ENTER

+44 1753 840 331hello@growthengineering.co.uk www.growthengineering.co.uk

NEW YEAR’STRAINING CHECKLIST

In the last year, you’ve worked hard and produced some awesome results, and this year, you aim to engage more learners, create more exciting content and increase your profits with the power of knowledge!

The New Year marks a new start and a new opportunity to build on the success of the previous 12 months. However, building a fool proof training plan is a big challenge to take on, and with so many moving parts,

it takes a real super hero to pull it off.

Not to worry! Growth Engineering, your allies in the fight against dull online learning, have put together an all-encompassing guide to help you get your training program off to a winning start!

Don’t be that guy struggling with next year’s training program through the dull ache of a New Year’s Eve hangover – start the ball rolling early with this handy checklist!

READY TO GO?EVALUATE

1. Did you receive any feedback from your learners last year?

If you did, now’s the time to take action on any points. If there is no feedback, think about giving your learners a better chance to have their say.

2. What content did you deliver last year?

List all of the learning content that your learners would have taken in the last 12 months. This could be anything from attending classroom training events to watching an induction video.

3. Did all of the recipients complete it?

If most of your learners completed the content then you’ve been doing something right. If not, then you’ll need to understand why. If you don’t know who has completed what, then you should focus on improving your reporting next year.

4. How did they do?

Ideally, your learning content should be sufficient to equip your learners. The results of any post-training assessments will let you know how well the learning has stuck.

5. Send out an end-of-year assessment to your learners – either all of them or a select group.

If you haven’t done so already, create an assessment that covers multiple areas of your training program. If that seems like a big job to squeeze into the end of the year, then you should find a more efficient method of assessing your learners in the New Year.

6. Has the training changed behaviour in your company?

Can you think of a piece of content that solved a persistent problem in your company? Perhaps a customer service workshop resulted in better customer satisfaction. Try to identify what you did right with this content … and do more of that in 2016!

7. Has the training had a measurable influence on profit?

Depending on where you focussed your training in 2015, this might be tricky to measure. If you’re lucky enough to have pushed out some product training to your sales people, you’ll be able to tell if this has generated more sales.

8. Add all of that up – did the benefits of last year’s training cover the costs?

If you can calculate the profit from increased sales, or the savings made from improved processes, you can then compare this to the investment made in the training. If you can state a significant ROI, you can justify extending your budget next year!GOALS

1. Do the current skills need improving?

Now that you’ve looked at last year’s performance, you know where your learners’ strengths are. If your company is still battling against persistent skill-gaps that are affecting the bottom line, you should look at improving the training in these areas.

2. Is there a need for new skills?

Make sure you are aware of any upcoming changes to processes in your business and consider how you will provide training to address this. You will also need to prepare training material for any new products or services

3. Are there any upcoming recruiting drives?

If your company aims to expand in 2016, your onboarding and induction process will have to be fit for purpose. Take a look at your current induction training and ask yourself if you can do anything to improve it.

4. Are there any upcoming changes in legislation that might affect your business?

When it comes to compliance, your company has a legal responsibility to demonstrate that your employees understand the rules. Because the review process can be strict, make sure you start preparing training content at the earliest opportunity.

5. How quickly are employees progressing in their careers?

According to a recent survey, 26% of employees who left their jobs in the past 12 months did so because they felt that there was no opportunity for career growth. If you aim to reduce your attrition rate this year, focus on providing training that helps your learners go further!

+44 1753 840 331hello@growthengineering.co.uk www.growthengineering.co.uk

1. List areas in need of training.

Given last year’s performance and your current goals, you should now work out which areas of your business are in need of training. Look at all areas of your business and make a list of departments. Under each department, make a list of skills and knowledge required to fulfil the roles associated with it.

1. Improve communication.

In a survey of over 1400 professionals, 86% of respondents cited inadequate collaboration for most workplace failures. Communication is essential for good collaboration in any project. At this stage you should focus on improving the lines of communication between all members of the L&D team.

2. Hire an Instructional Designer.

If you find yourself struggling to produce enough learning content to fulfil your needs, you might need more hands on deck. It’s an instructional designer’s job to mould the learning content into something that’s more easily absorbed by your learners. Don’t do everything yourself if you can avoid it – get some IDs on the payroll!

3. Collaborate with Subject Matter Experts.

Make sure you have all of your SMEs on board when it comes to producing learning content in 2016. In most cases, they’ll all have a pretty full plate already, but if you provide a brief outline of what you need to achieve this year (and how they can help), they will be more prepared when it comes to creating the content.

