Category Archives: Online Learning

Here are the best methods for Employee Performance Evaluation

Looking for the best evaluation methods to rate and scale your employees? Well, here are a few best methods for employee performance evaluation.

Do your employees give their best performance? Do they meet the deadlines and excel in everything assigned to them? But with all this, are they really climbing up the success ladder?

To find your answers to the above questions, you need data analysis to evaluate their performance. You need a clear framework to collect, select, and interpret data on your employees. Performance evaluation methods can differ based on companies and their needs. You may even need a mix of two or three methods to have a better understanding of the employee. Dive right in and find out the best techniques to review employee performance. 

Methods of Employee Performance Evaluation

There are three critical elements for evaluation:

  • The work one does: both qualitative and quantitative
  • The time taken
  • The actual contribution of the employee

Evaluation includes strengths, weaknesses, talents, skills, qualitative and quantitative data. 

The company can come up with the best training methods based on the results. Quodeck is your destination for evaluation aid. Here are some methods you can implement:

Management by objective (MBO)

The company sets particular objectives for all the employees. At the end of the deadline, the outcomes can assess the employee’s performance. The management tracks every employee’s progress and corrects it at any point.

MBO cannot be very precise as external factors are not considered. This can backfire on the employees’ outcomes and eventually get a low grade on the scorecard. A sales quota is the best example of MBO.

Critical incident method

The critical incident method is quite famous in customer-service-oriented jobs. This method allows managers to get overall feedback on an employee from other employees, customers, and higher management. The feedback gives a clear picture of how the employee handled a crisis and issue during their service.

This method encourages managers to observe certain events to judge the employee’s reaction. It can be positive or negative and also give clear input on their situational skills. The feedback also aids the company in coming up with better methods of training for the employees.

Rating scale

Many organizations use this method. The list or the questionnaire contains specific questions based on behaviors, traits, skills, or others. The employees are made to rate on a scale of 5 or 10. This method can be biased as employees favor each other most of the time.

Either way, the rating scale helps to monitor all the employees on the same categories and elements. This method is also efficient when employees have to rate new implementations or employer’s practices. The rating can also be Likert scales.

Continuous feedback

Feedback is an ongoing process of growing. A company needs to take continuous feedback to establish new methods, rules, and better targets. It is designed to take place at regular intervals where employees get to write and give feedback on their team members and managers on their teams. It is a two-way process that helps everyone to grow together.

Continuous feedback helps allow managers or team members to take charge whenever one needs help or is underperforming. This intervention will help prevent the situation from going out of hand. This method assists the company in grooming its employees according to their needs.

360-degree feedback

360-degree feedback appraisal method provides a chance for all the employees to give their opinions and feedback. Here,  every employee gets a rating from their colleagues, superiors, peers, customers, and management. The employee is evaluated from all sides: 360-degree feedback.

Under this system, a questionnaire is created by the HR department. It contains questions on all aspects. It can be teamwork, adaptability, leadership qualities, goal orientation, motivation levels, and strengths. Relevant people are made to fill the questionnaire anonymously. The feedback helps the employee to grow. It gives a clear insight into how others perceive them and their work.

Self-evaluation

Self-evaluation is a vital process for both employee and company growth. This method offers an opportunity for employees to play an active role in their evaluation process. It helps establish better communication between the staff and management. The employees can test their strengths, weaknesses and abilities, and skills and work on them.

Conclusion

Employee performance evaluation is vital. It helps both the company and employees to grow together. They give a clear insight on how well the staff is working and where they are lacking. Performance evaluation also helps to recognize talents and provide appraisals.

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The Best Ways to Improve Employee Learning and Employee Training

Looking to establish suitable training methods? Trying to teach new skills? Well, here are the best ways to improve employee learning and training in a company.

Every company has its own set of requirements and rules that help it climb up the success ladder. And the best way to go up is with proper foundation and establishment among the employees. This is only possible with a precise regimen of employee learning and training.

Training programs help them improve their skills and stay ahead in the corporate world. With this attitude, you would be able to take your company to the next level. It is the best place to invest. Dive right in and find out the best ways to boost employee learning through training. 

Best ways to improve employee learning and training

Training and learning programs play an essential role in shaping an employee according to the company’s needs. The programs give a clear picture of what the team expects from them and how they can reach the goals without any errors. Quodeck can aid you in finding the best training and development methods. But here are a few ways to improve your employee learning and training programs:

Offer professional training

Every organization runs on different priorities. What better way than to learn from older colleagues? Professional training is the best way to teach employees new ideas, the company’s methods, and objectives. It can also imbibe all the procedures and projects the company works on.

