5 Tips for Maximizing the ROI of Online Training

Despite its growing popularity, the digital learning industry continues to face challenges related to measuring the ROI of training programs, keeping learners engaged and measuring their performance, and identifying which training methodologies are most effective. In response to these challenges and in order to improve their return on investment (ROI), companies continue to explore new ways to implement digital learning. This post outlines five tips for maximizing the ROI of your organization’s e-learning initiatives.

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Measure ROI from the outset

One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is failing to measure the ROI of their training programs from the outset. At Opus, we call this "Frontline Business Intelligence", lovingly referred to at "FBI" by our team. When measuring the ROI of any initiative, it’s important to identify what you’re trying to achieve at the business level before measuring anything else. You should also be clear on the measurement criteria and how you’re going to track and report on those metrics. This will help you identify and prioritize the areas that need the most improvement and show how the digital learning initiatives are contributing to the bottom line. Here are some examples of what to measure to get business intelligence on your frontline team throughout their training program. I like to start with questions in order to derive the best metrics:

• how is training increasing sales
• how is training increasing customer satisfaction
• how is training increasing employee satisfaction
• how is training lowering workers compensation instances
• how is training increasing employee retention and promotions

Don’t forget about the importance of Shoulder-to-Shoulder training

Another mistake organizations make when implementing digital training is failing to include some level of Shoulder-to-Shoulder training as part of the program. This is particularly important when implementing learning programs that deal with compliance-related issues. Managers and supervisors are often responsible for managing a number of different employees in various departments who all have different roles and responsibilities. Because managers only see the employees in their own department, they don’t have a good grasp of what each role entails across the organization. This is where Shoulder-to-Shoulder training can play a huge role in ensuring that managers understand what is required of each position within their department and across the company as a whole. This helps managers identify and address skill gaps among their employees before they create operational challenges.

Here's a video of our customer, Just Salad, engaging with their team digitally and in person.

Use a digital training platform that gathers behavior data

The best digital learning platforms have the capability to gather data related to the usage and engagement of the courses. This data can then be used to create additional courses or content specific to the needs of your employees. By creating new courses based on the data gathered from your employees, you can ensure that the training is more relevant to the employees’ job role and experience. What’s even more important is that you can use the data to better understand which members of your team are struggling with certain concepts and which employees are demonstrating proficiency in specific skills. This data can then be used to help create targeted learning programs designed to address specific challenges within the organization.

• global adoption
• adoption velocity at new location openings
• employee turnover
• employee retention in your training program
• compliance - course completion over time
• compliance - % of employees who complete by due date
• program efficacy - course accuracy?
• manager engagement with shoulder-to-shoulder training

Include operations managers, not just HR

Another mistake that organizations make when implementing digital training is to only include HR representatives in the design and development of the courses. This is a huge mistake that can significantly hinder the effectiveness of the training. By including operations managers and other employees who are responsible for the operation of the business in the development of the courses, you can ensure that the training addresses real challenges that are impacting the business. This helps ensure that the employees understand how the training applies to their daily activities and results in a higher level of engagement among the employees.

Gather feedback from employees to increase engagement

Another way to improve engagement and ROI is to gather feedback from employees at the end of the training. In many cases, this feedback can be collected at the end of a course through your digital platform. This feedback should include collecting a score from employees as well as written feedback on why they left that score. This can help you identify areas that need improvement and which techniques are most effective. If you don’t already include a survey at the end of the course, you should. And don’t just survey the participants; survey their managers as well. This will help you understand how the training is being applied in the workplace and identify opportunities for improvement.

Summary

The digital learning industry continues to grow and evolve as organizations look for ways to improve their employee engagement, productivity, and operational efficiency. In order to maximize the ROI of your e-learning initiatives, it’s important to keep these challenges in mind when implementing your learning program. This includes measuring the ROI of your training programs from the outset, including Shoulder-to-Shoulder training as part of your program, using a digital platform that gathers behavior data, including operations managers in the design of the courses, and gathering feedback from employees to increase engagement.