Training tips that triumph
Memory science, microlearning and what actually makes workplace training stick.
Chloe Britton joins Wranx as our Brand Manager!
As a new exciting company, Jon Davies was looking for somebody to be the online presence for everything Wranx and thought a graduate would be ideal so contacted John Hall CEO of Professional Liverpool for support. With a clear objective to promote professional excellence in Liverpool and the City Region they facilitate the development of business and personal relationships among its members enabling access to a variety of support services. John having worked closely with Anne Donnelly, Business Development Manager at the University of Liverpool Management School introduced him to Steve Wood from the Graduate to Merseyside team. Explaining what he was looking for Steve was quickly able to find the perfect candidate. Step Forward, Chloe Britton, an Edge Hill University Advertising graduate with a variety of marketing, retail and sales experience, she had the right balance of skills, experience and attitude to make the role her own. In just two weeks, Chloe has already made an impact by working on a pitch for a global brand and working on important case studies. Other duties she has tackled are maintaining the blog and social media channels, assisting the sales team, and organising PR campaigns to name a few. Very happy with the
Key tips to boost advertising sales
Despite the fact that the majority of sales staff always have a challenge on their hands when it comes to shifting a certain product or service, those in the business of advertising arguably have a much tougher task. In an ever-changing industry where other forms of promotion and publicity are becoming increasingly effective, these men and women are usually given the job of selling something the buyer probably doesn’t need. On top of that, prospects probably aren’t listening and will usually say no regardless of what is being offered. Constantly coming up against these obstacles can be incredibly frustrating, both for the individual and the business. In several cases, advertising sales staff will keep on preserving with the same technique, even if it isn’t getting them anywhere. For this reason, those in advertising are always looking for new ways to sell television commercials, roadside billboards or some other sort of promotion material. Thankfully, there are several approaches and ideas out there, which could boost your advertising sales. Change the attitude and improve the aptitude of staff Managing to secure an advertising sale is solely dependent on one factor – the salesperson. They are the one who should control the process
What is the “Moments of Need” learning model?
When it comes to any sort of instruction, schooling or teaching, thought leaders Conrad Gottfredson and Bob Mosher believe there are five specific situations where people need to learn. You may not be familiar with the “Moments of Need” model, but it can be hugely beneficial from a corporate training perspective. In contrast to formal methods of learning and knowledge acquisition, which concentrates on achievements and certification, the five Moments of Needs are more concerned with proficiency. This involves a combination of formal, informal, social and real-time learning strategies. Here at Wranx, we are great believers in this multi-faceted approach. Although there is a time and place for classroom-based teaching, this needs to be complemented by additional techniques and methodology such as on-the-job training, advanced learning and gamification. This is what our training system endeavours to deliver. Multi-device supports means learning can take place in the working environment, spaced repetition is a way of improving long term memory retention while games and challenges increase engagement and interest. While our solution here at Wranx shares a lot in common with the Moments of Need learning model, it is still important to look at each of its five steps to see whether
Continual Learning in the Workplace
Even if you’ve been part of a certain company or specific industry for years, there is a good chance that things aren’t the same as they were a decade or so ago. In fact, even over a length of time as short as the past 12 months, certain aspects of the role, organisation or sector may have changed dramatically. Nowadays, business moves forward incredibly quickly and it is imperative to move with the times. Entrepreneurs and enterprises staying ahead of the curve are bound to be better prepared and more likely to succeed, while those left trailing behind will ultimately fail. But whatever the future may have in store, how can you and your employees increase the chance of prosperity and reduce the risk of collapse? The answer for many is continual learning. By providing ongoing training at various levels, an organisation can carry out present-day operations to the best of its abilities while adapting effectively and efficiently to what lies ahead. Levels of continual learning Even though a business with good intentions may wish to implement continual learning through comprehensive training courses, which involve every single department or member of staff, it is best to approach this type of
Proving the ROI of sales training
Conducting and carrying out sales training is a common tactic used by a variety of businesses to improve bottom line performance. In addition to teaching members of staff new skills and expertise, it can also change an employee’s attitude and behaviour at work. What’s more, teaching and tuition may even fuel your workforce’s thirst for knowledge, thus improving personal development and increasing promotion opportunities. However, what is the point of performing training courses or programmes if you do not measure how successful they have been? On top of that, you may never know whether your ROI was worth it in the end. The majority of organisations will probably look at their end of quarter to sales to see whether the cost of training has been cancelled out by greater turnover and bigger profit margins. Unfortunately, this doesn’t provide an in-depth understanding of what employees benefitted from the most, which training techniques were more effective, how the business can improve on coaching in the future and whether the invested capital made a difference. Therefore, it is in any company’s best interests to comprehensively measure the ROI of sales training, as it has a myriad of boons and benefits. Objectives and intentions
When is corporate eLearning most effective?