With professional help, the employees can clear their doubts, learn critical information, and even grow as a team. Professional training will guide you about the precise way to grow a company. Besides that, it helps to find your employees’ true potential and recognize the crowd’s best talent.

Emphasize soft skills

What’s the point of having excellent knowledge when you cannot share or help others? What’s the point of thinking of a great idea if you cannot voice it out? Soft skills are often neglected in many companies, but they help build strong bonds and help people and the company grow together.

Soft skills include having healthy communications, table etiquette, ability to collaborate, and work in harmony with other employees. It helps them to create a unique personality and contribute better to the company.

Occasional training programs

Every employee needs to learn to grow. The company can hold occasional training programs for all the employees. They can get on good terms, break some ice, and learn new things from each other. 

With evolving technology and competition, there is always something new to work on. So regular training programs will keep the employees up to date and equipped with new knowledge. 

These training programs can also help older employees come to good terms with younger employees. The programs also involve games and tasks to build strong bonds.

Cross department collaboration

Employee learning can also happen when an employee works in all departments. Moving across the departments will train the employee according to the company’s methods. The diversification will increase the exchange of knowledge and help employees find their passion.

At the same time, it can increase good bonding between the departments, leading to better productivity. For example, marketing teams can consult and have healthy discussions with the sales team before making a market campaign and work in one direction.

Develop managers into personal coaches

Managers play an important role in the employees’ life in the company. They guide, help, control, and assign tasks to all their employees. That way, managers have a clear picture of employees’ strengths, weaknesses, and what motivates them.

Making managers a personal coach will help them groom the employees and hone their skills in the right direction. They can even assign tasks according to their potential. They can test their employees with quick questions or assignments to prepare them better. Having regular conversations with employees will also help establish strong bonds.

Employee development is same as personal development

Personal health and development play an essential role in their growth as an employee. Positive minds and healthy bodies can contribute better to the company. They can become eager to learn new things and stay active in the workplace. You can have an in-house therapist or an approachable HR. They can help employees talk about everything that’s troubling them.

Conclusion

Employees are the foundation of any company. Thus making their well-being an essential thing. Employee training is an ongoing process as the industry is evolving and growing. It helps them set their career on the right path and helps the company climb up the success ladder.  

7 Tips for Employee Learning and Development: Expert Tips on How to Train Your Employees

What do you need to run a successful business? You can be anyone, from an entrepreneur to an influencer. But whenever you are online, you need something to grab attention. Of course, your content does that for you. But is that all? Can’t you just do better than now? Yes, we all can. 

The main goal of any online business is to keep your audience active. It ensures their coming back to your platform and making some purchase. But, it is a job better said than done. So, are you looking for a tool that allows you to stay active with your audience? Look no more. Here is the list of must-have tools for any online business. 

Tools To Help You Better Your Online Presence

  1. Social Media Tools

Social media presence is now the most important thing for any individual or brand. To make it clear, here is a statistic that highlights the importance of social media presence for brands. 71% of people who have had a good experience with a brand on social media are more likely to recommend that brand to their friends and families

And how do you improve this social media presence? Well, being active on your accounts does not always help. Of course, you can go from one platform to another and check each engagement differently. 

Or, you can simply use social media tools for better engagement. Tools like Hootsuite, Talkwalker, and Google Alerts are some social media analytics and monitoring platforms to name. 

These platforms get to observe everything happening on social media related to your brand. For example, you will get to see all the comments on your different platforms in one place. It helps in replying and connecting with your audience easily. 

And faster connection means a better experience. Using social media tools is way more effective and allows you to stay engaged with your audience. 

  1. Content Discovery Tools

You have to keep up with your competitors as well. Otherwise, you will see your audience going away to them. So, good competitor research is always important. But is it always possible to keep track of all your competitors manually? Most of the time, no. 

So, the easiest way is to run a competitor research tool. These tools run a quick research on the given keywords and find you all related content on the web. You can use Buzzsumo for that purpose. This tool is a must-have for anyone running online content for their business. 

  1. Marketing Automation Tool

Marketing is a crucial thing to engage with your audience. However, digital marketing is more than that. You need to take care of a lot of things- from your customer’s journey to their reactions. So, a content marketing tool can be the most helpful in this case. 

