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Creative Ways for L&D to Improve Online Learning Engagement
Increase online learning program usage and participation with these quick tips.
Providing employees with the resources they need to grow their skills and advance their careers is only the first step in a successful professional-development program. It’s also, arguably, the easiest step. The ability to drive widespread adoption and consistent engagement with these resources is where best-in-class organizations rise above.
You can make hundreds of hours of courses available to your teams, but it takes extra strategizing to make sure they’re taking the opportunity to learn.
In our latest Workplace Learning Report, learning and development pros said “providing learning opportunities” was the No. 1 way they were working to improve employee retention. But the benefits go beyond just retention: Employee experience, engagement, satisfaction and career success are all tied to continual learning.
Here’s how learning and development (L&D) professionals can help increase online learning engagement.
Boost learner engagement with external rewards
There are two key types of motivation that move people to take action: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic includes motivators like rewards, recognition, and competition — and many organizations have found these methods effective.
Experiment with recognition and incentives
The easiest first step is to simply call out and praise employees who are dedicating time to online learning. Use your internal comms channels to make sure your top learners get the spotlight they deserve. You can also:
Highlight top learners on your social media channels
Send a personalized video message from the CEO
Offer a dedicated parking spot/custom video-call background from your design team
All of the above are low-to-no cost ideas that can still have a meaningful impact.
If you have a little budget to create a rewards program, you can go from recognition to incentives. These can be as simple as gift cards or even a cash bonus. Get more creative with:
Extra vacation time/flex time
Work from home days if you’re in-office
Remote-work accessories like slippers, under-desk exercise bikes, and desk-based beverage warmers
Months of subscription to a service
Ariel Mendes,
HR Global Learning and Development
Leader,
Rock Content
“We measure who spends the most time learning each week … At the end of the month, we publicize the top five employees who spent the most time learning, recognize them at all-company meetings, and offer financial rewards. We have seen many employees double the amount of time they spend learning each week.”
Turn learning into a game (and a competition)
Society is becoming increasingly gamified. Everything from buying groceries to exercising has its own system of points, goals, challenges, and rewards. Humans like to compete, like to win, and like to compare progress with others.
However, while some people are motivated by competition, some may find it an added stressor to their everyday workload. It’s important to make sure competition is encouraged but optional.
Making the competition a team activity helps take the stress off of each individual. It can also help encourage employees to communicate with each other, motivate each other, and work together.
Five steps for a winning gamification program:
Define the game. What specific activities qualify for the game? How will you track progress? What determines the winner(s)?
Choose a meaningful prize. This can be a collective prize, like a team outing, or individual prizes like gift cards or event tickets.
Find your champions. Look for people who have a natural enthusiasm for running the game, and make sure they have the resources they need.
Build some buzz. Get your executives talking about the game, build a leaderboard to show ongoing progress, and encourage players to compare scores.
Celebrate wins. Make sure game winners feel truly recognized and rewarded, not just slipped a gift card at their desk. Use your internal comms, social media, and more to boost recognition.
Promote a learning mindset and culture
Extrinsic rewards are a good place to start increasing your online learning engagement. These programs are relatively easy to implement and can drive immediate results. But the thrill of getting a gift card or a shoutout on your company’s LinkedIn page only lasts so long.
The next step is to get employees thinking about intrinsic rewards — that is, what learning can do for them in and of itself.
Encourage learning as its own reward
In the latest Workplace Learning Report, three of the top five factors that lead people consider new jobs involve learning, growing, and developing their careers:
Opportunities for challenging and impactful work
Opportunities for career growth
Opportunities to learn and develop new skills
Online learning is one way employees can realize all of the above.
These intrinsic motivations are far more powerful than even the most generous coffee shop gift card. Make sure to communicate to employees the benefits of ongoing learning:
Publicly congratulate and recognize employees who learn new skills
Call out how skill development influences internal promotions
- Publish lists of the most in-demand skills in general and in your organization
Make learning part of the culture from day one
Employees are far more likely to stay and be engaged at a job that offers a path to ongoing development. Research shows that employees who have received an internal promotion by the two-year mark are 75% likely to stay with the company, versus only 56% of those with no internal move.
From a new hire’s first day on the job, it should be clear that your organization values ongoing learning and helps employees advance in their careers. Start with these steps:
Ask about skills employees want to develop, as part of the onboarding process
Map out a plan for 30-, 60-, and 90-day professional-development goals
Show how the available online learning courses relate to possible career paths
Dedicate time weekly for professional development
Make learning and skill development part of performance reviews
Rajnish Borah,
Global Head of Organization
Effectiveness & Learning,
WNS Global Services
“Career development is fundamental to our employee value proposition, and learning is a key business metric.”
Encourage employees to invest in their own success
Your organization is investing time and money in making online learning resources available to your employees. The steps above can help make sure your employees will invest their own time and mental energy in an ongoing learning process.
Start with external rewards and recognition to help boost engagement in the short-term. For the long-term success of your program, help your employees see the value in ongoing learning in and of itself.
Beyond just securing the next promotion, online learning can help your employees become more well rounded, more valuable to the organization, and more likely to succeed wherever their career journey takes them.
LinkedIn Learning is a platform designed to help your employees build their careers. Visit the LinkedIn Learning homepage to learn more.
Help your employees develop skills they can use right away.
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