How can you use e-learning to develop your talent?

1 Align e-learning with your talent strategy

Before you design or deliver any e-learning program, you need to have a clear vision of your talent strategy. What are your organizational goals and values? What are the current and future competencies and roles that you need to fill? How do you measure and reward performance and potential? How do you identify and nurture your high-potential and high-performing employees? By aligning your e-learning with your talent strategy, you can ensure that your e-learning is relevant, meaningful, and impactful for your employees and your business.

2 Choose the right e-learning format and platform

E-learning is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Depending on your learning objectives, audience, budget, and resources, you may need to choose different e-learning formats and platforms. For example, you may use self-paced courses, webinars, podcasts, videos, simulations, gamification, microlearning, social learning, or blended learning. You may also use different e-learning platforms, such as learning management systems (LMS), learning experience platforms (LXP), or mobile apps. The key is to choose the e-learning format and platform that suits your learners' needs, preferences, and styles, as well as your organizational culture and infrastructure.

3 Design e-learning with learner engagement and retention in mind

E-learning can be engaging and effective, but it can also be boring and forgettable. To avoid the latter, you need to design your e-learning with learner engagement and retention in mind. This means that you need to use instructional design principles, such as chunking, sequencing, scaffolding, feedback, and assessment, to create e-learning that is clear, concise, and coherent. You also need to use multimedia elements, such as images, audio, video, animation, and interactivity, to create e-learning that is appealing, stimulating, and immersive. Moreover, you need to use storytelling, scenarios, case studies, examples, and quizzes, to create e-learning that is relevant, relatable, and applicable.

4 Support e-learning with coaching and mentoring

E-learning is not enough to develop your talent. You also need to support your e-learning with coaching and mentoring. Coaching and mentoring can help your employees apply their learning to their work, overcome challenges, receive feedback, and achieve their goals. Coaching and mentoring can also help your employees develop their soft skills, such as communication, collaboration, leadership, and emotional intelligence. You can use different coaching and mentoring methods, such as one-on-one sessions, peer-to-peer exchanges, group discussions, or online communities. You can also use different coaching and mentoring tools, such as goal-setting templates, action plans, reflection journals, or feedback forms.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?