As a content marketing automation tool, you can consider using Hubspot. Hubspot lets you keep track of your marketing journey and helps you target your audience. Targeting is crucial and when you pass the stage, engaging with your audience becomes easier!

  1. Live Chat Software

Have you noticed those pop-up messages you get when you visit certain websites? These are live chat support or chatbots. These chatbots are very much helpful in increasing your audience engagement. So, how do these work? 

For live chat software, you can use ProProfs Chat. When someone has visited your blog or website, this chatbot keeps track of that. Now, after a certain time, if the person does not take any action on your site, a voice or chat pops up to grab their attention. By doing that, your audience feels like there is someone to help.

  1. Interactive Content Tool

Interactive content is the future of content marketing. While an average blog post takes around 3.5 hours to complete, interactive content is easy to design and more engaging. In addition, people here get to interact, which increases the ROI. So, modern marketers focus more on interactive content.

Amplayfy is an interactive content creator tool. Here you can create a variety of content, from quizzes to polls and surveys within minutes. These help you keep your audience engaged and increase the conversion rate. Interactive content is also helpful for influencer marketing. So make sure you try it out as soon as possible. 

Conclusion

Engaging your audience with your content is a very crucial thing to boost your online growth. And if you are serious about your online presence, you get to know every possible way to crack that. These are the best tools that you can use to stay active with your audience. We hope this discussion was helpful. We will see you with the next topic right here!

What you need to know about sales enablement: 3 crucial steps for success

 Sales Enablement can change the growth story of your company boosting revenue by at least 20%. Here’s what you need to know. 

Sales enablement has been an integral part of growing companies, especially in the latter half of the decade. Organisations have been subscribing heavily to the concept of an enablement team purely because of its conversion potential.  

Even though the idea is almost a buzzword nowadays, it’s still widely misunderstood. There’s a lack of clarity on what sales enablement actually is and how it impacts the overall KPIs. And believe it or not, this murky distinction hurts the potential that sales enablement could have. 

We’ll be clearing the fog and shedding some light on what sales enablement in reality is & why it is an absolute necessity in today’s conversion-focused business environment. 

How to define sales enablement? 

Sales Enablement is a term loosely used in the context of an overlap between VP of sales & sales manager, which is somewhat true but not entirely. 

By definition, it is a strategic placement that focuses on increasing the numbers and productivity of sales teams by providing tools, content, and resources across the buyer’s journey. 

Of course, this is an immensely broad definition of sales enablement, presented just to give you an outline. It’s way more nuanced than this. Here’s what sales enablement teams do on an average day: 

A day in the life of a sales enablement team

The role of Sales Enablement would be different for every organization. But the purpose is more or less identical. In most organizations, Sales Enablement bridges the gap between Marketing & Sales by: 

  1. Crafting sales assets & trainings
  2. Leading new hire onboarding and continuous learning of the sales reps
  3. Heading the evaluation of the reps’ product & user knowledge 
  4. Paving the way for cross-functional communication
  5. Managing all the sales tools & resources
  6. Creating reports measuring sales enablement impact

Who heads the sales enablement team? 

Now that’s a bit tricky because this is not a traditional function. So it can be very contextual. The head of sales runs almost 40-50% of the functions, the rest being accountable to any of the executives from the management or marketing depending upon the organization’s needs. 

You must have a fair idea by now of what to expect while building a sales enablement team. So let’s move on to the meat of the matter – does sales enablement actually impact the bottom line, or is it just another frivolous corporate jargon? 

What makes sales enablement so crucial (and an absolute must-have in 2021)

In plain numbers, organizations have witnessed up to 15% more success in closing deals. 

Companies like Ringcentral, a business communications SaaS, saw a massive revenue run rate of $775M. The stock shot up to $126 from $22 in about two years of the sales enablement settling in. 

Other than that, some companies have also experienced stronger customer relationships & higher quota attainment. 

Here are three direct practical benefits of sales enablement

Maximum Sales Potential at each touchpoint 

An essential part of sales enablement is sales readiness. It’s the strategic orientation preparing reps with all the armor they require before going ahead and making a sale. The resources can be anything, from the intricate details of the product to the competitive positioning.

Usually, if done right, clients end up having memorable experiences even if the sale doesn’t go through. It’s potentially a candidate for word-of-mouth. 