1. Audit your Content.

List your existing content including any documents, videos or other handbooks. If you’ve followed the checklist up until now, you’ll know which pieces of content are working the

best and which pieces are missing the mark.

2. Repurpose existing content.

If your content is underperforming, it’s probably time for a refresh. Prioritise your list, starting with the content that’s likely to have the biggest impact on behaviour throughout the company. Look at each piece as a learner might look at it. Is the learning objective clear? Does it

look good, or is it simply too dull to behold?

3. Explore different kinds of content.

If your learners’ journey is too repetitive, they’ll likely get bored and the information simply won’t sink in. Consider whether that Health and Safety document might be more engaging as a video, or maybe your compliance course is just crying out to be turned into an exciting

eLearning unit.

2. What additional training do you need?

Once you have your list of departments and skills, create a list of your current learning content. Tie each piece of content to the relevant skill and establish whether there are any gaps in the training program.

3. What additional resources do you need?

Does your learning department have the required resources to provide the learning content for 2016? By now, you should have a clear idea of your strengths and weaknesses and which areas are in need of extra investment.

ADDRESSING NEEDS THE LEARNING TEAM

CONTENT

DELIVERING CONTENT

YOU MIGHT THINK THAT CREATING ELEARNING IS A COSTLY AND DRAWN-OUT AFFAIR, BUT WITH A COLLABORATIVE AUTHORING TOOL, YOU CAN GET YOUR WHOLE TEAM INVOLVED AND REPURPOSE YOUR OLD CONTENT INTO SOMETHING MORE EXCITING!

1. Cut costs of Classroom TrainingClassroom training can be an effective method of getting your message across, but it’s not without its downfalls. It can be tricky to coordinate employees, especially if your company is quite large. Look at how you plan and arrange classroom events and try to find ways to

improve your processes.

2. Get a Learning Management SystemIf you don’t currently have a Learning Management System (LMS), you might think you have valid reasons not to invest in online learning. Maybe you think it’s too expensive? Maybe you’re baffled by the market and you just don’t know where to start looking. Whatever your past misgivings may be, the benefits of an online learning platform are well worth looking

into. Check out our white paper here to find out more.

3. Focus on engagementYou might already have an LMS, but is it delivering the results you want? Most LMS implementations fail due to a lack of learner engagement. The key to success is to keep your learners returning to the system again and again. It’s not enough to simply give them content

– you need to make them want to consume it.

4. Use gamification in online learningEngaging your learners is a significant challenge, but it’s one that’s made a lot easier by using gamification techniques to make the learning journey more fun. Find out how gamification

can generate a handsome ROI here!

5. Unlock social learningLike so many things, learning is a lot more fun when you don’t have to do it on your own. Social learning (and informal learning in general) makes up 90% of everything your employees learn at work. If your LMS can’t tap into this font of knowledge, then you’re missing a huge chunk of a very tasty pie. Talk to your LMS provider and see if they can provide a

solution for social learning and if they can’t, find a provider who can (link to Academy)!

ANALYTICS & REPORTING1. How do you currently report on your learners’ progress?

If you don’t have an online learning platform, you could find that reporting on your learners’ progress is a complicated and drawn-out process. You could improve matters by creating a shared document online and inviting all of your branch managers to input their learners’

results. This, however, isn’t a perfect solution.

2. Look at reporting on your LMSAny LMS worth its salt will have some reporting tools that will give you all sorts of information including completion rates, logins and assessment scores. Despite its importance, a lack of adequate reporting tools is one of the key reasons people decide to change their Learning

Management System (link needed).

3. Look at your groups and categoriesA good reporting suite will let you filter your results by regions or departments. Take a look at how your learner groups are configured – do they follow a set rule or have they been created

on an ad-hoc basis. If you think your groups could be tidier, add this to your to-do list.

4. Set up scheduled reportsHow much of your time have you lost in the last year by running the same reports over and

over? A robust reporting tool can also let you schedule regular report emails.

5. If you have an LMS how often do your learners log in?One of the best indicators of your LMS’ efficacy is how often your learners return. If you have a problem with engagement, you need to give your learners an incentive to come back for more.

Planning your training strategy can be quite the juggling act, but with the right tools and enough support, anything is possible. At Growth Engineering, we help learning superheroes

like YOU engage their learners and secure a measurable ROI with online learning.

GET IN TOUCH WITH A MEMBER OF GE-SQUAD TODAY AND FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP YOU!

