End-user Training: Definition, Its Importance, Best Practices, and Case Studies

In this article, we will discuss the various aspects of end-user training — what is end-user training? Why is it important? What are its best practices? An illustration of an online end-user training program.

When you visit a new place, what would be the first factor that makes us feel right at home? You may say love, serenity, and comfort. But we think it’s knowledge. Why?

People are wired to be curious and explore. Don’t you intend to learn anything new by going through this article? If the article’s subject matter didn’t fit your requirements, would you still read it? Or would you think as though your time had been wasted?

When you don’t effectively onboard people, your end-users — whether they are clients or employees —feel the same way. Most of the time, they wouldn’t even understand what they ought to know — at minimum, not all of the specifics. Therefore, educating new hires and updating staff members effectively and efficiently is essential.

In fact, today, the biggest problems confronting businesses may not be international rivalry or money flow. Many firms currently contend that their largest obstacle is convincing workers to utilize the required technology.

This is true because using technology is essential for any 21st-century profitable business. This covers everything from complex software programs to equipment, hardware, and computerized interfaces.

But the problem with tech is that it doesn’t have much use if it isn’t put into practice by individuals (also known as end-users) who are capable and willing to employ it to become more productive. However, adopting and utilizing technology might be difficult for staff. End-user training comes into play here.

End-user training: What is it?

End-user training shall ensure that the intended audience, primarily composed of employees, is aware of the demands of the business. End-user learning can be accomplished in various ways, but in the modern era, interactive on-screen instruction or a similar learning method — has emerged as the most popular.

End-user training could happen very much at any point along the worker’s or participant’s journey, as you might have guessed.

The two most prevalent instances wherein end-user training are primarily necessary are staff induction and client onboarding. Therefore, online end-user training is growing more significant in an environment where virtual onboarding is emerging as the new favorite practice.

What makes end-user training crucial?

Would you employ a writer who lacks writing skills? Or would you employ a mechanic who has never worked on a car before? Likewise, with end-user training. End-user training is crucial due to the following reasons:

• Your staff’ and users’ general productivity will increase with end-user training. The more efficiency rates rise, the more successfully all end users operate.

• End-user training benefits your company in its entirety. Your profile will be stronger, and you will obtain results more quickly if all users are in sync.

• Precision levels are raised via end-user training. Because they are all educated, end users can provide value more quickly, which is advantageous to you as well as to them. As a result, accuracy rates typically increase more rapidly.

Types of end-user training

Despite the numerous various approaches to user training, we can group them into three broad categories:

Self-educational training

This approach may give the impression that you are keeping the user isolated and on their own to figure out the product. And you’d be absolutely correct!

This approach to user training is perhaps the least effective since it doesn’t guarantee users’ success as it expects them to learn rather than you actively supporting them.

Face-to-face instruction

Although the face-to-face method of training is less severe than self-service, it still takes time. The end-user is trained by an expert whose only responsibility is to educate end-users.

Automated virtual or online training

The most popular end-user training method is digital end-user training because it doesn’t necessarily involve teaching each end-user individually. Using a virtual learning tool makes it simple to conduct online training.

How to properly conduct end-user training (5 crucial steps)

Naturally, there are a variety of actions you plus your end users need to perform to finish the training successfully. Let’s group all those steps into the following five broad categories:

Explain why training your end users is necessary

You may be aware that end users require new knowledge, but why? Are you introducing an entirely new concept, undergoing adjustments, or hiring new personnel? Each rationale could necessitate a distinct or marginally modified method to achieve the greatest results.

You don’t need to go in-depth about your firm if you only bring something novel to current end consumers. You can only concentrate on the novel aspect.

You can utilize a resource center to tell existing users about the transition and provide them with training using a list that launches dynamic feature overviews for the simplest simulated end-user interaction.

If your company is going through a transition period, you must be knowledgeable about organizational change and provide end users with the appropriate training. 

Because there is much to learn, you would need to take a longer approach while educating fresh end users. An immersive tutorial, an introduction to the fundamentals, and further support in the form of checklists or a support center should all come first.

List the requirements of the end-user

Usually, it is a strain to jump right into practice without a strategy. Make a list of the knowledge and skills your end users would require in order to prevent it.

Regarding the material requirements:

• Have end-users received access to every platform?
• Do they currently have the required accounts available?
• Are their papers prepared?
• Is their gear prepared?
• Is their training schedule prepared for use?
• And anything particular to your business.