The process includes some strategic activities like: 

  • Onboarding
  • Sales coaching
  • Materials for consistent & updated knowledge 
  • Reinforcement 

Engaged Salesmen are Productive Salesmen

The main goal of any Sales Enablement team is to aid sales reps in closing better. Subsequently, it also plays a crucial role in keeping them better engaged & equipped. 

There was a report by SiriusDecisions that mentioned high-performing organizations having high rates of early enablement adoption, as compared to the low-performing ones. 

Better pre-qualified leads, Increased conversions

Sales teams always complain about the quality of marketing qualified leads. According to Market Sherpa, most sales teams report that only 27% of b2b leads passed from marketing to sales are actually really qualified. 

With transparent & consumer-centric resources answering all the generic questions ideal buyers have – the tedious part is cut in half. Now, salespeople have to cater to prospects that are pre-educated. This saves a lot of time & effort, leading to better conversion rates.

Best practices include: 

  • Working in sync with the sales team to prepare the resources 
  • Focusing more on the present-day immediate buyers’ needs than long-term traditional pieces

Moreover, your salespeople are allowed to focus on the meat of their job, i.e., selling, and the tedious parts of their job is taken away. This has a minimal but effective impact on the conversion rates. 

These were the top three benefits that having a sales enablement team can incur. Here we conclude this edition on sales enablement. 

Final Words

Conclusively, Sales Enablement is an efficient sync between the marketing and sales departments. It’s an absolute must-have in today’s tech-oriented times where the scope of marketing & sales has changed. They are codependent more than ever but still can’t function appropriately in sync with each other. That’s why you can’t miss out on sales enablement. 

One size fits all learning platforms are a thing of the past

When five fingers of our palm aren’t the same, then how can one can education style fit all learning platforms? Keep reading to know more about this! 

For many years now, education has been adhering to the “one size fits all” model. What everyone meant by this model was that students would be taught using the same styles of teaching and scored using the same evaluation methods, regardless of their interest or ability. 

But we all know that each student is different and has a different learning style. Each one of them has varying weaknesses and strengths. Besides, how many of us receive the same parental support back home? Does it make any sense to paint every student’s life with the same brush? The answer to all these questions is an echoing NO! 

Thus, when you select a learning platform, you must consider multiple aspects. These aspects include usability, ease of use, compatibility, and, most importantly, your needs. Honestly, go for a platform that implements a tailored solution that covers all your requirements.  

Have a read of this blog in its entirety to know how you can choose a learning platform that can be customized to fit your needs. 

Must be easy to use  

Any online learning platform you choose should never have a stiff learning curve. It must be easy to use for the administrators, students, and teachers alike. Meaningful options of support, precise controls, and intuitive systems must be a pivotal aspect of your selection norm.  

This is the reason Quodeck makes simple but powerful platforms that you can engage with. They go beyond the LMS and introduce gamified micro-learning platforms that help you understand a course better.  

You will only have to click on rich media like quizzes, videos, and animations to learn. And, clicking does not require any skill, does it?  

Must be compatible  

By compatibility, we mean how easily and seamlessly the platform integrates with other devices you use the application on. This means if you are a user, then your experience of using the app across all different devices must be the same; think laptops, tablets, and mobile phones.  

We recommend selecting a web platform that is accessible 24×7.  For instance, QuoDeck, with its template authoring system, authors mobile responsive content. All you have to do is upload the existing PPT or PDF content and make a micro-learning platform with the inbuilt authoring tool.  

Must be customizable  

The training platform you choose must allow customization. After all, branding is crucial. You must be able to reinforce the platform’s strength and credibility by maintaining the visual identity.  

QuoDeck lets you customize the branding, look and feel of a platform in a few easy steps. 

Must be able to accept different formats  

Training platforms must be able to accept a variety of formats, especially video. We can present numerous reasons why nothing beats video training when it comes to tutoring your prominent people.

 

Must impart an enjoyable experience  

Choose a platform that gives you all that you are looking for. Make sure you select a learning platform where you can enjoy an intuitive and beautiful interface. You must be able to offer feedback, interact, and get certifications that you are proud of.  

Overall, the learning platform you choose must impart a fun experience and make you feel welcomed.  

Must have interactive features  

Add a game to anything, and that becomes super fun. How many of you remember only loving textbooks with big colorful pictures and hating books that only had text? Must be many of you, we believe! 

