Developing effective training content: Tips and strategies for success

Recently, 35% of HR professionals reported that essential computer skills are the most common knowledge gap among their applicants. While we’re in an exciting time for upskilling and AI, as learning and development experts, you can't forget that to empower employees of all ages and skill levels your training programs must find new ways to teach even the most basic skills for employees to thrive.

We know the solutions to create sustainable learning and development content are limitless. But with limited resources, it can be difficult to mediate your vision with your quarterly plan.

So, how do you narrow your focus and commit to an effective training content plan?

In this blog, you’ll learn how to:

Identify and define your team’s training content objectives
Find the right mix of training content to drive engagement
Develop engaging and interactive training content
Master the four best practices for training content development

Identify and define your team’s training content objectives

Before starting your training content development process, it’s crucial to establish clear and well-defined objectives for your initiative. These objectives should be aligned with the organization's goals, creating optional pathways for each employee's personalized learning goals.

Follow these steps to define your training content objectives: 

Begin a structured learning content audit with your team.

Conduct a thorough analysis of employees' current skill levels to identify areas that need improvement. This can be done through assessments, surveys, or manager evaluations. We also recommend a structured conversation with your team to discuss their training content needs.

To start, ask yourself:

Who are your learners?
What are your content needs?
What base skills need to be developed or continuously refreshed?
What are you trying to achieve with your learning?
What are the skills that need to be nurtured to meet business outcomes?
How can your team build content to support those business outcomes?

Align your training content objectives with business goals.

Without an established workflow or robust data on your learners, aligning your training content objectives to business objectives can seem impossible. Using the information collected from your audit, you can start by synthesizing skills gaps with your business objectives.

We recommend picking one objective to start tracking your progress. Looking for inspiration? Consider a few objectives the Absorb community employs:

In a high growth phase? Learn how Litmus accelerated business growth with fast and flexible training solutions.
Experiencing a rapid decline in customer satisfaction? See how Mister Car Wash overcame high employee turnover to win Brandon Halls’s silver medal for “Best Hybrid Learning Program”.
Behind employee certifications? Watch how a hospital integrated its legacy system with Absorb to train and track the success of hundreds of employees.
Want to streamline your global training? Find out how a Global eLearning scaled to 154 countries

Discover more customer stories >

Set SMART goals

Developing measurable and attainable objectives using the SMART criteria—specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—will help you turn your business goals from lofty statements into measurable successes.

Let’s consider a fictional example.

Jaspreet is a Director of Customer Service for an enterprise-level asset management company. He tasks the Customer Service Manager, Deborah, with the SMART goal of increasing customer satisfaction scores by 10% in the next quarter. They will achieve this by training staff on their CRM platform with a course on the same LMS platform where the employees took their onboarding courses.

Here is a breakdown as to why this SMART goal will lead to effective training content for Jaspreet and Deborah’s team:

Specific: Deborah alerted Jaspreet that customer satisfaction rates are declining, so Jaspreet provided a training budget for each employee to complete a course to refresh and update their skills.
Measurable: Jaspreet set the expectation for a 10% growth in customer satisfaction scores by the next quarter.
Achievable: Deborah has identified that the customer response rates are slow due to employee skills gaps on the CRM platform. She’s confident that 10% growth will be possible by training employees on the gap she’s identified.
Relevant: Deborah will collaborate with the enterprise headquarters’ Learning and Development Specialist to create a three-part video series for her team.
Time: Delivering by the next quarter gives Deborah enough time to record, deliver, and track the success of her learning initiative.

Learn more about SMART goals for training content >

Find the right mix of training content to drive engagement

Defining the right mix of content and the appropriate training content format is essential for addressing diverse learning preferences and delivering an engaging, effective learning experience.

