14 Mar 2023

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How to promote customer training for products?

Customer training is genuinely needed by companies to sell products. Without proper training, customers can’t use products, especially the impeccable software that is getting released into the market every day. The customers have problems using the SaaS products and hence need training videos. Most of these new products are beyond the understanding of customers and they get confused while using them. The entire efforts of the sales team get wasted once customers don’t understand the product after buying it and ask for refunds or they give such word-of-mouth publicity that everyone refuses to buy it.

Benefits of customer training:

Companies should not look at customer training as a way to boost sales; rather they can get a lot of impetus in the market once customers can do something useful with the product. Customer training can make sure they stay with you in the long run even if competitors are providing them with better offerings.

Customer satisfaction:

When customers are trained about the product, they can use it effectively. The customers can know how the product will help them solve their needs and they have not wasted their money. When customers are trained, the client support conversations are reduced needing to hire lesser customer support executive staff.

Product advertisement:

The biggest benefit of customer training is that the customers will opt for a renewal of the subscription and you won’t lose them to new players in the market. Customer training is also a way to advertise and create brand awareness. It ensures that customers get knowledge about the product and its benefits.

Although customers can be given training, it needs to be localized so that users all over the world can understand it. Also, customers can be given certifications after they have completed them.

How to ensure customers sign up for product training?

Well, the biggest hurdle companies can face is how to lure customers into product training. This can be quite challenging if the customers are working professionals and face a lack of time.

Offer credits for training:

The companies can offer customer training credits which means they can get cash for credit. So, whenever they have credits, they can buy a product at a discount. So, the more the training is completed by a customer, the higher the discounts he can earn.

Companies can’t take money for training because it can act as a hindrance to software usage by customers. This is also troublesome in the case of corporate customers because the company needs to fund such training and hence consent from the finance department is required.

Provide certification:

When software companies have a great certification it acts as an encouragement for the customer, because they can show it off to their colleagues. So, they take more interest in the content. They can also get better career opportunities if they have such certifications in their resume.

Send emails:

The customers can be sent automated emails about new courses getting launched. The companies can include a small trailer of the course in such an email so that the customers are attracted to it. But the trailer needs to be interesting, so you can ask your elearning vendor to create it who can add all multimedia effects to it. Also, whatever LMS you are using for imparting training to corporate customers, make sure it has a chat option so that if the consumer has problems despite seeing the demo, he can contact you without wasting time. Round-the-clock support by agents is very important.

Host webinars:

Webinars can also be used to entice customers. They can get comprehensive information about the product through them. Webinars can be used on a long-term basis to show product demos to customers. They can easily see all the features of the product apart from how it works.

For corporate customer training, it’s extremely important to convince the managers. They will get appraisals once they introduce a new software product in the company which leads to increased employee productivity. Hence, a company must canvass the managers about the importance of the implementation of their software. Moreover, companies can send emails to managers about new training courses becoming available.

Also, every customer does not need in-depth product training. They need shorter videos. If there are customers who need more detailed knowledge of your products, build longer videos for them.

How to track customer training?

Companies can also ensure that they are using CRM software which gives them complete insights into which customers are logging onto the LMS and which are not. This is because if customers are not interested in your products even when you are ready to explain them, they are now using other products.

11 Nov 2022

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What are mobile learning solutions?

Mobile learning solutions have become resourceful for businesses today because many employees have deskless jobs these days. Today, learners can’t be expected to sit through training sessions, and neither the companies have budgets for classroom training; hence microlearning nuggets delivered through mobile learning solutions are imperative. But the companies have to check whether such learning solutions are up to the mark.

The biggest consideration when coming up with these solutions is to see whether the users need to access the learning solutions outside the office or their homes in a non-conventional environment. And the other problem is whether such locations have internet availability and if not, how learners will access the courses.

Mobile learning solutions are also advantageous because most Generation Z population use smartphones to learn.

So, companies are missing out on a major chunk of learners when they are not providing mobile learning solutions.

Uses of mobile learning solutions

The Smartphone based learning solutions are extremely useful for employees to catch up with any changes at work through training. With mobiles, employees can be updated about any changes in company rules. They can be immediately notified about the same through push notifications.

Such learning solutions can be watched on any moveable device, irrespective of whether there is an internet connection. So, the users can use a mobile player app and watch the downloaded course on it.

When the viewers watch the mobile learning solutions in an offline mode, their usage can’t be tracked, but when they are on the company’s LMS portal to download such videos, the company can definitely get an idea of the downloaded content. If a certain employee has not logged on to the company’s LMS to download any of the videos, it means he is not browsing the content. The company needs to take measures to encourage such an employee to participate. LMS portals must have the feature that the employees can add all the data regarding scores in quizzes. If there is no feedback feature, the companies cannot know whether the learner has watched the video also apart from downloading it.