Similarly, when you select a management system of learning, make sure some features engage you. Opt for the one that educates you effectively by giving you the chance to answer Q&As, surveys, play challenges, and quizzes. 

QuoDeck creates stellar mobile experiences by offering a library of ready game structures that course designers can pick and use. You will be impressed by the way they design learning paths as stories. And, to harness your competitive spirit, they reward you with badges, certificates, and leaderboard positions after you finish a quiz. 

Conclusion  

You must also consider platform reliability and security besides the budget before you sign-up for an e-learning platform. See whether the software is stable. Check whether the customer support executives are responsive and look at how long the platform takes to fix the bugs. We hope that you will make an informed decision with great confidence with all these points in your mind

7 Ways to Maximize Learning in your Training Programs

Training programs are a collection of instructions or procedures that are designed to help people improve their abilities. Skills and knowledge, mentality, attitude, and efficiency of a person are important in any profession.

Every person receives training at some point in their lives, whether formal or informal. How many times have you gone to training programs as a student or a professional and been able to recall or put what you learned into practice?

If your answer is close to zero, this was most likely because you were forced to attend the training against your will due to institutional obligations. It’s also conceivable that you received general training with no actual or direct application to your topic or career.

Whether public or personalized, any activity will undoubtedly provide value to individuals in some manner, either directly or indirectly. The only stipulation is that you must be able to benefit from it.

Now check out the tips listed below on how to get the most out of any training program and improve your learning retention:

1.   Clear your mindset:

The majority of individuals do not benefit from any training courses (primarily generic ones). They already have a terrible impression of the session.

This kind of training is of no benefit to them in their career or at work, because they do not concentrate on learning and application, any activity they get will be useless to them.

The primary source of this issue is a preconceived mentality. This mentality is formed as a result of previous experiences or disinformation. So, if you want to learn and have a good belief system, you must not use these filters.

2.   Finalize the pre-work:

Many training courses contain a pre-assignment or pre-assessment exercise that you must complete before the course commencement.

Many individuals do not want to complete this pre-workout, but it is critical for you to self-analyze your present abilities and create a route to your goal talents. It enables you to assess your current abilities and knowledge gaps to succeed in your profession.

3.   Determine the aim of training programs:

It is critical to determine the purpose of training, or in other words, the goal of the program. What are you expecting to gain from the training? Find out what’s in it for you, what skills you’ll get, what information you’ll gain, and what new learnings you’ll accomplish.

This way, you’ll be able to pinpoint your specific objective and concentrate your efforts on achieving it.

4.   Match your learning outcomes to your objectives:

Establish a clear link between what you gain in a training course and your desired outcome. Determine which learnings are linked to your desired abilities. This will encourage you to participate actively in the program and strive to improve your abilities.

5.   Focus on analysis:

What you can’t define, you can’t improve. You must first evaluate the efficacy of your staff training and development program before you can enhance it. Fortunately, current training systems make it simple to get a wide range of data about your learning program’s success. While smaller businesses may choose to forego utilizing training analytics, more prominent companies cannot afford to do so.

It’s difficult for educators and training managers to remain ahead of training innovations on an individual level as the amount of students and courses grows, perhaps spanning several training groups, divisions, and branches.

Make it a habit to track your training data to enhance your business training program. This will assist you to:

  • Gain a sense of your training program’s overall development
  • Find and fill skill gaps, detect issues in your courses (e.g., challenging lessons)
  • Identify parts of your training program that need improvement
  • Recognize and appreciate training effort, locate your top talent

6.   Attend follow-up meetings:

Many training providers schedule follow-up sessions for their students to address any issues they may have when putting the ideas or learnings into practice. Attend these seminars to receive answers to your questions and get additional insight into putting your skills into practice.

Even if you don’t have any questions, you may still learn something new by attending to or studying other people’s problems and solutions.

7.   Add ‘Social Learning’ to your training:

You learn more when you exchange your experience with others, when you have a mentor to assist you, and when you have a model to follow.

Learners and mentors are connected via social learning, allowing them to talk and share their thoughts and problems. Chat rooms, forums, online communities, video conferencing, and other methods are crucial.

This social learning method is an excellent technique to stay motivated, passionate, and eager to learn more.

In conclusion

To advance in your professional job or company in today’s competitive world, you must surpass others. You must have a good attitude and understand your learning style to get the most out of it. These tips will help you get that extra knowledge from your training programs, and you’ll see the change in your learning methods from day one.

