If there is one thing that differentiates a successful training program from the one that’s not-so-effective, it is ‘Engagement.’

Everyone faces a crisis of learner engagement, no matter what industry you are in. Today’s employees are distracted by many other commitments. Hence, mastering the aspect of ‘engagement’ seems complicated. So how do you break through these distractions to ensure that they engage with your training programs?

By implementing the right learner engagement strategies! Before we go into them, let us break down what learner engagement is in the first place.

What is Learner Engagement?

 

Learner engagement is the level of interest, curiosity, attention, passion, and optimism that a learner shows while learning a specific course or when a trainer teaches something. It defines the level of motivation a learner has to learn and progress in a particular programme.

(Source: ED Glossary)

Learner engagement is all about how immersed and actively involved a learner is with the course they are taking. Working together with fellow learners and interactions between trainers and learners will increase their involvement, which is usually directly proportional to the effectiveness of the course.

Interestingly, employees deeply involved with their learning courses are more committed to helping their organisations achieve optimal results. These engaged learners will pay more attention to your learning programme and content and are more motivated to share what they have learnt with others.

Learner engagement is not an overnight process, though. It takes time. As learners progress, they begin unlocking different levels of their learning potential. 

To explain this further, we have broken ‘learning’ down into five stages:


This breakdown shows how learner engagement is a process of building the right learning behaviours. To achieve the outcomes of each phase and establish a consistent learning pattern, implementing these strategies at the right time is crucial. 

5 Learner Engagement Strategies that Get the Work Done

The right learner engagement strategies ensure that your learners show the desired behaviours and attitudes towards learning. These strategies will allow you to execute a successful training programme, ultimately saving you money and time. As much as you want all your learners to be inherently inspired, motivated, and put in the extra mile to learn without prompting, it is unlikely that this will happen. Hence, you would need the following tools to achieve your goal. 

1. Keep your learning content interesting

They say that variety is the spice of life. If the same song is on loop, we will eventually get tired of listening to it. Likewise, we are not fond of eating the same food repeatedly. That is because humans, by nature, are designed to crave variety. Too much of the same thing leads to frustration or boredom. On the flip side, varied and fresh experiences excite our brain’s reward centres. Whether picking up a new hobby or trying a new recipe, the variety keeps you excited.

Hence, it is vital to stimulate your learners by creating content packed with variety. Keep your content colorful and image-based as it is more appealing. Mix up the learning content with quizzes, videos, quick tips, practical exercises, and even a few comic strips! Using different mediums and modes of learning engages their minds better.

2. Step up your game with gamification

Ever wondered why games are so enjoyable to play? It is because games have the power to stimulate a rush of feel-good hormones, which excites us to continue playing them. Hence, another way to make your learning programme engaging is by bringing in the ‘fun’.

This is where gamified learning plays a key role. Gamified elements allow learners to enjoy training, and when they feel engaged, they want to keep learning. Implementing game mechanics and dynamics such as rewards, incentives, badges, leaderboards, and player-vs-player battles can supercharge learner engagement levels. The enjoyment of gaming can also influence learners to go the extra mile to learn, and ultimately gamification can help them meet their learning goals.

3. Micro-sized learning can create a big impact

In the era of eLearning, microlearning is an evergreen trend. It is a more practical approach to learning and is also less time-consuming. Learners love it, and so do trainers.

Often, we want to share what we have learned but find ourselves forgetting what we wanted to share in the first place. Our tendency to forget could be due to having a low attention span. After all, the attention span of humans is said to be 8 seconds! This begs a crucial question: How can we engage a learner with such a low attention span? Microlearning is the answer.

The idea of microlearning is simple. It helps break a learning course into bite-sized chunks to aid learners in absorbing and processing the information better. It is a great way to engage your learners by giving them short bursts of learning, which holds their attention longer.

4. Drive learning with real purpose and values 

Today’s employees feel motivated and encouraged when their workplace provides them with learning that has a purpose. Purpose drives 73% of employees to feel more satisfied and engaged in the workplace.

Hence, it is essential to communicate your learning objectives clearly with your employees. They will not want to engage with your content if they do not think it is meaningful. One way to avoid that is to make sure that your content connects with your company’s values and mission.

Storytelling can also enhance purpose. A good narrative can enable learners to see themselves in a particular setting, and it will help them progress through different levels of training. It also adds a layer of immersion and draws learners to dive deeper into the overall learning experience.

5. Make learning more convenient

Learners are always on the go, and hence, we need to find a way to keep them motivated and engaged despite their busy schedules. Thus, investing in a quality LMS (Learning Management System) is essential. An LMS will allow content to be accessed anywhere learners are, with enough features to meet what a learner wants. This convenience further encourages learning and impacts the learning journey of its users.

If you are looking for a simplified learning platform, get in touch with SmartUp here and witness a learning experience that drives results.

It is crucial to make learning convenient, easy to consume and enjoyable to read. Encouraging learning through purpose and rewards can further enhance their understanding and help you and your learners make the most of your content. Adopting these five strategies should see your learner engagement levels rise and improve the efficiency of your training programmes.

This post is written in collaboration with Xoxoday. Neha is the content marketing manager at Xoxoday — a reward, incentives, payouts, perks, loyalty, and engagement platform that helps businesses — from start-ups to large enterprises to make growth stories rewarding and seamless. She is passionate about B2B writing and when she is not doing that, she is either doodling or organizing.