Why Training Engagement Is Vital to a Happy and Capable Workforce

"Engaging" probably isn't a word most people would use to describe their last company-sponsored training event. Too often, training is less about learning and more about obligation.

However, effective training is essential to the growth of any company. Especially in our current era of rapid technological advancement (ever heard of ChatGPT?) and the pandemic-fueled shift to remote work. 

And you cannot have effective training if your learners are not engaged.

Why is that? 

This is what our article will answer: 

• We will further explore the concept of training engagement.
• We will analyze the key factors that impact training engagement.
• We will show you how to make your training process more engaging and successful.

🧲 What is training engagement?

Training engagement measures employee enthusiasm, motivation, and involvement with on-the-job learning. 

From general industry knowledge to compliance training to developing specific skills, training engagement should always be something to strive for. 

Simply put, the more engaged your employees are, the more effective their training will be. 

So improving training engagement should be a top priority for people operations as it can drastically impact your workforce's competencies and enhance your company’s growth culture.

🕵️‍♀️ 6 Key factors that impact training engagement

Making training engaging is much easier said than done. There is no simple trick to achieving an engaged workforce.

Instead, there are several factors that each play a part in well-optimized training.

Remember these core tenets as you plan and execute your training strategy.

Relevance

For many businesses, training is often seen as a necessary evil rather than a helpful tool. PowerPoint presentations in stuffy meeting rooms have set a low bar for training engagement and given company-sponsored training a bad name (especially if they don't include a catered lunch). This "training" is often a massive waste of time and resources.

For training to be practical and engaging, it needs to be laser-focused and respect its audience's time. 

Engaging training is highly relevant to a specific audience and offers a clear method for improving employees at their job or closer to their career goals.

Alignment with business needs

Providing training for the sake of training is a trap of old-school thinking that is often a waste of time and resources.

The ability to bolster the effectiveness of a workforce and boost personal value and morale while simultaneously accelerating progress toward organization-wide objectives is the mark of master class HR.

One of the best ways to align individual training with large-scale business needs is by incorporating your workforce in your planning. Letting go of the reins and allowing those who comprise your organization to collaborate on training and growing together is a turning point for many companies evolving from the old way of thinking.

Personalization

Learning experience platforms allow people operations to personalize training on any scale. The objective is to make learning as convenient and engaging as possible by catering to the goals and needs of each employee. 

Another novel concept for some companies is including employees in the training program. Whether this is through feedback, individual contributions, or social learning, the simple act of giving employees agency over their training will boost engagement.

Delivery method

Tearing people away from their desks and disrupting their day to force them to sit through a painful meeting won’t make anyone receptive or engaged. 

💡 Tip: A revolutionary new way to offer training is through learning management systems. These systems (CMSs or LXPs) flip traditional training by making workplace learning self-driven. 

Rather than herding people into a meeting room to listen to a presentation, the same information can be provided through a learning platform that workers can access at their convenience from their desks, home offices, or even mobile devices. 

This strategy respects the employee's time, doesn't disrupt their workflow, and can deliver hand-picked content individually. 

Plus, the same training material can be used again for new hires without repeating work.

Interactivity

Unless the content is interesting or relevant to the audience, most employees prefer to zone out rather than tune in.

Employee engagement training activities (also known as gamification) are a great way to improve focus and knowledge retention.

 A common example of virtual training engagement activities is courses with quizzes and trackable progress. Displaying progress in the subject and management offers motivation to pursue additional training and a sense of accomplishment.

Social components

For truly engaging training, social components are tough to beat. Encouraging social learning offers a host of benefits, not the least of which include:

• team building;
• organic mentorship;
• sense of belonging; 
• promoting a supportive company culture;
• establishing a foundation for cross-training;
• building lasting relationships.

There are several ways training can be designed around social elements. Many LXPs offer social tools similar to what you might see on popular social media platforms.

Built-in chat tools, liking and sharing functionality are just a few ways to keep coworkers active, accountable, and supportive of each other's growth.

