Your training strategy is up and running and appears to succeed after weeks of preparation and implementation. But you aren’t finished yet. You’ll likely be asked to demonstrate the effectiveness of your instruction. Your manager may want to see the training program’s results via proper eLearning data. Alternatively, you may want to make a case for providing extra training or renewing your training platform subscription in the future. Perhaps you want to encourage employees and supervisors to attend more training sessions. You’ll require eLearning data to support your training decisions in either event.
It’s critical to collect eLearning data. It can also be challenging. We’ll discuss why you should track training data and the challenges you’ll face in this article. We’ll also cover how to overcome such obstacles and assess the effectiveness of training.
Table of Contents
Why do you need to keep track of your eLearning data?
Corporate training is much more than ticking a box. Organizations use it to keep employees updated on their knowledge and skills, assure industry and legal compliance, and improve corporate outcomes. So you’ve spent a lot of time looking into the finest training choices for your employees. However, providing instruction does not always imply that it will produce outcomes. If you’re training for a specific objective, you’ll need to set program goals. Set specific KPIs and measure and report on them to see what’s working and what needs to be improved.
The data also demonstrates the value of your training plan to decision-makers and employees. People will jump on board once they recognize the importance, and you’ll start seeing results.
12 common obstacles in determining eLearning data
At first, determining training efficiency can appear to be a complex undertaking. Regardless of your training approach, you will face some challenges. Each challenge, however, has a solution. Consider the twelve frequent problems listed below, as well as the ways that can help you overcome them.
Failing to link training to business goals
You can’t quantify the effectiveness of a training program no matter how well-made it is if you don’t know what you want it to accomplish. Too often, businesses adopt training in the hopes of improving results, but they don’t articulate what those outcomes are.
The solution is to start with your objectives in mind. As you plan out your training strategy, make sure to set clear, SMART targets. Make a list of the outcomes you want to see. Enquire about: What are the metrics we’d like to change? What do you mean by that? And by when do you mean?
Instead of stating: we want to see better customer relations, get specific when justifying a customer communication training. For example, you can say: by the end of the month, we want every customer care rep to have completed the training. Then, by the end of the year, we aim to see a 10% rise in customer satisfaction scores.
Not having enough resources to analyze eLearning data
Most businesses do not require a full-time training analyst. However, adding the responsibility to an already busy employee’s work description might be daunting. Time and staffing constraints may prevent you from embarking on the task of acquiring training data.
The solution: Wherever possible, automate reporting. Your LMS is likely to have built-in facilities for tracking and analyzing essential data. Set up the features that will allow you to track and report on your critical metrics. Create automated reports, and then read the outcomes.
Learn to take advantage of the tools provided by your system to make eLearning data collection more accessible and more efficient. If you’re looking for an LMS, seek one that will track the metrics you care about and send you data regularly. This approach will make your life easier and reduce the number of resources required.
Ad: PlayAblo’s Enterprise-Grade Micro-Learning platform is built for millennial learners. Micro-Learning, along with assessments and gamification features, ensures learning outcome measurement along with sustained engagement.
Find out more and request a custom demo!
Measuring incorrect metrics
You might be actively collecting information on your training. However, if you aren’t looking at the correct measures, all of that data will be useless in determining whether or not the training is practical. So, how do you figure out what you should track?
The solution is to understand which metrics need prioritization. Connect your metrics to the objectives you’ve specified. What metrics will you use to see if you’re on track to meet your objectives? If you’re delivering sales training, for example, your primary goal is likely to have everyone complete the course and comprehend the material. As a result, keeping track of completion rates and quiz scores makes logical.
Look at the data about where people are halting if they aren’t completing the course. Alternatively, please keep track of the portions they return to over and over. Then you’ll see where you might improve or expand the content to keep learners interested.
Knowing that employees are finishing their training won’t be enough if your goal is to improve a business result — for example, increasing the number of lead conversions. After the training, keep track of the conversion numbers at regular intervals to determine if it’s working. Understanding the aim of your training is crucial, as is prioritizing the metrics that provide helpful information.
Unsuccessful in gathering quality data
Quantitative data is more straightforward to get, whether through your LMS or manually. However, statistics do not always tell the whole story. If you’re giving a live, in-person presentation, for example, you can see how many people attended. However, you’ll likely need more information to establish the success of your instruction.
The solution is to collect employee feedback via post-training surveys. Reaching out to learners after completing a course or attending a webinar with post-training evaluation questionnaires can provide a wealth of information. Inquire about people’s impressions of their training or test what they learned. As soon as a course is over, send out evaluations via email, through online survey solutions, or even directly from your LMS.
You can also use face-to-face interactions to collect data. Reach out to managers. Inquire how their teams’ reactions to a particular training project, as well as whether their performance has improved. Alternatively, arrange follow-up sessions where you directly ask the team evaluation questions and solicit feedback. You can find beneficial techniques to acquire data as long as you’re clear on the goals you’re striving for and which indicators matter.