The key to success is to put your plan into action. So, put everything you’ve learned in class into practice, and keep brushing up on your abilities.

REMOTE WORKING: IS IT TIME TO GO DIGITAL ON LEARNING?

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic forced nations of the world to go into complete (or partial) lockdown. As a result, industries worldwide either shut down their operations or switch to remote working. 

Organizations and people have struggled to stay productive while working remotely due to the lack of social life or personal touch. It is debatable if the new-normal will stay normal even after the lockdown measures are entirely lifted. However, there will be a significant fundamental shift in the work cultures of organizations across the globe

Remote Working: A Necessity

Remote working was desirable with the majority of the population even before the pandemic, though not most of them got it. Few companies were digitally ready to implement the work-from-home strategy as they used to practice it pre-pandemic. However, companies worldwide were forced to move to full-time practice of remote working and struggle.  

To stay functional and productive, organizations help their employees with all sorts of information and training, which is also done remotely. At least some of these practices will probably go on even after the pandemic is over. Fortunately, there are tools of digital learning that can ensure success. 

The Changing Mindsets 

Before the pandemic hit, most managers believed that it is impossible or way too challenging to achieve high productivity levels while working from home. For them, there were no two ways for it. However, they are now beginning to see a change in their long-held believes, as they see the results of the employees working at their own places. It is more apparent now that the employees will perform when they are trusted for responsibility. 

The managers can now see that any mandate of having all of the employees in one place together is pointless. People still work well when they do not see each other all the time. Besides, did we always meet everyone in the office on a daily basis? 

Although there are jobs that require people to meet and work together, we might not need to meet our colleagues or our teams daily. We may still gather, but not with the same people every day. 

Digital Learning: The key enabler 

For an organization to succeed at these fundamental shifts in an organization’s culture, the employees are at the core. The companies have to create a collaborative and learning culture for their employees to be efficient at these. On top of that, the companies need to change  the learning style from the one-size-fits-all format to a more personalized mode for the employees. Engaging learning integrated into the day-to-day work is even better. The rise of digital tools is making learning shift towards the concept of individualized learning. 

Traditionally, digital learning has been dull, even after being a revolution. One could not imagine oneself being involved in digital learning regularly, more so on a daily basis. A teacher in front of a camera, running through a series of PPTs, has been the norm. Fortunately, there has been much evolution in this area – game based learning and mobile learning. Learning is now interactive, engaging, at the learners’ convenience, and as a part of their day’s work. 

Few companies were enabled with the WFH model, and others were forced to adopt it. In both cases, the usual 9 to 5 daily office routine is likely to be disrupted with remote working becoming a part of the norm, if not the norm itself, with the employees demonstrating productivity at the comfort of their homes even more than they did being in their cubicles. The corporates will have to deliver the training that is personalized to the employees to keep their employees up-to-date, engaged, and skilled digitally.

5 Reasons Why You Should Implement E-Learning

In our previous blog, we discussed how onboarding training can boost efficiency and productivity in your organization. As new learning methods have grown in popularity, more and more businesses are realizing the advantages of e-learning. Although online learning can be costly to implement, it pays off every time an employee completes their courses. Virtual learning is not only less expensive than traditional learning, it’s efficient, and reduces instruction time significantly.

Here are 5 reasons that will help you understand how switching from traditional learning to e-learning can benefit your organization.

  1. Improved retention and consistency in learning

In traditional learning, you usually have an educator who has his teaching tools, methods, and approaches. Employees may find it hard to adjust to new learning methods while simultaneously absorbing the information educators share.

One of the advantages of e-learning is that it can provide important information in ways employees can understand easily, which results in improved retention. Content is simplified using podcasts and interactive modules. Employees can access their learning when their energy and focus are at their peak for retention. This nature makes it easier to retain the new concepts and, of course, to implement them in their work.

  1.  Providing new learning methods

Not everyone learns in the same way. Some people prefer to retain knowledge through videos, while others prefer written notes, and still, others require realistic opportunities for practice before they truly grasp a new skill. One of the most significant advantages of e-learning for employee training and development is the availability of a wide range of content formats. These new learning methods are engaging for everyone when it includes videos, notes, infographics, games, and other types of content. 

An increased engagement is a sure sign that employees want to finish their course. Apart from this E-learning enables you to update the material whenever necessary. This means the online learning courses can be adapted along the way as it is relatively simple to make changes to online material, particularly textual changes, online courses are always up to date, and employees are not provided with information that is no longer relevant to them.