ENTER

+44 1753 840 331hello@growthengineering.co.uk www.growthengineering.co.uk

NEW YEAR’STRAINING CHECKLIST

In the last year, you’ve worked hard and produced some awesome results, and this year, you aim to engage more learners, create more exciting content and increase your profits with the power of knowledge!

The New Year marks a new start and a new opportunity to build on the success of the previous 12 months. However, building a fool proof training plan is a big challenge to take on, and with so many moving parts,

it takes a real super hero to pull it off.

Not to worry! Growth Engineering, your allies in the fight against dull online learning, have put together an all-encompassing guide to help you get your training program off to a winning start!

Don’t be that guy struggling with next year’s training program through the dull ache of a New Year’s Eve hangover – start the ball rolling early with this handy checklist!

READY TO GO?EVALUATE

1. Did you receive any feedback from your learners last year?

If you did, now’s the time to take action on any points. If there is no feedback, think about giving your learners a better chance to have their say.

2. What content did you deliver last year?

List all of the learning content that your learners would have taken in the last 12 months. This could be anything from attending classroom training events to watching an induction video.

3. Did all of the recipients complete it?

If most of your learners completed the content then you’ve been doing something right. If not, then you’ll need to understand why. If you don’t know who has completed what, then you should focus on improving your reporting next year.

4. How did they do?

Ideally, your learning content should be sufficient to equip your learners. The results of any post-training assessments will let you know how well the learning has stuck.

5. Send out an end-of-year assessment to your learners – either all of them or a select group.

If you haven’t done so already, create an assessment that covers multiple areas of your training program. If that seems like a big job to squeeze into the end of the year, then you should find a more efficient method of assessing your learners in the New Year.

6. Has the training changed behaviour in your company?

Can you think of a piece of content that solved a persistent problem in your company? Perhaps a customer service workshop resulted in better customer satisfaction. Try to identify what you did right with this content … and do more of that in 2016!

7. Has the training had a measurable influence on profit?

Depending on where you focussed your training in 2015, this might be tricky to measure. If you’re lucky enough to have pushed out some product training to your sales people, you’ll be able to tell if this has generated more sales.

8. Add all of that up – did the benefits of last year’s training cover the costs?

If you can calculate the profit from increased sales, or the savings made from improved processes, you can then compare this to the investment made in the training. If you can state a significant ROI, you can justify extending your budget next year!GOALS

1. Do the current skills need improving?

Now that you’ve looked at last year’s performance, you know where your learners’ strengths are. If your company is still battling against persistent skill-gaps that are affecting the bottom line, you should look at improving the training in these areas.

2. Is there a need for new skills? (New processes incoming?)

Make sure you are aware of any upcoming changes to processes in your business and consider how you will provide training to address this. You will also need to prepare training material for any new products or services

3. Are there any upcoming recruiting drives?(invest in onboarding & induction)

If your company aims to expand in 2016, your onboarding and induction process will have to be fit for purpose. Take a look at your current induction training and ask yourself if you can do anything to improve it.

4. Are there any upcoming changes in legislation that might affect your business?

When it comes to compliance, your company has a legal responsibility to demonstrate that your employees understand the rules. Because the review process can be strict, make sure you start preparing training content at the earliest opportunity.

5. How quickly are employees progressing in their careers?

According to a recent survey, 26% of employees who left their jobs in the past 12 months did so because they felt that there was no opportunity for career growth. If you aim to reduce your attrition rate this year, focus on providing training that helps your learners go further!

+44 1753 840 331hello@growthengineering.co.uk www.growthengineering.co.uk

1. List areas in need of training.

Given last year’s performance and your current goals, you should now work out which areas of your business are in need of training. Look at all areas of your business and make a list of departments. Under each department, make a list of skills and knowledge required to fulfil the roles associated with it.

1. Improve communication.

In a survey of over 1400 professionals, 86% of respondents cited inadequate collaboration for most workplace failures. Communication is essential for good collaboration in any project. At this stage you should focus on improving the lines of communication between all members of the L&D team.

2. Hire an Instructional Designer.

If you find yourself struggling to produce enough learning content to fulfil your needs, you might need more hands on deck. It’s an instructional designer’s job to mould the learning content into something that’s more easily absorbed by your learners. Don’t do everything yourself if you can avoid it – get some IDs on the payroll!

3. Collaborate with Subject Matter Experts.

Make sure you have all of your SMEs on board when it comes to producing learning content in 2016. In most cases, they’ll all have a pretty full plate already, but if you provide a brief outline of what you need to achieve this year (and how they can help), they will be more prepared when it comes to creating the content.