If an employee has not given any feedback regarding a simulation on a mobile app or added the quiz scores related to it on this LMS portal, this clearly means he has not seen the simulation. Such behavior of an employee must be acknowledged; otherwise, a company cannot benefit from mobile learning solutions even when they are available in an offline mode.

Apart from videos, such learning solutions include podcasts, which are also effective means of training. The users who prefer reading rather than listening or watching can also download training guides and watch them offline.

Such learning solutions are useful in multiple situations, such as compliance training and onboarding of employees. The company needs to collaborate with an elearning vendor to ensure that the mobile learning solutions are customized. There might not be the right kind of professionals in the company to handle the preparation of such content. The companies need to work with L&D Vendors who have the creativity and the IT caliber to design such solutions.

Mobile learning solutions offer the advantage that they provide excellent onboarding solutions for companies that don’t want employees to slow down the pace of others. By providing them with mobile-based learning, companies can ensure that freshers can watch the processes without disrupting their flow of work. By hiring an experienced elearning vendor like us, concise mobile learning solutions can be offered to new joiners so that they only grasp the essential knowledge.

Mobile learning solutions vs. mobile apps

The user also might not have much space on his phone to store the app. Any organization that is opting for such apps puts its learning plan at risk because of problems that can arise in the app’s functioning.

Mobile learning solutions are a much better alternative to mobile apps because the latter frequently crashes, causing inaccessibility for the user. The users might have trouble using the app due to glitches also. Their organization might also be unable to help them due to the lack of constant IT support. So, the organizations which are buying such android or iOS apps need to have consistent IT support.

20 Jun 2022

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What is the role of a moderator in a VILT session?

All over the world, the VILT sessions are happening at a rampant pace. It’s an aftermath of the pandemic, but conducting such sessions is not easy. The companies were looking forward to changing to the virtual training method due to the excessive costs of classroom-based training. But the change has been expedited by the pandemic.

Gen Z also cannot concentrate in-classroom training sessions and prefers VILT sessions where they can log in at a preferred time. It’s because it’s easier to focus when you are alone rather than with others in a classroom.

What is so peculiar about VILT that such sessions require both a trainer and a moderator?

Participants are not face-to-face:

The biggest loophole of a VILT session is that since the cameras of the attendees are off during such sessions, the trainer can’t see their facial expressions. Such expressions help trainers understand the difficulties of a learner. Hence, there can be a major communication gap between the VILT instructor and the participants, which the moderator bridges.

Hence, if the trainer does not know that his teaching speed is not acceptable for the attendees, there is a cognitive overload, i.e. too much information gets passed on to the learners in a short time.

The problem of not seeing attendees’ faces is a huge obstacle in synchronous VILT sessions to result-oriented communication.

It’s because, in such sessions, the trainers and students have taken out time from their over-packed schedules, and when they cannot comprehend each other, it is futile.

Helps the trainer in preparing for the session

It’s because there can be problems with a VILT session when large uploads are happening at the teacher’s end. The internet speed can get slow when live screen-sharing happens because, during this process, a stream of your video gets sent to the server from where the browser downloads it to the learners’ PC. Internet content upload speed is slower than the download speed. Hence during screen-sharing, the quality of the video call is average.

So it is better that if software screencasts are getting sent to the learners during the session, it’s better to record them beforehand rather than during the class. A moderator can help the trainer in recording a screencast video before the VILT session.

A moderator is someone who helps the trainer but is he required so essentially in the VILT sessions.

These are some situations that can arise during a VILT session for which the moderator’s help is needed:

The trainer can’t handle large sessions:

Another loophole in such a session is that sometimes trainers get nervous in large sessions and face technical issues.

For example, the learners might be unable to log into the meeting URL through their browser. So, they might send the trainer a message to resolve this problem. When so many participants send chats to the trainer, it’s tough for him to respond. That’s where a moderator helps to facilitate and responds to the learners’ confusion.

The moderator can access the meeting through a remote desktop and has no problems responding to the participants. A moderator must be an experienced IT person so that he can solve any technical glitches in time when a participant can’t access the VILT meeting URL through his web browser because it’s not compatible; the moderator can help him rectify the situation by switching to a different browser.

For example, the internet explorer is an outdated browser that does not work with web versions of the video conferencing software.

Preventing anyone from creating a nuisance during the meeting:

It’s a tough task to manage participants in remote learning sessions because sometimes, they may share some unwanted content.

