A recent survey discovered that only about 25 percent of organizations feel that they are effective at training employees. Yet many companies are content to go with their current training strategies and learning management systems, no matter how obsolete or inefficient those approaches are.
Corporate training materials have come a long way over the past five years. Thanks to technology such as tablets and smartphones, content that would have been unwieldy or unimaginable last decade are not only a reality today, but also practically a requirement. Here are four hot corporate training materials you might not know about yet, but that you might be using sooner than you think:
1. Interactive slideshows
We’ve all seen PowerPoint and other slideshow presentations over the years. And we’re used to them being projected onto a large pull-down screen or, at least, being viewed on a computer. With the rapid rise of tablets such as iPads, those slideshows can be adapted to smaller, more portable screens. Employees can watch a slideshow either at their convenience or, more impressively, as they learn a new product or procedure. And because the presentation is interactive, they can swipe easily back and forth between slides as needed during training. Furthermore, workers can leave comments either for managers or for other employees who will use the slideshow, thus refining and improving the training process.
2. Personalized content
Consider this scenario: Your company employs a few specialized workers that require distinct corporate training materials. Today’s training solutions can allow such content to be delivered directly to the mobile devices those workers use. These employees simply turn on their iPads and find that the training materials geared especially for them are there. Moreover, with the powerful collaboration features of the newest training solutions, this content becomes a living, breathing process rather than a rigid set of directions. Specialized employees are best positioned to evaluate the content and procedures that concern them; their input should carry even more weight with training managers—and now that input is more easily exchanged.
3. Digital training manuals
Many companies have already ditched binders upon binders of printed training manuals in favor of digital versions. This electronic content is easier to access and more convenient for trainer and employer alike. Updates to this material can be easily made, with no mass reprinting to fix one mistake. And security and proprietary information are where digital manuals perhaps carry the most potential. Printed corporate training materials can be lost or stolen, putting intellectual property at risk. Digital manuals can be delegated only to the employees who should be reading them, and if a tablet is lost, some solutions allow for remote wiping to protect your IP as well as access to company systems.
4. Live video
Video has gained a toehold in modern training solutions, and that trend is expected to grow in leaps and bounds. Live, streaming training sessions have been an option on laptops and desktops, and with the impressive rise of mobile devices, such video can be easily viewed on tablets and smartphones. Thanks to today’s technology, employees in the field will be less likely to miss important training—being out of the office is no longer a hindrance.
Where do you think the future of corporate training materials is headed?