💪 7 Methods for sustaining training engagement over time

Improving training engagement isn't something you can do overnight and check off of your task list. It requires a change in company culture and a modern mindset.

Your process will (and should) evolve as you improve your strategy and keep up with best practices. 

Here are some actionable tactics to remember and implement when it makes sense.

Follow up

As with any learning, repetition is the key.

Old-school PowerPoint training is often ineffective and unengaging because it is a standalone disruption of the employee's day. Unless the topic is highly relevant or exciting, the audience will likely forget about it when they leave that meeting room.

But fear not! One trick is integrating assessments into the job. Imagine telling employees there's a quiz on the training material - it instantly boosts their engagement and retention.

An even better tactic is to quickly apply the new skills or knowledge from the training in a project or job-related task. 

Promote individual growth

Traditional business thinking often has a company-first tendency. While it is true that all employees rely on the company's success, the opposite is just as true: the company depends on the success of its employees. 

Breaking down this us-versus-them way of thinking is one of the first steps to a modern HR mindset. Training is often instituted for the company's benefit, but that training is also precious to the employees. Learning helps individuals grow their skillset, improve their roles and enhance their resumes. 

Training shouldn't just be a compulsory task for workers. 

Instead, present it as an opportunity for continuous learning while providing workshops, webinars, and online courses to sustain engagement. 

"Job training empowers people to realize their dreams and improve their lives." Sylvia Mathews Burwell, former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Incorporate feedback

A great way to make employees more engaged in training is by making them a part of the process. 

Including employee feedback surveys as part of the training process will keep you in tune with employee training needs and preferences and the subjects engaged.

➡️ Check out our free training evaluation template, which is ready to be used in the real world.

Ask learners if they have input about improving training or what they would like included. Having an easy way for users to submit external training material they find valuable is another excellent strategy. 

Measure impact

Without results, training loses a lot of its meaning. While it is important for people operations to measure training effectiveness for the company's benefit, this is also a great motivator for employees.

Tracking the impact of training on business outcomes, such as increased productivity or improved customer satisfaction, is worth the effort. Learners who improve their job performance are more eager to engage in training in the future.  

Celebrate success

Similarly, if you see any stand-out trainees who are engaged and advancing in their roles, give them a shout-out and highlight their success. 

Recognizing and celebrating learners' achievements not only boosts their motivation and confidence but encourages others to follow suit. 

Support peer-to-peer learning

Encouraging learners to share their knowledge and experiences with others can help sustain engagement by fostering a sense of community and collaboration. This will happen once you have instilled a culture of continuous learning in your organization. When you start to see it, offer outward support to nurture its growth.

Promoting peer-to-peer learning will enhance teamwork, raise accountability, and you'll notice an overall boost in cohesion among coworkers. 

For example, select your most skilled Excel wizard to run a workshop teaching others tricks to improve their speed with spreadsheets. This not only amps up the skillset of your entire workforce but also gives the instructor the recognition they truly deserve. 

Plus, it's an incredible opportunity for them to showcase their public speaking and leadership prowess all at once. It's like hitting multiple birds with one stone - a win-win situation!

🏋️ Freeletics brings together leaders across departments where they openly discuss their challenges and learnings.

Enable self-driven agency

By giving employees control over their learning and training, these individuals are more likely to take ownership of their development. A continuous learning culture encourages everyone to grow at their own pace and in their preferred manner. With a strong enough foundation, the effect is a workforce that endlessly pursues advancement, improving employee satisfaction while enhancing the organization.

➡️ With Zavvy, you can allow your people to self-enroll in courses. There are thousands of resources to choose from. Your people can select the ones that match their development goals, and add them to their personal growth plans. 

Giving employees control over their personal development will save managers and people operations from having to plan each syllabus or fall back on ineffective company-wide training.