  1. Gamification and interactivity

Some new skills require more than video notes. Active employee participation is required in learning new skills. The ultimate interactivity and practice can be provided through a powerful learning management system (LMS) that supports gamification, quizzes, branching scenarios, and surveys. Interactive e-learning courses enable employees to practice new skills in a secure place, so they are set up for success in real life. Furthermore, by using a variety of assessments such as quizzes and case studies, you can engage learners as they progress through the training.

  1. Collaboration and community building

Learning can be solitary, but social exercise shouldn’t be so because employees learn much more by interacting with their colleagues than by reading a book. New learning methods lead to discussions and discussions lead to innovation.

Online learning benefits the community and leads to collaboration. Including activities such as forums for discussion and live tutorials can be immensely beneficial. Commitment to other employees encourages collaboration and creates a team culture that showcases its benefits beyond the educational environment.

  1. Immediate feedback and acknowledgment

Another advantage of e-learning in the workplace is that employees have access to immediate feedback. Immediate results from online assessments assist employees in determining how well they are doing and which sections of learning material they may need to review before moving on. Furthermore, gamification features in courses such as leaderboards, badges, and certificates give employees a sense of recognition and achievement, which motivates them to learn. Timely and automated feedback is beneficial not only to employees but also to their managers and the business. This is due to the fact that it eliminates the need for manual feedback and grading.

Conclusion

Learning is an ongoing process and as time changes we all have to adapt to the new virtual learning. Online learning programs apply to every industry, business, and employee worldwide. These learning methods are convenient, easy to access, easy on the budget, and measure results while keeping a digital record for everything. E-learning is cost-effective, improves employee performance, reduces staff turnover, and boosts productivity.

The 7 Advantages of Remote Working

People have always been drawn to the idea of a flexible workspace that provides them with professional and personal control over their career and life in general. While some corporate organizations were hesitant and sceptical about the concept of a productive remote working scenario, the current pandemic situation has forced many to re-evaluate their opinion.

The last couple of months have highlighted the fact that working from home is not only a great alternative to the routine office set-up, but also benefits both, the employee and the business organization. 

Highlighted below are the seven main advantages of remote working :

Increased Productivity

Many corporate companies are of the opinion that working from home can result in their employees becoming lazy and unproductive, but factually, the opposite is true. 

Distance work gives people the freedom to select their own workspace. They can choose to work in comfortable clothes, relax on a comfortable chair or even have their laptop stationed on the kitchen counter. This familiar and ergonomic workspace helps in reducing stress, thereby increasing productivity and performance. 

Moreover, people do not have to expend their time and energy in daily commuting to their offices. Not having to travel long-distance or suffer traffic congestion reduces the anxiety of being late or wasting too much time. People doing remote work are often, more inclined to start their work early or even extend their work hours due to not having to travel to their workplace.

Independence of Location

A flexible workspace allows people to continue working despite a change in their location without having to change their company or start over in a new organization. 

It also provides access to a broader range of employment opportunities that are not limited by geographical location. People can thus, avoid moving to a major metropolitan area with a high cost of living simply to have a career that they desire. 

Companies will also not lose their employees if they re-locate and can thus enjoy a greater degree of employee retention in their organization. 

Reduction of Expenses

Telecommuting can be a great way to save money and reduce expenses. Having a remote job instantly reduces the cost of petrol, vehicle maintenance, professional attire, daily meals etc. It also benefits the companies and allows them to save money as it decreases the cost of real estate and technology.

Inclusion of People

Digital workspace is not limited by geographical location and hence, it allows companies to hire people from different places. This enables greater diversity in the work environment as employees belonging to different culture, language, race, religion, etc., all come together and enhance the social dynamics of the organisation.

Moreover, it also provides an excellent work opportunity for people with disabilities and others who cannot work an on-site job, to follow their career goals without having to worry about external factors like work commute, etc.

Better work-life balance 

Telecommuting makes it easier for people to balance their career and family life. It reduces stress, gives time for recreational activities and improves personal relationships. In addition, the interaction between the employee and the employer is greatly enhanced without all the distractions and politics that come with an on-site job. 

Working remotely also encourages people to live a healthier life by eating well, having time to exercise and not being stressed or over-burdened by external factors.