1. Audit your Content.

List your existing content including any documents, videos or other handbooks. If you’ve followed the checklist up until now, you’ll know which pieces of content are working the

best and which pieces are missing the mark.

2. Repurpose existing content.

If your content is underperforming, it’s probably time for a refresh. Prioritise your list, starting with the content that’s likely to have the biggest impact on behaviour throughout the company. Look at each piece as a learner might look at it. Is the learning objective clear? Does it

look good, or is it simply too dull to behold?

3. Explore different kinds of content.

If your learners’ journey is too repetitive, they’ll likely get bored and the information simply won’t sink in. Consider whether that Health and Safety document might be more engaging as a video, or maybe your compliance course is just crying out to be turned into an exciting

eLearning unit.

2. What additional training do you need?

Once you have your list of departments and skills, create a list of your current learning content. Tie each piece of content to the relevant skill and establish whether there are any gaps in the training program.

3. What additional resources do you need?

Does your learning department have the required resources to provide the learning content for 2016? By now, you should have a clear idea of your strengths and weaknesses and which areas are in need of extra investment.

ADDRESSING NEEDS THE LEARNING TEAM

CONTENT

DELIVERING CONTENT

YOU MIGHT THINK THAT CREATING ELEARNING IS A COSTLY AND DRAWN-OUT AFFAIR, BUT WITH A COLLABORATIVE AUTHORING TOOL, YOU CAN GET YOUR WHOLE TEAM INVOLVED AND REPURPOSE YOUR OLD CONTENT INTO SOMETHING MORE EXCITING!

1. Cut costs of Classroom TrainingClassroom training can be an effective method of getting your message across, but it’s not without its downfalls. It can be tricky to coordinate employees, especially if your company is quite large. Look at how you plan and arrange classroom events and try to find ways to

improve your processes.

2. Get a Learning Management SystemIf you don’t currently have a Learning Management System (LMS), you might think you have valid reasons not to invest in online learning. Maybe you think it’s too expensive? Maybe you’re baffled by the market and you just don’t know where to start looking. Whatever your past misgivings may be, the benefits of an online learning platform are well worth looking

into. Check out our white paper here to find out more.

3. Focus on engagementYou might already have an LMS, but is it delivering the results you want? Most LMS implementations fail due to a lack of learner engagement. The key to success is to keep your learners returning to the system again and again. It’s not enough to simply give them content

– you need to make them want to consume it.

4. Use gamification in online learningEngaging your learners is a significant challenge, but it’s one that’s made a lot easier by using gamification techniques to make the learning journey more fun. Find out how gamification

can generate a handsome ROI here!

5. Unlock social learningLike so many things, learning is a lot more fun when you don’t have to do it on your own. Social learning (and informal learning in general) makes up 90% of everything your employees learn at work. If your LMS can’t tap into this font of knowledge, then you’re missing a huge chunk of a very tasty pie. Talk to your LMS provider and see if they can provide a

solution for social learning and if they can’t, find a provider who can (link to Academy)!

ANALYTICS & REPORTING1. How do you currently report on your learners’ progress?

If you don’t have an online learning platform, you could find that reporting on your learners’ progress is a complicated and drawn-out process. You could improve matters by creating a shared document online and inviting all of your branch managers to input their learners’

results. This, however, isn’t a perfect solution.

2. Look at reporting on your LMSAny LMS worth its salt will have some reporting tools that will give you all sorts of information including completion rates, logins and assessment scores. Despite its importance, a lack of adequate reporting tools is one of the key reasons people decide to change their Learning

Management System (link needed).

3. Look at your groups and categoriesA good reporting suite will let you filter your results by regions or departments. Take a look at how your learner groups are configured – do they follow a set rule or have they been created

on an ad-hoc basis. If you think your groups could be tidier, add this to your to-do list.

4. Set up scheduled reportsHow much of your time have you lost in the last year by running the same reports over and

over? A robust reporting tool can also let you schedule regular report emails.

5. If you have an LMS how often do your learners log in?One of the best indicators of your LMS’ efficacy is how often your learners return. If you have a problem with engagement, you need to give your learners an incentive to come back for more.

Planning your training strategy can be quite the juggling act, but with the right tools and enough support, anything is possible. At Growth Engineering, we help learning superheroes

like YOU engage their learners and secure a measurable ROI with online learning.

GET IN TOUCH WITH A MEMBER OF GE-SQUAD TODAY AND FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP YOU!