Hence, a moderator can help the VILT trainer prevent the participants from sharing their screens if they send irrelevant content.

The moderator makes sure that such a participant is removed from the meeting. A remote moderator can immediately do this task for the trainer. So, the moderator can help the trainer block such a participant or change the options where no one can share screens except the host.

Makes sure that the trainer is not disturbed:

It can be ensured that the trainer is unaware when any participant leaves the meeting due to the lack of any notification because the settings can be enabled for the same.

However, the moderator calls the participant to enquire why he has left the meeting. A moderator can also mute a participant if he starts speaking between lectures. They can mute and unmute participants when needed based on whether they are talking about anything pertinent. If a participant is not allowing others to express their opinions, he can be muted.

Preventing latecomers to the meetings:

Moderators can also lock meetings to ensure that nobody unknown joins the meeting or any employee joins after a certain time. The meetings can be locked since they begin or after a certain delay after their beginning. This can help prevent any late entrants to a meeting.

In the end, the moderators allow the meetings to go unhindered, save the trainer from solving any technical and human problems, and focus on his topic during the session.

17 May 2022

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How must a VR training vendor be selected?

VR training is getting popular day by day due to its impact on changing the entire education scenario in the corporate world.

This technology is nowadays used to provide the most advanced training to the employees, including taking them to VR-based simulations where they learn the crucial skills from their offices. The initial VR training video should be short, which can then be followed by longer videos. Retention is better when the 1st video is short, leading to better involvement with the second video, which is more complex.

But there should be certain precautions exercised by a company before hiring a VR training vendor because it costs so much money.

The companies should also check the portfolio of the vendors to see that they have the right graphic designers with them because they can create realistic images. The clients can also ask for a sample before proceeding. It can be a VR video of 2-3 minutes only.

Moreover, any VR training vendor must know the compliance laws. He cannot create training modules based on it without knowing about such stuff.

These are the categories in which a vendor should be tested before providing his services to a company:

VR knowledge:

The vendors should be checked for their knowledge of this domain. Virtual reality vendors must have a portfolio through which the interested clients get a complete idea about what the former is capable of. Virtual reality technology is evolving, and the vendors need to ensure that it can produce such effects.

Virtual reality will soon amalgamate artificial intelligence so that the user will be taken to a world he has seen before.

Also, the headset will be more powerful with an 8K processor, allowing it to show better images to the user. These processors will produce better images for the user because they will recreate the current 4K content and then use upscaling algorithms to produce pictures with less burring. This artificial intelligence will be used to assess images stored in the database of the VR hardware.

For example, motion sickness can be caused by people wearing a virtual reality headset because they get introduced to a unique environment. There is also a problem with such technology known as clipping. Some solid objects are also shown properly in the virtual world, and the user thinks he can pass through them. There are also other developments in this field about which a vendor must have thorough information. The VR training vendor must ensure that his output does not have such problems.

Adherence to the deadline:

Virtual reality is a crucial part of any company’s training calendar, but it needs to be delivered on time by the vendor. So, he must be informed in advance about the deadline. When he is not, problems can arise because the company can’t launch the necessary training in time. It can cause losses for the company because the employees will not be informed about the new compliance rules. The VR training vendors must ensure that if any changes happen in preparing such content, which can set the clock behind schedule, they inform the client.

Creativity:

Virtual reality vendors must also have creativity in their team because they can work wonders through it. They must be able to create fictional scenarios and avatars based on real-world situations. Apart from having a flair for storytelling, their storyboards must also serve the purpose of training the users.

The company can also help the VR training vendor in preparing a storyboard. They can give a specific job duty to the vendor and provide him with something specific to concentrate on. Asking the VR training vendor to create a storyboard for a particular job situation is easier than asking them to cover the complete job description in a single VR training video.

For example, we might be required to cover multiple job tasks as part of our role but focusing on one task in one video provides detailed coverage for the learner. Such videos encourage the learner and get better retention because you cannot expect them to learn everything at once.

The managers and employees from your company will narrate their experiences to ensure that the vendors produce relatable storyboards. Sometimes the vendor might not know your niche, but still, he can create something of your domain. So, his portfolio is only an indicator of his technical skills, not his acumen. Hence taking a sample is necessary to evaluate the combined intellect of his team.

Hence, it is important to assess the skills of VR training vendors to ensure whether they can create an entertaining virtual reality experience for your employees.

When a company is outsourcing its work, the vendor is given a huge responsibility. The company’s managers risk a lot because they must be answerable about the budget. Hence, they should look for someone who can implement their ideas within a budget and has ample experience.

The vendor can also answer other crucial questions as to whether a company needs an XRS because it can be integrated with the headset to record the training activities of the user. An XRS (extended reality software) is software that has separate costs from the headset.