Consider the following formats when developing training content:

On-demand modules: Create self-paced modules, such as narrated slide presentations or interactive multimedia content. Employees can access and complete at their own pace. This format allows for maximum flexibility and convenience. 
Instructor-led training: Develop live, scheduled sessions or broadcasts led by an expert instructor. This format offers an interactive, immersive learning experience, enabling real-time feedback and collaboration.
Job aids and resources: Offer supplementary materials, such as guides, manuals, and cheat sheets, to support employee learning and job performance. These resources can effectively reinforce learning and help employees apply their new skills on the job.
Off-the-shelf training content: Use pre-built, ready-to-use training content from content libraries. Off-the-shelf training can save time and resources during the development process and provide a consistent learning experience across different topics.

Develop engaging and interactive training content

Creating training content that appeals to different learning styles can significantly improve learners' attention, retention, and overall learning experience. There are several strategies you can use to incorporate interactivity and engagement:

Use multimedia elements: Include various multimedia elements, such as images, videos, and audio files, to create a visually appealing and engaging learner experience. 
Leverage interactive activities: Incorporate quizzes, simulations, or scenario-based activities to encourage learner participation and facilitate active learning.
Offer real-world examples: Provide relevant, real-world examples and case studies to help learners understand the practical applications of their new skills and knowledge. 
Employ an iterative content development process: Continuously revise and refine training content based on feedback from learners, subject matter experts, and facilitators. This will ensure that the content remains relevant, engaging, and effective. 
Collaboration and feedback tools: Leverage social and collaborative tools, such as discussion forums and messaging systems, to facilitate communication and feedback between learners, content creators, and subject matter experts.

Are your content bases covered?

Rally your team with workshop starters and comprehensive checklists: How to solve a problem like Content Creation: The key to delivering tangible business outcomes | Absorb LMS Software

4 best practices for training content development

If you have been tasked with developing training content, you have confidence from your employer that you can create a curriculum on a specialized topic. However, to generate real impact for employees, we strongly recommend adhering to a few best practices in training content development.

Follow a systematic development process Implement a systematic, step-by-step approach to developing training content. The ADDIE Model for instructional design is a powerful and structured tool for training content development. It stands for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation.
Customize content for target audiences Tailor training content to the specific needs, preferences, and learning styles of the target audience. Consider factors such as job roles, experience levels, and language proficiency. 
Implement content authoring tools Use built-in authoring tools in a learning management system to easily create, edit, and update training content. Content builders minimize the need for technical expertise to design, deploy, and track the completion of learning content.
Ensure accessibility and inclusivity Make training content accessible to all learners, including those with disabilities or language barriers. Ensure that content is available in multiple formats, such as audio, video, and text, and consider incorporating closed captions, transcripts, and keyboard navigation.
Monitor and measure success Regularly assess the effectiveness of your training program, measuring factors such as learner engagement, knowledge retention, and on-the-job performance improvement. Use these insights to make data-driven decisions and continuously improve the training content.
Regularly audit training content with content management features Easily organize, store, and manage training content via user-friendly, searchable content libraries. Absorb LMS offers a comprehensive solution to managing and delivering diverse content types while ensuring seamless user experience.

Leverage a strategic LMS to support training content development

An AI-powered learning management system makes it easy to offer a wide range of features that can transform your team's training content development process.

Some key features to leverage are: 

Authoring tools for training content: Use built-in AI authoring tools to easily create, edit, and update training content, without the need for separate software or technical expertise. 
Collaboration and feedback tools: Employ social and collaborative tools, such as discussion forums and messaging systems, to facilitate communication and feedback between learners, content creators, and subject matter experts. 
Reporting and analytics: Access comprehensive, real-time data on learner performance, course engagement, and content effectiveness, which can be instrumental in refining and optimizing the training content. 
Content management features: Easily organize, store, and manage training content via user-friendly, searchable content libraries. Absorb LMS offers a comprehensive solution to managing and delivering diverse content types while ensuring seamless user experience.

It’s time to strategize

Initiating a methodical approach for your training content development can ensure a sustainable and scalable training program for years to come. But after launching a content audit with your team, you may be left with more questions than answers. When you switch to Absorb LMS, you gain an expert partner in employee learning with our game-changing customer service team, and take your program from stale to award-winning.

Are you ready to brainstorm effective training content for the modern learner? Learn when to build, buy or choose a mix of content.

Developing effective training content: Tips and strategies for success

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