List the additional components that the training program should have:

• Are all the attributes described?
• Are all of the online tools functional?
• Are they equipped with progress bars so that you can see how they’re doing?
• Are they aware of the next step in the process?
• Are they able to access more assistance?

Ensure that the training program is comprehensive

We believe that perfection is in the details. Although specifics are what make end-user training ideal, that applies largely to fashion.

For instance, this post educates you about instructing end users, correct? Would you be happy if we only provided you the headlines and you had to come up with the remainder on your own?

Consider yourself a prospective end user; which information would you require? What may overload mean? Ask individuals to try the training program and provide feedback before implementing it, similar to when you release a product.

To assist you in developing the best training possible, you also can hire people. An onboarding professional can assist you in launching anything new or greeting a new employee. You can seek assistance from change management experts when dealing with changes. Or you may just purchase a third-party solution that will perform both tasks for you.

Inform the individual how to get more assistance

The most typical oversight made when educating end users may be failing to define what they should do in the event of an issue. Finding out who and when to approach if a person needs assistance is difficult. Including an “additional help” option is far simpler, and doing so increases your credibility.

Request recommendations at the process’s end

Similar to any other method, a training program won’t be perfect unless you get end-user feedback on how they found it.

• Did they encounter any issues obtaining the training?
• Did they encounter any issues while undergoing training?
• Could they readily finish the process?
• Was everything described in detail?
• Is there something you feel could be done better?
• How would they rank the procedure on a scale ranging from one to 10?

The end user will be more comfortable, and you will appear more credible if you value their opinion.

Ad: PlayAblo’s Enterprise-Grade Micro-Learning platform is built for millennial learners. Micro-Learning, assessments, and gamification features ensure learning outcome measurement and sustained engagement.
Find out more and request a custom demo!

End-user training example – How KLAY successfully delivered a quality learning experience to over 3500+ children

Founding Years Learning Solutions’s KLAY brand of preschools is India’s leading and premium early
learning chain of play schools. With 2000+ KLAY educators spread across 100+ centers in India, the
group is united in its mission to nurture every child’s gifts and be the trusted parenting partner of every
family. KLAY’s presence in over 7 cities harbors an ambition to scale even higher.

Problem statement

Like any other school grappling with the global pandemic, KLAY were at a crossroad – trying
to continue delivering early education to toddlers, a fundamental need for our society. But with
physical schools all but open for more than 18 months, this posed a serious threat to continued early education, which is essential for children’s early forming minds.

Posed with this challenge of continuity of education, KLAY needed a robust technology platform that
could easily scale and be customized to their specific needs to run their daily operations smoothly whilst
being able to deliver the pedagogy seamlessly.

PlayAblo’s partnership with KLAY

made lesson plans for various schools, was a perfect fit for KLAY’s needs. With its ability to scale and

Outcomes

Customer appreciation

learning under one ambit. The integration with our app and simple navigation tools have supported our facilitators, children, and parents to make it an overall pleasant experience and the one that our children
eagerly look forward to daily.”

End-user eLearning

Utilizing only face-to-face approaches is frequently less effective when picking a strategy for end-user training, such as seminars or workshops. Learning happens more organically when you train staff on technology using the software while retaining a human aspect via support and communication.

The greatest training style allows the user to access at their own pace because end users are also busy workers. Versatility and ease of use are essential for retaining all users during training, particularly when many individuals must be trained quickly. Here’s where an end-user learning approach might succeed or fail based on high-quality LMS or online content.

The sorts of end users in the company and the elements that would be most helpful to them should be taken into account when selecting an LMS for end-user learning on the latest software. For instance, a platform with message board features will promote candid feedback and enable users to assist one another when necessary.

Conclusion

A new piece of software costs money. Therefore, begin with the vision in mind if your company is considering installing a new technology platform. Take into account your staff and the end-user instruction strategy that would make this transition easy for them and benefit the company. Locate the LMS that delivers the finest capabilities and assistance for your requirements if you’re considering an eLearning alternative to end-user training.

Ad: PlayAblo’s Enterprise-Grade Micro-Learning platform is built for millennial learners. Micro-Learning, assessments, and gamification features ensure learning outcome measurement and sustained engagement.
Find out more and request a custom demo!