarty, CEO of EDGE Fall Protection.

6. Add interactive elements

Avoid making course material that turns learners into spectators. Actively involve them in the learning process.

Provide them with opportunities to interact with the learning content. There should be a form of dialogue between the learners and the training tools.

Be sure to create room for learners to ask questions, make decisions, answer quizzes, and provide feedback.

7. Go all in on blended learning

Blended learning provides the flexibility of self-paced online learning through a variety of media while also incorporating a human touch through instructor-led training.

Learners can practice the offline lessons using different content media online and communicate with instructors anytime.

It creates an immersive and dynamic learning experience that keeps them engaged.

8. Individualize and personalize training journeys

Personalizing the training journey makes it more relevant to the learner. It drives engagement and better learning outcomes.

Provide personalized training based on prior knowledge of the topic. And take into account the performance feedback and development plan of each employee.

Consider employees' personal learning goals and ambitions. You can do that by involving them in the decision-making process of the training content.

💡 Tip: Use a learning experience (LXP) platform to make personalization easier. It helps learners individualize their training journey by choosing their courses.

9. Use mixed media

Incorporating more than one delivery format is another effective learner engagement strategy.

Mix them up. Have a text snippet here, an online video there, an audio, an interactive infographic, and impromptu pop quizzes.

It'll break the monotony and keep learners engrossed in the content.

10. Use notifications

Automated reminder notifications increase participation in learning activities. It nudges learners to act.

You can send reminders at the beginning of lessons, notifications of upcoming tests, and feedback requests.

An added benefit of system-triggered notifications is keeping communication timely, continuous, and personalized. It simplifies training management, creating a better learning experience.

Find a training software that lets you send reminders through tools employees regularly use, such as Slack and MS Teams.

11. Use gamification

Gamification in training creates highly engaged learners who give their best to the training program. You can add game-playing elements into the training program that hook the learners.

Gamification elements like leaderboards, levels, and challenges encourage friendly competition. They give employees a sense of accomplishment and advancement, which triggers intrinsic motivation.  

Throwing rewards into the equation, such as badges, points and training certificates, creates extrinsic motivation.

12. Invest in the right educational technology

The right educational technology creates a centralized location for all learning resources. It also aligns training with employee development plans. Invest in a learning management system that learners can use and access at work and on the go.

But beware:

• If learners have to spend hours navigating the system and finding relevant courses, they'll lose interest.
• If they can't access the training on whichever device they use, again, learner engagement will be low.

💡 Tip: Getting the best out of your educational technology is hard if it's in untrained hands. Ensure your training development manager onboarding plan thoroughly covers using the existing training technology.

13. Enable active learning

Actively involve students in the learning process to stimulate reasoning and critical thinking. It'll keep them engaged.

Have learners participate in activities that make them investigate, discuss, reason, and analyze information.

Try role-play, branching scenarios, and simulations. They push learners to solve problems and make decisions in real workplace situations.

For example, Zavvy’s course on change leadership training includes group assignments.Participants are paired automatically, and a new Slack channel is generated for them to complete the task.

They receive a scenario and a set of questions. Then, they have to exchange answers and discuss each other's ideas.

14. Add project-based learning and on-the-job training to the mix

Project-based learning and on-the-job training involve a learner in authentic, complex, and engaging real-world challenges and activities.

It demands the learners' intense and continuous attention, which keeps them engaged. But you need to conduct project-based learning and on-the-job training methodically:

• Frame the project or challenge carefully. Set the learners up for success by giving clear instructions.
• Provide freedom and allow learners to research solutions. The fewer guidelines you provide, the more they'll have to consider solutions.
• Provide continuous feedback throughout the project or on-the-job training. Share your feedback on the lessons you want them to learn.
• Reflect on the obstacles that have come up during the project and develop strategies to overcome them.

15. Engage learners with instant feedback and rewards

Provide instant feedback in the flow of learning. It deepens a learner's understanding of the learning material.

Conversely, rewards motivate learners to repeat the positive actions that lead to the reward.

Use gamification features like quizzes, badges, points, and leaderboards to provide instant feedback and rewards. Once they pass a module, they can receive a badge and advance to the next level. These little wins will keep them engaged throughout the course.  

If you use Zavvy’s LMS, you can add a quiz at the end of each training module, to make sure your people get instant feedback on their progress.

At the end of the course, they can receive a gift card, company-wide recognition, or certificate.

16. Enable social and cooperative learning

Integrating group discussions and collaborative activities into the training material creates a sense of connection among learners. It creates positive interdependence, where learners in a group believe that:

1. Working together is individually and collectively beneficial.
2. Participation of all members is crucial to success.

Positive interdependence results in greater motivation and commitment to learning. It also promotes a healthy team culture in your organization.

17. Add an element of social sharing

Add a sharing button that lets learners directly recommend courses to their teammates and colleagues.

You can include call-to-actions (CTAs) at the end of the course to encourage sharing.

Learners will have an easier time finding reliable courses relevant to their roles and career goals.

18. Create open communication channels

If learners feel stuck and have no one to turn to, they could quickly lose interest in the training. Make it possible for learners to ask questions and get answers in real time. It gets better if you use an online learning platform supporting communication tools like Slack.