Using electronic media or information and communication technologies for educational purposes is becoming an increasingly popular trend. When it was first developed and introduced, eLearning came in for some criticism, as many people believed that computers would replace teachers and lines of communication or human support would be lost. However, technology has now progressed to a point where smartphones and tablets can be fully integrated into a learning environment, which is beneficial for both educators and students. Although eLearning can be hugely advantageous in schools or for people taking distant learning courses, it also has several plus points from a corporate perspective. Training and tuition is an ongoing challenge for several businesses, as employees are often uninterested or demotivated by boring and out-dated teaching techniques. What’s more, for certain courses or programmes, members of staff are taken away from where they are needed most, which impacts on operational efficiency and increases expenditure. For these reasons, eLearning has turned out to be an attraction option for businesses looking to increase employee proficiency while maintaining productivity and cutting down the cost of training. However, that doesn’t mean to say corporate eLearning can be introduced and integrated anytime, anywhere. There are certain times,
Don’t believe corporate gamification works? Read this!
Even if you’re a bit sceptical or unsure about the potential advantages that gamification can afford, there are several instances and examples where this increasingly popular learning technique is proving to be incredibly successful, especially when it comes to corporate training. Training and coaching For several employees, further teaching or tuition at work does not sound like an exciting prospect. Numerous individuals find traditional training fairly mundane, uninspiring and monotonous. With little interest in learning new skills, acquiring more knowledge about a particular subject or developing greater on-the-job proficiency, trainees demonstrate poor levels of retention and aren’t able to reap the rewards that further coaching can provide. To address and overcome this problem, more and more companies are exploring alternative training techniques and tactics, such as gamification. By using game mechanics and design to construct playable scenarios and storylines, individuals can become interested in certain subjects and highly engaged with learning materials. Gamification provides incentives such as achievements and awards to obtain, which increases motivation, helps leaners achieve their goals and brings about a change in behaviour. All the while, an employer can monitor user progress and adjust themes or subjects according to ongoing requirements. Here at Wranx, we are
Corporate Training Tactics for Increasing Learner Retention
If planned and carried out correctly, corporate training can have incredibly far reaching rewards and merits. From increasing employee adeptness and proficiency to improving bottom line performance and sales, teaching your workforce new skills and changing their behaviour will undoubtedly bring about more success for both individuals and entire enterprises. However, training isn’t always a straightforward exercise and there are several challenges to overcome. Along with establishing a budget, finding time to coach individuals, choosing the right teaching methods and examining a training programme’s success, actually knowing whether employees have learnt and retained valuable information is one of the biggest obstacles a business faces. Unfortunately, several employees find training fairly tedious and uninspiring. Sometimes this will be down to the teaching method itself or the person leading the programme. However, it can also be caused by the subject matter, which could be quite irrelevant or not connected to the individual’s job role. Consequently, workers aren’t prepared to learn new knowledge or skills in the first place, let alone retain and apply this information when back at work. Even if members of staff can demonstrate their learning in the working environment or real-life scenarios, there is always room for improvement. If
Competency Based Education
