What is learner engagement?
In a context of massive technological and business change, and an unstable economic climate, learner engagement is of vital importance in enabling organizations to remain competitive. Indeed, commitment is the key to success in completing a training course, and even more importantly, to acquiring and upgrading skills.
The notion of learner involvement in a training program is evolving. In fact, face-to-face training courses, although still present, are now being supplemented by online training. The format can be synchronous or asynchronous. The digitalization of training and its impact on employee motivation and commitment must now be taken into account. In this article, we focus on learner engagement in digital training.
How can we improve adult learner engagement?
It’s a question that inevitably comes back like a boomerang when we talk about training, and particularly e-learning.
The learner’s commitment to training is far from being merely theoretical.
“Profitability remains the main concern for companies. It’s a fact that companies whose employees are the most committed to their work perform much better than others,” says Elodie Primo.
Digital Learning puts learners at the heart of their training. Assisted by technology, they can access the resources, information and training they need at any time of day, and on a variety of media (computer, tablet, smartphone).
Engagement is far from theoretical. There are a number of indicators available on training portals and LMS platforms that can be used to assess and measure it:
- connection rate
- completion rate
- success rate
- past time
- ratings, etc.
The ergonomics and services provided by the training portal also play a major role
Before entering a course or training content, the learner accesses the catalog via a training portal. This must also be engaging, as it is the learner’s first impression.
So, what is an engaging portal?
Elodie Primo, CEO of MOS – MindOnSite, sums it up:
- portal ergonomics for clear, fluid navigation,
- optimized functionalities adapted to learner needs,
- learner services to make their experience even more engaging,
- user experience: page loading speed, readability, etc.
These 4 points should be given priority.
Not forgetting that you can also have portals “in the plural”. In other words, offer different training portals to different learners, depending on the brand’s universe, training themes, targets or objectives.
Is “good design” enough for effective learner engagement?
The design and ergonomics of resources play an important role, but not the only one. Elodie Primo recalls the main elements of the engagement loop and their impact on reinforcing learner engagement: motivation, action, feedback.
Motivation
Motivation is the reason why the learner is interested in the training you offer. It’s the element that triggers the loop. To achieve this, you can send an invitation to connect to the portal by e-mail, a video teaser to arouse curiosity, a site presenting the available training catalog, or an internal poster campaign to accompany the availability of the training portal.
The aim of the rest of the loop is to generate new motivation so that it can be maintained.
Action
The action corresponds to what you want your learners to do (read a document, consult a catalog or video, listen to a podcast, complete a training course, etc.). The action must be clear, and the benefits for the learner clearly stated.
Feedback
Feedback is undoubtedly the most structuring element when it enables the learner to start a new loop.
Feedback is your feedback to the participant on the activity they have just completed. It is essential because it is this feedback that will make the participant want to continue the training. The essential elements to remember when creating effective feedback are as follows:
- Give feedback as soon as possible after the action,
- Provide feedback directly linked to the action,
- Point out what is positive so that the learner can reinforce these points,
- Suggest ways to improve weak points.
Feedback must give the learner the desire and the means to improve. It creates new motivation to repeat the action and improve.
To maintain this loop, feedback must be frequent. This is why quizzes and self-assessment questionnaires must be an integral part of the training program. As in a video game, progress is based on levels, with detailed statistics and new information at each progress point.
Beware: if there isn’t enough feedback, the participant’s motivation may wane.
The new levers of learner engagement
Gamification
As mentioned above, the learner engagement loop is based on the codes of video games. So why not go one step further and apply game codes to your training portals?
The gamification of training professional involves integrating game mechanisms into your training system (or LMS) to make the portal and its content much more fun.
By amplifying an existing experience through motivational techniques, you’ll improve your learners’ sense of belonging and accomplishment, and boost their engagement.
Gamification will enrich an existing experience by bringing originality and the game mechanisms we all know (and love!). Learners will want to come back! And it’s an excellent way of building loyalty. Thanks to the game’s mechanics, your learners will want to progress, climb levels, earn points and go further and further! You’ll learn almost without realizing it, because the learning process is gradual and natural. Because it’s always easier to learn and retain while having fun. Even if you’re a serious adult!
Thanks to various gamification levers such as points, levels and badges, learners will develop greater self-esteem and a stronger sense of accomplishment. A view of their progress will enable them to see how far they’ve come. Team games and rankings can also be set up to reinforce a sense of belonging and cohesion.
Training marketing
To guarantee the success of a training program, the aim is to create enough perceived value to get learners on board, increase their skills and achieve broader business objectives. It’s in this context that certain marketing strategies can help boost learner engagement.
According to a study carried out by Towards Maturity in 2022, 80% of respondents (5,500 HR leaders) believe that training marketing is a key skill in the role of training manager. However, only 40% feel that this skill is present in their team.
Marketing your training program requires some premature thought when you’re drawing up your strategy. First of all, you’ll need to take stock of your situation and think about your positioning, your strengths and weaknesses, the resources you have at your disposal, and the expectations and needs of your stakeholders.
Secondly, you need to think about your targets, and create relevant personas to get to know them.
“A persona is an imaginary character representing a target group or segment in the development of a new product or service, or a marketing activity as a whole. The persona usually has a first name and social and psychological characteristics. Several personas can be used for a single development project.
The next step is to define your communication objectives:
- cognitive: you seek to inform
- emotional: you seek to move
- conative: you seek to provoke an action
Finally, use the conversion funnel to attract your learners’ attention and convert them (i.e. get them to perform the action you want).
To achieve this, 4 phases must be respected:
- Raising awareness = Spreading the word about your program
- Discovery = Capture their attention and arouse their interest
- Evaluation = Stimulate their thinking / Maintain their attention
- Purchase = Complete training
Adaptive Learning
Adaptive Learning is a pedagogical approach that aligns itself with the profile of each learner. In concrete terms, this method aims to adapt the course and content of training courses to the individual needs of learners. Adaptive learning is a combination of cognitive science, big data and technology.
Thanks to parameterization, and in some cases artificial intelligence, training content and modules are personalized according to the learner’s profile, level of expertise, skills and needs. Adaptive learning uses data referring to the learner’s profile fields, as well as his or her behaviors during training. This data is processed so that the training is better adapted to the learner’s preferences and skills.