Flexible Timings

Many remote jobs come with flexible timings where people can start and end their day as they desire, as long as the work schedule is not compromised. This factor is desirable to people as it allows them to take an active part in their family and still maintain their career. It allows them to balance time for their children’s school activities, family functions, medical appointments etc. Thus, an off-site workspace can lead to a more fulfilled and satisfying life.

Environmental Impact

Telecommuting not only benefits people on an individual level but it also proves advantageous to the world at large. When many people choose to work from their homes, it positively impacts the environment by reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases and saving oil resources. Reducing travel also helps in reducing pollution and carbon emissions which greatly affects the climate. 

Moreover, distance work negates the use of too much paper, air-conditioner, lighting etc in a corporate set-up which in turn can leave a positive impact on our globe.

 Although the current on-going pandemic situation has been the catalyst for people turning to a digital workspace, many are realizing its multifarious advantages. It is thus, safe to say that this  is one trend that isn’t going to slow down anytime soon

5 Major Challenges With On-boarding During Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic drastically changed the working pattern all over the globe. With social distancing and lockdowns in place, a large number of organisations transitioned to telecommuting with some even increasing their hiring to meet the expanding business demands. This greatly affected their onboarding process, making the training and induction modalities rather complicated. 

Integrating new employees into the company isn’t easy. And when one is largely functioning on remote working, it makes it even more challenging.

Let us look at the 5 major challenges with the onboarding process during the pandemic-

1) Inability to personalise the process-

Induction helps in integrating a new employee into the company’s culture while instructing them about their own roles and responsibilities within the organisation’s structure and functioning. It facilitates in establishing personal connections and a great working relationship among colleagues. 

However, in the absence of a face-to-face interaction, it becomes difficult to personalise the onboarding process. Instead of meeting the team and getting to know them in an informal and relaxed setting, the new employees would have to contend with a video call or even in some cases, an email message. This proves challenging in building a strong lasting working relationship among peers. 

2) Ineffective Communication-

Effective onboarding is crucial for employee engagement, retention and for boosting the overall productivity of the organisation. With telecommuting, it may not be possible at times to know everyone in the team and the new employees may get confused about whom to approach for clarifying or obtaining certain information. They may also be unaware about the hierarchy within the organisation or may feel reluctant to ask questions.

On-site Induction allows the new members to get to know their colleagues and establish a cordial relation with them, which allows them to approach their peers for help or clarification regarding a particular situation. In the absence of this relationship, the employees may hesitate to reach out to others which leads to communication gaps.

Also, without facial expression, gestures or tone of a person’s voice as a guide, it is often easy to misinterpret a message as critical or curt when it comes through the email. This, further hampers effective communication, which in turn greatly affects the overall productivity of the organisation. 

3) Ineffective employee engagement-

Onboarding is crucial as it introduces the new employee to the company’s business culture and value systems. They also understand the code of conduct essential to every member and learn to build a good working rapport with their colleagues, other senior managers and the organisation’s leaders. 

This may be very difficult to communicate through a virtual induction program and may result in many employees feeling unwelcome or unable to identify and integrate themselves with the company’s culture. This greatly affects their participation and engagement with the organisation and leads to lower employee retention.

4) Inability to monitor employee performance-

Monitoring the employee’s performance and progress is an important step in integrating them into the company’s work ethics and culture. Feedback is important as it clarifies assumptions and expectations, helps people improve and learn from their mistakes and builds confidence. Constructive feedback also helps in reinforcing positive behaviour and generating a strong work culture. It is therefore essential that the new employee’s progress be monitored and reviewed. 

This however, becomes challenging in a remote working scenario. Not only is there a disadvantage of physical distance, but even the process for documenting and monitoring the employees’ performance may be unclear or not adequately defined. As a result, they may underperform or fail to achieve the targeted milestone. This would not only affect the individual’s growth but also the company’s progress at large.

5) Unavailability of essential equipment-

Digitization of modern business has made it impossible to function well without appropriate technology. Most new employees are provided with their own laptop and other essential software, tools and programs that are necessary for their work. This particularly becomes challenging during the pandemic, especially if the employee has to be trained to use a particular software or program. Some organisations may also find it difficult to reevaluate their employment benefit schemes to make it relevant to the current situation.

These are the 5 major challenges with onboarding during the pandemic. They can however, be overcome by making the necessary changes to the Induction program and leveraging mobile technology to make the process more engaging, interactive and effective.