Know the 5 Barriers to Effective Training before Elearning Training Solutions

Organizations should do well to take note of the barriers to effective training in conjunction with the implementation of elearning training solutions. The training of potential staff or employees is critical to the growth and productivity of a company. This is because well-trained employees become valuable assets to the organization as they perform with excellence and efficiency.

Organizations invest substantial amounts to the training of future employees. In their desire to compete effectively in the market, the newest trends and strategies are always considered and oftentimes used. One of the best strategies in organizational learning nowadays is using elearning training solutions because they provide effective and efficient training at lesser costs. It is therefore important that companies are well-informed and prepared to deal with these barriers when the need arises in order for them to transform their operations appropriately to deliver greater value.

The Five Barriers to Effective Training

Barrier 1: Efficiency – It is impossible to achieve a hundred percent efficiency. However, there are certain strategies and actions that can be adopted to increase it considerably from what is generally accepted to be a low level. A great way to do this is focusing on “performance” rather than “learning” or focusing on outputs instead of inputs. Other ways to improve efficiency are the following: clearer expectations; sufficient and timely feedback; easy perception and comprehension of required information; adequate tools, resources, procedures and support; appropriate incentives; avoidance of task interferences and administrative obstacles; effective delegation and; improved communication and collaboration processes.

Barrier 2: Inertia – It is necessary to get on the front-foot and address change in the way it approaches challenges in performance. This may call for the need to transform structure and organization, retraining of skills in professionals, re-engaging with stakeholders and so on and so forth. Change is important if the various departments aim to increase the value that they add to their company. Two common problems have been identified that contribute to the barrier of inertia. First is the tendency to focus on process over product and second is risk aversion. Both should be overcome and addressed appropriately.

Barrier 3: Convenience – This is usually caused by the ‘conspiracy of convenience’. It is important to evolve from this familiar type of fulfillment service to trusted advisor. Do not just stick to what’s traditional and familiar such as modules, courses, programs and curricula. What is required now is to be able to morph into a strategic change agent and consultant working together with managers and other leaders to come up with solutions to pressing and emerging business problems where employees and the supply chain performance are concerned.

Barrier 4: Training Mindset – Focusing on input has limited value, unlike output, such as performance. There are a couple of simple techniques that can be employed to go beyond the mindset of “training” and think “performance” instead.

Barrier 5: Manager Engagement – Research shows that line managers are the most important factors in improving employee performance. Managers who focus on the development of reports can do generally more than any training course or intervention can. Engaging managers to focus on and involve themselves in the activities that are critical in the achievement of game-changing performance improvement is crucial to prevent this barrier.