In Part 2 of this conversation, Lisa Crowe, Traliant’s VP of Content, shares her views on some of the trends and developments that are shaping online training — from shorter courses to augmented reality (AI) — and how they can benefit learners and their organizations. 

How has the shift to remote/hybrid work impacted online compliance training?

We’ve seen a big increase in the need for online training compared to classroom-based training. The shift to more remote work has definitely influenced content — examples and scenarios created to teach certain topics need to reflect the changing work landscape. Since the pandemic, we updated much of our content to account for this change. We’ve added more examples of interactions that take place in virtual meetings and video calls. In addition, we’ve created courses to help employees and managers adapt to the evolving work environment. Our Creating A Respectful Remote Workplace course specifically addresses workplace issues and interactions in a virtual environment, such as setting work-life boundaries and inappropriate behavior on video calls.

What are some of the key trends and challenges in eLearning and online compliance training?

We’ve been seeing more demand for shorter courses or microlearnings. There are benefits to shorter, more frequent courses, specifically as it relates to retention and memory. We try to be very mindful of course length and continually look at ways to keep training as brief and impactful as possible. We do this by focusing on behavior change, rather than teaching on lengthy laws and regulations. Traliant Sparks are our microlearnings — short videos, under five minutes, that are focused on one topic, such as reporting misconduct or protecting customer information. These targeted videos provide a timely, convenient way for employees to learn something new as issues arise or review information they learned earlier.

Virtual and augmented reality is another developing trend that we are watching. I’m excited to see how VR and AR evolve and become more accessible and affordable. We are staying on the frontlines of these innovations and exploring new features in authoring software that can create more immersive and interactive learning experiences. 

What’s your approach to gamification and interactivity?

We know from the gaming industry that bringing in elements of a game into learning can have positive outcomes. Competition, recognition and achieving milestones release positive endorphins in the brain. In training, they help drive both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, which increases engagement, retention and, ideally, behavior change.

Engagement points are popular with learners. They receive points for correct responses on interactions and assessments. If they are watching and listening carefully, a prompt appears for a few seconds that they can click to increase their score. While it’s not full-on gamification, it helps to drive engagement and motivate learners to earn more points than their co-workers. This friendly competition can be a huge motivation for people and it makes training a bit more fun.

What are the ‘must-have’ content and design elements that make the overall training experience more effective?

One of the biggest “must-haves” in content and design is the use of stories and relatable experiences. These can be real-life stories or ones that are created to help the learner relate to a specific topic or situation. Storytelling is, after all, how the human brain has been learning for most of our existence. A relatable, authentic story can be one of the strongest elements of an eLearning course. 

We incorporate stories and real-life situations and examples in our courses to drive engagement and we’ve received very positive feedback from learners — even more than we anticipated. For example, our microaggressions in the workplace course features an individual recounting various instances where he offended someone with a microaggression. He discusses what he learned from each instance and what he’s going to do differently in the future. The open, authentic storytelling format resonates very well with learners. 

And depending on the audience and the topic, I enjoy using humor in a course. Eliciting any kind of emotional response drives retention. The brain is much better at recalling emotions than facts and words. If you’re able to tie an emotion to a training concept in a course the learner has a far better chance at retaining that information and ultimately changing their behavior.

What do you see as the future of compliance training?

The future of compliance training will bring more enhancements in technology, particularly in the augmented and virtual reality realm. I think we’ll continue to see the demand for online training increase. We may see more training that is presented in an adaptive format. Rather than one size fits all, courses will adapt to the learner and the knowledge and experience they already have. This has the potential to save a lot of training hours and give people the knowledge they need and want.

In Part 1 of this Q&A, Lisa Crowe, shares her insights into what makes workplace harassment prevention training effective for employees navigating today’s evolving world of work.

Lisa Crowe, Traliant’s VP of Content, manages a team of eLearning developers, content creators and instructional designers, who are responsible for creating Traliant’s interactive compliance training solutions. Lisa brings over 15 years’ experience in the eLearning industry to her work, along with a passion for fostering strong, cohesive and efficient teams. She earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership, specializing in instructional design.