You can create a channel dedicated to learners where they can ask questions and tag in-house experts.

By using a dedicated channel, the answer will be in public view for all learners who could have the same question.

19. Seek your employees' feedback

You did your homework and came up with diverse materials, clear goals, and gamification tactics. But don’t take for granted that your learning engagement will skyrocket.

You need to be open to honest conversations about the usefulness of your training modules.

Ask for feedback about the training. And make it easy for learners to provide it.

And, most importantly, act on the insights you get.

📏 How to measure learner engagement using 7 methods

Measuring learner engagement is the only way to refine your training programs to boost learner engagement and ensure your investment pays off.  

"In a world where the business environment is constantly shifting, effective learning and development programs have never been more needed.

By testing the workforce, employers can ensure their investment is paying off. Assessments can reveal priorities, eliminate wasted training and ensure that the relevant skills are developed." Lars Pedersen, CEO at Questionmark quoted by businesswire.

1. Sign-up rates

Start by understanding the general learner motivation in your workforce by measuring the sign-up rates. Pay attention to the following:

• The proportion of your employees who enroll in the training programs.
• The time between the training program announcement and employees signing up.

2. Drop-out and completion rates

When the learning programs aren't engaging enough, completion rates will be low.

Looking at completion rates is an effective way to measure learner engagement in an online learning setting where learners can drop out of a class without drawing much attention.

3. Learning time spent

Engaging in training content makes learners enjoy the learning experience. They're likely to spend more time on it.

Check how much time employees are actively working on the learning activities. Are they spending more time interacting with the training content than you anticipated or less?

4. New skill and knowledge implementation

Engaged learners will be keen to apply the new skills they gain from the training.

Review KPIs before the roll-out of the learning programs. Compare them to the KPIs after completing the training. If the training is engaging, the KPIs will indicate an improvement in the quality of work.

5. Mandatory vs. voluntary course participation

An engaged learner will not participate in the training because they have to. But because they want to and are hungry to keep learning.

It makes high participation in voluntary courses an excellent indicator of high engagement rates.

If employees only work on the mandatory courses and show no curiosity for additional materials, it's time to implement some learner engagement strategies.  

6. Community interaction

An engaged learner will be more likely to participate in conversations, ask questions, and actively participate in group collaborations.

By working with training software that integrates with collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack, you can monitor learners' level interaction , through metrics such as:

• the number of direct messages exchanged;
• likes and other reactions;
• comments.

7. Training evaluation survey results

Simply asking for learner feedback is an effective way to measure learner engagement and satisfaction in the training program.

Actively seek their opinion on the learning materials, the entire course, and ways to improve. You'll likely get some great insights to make your learning programs more engaging.

➡️ Here is a training evaluation form template to get you started.

📈 Ensure engaging learning experiences with Zavvy

A lot goes into training, engaging at all levels, and making it entertaining for your employees.

Creating training programs engage your learners cognitively, emotionally, behaviorally, and socially is no walk in the park.

But it's all attainable if you use the right tools.

With Zavvy's learning management system you will:

• Facilitate social and cooperative learning through Slack and MS Teams integrations.
• Facilitate self-directed learning. Learners can choose courses that meet their needs and skills without needing admin approvals.
• Use notifications to encourage learners to take action.
• Schedule recurring learning events with just a few clicks.
• Use quizzes with customized pass rates to facilitate instant feedback.
• Keep track of learning budgets and learning activities.
• Use surveys to collect feedback and measure learner satisfaction.

Plus, with Zavvy's complimentary suite of tools, you can

• Embed a variety of multimedia content to appeal to all learning styles.
• Personalize training journeys based on individual employee development plans and prior feedback.
• Add sharing buttons and a rating system that enables learners to recommend courses to their colleagues.
• Tag courses with competencies and levels of mastery to help learners make the right choices for their career and performance goals
• Provide learners with a rich internal library of courses through the Zavvy learning experience platform and an equally resourceful external training library ranging from compliance courses to soft skills.
• Create microcourses with just a few clicks with the help of Zavvy AI. You can even ask the AI to create quiz steps after each module.

Zavvy makes it easy to create engaging training that factors in employees' performance feedback and development plan.

Ready to see it in action? 📅 Book a demo now.

❓FAQs

How can you identify an engaged learner?

An engaged learner will not quit easily in the face of learning obstacles. Instead, they show resilience and positive emotions throughout the course.

An engaged learner shows dedication and active involvement in learning activities. They participate in collaborative activities and conversations.

How do you measure learner engagement?

You can measure learner engagement by looking at the following:

• Sign-up rates
• Drop-out and completion rates
• Learning time spent
• Knowledge retention and implementation
• Mandatory vs. voluntary course participation
• Community interaction
• Learner satisfaction survey results

What are the four types of learner engagement?

It's important to engage learners at the:

• Cognitive level
• Emotional level
• Behavioral level
• Social level

What do learner engagement strategies refer to?

These are the measures you take to improve the quality and quantity of learners' participation in training activities.

Effective strategies engage learners cognitively, emotionally, behaviorally, and socially in the learning process.