It helps the organization track the key indicators of a user’s performance on a virtual reality system, and all the data is delivered to the dashboard. Since it captures individual user data, new XRS software is needed for each user.

Such software is installed in the headset of each user and can send all the data to the PC of the VR training administrator.

The VR training vendor team can help you procure the headsets and the XRS software. He knows which headset is more compatible with your developed courseware. For example, courseware with better resolution graphics needs a headset with wires (tethered headset) and not a non-tethered headset.

Hence keeping these considerations in mind a company should select a VR training vendor.

28 Mar 2022

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Pointers for designing an elearning template

The e-learning industry has grown by leaps and bounds. It’s because people have started understanding the importance of learning unconventionally.

The e-learning companies are also coming up with avant-garde content to ensure that the businesses can take care of their employees. But some problems can impair the functioning of a company’s LMS. The LMS has a lot of eLearning templates available, but sometimes they become outdated; hence it’s the job of the business to contact the vendor to modify the template. An LMS template is just like a PowerPoint slide, in which the users can plug in the content. It’s also crucial that before you decide to buy an LMS software, you have a complete idea about its eLearning template library. Sometimes, the eLearning templates might not have an option for you to add videos and audio, which are essential for your course.

Hence, it does not make sense for you to get that LMS. The LMS must also have an option for the course creators to auto-translate because they need external help to add subtitles to a course without it.

These are the essential points that no designer team can ignore while designing a template:

Make sure learners get the instructor’s feedback

The LMS must have the option of feedback. This means that it must have an option for you to add the email ID of the instructor or even a chat box option. When the learners don’t get timely help, they are likely to divert from a course. Therefore, the learners must also be given help in the form of access to the social media handles of the instructors or the company so that they can get in touch with their peers who are a part of the official Facebook group. The learners feel motivated to continue with a course when their queries are answered on time. Also, the LMS eLearning templates must have options for the LMS admins to track the usage rates of the module, like when does a learner quits, i.e., he presses the “close” button.

Get the opinion of the team on the template

The team feedback is also crucial when getting an LMS template.

For example, the LMS template must be approved after getting approval from the team. Then, the graphic designers can design a style guide as to where the text and images should be placed in a template. If the template does not have the proper placement of the objects, it would be unusable in the future, causing an unnecessary expense on your part in getting a template redesigned. This style guide can include the tone of the template, like how many images would be placed on a slide.

An elearning template must also have a scope for notes, just like in PowerPoint slides, so that the SME team can include some important points if they are missed.

You might not use all the placeholders in a template like for notes etc., but they need to be there because the design can’t be altered to add more of them if needed.

Appropriate navigation

The eLearning template must also be navigable, and hence there should be placeholders for buttons/icons. You can also include captions to describe what belongs where.

Navigation is a crucial part of the elearning template. The template must have a placeholder for hyperlinks so that the users can be directed to the last/next slide or the main page. When the template does not have easily visible hyperlinks, the learners get confused, and their time is wasted finding the hyperlinks to go further in the course or backward. It is also necessary that on every elearning template, the place for menu/icons/buttons should be fixed and decided beforehand so that any significant modifications are not needed later.

Have proper bullet lists placeholders

The elearning templates have to be designed because every slide can’t have a different layout. You can’t expect the learners to lose their attention during a course. When you have a consistent layout throughout the course, thanks to the e-learning template, you have better brand visibility which ensures that the learners assimilate the eLearning content quickly.

Any template must have unavoidable elements like bullet lists and short text placeholders. Without such elements, the e-learning content is not coherent and articulate. When learners browse through long text blocks, they feel frustrated and suffer from cognitive overload. They might not retain much even after the course, and therefore short text blocks are essential to encourage retention.

Before embarking on a template design job, the design team must take some ideas from the end-users. They could be given surveys and assessments to gauge their response. Through such surveys, the design team knows what kind of layout is preferred in terms of positioning images and text. The target audience might not like any deviation from this layout.

When the organization does have an eLearning template, it makes sure that the employees get a feeling of cohesion. This is necessary because the employees don’t enjoy the e-learning experience when every slide has a different design.

Arrange a menu before the course

The e-learning content designers must also make sure that a menu is integrated at the beginning of the course. This menu lets them know whether the e-learning course is sufficient for them, or they also need external resources. So, before any module begins, a slide should be added as an introduction that briefly describes the contents. When the course is sorted with a menu and an e-learning introductory slide before every module, the learners can use the course for just-in-time information needs. They can quickly locate the information needed by them to solve their problem.

Hence, this is how an e-learning template should be designed.

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