Those who are always aiming higher and elevating their goals often have role models who are already at the top. Using these role models as examples to learn what they did right and how they did it is a good idea. This method can help lead you to success, however, it could also fail incredibly.

While we may be able to tip the scales in our favor with the help of some clear practices, there is still no definite way to predict if our personal or business ventures will have a positive outcome. Failure should be a part of the calculated risks that we take. Learning from failure can actually be a great key to success.

Hopefully, this article will show you that failing doesn’t have to be considered negative. Let’s take a look at 7 people who made huge changes from failure to success!

1) J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling may be very wealthy today, but before she published her series of Harry Potter novels, she was severely depressed, recently divorced, nearly penniless, all while attending school, writing her novel and trying to raise a child on her own. With a great book idea and of course hard work and dedication, J.K. Rowling went from working at a small cafe, depending on welfare to survive to now being one of the richest women in the world in a short span of five years. 

2) Ludwig van Beethoven 

In Beethoven’s developing years he was extremely awkward on the violin. He was also so busy working on his compositions that he often neglected to practice. Despite his deep love for music composition, most of his teachers felt he was hopeless and would never be successful in composing or with the violin. In fact, his music teacher actually told his parents he was “too stupid” to ever be a music composer. 

3) Michael Jordan 

It is very hard to believe the man acclaimed as the best basketball player of all time was actually cut from his high school basketball team. Micheal Jordan did not let this setback discourage him from playing the game. As he once said in a popular ad, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.

I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

4) Stephen King

King’s first book, the iconic thriller Carrie, received 30 rejections. After what felt like being rejected continuously, he became discouraged and threw it in the trash. Luckily, his wife was able to salvage it and encouraged him to be more confident and resubmit it. With Stephen King now having hundreds of books published and turned into movies, he also holds the distinction of being one of the best-selling authors of all time. 

5) Oprah Winfrey

Oprah is adored by millions of fans worldwide and now worth billions thanks to her popular talk show and media empire. Winfrey was actually fired from her first TV job as one of the news anchors for Baltimore’s WJZ-TV because she got too emotionally invested in her stories. She was told she was “unfit for television news”. As a consolation, she was offered a role on a daytime TV show, People Are Talking. The show became a hit, and Winfrey stayed for eight years. Winfrey eventually became the host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which aired for 25 seasons. She’s currently worth an estimated $3 billion, according to Forbes.

6) Steve Jobs

When  Steve Jobs was in his 30s, the company he created fired him. “What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.” Jobs then spent the summer of 1985 in a “midlife crisis” trying to decide what he wanted to do, from entering politics to becoming an astronaut. During his time away from Apple, Jobs co-founded computer company NeXT, which was later acquired by Apple, and launched Pixar Animation Studios. When he returned to Apple nearly a decade later, he brought the world the innovation of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

7) Walt Disney

In 1919, Walt Disney was fired from one of his first animation jobs at the Kansas City Star newspaper because his editor felt he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas”. That wasn’t the last of his failures. Disney then acquired Laugh-O-Gram, an animation studio that quickly went bankrupt. Finally, he decided to set his sights on a more profitable area: Hollywood.

Walt and his brother moved to California and began the Disney Brothers’ Studio, eventually creating Mickey Mouse and Disneyland and winning 22 Academy Awards.

In the past few decades, researchers have made a ton of really important breakthroughs, especially when it comes to learning. We now have a better understanding of how individuals learn, remember, organize and retrieve information.

Let’s explore some of the most significant breakthroughs that researchers have made on the science of learning and provide you with some valuable insight on how to make the best use of your brain without wasting energy.

1) Emotions influence our ability to learn

Our ability to learn is affected by a number of things, one of them being how we feel. Research has shown that our emotions affect everything from how we perceive information, how we pay attention, how we remember information and how we solve problems.

Feeling stressed, anxious, fearful or ashamed are the worst emotional states for learning. The limbic system is activated by these emotions. When the limbic system is activated it interferes with how memory is generated. This is why it is very important to create a safe and stress-free online learning environment. If your learners are relaxed it will help them learn and retain information better.

