How managers can increase employee engagement with learning

In one study performed by a highly reliable source, researchers found that 56 percent of employees say they would gladly spend more time learning if their managers would recommend courses that would help improve their skills. This statistic alone confirms what you as a business owner already know; your management team plays a critical role in achieving overall success.

Your managers worked hard for their positions, and take immense pride in what they do. They should feel honored to motivate other employees to perform at a high level and advance their careers. An excellent way to achieve those goals is by offering their teams eLearning opportunities.

For whatever reason, some people need a little encouragement. One simple suggestion of taking online training courses is often all it takes to make a good employee great. With an entire team of qualified workers, it runs more efficiently. As a result, the business provides better customer support, which in turn, leads to greater success.

While there are different ways to improve employee engagement, eLearning is by far the best. Not only can your managers suggest a broad range of topics, but also outline the benefits of eLearning. In no time, you will see a larger number of workers eager to learn, and in response, become more engaged in the various positions they occupy.

The Importance of Employee Engagement

In simple terms, qualified employees do not leave a bad company. Instead, they leave because of poor management skills. Because your managers and their employees have direct interactions on a daily basis, it is critical to have a leadership team in place that influences engagement in the workplace.

Unfortunately, many businesses overlook the value of a manager’s role in both employee training and development. Because your leaders have a much better understanding of the business, its philosophy, goals, requirements, and even employees, they should take a more proactive stand when it comes to training.

According to a study conducted by Gallup, only 15 percent of employees worldwide actively engage in their work position. That means that companies employ people who contribute very little to the business goals. Just imagine the disaster of having 100 employees but only 15 of them engaged? Regardless of the number of disengaged workers at your company, you can turn things around by having your management team take a bigger role in training.

Influencing Employee Engagement

• Set an Example – Just as you want to encourage your managers to recommend online training courses for their employees, do the same for your leadership team. Make sure they have ample opportunity to learn new things and hone current skills so that they can become even better managers. What will happen is that once employees know they have the same opportunity, they will follow the manager’s lead.
• Create a Learning Culture – Whether interviewing potential new hires or existing employees, create a learning culture within the workplace. Make it known that online training courses are available for anyone interested, regardless of position or time with the company. In addition to your managers making suggestions, you could post a series of courses on a bulletin board each month.
• Make Learning Programs Enticing – Before your managers offer any online courses, they should first determine what their teams want and need. Your leaders have to have open communication with their employees, allowing them to find out what type of learning they should suggest. Of course, any upskilling opportunities need to fall in line with the kind of work an employee performs. For instance, a manager could recommend a course like Time Planning & Prioritizing for someone who struggles in those areas.
• Explain Training Benefits – For some people, training is a waste of time. The reason they feel this way is because they have no idea of the benefits. Employees become disengaged or leave a company for one of two reasons. They either feel stuck in their position, or they do not see any option for advancement. Having your managers explain the benefits that come from finishing online training courses corrects both problems. Your managers need to remember the purpose of suggesting eLearning is to help employees advance.
• Create On-the-Job Practice Opportunities – An excellent way to determine if an employee retained the information learned is by providing him or her with an on-the-job opportunity to put the newly gained knowledge to work. Not only that but performing the very thing an employee learned helps reinforce the message. For more challenging skills, it is essential for your management team to provide ongoing support and supervision until the employee confidentially and correctly completes the task or improves on behavior.
• Set Realistic Goals – For eLearning to be successful, it is important to set performance goals. However, those goals must be realistic. If your managers expect their staff to complete 10 courses per month, workers become stressed, unfocused, and disinterested. Instead, your leaders should suggest several courses and then allow their workers to select the number they feel comfortable with and the ones they want to take. While there might be times when a manager mandates a specific course, for the most part, employees should complete them on a voluntary basis using the suggestions provided by their respective managers.

With a leadership team that recommends appropriate courses from us, you can expect to see increased productivity, less employee turnover, a higher rate of satisfied employees, and overall, more generated revenue.