Find the best technology so that you can teach and learn in the fastest most efficient way, but don't just start and stop with good tech. There is a human side to this equation. Even the best training management software is better when management knows how to lead their team through it. An article recently featured on Inc. gives us some great tips on how to teach anyone anything. We’ve taken these tips and added how they pertain to your LMS.

Create a Clear Curriculum

Have you ever gone for a run with someone on a path that you are unfamiliar with? You don’t know how long this run will be, how many hills you’ll encounter or where you’ll go. That run sucks. You don’t know how to pace yourself. Unguided training is the same way.

In any leadership position, in any situation, it is best to start with a plan. Although software does a lot of this curriculum planning for management, it is important for leaders to tailor their learning programs with clear objectives and milestones. Out of the box LMSs are fine and dandy, but outlining the process that leaderships wants to share starts with personalized, structured content. This can also include simple insights into the learning program such as the amount of time that is expected of employees or what to expect as they go through, step by step.

Make the Material Matter

I’m not sure what’s worse, no learning material, or crappy learning material. As far as learning management software or programs go, it is important to go with the provider that offered regular updates, great support and user-friendly technology. Additionally, management should go with the services and software that can be tailored for specific needs. As management goes through the training, they should be constantly assessing what it lacks and what is just clutter. Refining the materials makes for a smoother training program.

Present with a Purpose and Passion

All too often, management makes the investment in training, and then poof, they’re gone. If management isn’t excited about training, odds are the team won’t be either. If training is presented as a chore that we all must get through, that is all that will happen –they will just get through it. If training is presented with purpose and passion, it can make a lot of difference in engagement and retention. If management doesn’t care about training, neither will anyone else.

Reinforce with Repetition and Response

Post training is just as important as training itself. This is point at which management can assess how the training was received, if the information was retained and if that information was found relevant. Additionally, it is management’s job to ensure that the employee’s environment is conducive to the implementation of the new knowledge and skills gained during training. You know what they say, “Use it or lose it”, it’s true! According to the American Society for Training and Development. But with little practical follow-up or meaningful assessments, some 90% of new skills are lost within a year, some research suggests.”

For the money and time that employers spend on training, it's worth it to be part of the process. When employees see that management is engaged and excited, that emotional contagion will catch on, rendering the process more valuable. 

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photo credit: mrehan via photopin cc