Once the satisfaction of upskilling is instilled, a positive feedback cycle of learning and achievement will keep ambitious employees engaged and advancing. This is a win-win since employees boost their skill set and value while the company reaps the rewards of a more capable workforce.

🔥 Explore more engagement strategies you can start using today.

🏆 Why is employee engagement training important? 7 Benefits of a highly engaging training program

The advantages of an engaging training program are simple: training is more effective. This means better training ROI for the company and a more enjoyable and valuable employee experience. Below are some specific benefits you can expect by enhancing training engagement for your organization.

Better training ROI

Unengaging training means only the audience absorbs only a fraction of the information. That also means wasted time and energy in your training program. 

Better performance

An effective training program breeds more effective employees who perform better. As your workforce grows stronger, so too does your company as a whole.

➡️ Explore the steps of building a high-performance team and what it takes to get there.

Knowledge retention

More engaging and relevant training is significantly more likely to produce long-term results. This begins with learners who are more interested and focused and can be further solidified by applying that training on the job.

Job satisfaction

The poor training handling in many organizations has sullied the reputation of workplace learning. Many employees will groan and roll their eyes when a training seminar is brought up. Job satisfaction skyrockets when the training engages and helps employees advance their career goals. 

Public relations and employer branding

We've all heard stories about cool companies with ping-pong tables in the breakroom and an in-house chef. 

People love to imagine fun companies without the stressors and challenges of most businesses. If you can successfully make training fun, your employees will want to discuss it, which will boost your employer branding.

Team performance

Capable co-workers willing to learn from and teach each other can remove a lot of friction from these relationships. 

Better training means more qualified people who aren't causing problems for one another, and peer-to-peer learning gives your employees the agency to make that happen.

Improved feedback

Employees who are active and engaged in a comprehensive training program will have more to contribute to the process. 

Most employees love to share their ideas and feedback, so take advantage of their input regarding training and plans. 

🤩 What does an engaging training course look like?

To keep your courses engaging, here is a checklist to follow:

1. Keep the content relevant. Ensure the training is highly appropriate and worthwhile for the entire audience. This might be by department, project team, or even down to a single individual. People operations should carefully curate the training material.
2. Choose a delivery method that the audience will be receptive to and minimally disruptive to their workflow. Microlearning is a popular solution supported by many LXPs. Bite-sized training reduces the risk of workflow disruption while promoting a consistent, even daily learning culture. 
3. LXPs are also great for personalization. Whether you implement self-directed learning or carefully curate one course at a time, allowing users to pursue training how they want and with their own settings preferences will help with engagement and overall effectiveness. 
4. Gamification is a popular form of interactivity known to boost engagement. Many LXPs combine gamification with social components to get users on a positive feedback loop that encourages continued learning.
5. Lastly, aligning training with business needs should be a priority. Offering training for exercise is rarely an efficient use of resources. The goal is to provide training that directly contributes to the company's success while engaging employees and promoting personal growth.

Once your new training program is off the ground, use feedback to identify which aspects are running smoothly and where there is room for improvement.

Giving employees more agency over the process will make your job easier and further engage them in the program.

➡️ Grow and engage your learners with Zavvy

At Zavvy, our mission is to bring companies to the modern age with our 360° growth system. We bridge the gaps between performance feedback, training, and long-term development so you can grow your people, and with it, grow your business.

There are plenty of reasons to use Zavvy as your people growth solution:

• 💼 Training library with 1000s of courses. 
• 📚 Social and cooperative learning with Slack channels created automatically.
• 🧠 10x faster training material creation with Zavvy AI.
• 🎛️ Self-directed learning and deep personalization.
• 💰 Training budget management. 
• 💻 Skills coaching using the AI coach.
• 🤖 AI recommendations for employee growth plans.
• 💬 One-on-one meeting software for career growth conversations.
• 🔏 Training certificates for your employees.
• ✅ Quizzes that test knowledge retention.

Are you ready to bring out the best in your people through engaging and effective training?

 📅 Request a demo and learn about the transformative impact of our solutions.