Once you have communicated the benefits and the advantages of the training, you will then need to roll out effective programs. There is nothing worse than building up expectations of an exciting e-learning initiative and then rolling out programs that put your learners to sleep.

The question is, How do you make the training interesting?  If you make the e-learning program exciting, it won’t matter if it’s voluntary or mandatory. 

Usually when the word mandatory is used, it’s associated with something that is boring and drawn out. Many e-learning programs are designed to just "push" the content at the audience through endless bullet points and static text-based screens. Allowing the user to "pull" the content generates much better results and is also more interesting.

That means having content that learners can interact with and find engaging. If the program challenges participants by using gaming methodology or visually engages them through 3D virtual environments, they will find the learning more interesting and will "pull" the content from the program.

I always use the example of video games in this case. Exciting videogames and boring e-learning programs have one major item in common: They both are played on screens.

So what is it that keeps a person in front of the game screen for hours on end while he or she drops out of a boring e-learning program after 10 minutes? The only difference is that the video games have constant interaction with the screen elements using an input device (for example, mouse, game controller, steering wheel, and so forth). On the other hand, many mandatory e-learning programs are nothing more than converted PowerPoint presentations with little graphical content.

In a previous column, I explained our Centrax-coined term CAI (Content Area Interaction) Ratio. Video games have high CAI ratios because all of their screens have high levels of interaction. On the other hand, basic text screens have low CAI ratios since there is no interaction in the content area. The only thing learners must do is select the Next button.

In summary, if the e-learning programs can capture the audience the same way that video games can, and you communicate a powerful message on the virtues of the training, it’s not difficult to evangelize mandatory and other training.

Voci

In a corporation of 3,000 employees located all over the United States, evangelizing training was important to the organization as well as to those of us in training. It was also a matter of pride to my staff that we be seen as a value-added service. Our goal was to make training fun, interactive, connected to our corporate objectives, and accessible. We knew we couldn't take the message as far and as wide as needed without the support and interest of other employees from the executive team down. How did we accomplish those goals?

We ran a corporate training event annually called The Learning Partners Conference. We provided workshops on topics that were relevant to all levels of the organization, such as improving customer service, fostering creativity, managing transitions, and so forth. These topics fit directly with our corporate objectives to be a learning organization and one that provided tools and resources for its employees' work-life balance.

Our opening event was a keynote speech by a well known consultant who was leading team building for our executive team. She drew a big crowd because everyone who had been working with her liked her, and others who had only

heard her name wanted to experience her. We asked her to tie her message to

ours: that ongoing learning and development was the foundation for the

company's overall success and longevity. It was a huge hit and a great way

to start the day.

We used the format to award Trainer of the Year and a few other awards that matter to the training community within the company. In the presence of managers, supervisors and executives, people took their prizes with great pride and a feeling of accomplishment. The awards provided for greater self-confidence among trainers and increased credibility within the larger community.

The mix of attendees was important to our objectives: Training departments

need advocates and change agents throughout the system in order to be well

used and well regarded. By combining managers, supervisors, and

executives with the more than one hundred trainers in the company, we

assured ourselves of lots of networking opportunities and conversations. Lunches were box lunch style and there were many informal meetings taking place. We "seeded" the organization with our friends and made many new allies that day.

Our closing event was an interactive event called People, Paint, and

Percussion. The muralist who organized it worked in tandem with her husband

and his band called Rhythms of Life. They played as we painted a large

mural that we titled "The Learning Organization."  More than 65 employees

applied paint freestyle to create an abstract painting that was truly an

original. We took lots of photos for the newsletter that was sent out

post-conference to brag about what a grand day we had and how enjoyable and

diverse the topics and activities were.

If you’re passionate about training and convinced of the business case for it, then sponsoring an event like this goes a long ways toward ensuring that training is seen as essential and a point of pride for all.