In today’s commercial environment, where market conditions are precarious and competition is fierce, there are a number of things that could cause a business to fail. But according to recruitment agency Express Employment Professionals, there are five major problems that are more concerning than others and nearly all of which are to do with employees. These are: Inability to Innovate – 83 per cent of companies cited shortage of talent as their number one pressure. Losing Your Competitive Advantage – Employee disengagement costs businesses $328 billion every year. High Costs of Reckless Hiring – 80 per cent of turnover is a result of mistakes made during the hiring process. Poor Leadership and Communication – Two-thirds of companies are more concerned about retention now than they were before the economic crisis. Regulatory Nightmares (US) – In one year, federal regulations can cost businesses over $1.75 trillion. As a result, more and more businesses are prioritising training in order to increase employee ability, enhance personal development, improve retention rates, and ultimately generate higher revenues. One of the best ways to do this is through Competency-Based Education. What is Competency-Based Education? Competency-Based Education (CBE) refers to adaptive outcome-based instruction that caters for the
3 ways to improve technical sales training
At the end of the day, the majority of companies are hugely reliant on sales to achieve success. If you don’t generate sufficient turnover and profit, chances are your organisation will fail or founder. Therefore, it is in an executive or manager’s best interests to find ways of improving sales team performance, particularly in the knowledge-intensive arena of technical sales training. Product knowledge training has long been held as one of the secret weapons of successful sales organisations. From changing the company culture and hiring more talented staff to providing incentives and introducing performance-based bonuses, there are a number of different techniques and tactics to boost bottom-line conversions. However, several of these approaches are short-term fixes and won’t lead to prolonged prosperity. That being the case, a more sustainable and sure-fire strategy is required. This is where the boons and benefits of training become apparent. By teaching your sales teams new skills, expertise and knowledge, they will feel more comfortable at work, be better equipped to carry out their role and inevitably deliver better results. Training can change workforce behaviour, enable personal growth and transform a company’s fortunes, which is beneficial for both individuals and enterprises. However, training presents a
How a Culture of Learning Impacts Business Performance
If a business finds itself struggling, there are numerous steps and measures it can take. From reducing the cost of certain products and providing purchase incentives to prioritising customer services and improving after sales care, these tactics and techniques have been proven to be fairly successful. Unfortunately, these are short-term fixes to long-term problems. An organisation that truly wants to improve bottom line performance must take a long hard look at internal operations, daily procedures and perhaps above all else, the company culture. If every employee is singing from the same hymn sheet, things are bound to improve. Not only will productivity and efficiency increase, workforce motivation and happiness is bound to be high as well. But how can a business implement and maintain such an effective and successful environment? The answer is by introducing a culture of learning. The relationship between learning and performance At its very basic level, the relationship between learning and performance is quite simple to understand. If a business prioritises the training of employees and believes in teaching them new skills, then members of staff will be a strong position to carry out their job roles and responsibilities in a competent way, thus improving performance.
Getting Started with Gamification
Nowadays, we are presented with an abundance of different teaching and learning techniques that aim to improve knowledge acquisition and retention levels. While some of these are passing fads, others have been scientifically proven to work, such as gamification. This method of training has caused quite a stir in recent years, as it not only delivers results, but can also be highly entertaining and enjoyable for the individual learning. When you compare gamification to traditional training techniques such as classroom teaching or office-based learning, it seems like a no brainer. However, understanding gamification and knowing how to introduce it is another matter. Several businesses won’t be fully aware of what is involved with this teaching technique or how it can be implemented to training situations. That being the case, here is a guide for getting started with gamification. What is gamification? Gartner recently defined gamification as: “The use of game mechanics and experience design to digitally engage and motivate people to achieve their goals.” Game mechanics refers to elements including points, badges and leader boards that are commonplace in several video games, while experience design describes the journey a player takes, facilitated by narratives and story lines. As opposed to
Reading about it is the easy part
See what daily retrieval practice looks like running on your own training content.