Since its July 2016release, augmented reality game Pokémon Gohas set sales records around the world and become a social media and popculture phenomenon. Pokémon Gosignals a convergence of mobile technology and real-life interaction that somesay blurs the boundaries of online and real life.
The success andpopularity of Pokémon Go confirm whateLearners have known for a long time: A digital interface, engaginginteractions, gamification, and a focus on action lead to user engagement.
These are also thedefining qualities of an effective eLearning strategy that can helporganizations dispense knowledge and develop the skills of today’s workforce.
Workforce expectations arechanging
Augmented realitygames like Pokémon Go raise thestakes for both performance management and eLearning strategies. Ultimately,every business is defined by its workforce. Executives know that developing theworkforce is worth the investment, too. According toBersin by Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2016 report, 84 percent of executives surveyed view learning asan important issue (40 percent) or a very important issue (44 percent). And the success of games like Pokémon Go signals that today’sworkforce, and Millennials in particular, want—if not need—an immersive,on-demand learning environment.
Here are three ways tohelp keep your performance and eLearning management strategies in step to helpemployees grow and develop.
1. Make it mobile friendly
Take a look around. Onaverage, one-third to one-half of everyone you see will be working theirsmartphones. In a remarkably short time frame, we’ve become inseparable fromthese devices—which means that all learning content needs to be mobile friendly.
Mobile also includestablets and laptops. An effective mobile strategy needs to embrace responsivedesign to ensure your employees can access training materials on any device orbrowser. They will have their devices, they will travel—and learn, wherever andwhenever. If learning content isn’t accessible from a mobile device, feweremployees will see it. Think about how that will impact performance improvementand productivity.
2. Break it up
Some call this “chunking”—thestrategy of breaking up information and content into bite-size units. Chancesare you’re already doing this with your eLearning, but this is particularly importantfor mobile users. Chunking helps make it easier and faster to learn content,especially on a small form factor like a smartphone or tablet. Here are sometechniques for chunking:
- Usebullets and numbered lists to bring structure to your content.
- Use onescreen per topic. Learners will scroll, but don’t make them click to continuewith your content.
- Divide yourlessons into shorter modules. It’s better to have a number of shorter modules ratherthan a single long lesson with unbroken content.
3. Go YouTube
While traditional validation of course contentis still important, there’s no denying that most experts have both an onlineand a YouTube presence. They regularly post or publish well-researched andoften peer-reviewed special reports and video tutorials with excellent content.That means YouTube and resources like TED Talks have emerged as a legitimateway for your employees to acquire valuable information and knowledge. IncorporatingYouTube, TED Talks, and selective specialized sites into your eLearning willgarner support and engagement—and it’s free.
Linking eLearning to performancemanagement
Employees need to seea career growth path, regardless of where they are in the org chart. As theworld of work continues to spin faster and faster, regular conversations aboutemployee performance and training and development are key factors forengagement. In fact, research from Aon Hewitt shows that career developmentdiscussions keep employees motivated and engaged.
eLearning harnessesonline-based activities for teaching and learning at the pace today’s workforcewants and needs to learn at. Looked at in this way, eLearning—with or withoutaugmented reality techniques—is clearly a powerful way to support performancemanagement and achieve specific outcomes that are aligned with or that directlysupport individual and organizational goals.
While it’s easy to get caught up in theexcitement of augmented reality techniques for boosting engagement, it’s alsoimportant to remember the real purpose of eLearning is its link to employeeperformance management and the need for managers and employees to have regularconversations about performance and career growth. While employee engagement is good, employee performance improvement is better.