Not making informed decisions
Frequently, data generated from training evaluations are either used infrequently (e.g., to answer inquiries like how many persons passed or completed the program) or not at all.
Solution: By asking questions about how the information will be utilized, you can save time and money. While specific training assessment data may be deemed ‘good to have,’ the focus should be on well-informed judgments and actions. Consult stakeholders for clarification on decisions. Use evaluations to make well-informed judgments.
Using ambiguous questions
You’ve probably heard the phrase “data is only as good as the questions asked,” which is also true when using learning analytics for training evaluation. If you ask confusing questions, you may not get meaningful replies, and deciding what data to collect can be difficult.
Solution: Consult with stakeholders to figure out the best questions to ask. Recognize the information that stakeholders require and the decisions that they must make. This can assist you in posing the appropriate queries. Remember that confusing questions in training evaluations are the equivalent of having a training solution with weak or no learning objectives.
Inability to capture eLearning data points
Whether in the classroom or online, you should build your training solution to collect eLearning data — primarily that the information provides insights into how participants learn. For example, suppose your training solution attempts to teach a 10-step procedure, and the only information recorded at the end of the training program is whether learners have finished all 10 steps. In that case, it says nothing about the quality of the training or whether learners have fully comprehended the technique.
What’s the solution?
Incorporate online assessments into your classroom training. This relieves the instructor of the responsibility of evaluating instruction. Configure elements to capture data if you’re utilizing eLearning or microlearning. Recognize the LMS protocol in use at your company. For instance, SCORM version 1.2 may offer little details compared to the possible level of detail available when using SCORM 2004 or xAPI.
Ad: PlayAblo’s Enterprise-Grade Micro-Learning platform is built for millennial learners. Micro-Learning, along with assessments and gamification features, ensures learning outcome measurement along with sustained engagement.
Find out more and request a custom demo!
Absence of a comprehensive repository
According to Lighthouse, most measuring and analysis are still done by hand. It will be challenging to keep track of data if the existing training evaluation system is paper-based.
Solution: Capturing data in a repository that allows learning analytics is critical. Compared to storing it on a shared server with no analytics capabilities, a microlearning video housed within a system such as a private YouTube channel optimized for data capture would be a preferable alternative.
Not having the required skills to analyze eLearning data
It can be challenging to set parameters and needs for data analysis. If your organization’s LMS doesn’t provide learning analytics, your ability to evaluate data will be constrained.
Solution: Examine the repository’s inbuilt analytics features, such as a learning management system (LMS). Is it possible to use built-in or third-party learning analytics tools? Is it necessary to export the data to another learning analytics software for analysis? If so, set up the necessary infrastructure. Also, make sure your company has the necessary knowledge to do analysis.
Lack of eLearning data accuracy
If the data entered is erroneous or wrong, learning analytics reports will be less reliable, and the analysis will be skewed. For example, if learners fill out a training evaluation without finishing the entire course, the input may be inaccurate.
Data must be clean for learning analytics results to be reliable and valid. Have a quality assurance mechanism in place to ensure that data is accurate. It’s a good idea to encourage students to provide honest feedback after completing their training.
Failure to generate reports
The repository’s standard reports are often insufficient to produce valid training assessment results. Learning analytics entails more than just keeping track of course completion and grades. If the repository’s learning analytics capabilities aren’t integrated, you’ll have to export data to analytics software and create custom reports.
Not understanding the value of measuring eLearning data
The most challenging part of measuring training performance is determining why you want to measure it in the first place. You’re unlikely to acquire support for training analysis if decision-makers don’t understand the logic. You’ll have a hard time establishing the worth of your training if you don’t have it.
The key is to make your point right away. Share the goals of your approach with your learning and development team, your supervisor, and anybody else you need to get on board with the training. Define the objectives you want to achieve through training. Then, explain how you plan to achieve those objectives and which measures will let you know if you’re on track.
Assist others in seeing data tracking as an essential aspect of your training approach. It will be beneficial to share training reports with key stakeholders. You’ll keep them updated on the situation and keep them interested. In exchange, you’ll receive their support and insights to assist you in achieving your objectives.
Conclusion
These issues are present in every training program, but addressing them all at once can be intimidating. The good news is that you can improve your ability to collect the appropriate measurements over time. You may start tackling these obstacles today, one at a time, whether you’re in the thick of a training rollout or still investigating your alternatives. Set clear objectives for success, evaluate which metrics to emphasize, and devise a strategy for tracking them. You’ll engage other internal stakeholders in the process if you have a clear roadmap. And having the correct data on hand will ensure that you provide the most successful L&D programs today and in the future.
Ad: PlayAblo’s Enterprise-Grade Micro-Learning platform is built for millennial learners. Micro-Learning, along with assessments and gamification features, ensures learning outcome measurement along with sustained engagement.
Find out more and request a custom demo!
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.