2) Social interaction is good for learning

Some learners may prefer to quietly learn by themselves whereas others may learn much better when the learning is done through social interaction. Having learners collaborate with each other usually leads to much better learning outcomes. Brain imaging studies have shown when information is presented by other people in a multi-sensory way, neuroimages show a number of neural networks functioning together simultaneously. Research has also reflected that we learn information effectively through social cues such as recalling the words of others and by emulating their actions.

3) More information doesn’t always mean more learning

When processing information, the brain has to do work to understand. Because of this you should not present large amounts of information to your learners and expect there to be an increase in learning. The point at which a person’s brain becomes overwhelmed by new information is referred to as “cognitive overload”, by brain scientists. When there is too much new information all at once, it results in cognitive overload and will ultimately reduce learning.

Two main ways to avoid cognitive overload are:

• The quantitative method: Provide less new information. Allow your learners to understand most of what they are currently learning before presenting them with new information.
• The qualitative method: Switch up your presentation methods so that it is less overwhelming.

4) Making mistakes are an essential part of learning

When learning something new, no one usually aims for failure. Generally, it’s something we want to avoid. Without a doubt, you would want all your learners to successfully complete their online courses or training content.

However, the science of learning shows us that making mistakes is actually an essential part of learning. For example, the first time we get on a bike we don’t all learn to ride right away, we get better by practicing. Making mistakes is essential to the learning process and it also applies to academic learning.

If individuals are being pressured to succeed it may inhibit learning. Research has shown that some students learn and perform better when they are told failure is a normal and expected part of learning. This may be because feeling less pressure leads to better performance.

Additionally, when errors are emphasized, learners will usually focus more on those errors rather than what they should be learning.

5) The brain requires novelty

When your learners are exceptionally bored it impacts their ability to learn by killing their attention span and willpower. Some instructors feel that by being repetitive with learning material students will grasp concepts easier, after all “practice makes perfect”. It actually turns out what the brain really craves is novelty.

Novelty is the state of being exposed to new ideas, experiences, and things. When we are in this state it releases dopamine, a neurochemical, that is part of the pleasure center in our brains. Dopamine actually plays a huge role in the motivation for learning.

When the receptors are activated when we are learning, it gives us a rewarding feeling. Practicing new things we have learned will definitely help us be progressive, but doing that same practice in new ways can help us improve learning outcomes and success. 

6) Learning happens best through teaching others

Teaching others something you have learned is one of the most effective study methods. In fact there is a highly effective study technique designed on this principle, called the Feynman Technique. This technique proposes when learning a new skill or studying for an exam, learners write about their topic as if they were teaching someone else, even a child.

The concept of figuring out how to explain something complex, briefly using non-jargon language helps consolidate the learning that is already there and it will help identify any knowledge gaps. 

7) Our brain functions on the “use it or lose it” principle 

Our brains are constantly building and reconditioning neural pathways. The pathways that are used the most usually get well-established and stronger. The pathways that are not used get built over.

This is the reason a language you have learned isn’t as fluid when you do not use it or why it may take you a while to work out a math equation you have not done in a while. When it comes to the brain, the saying “if you don’t use it, you lose it”, definitely applies.

A good concept to utilize is spaced repetition. The idea to space out learning and repeat something just before you would have forgotten it, is a great way to optimize learning and remembering.

Understanding your learners is one of the most important ways to ensure your online training courses are effective. Building on the principles of learning will keep you focused on what activities will enhance the online learning experience and what may not have much effect.

SkyPrep is a particularly effective tool for learning. To learn more, request a call and one of our specialists will be with you shortly.   

To help you filter through the many options and better navigate the Learning and Development landscape in 2021, we will guide you through the top 5 online training delivery methods you can utilize to guarantee the modern learner stays engaged. 

1) Mobile-Ready Learning

If you are on the hunt for an online training method that is equally engaging as it is effective, consider mobile learning.

Mobile learning has grown in popularity over the last several years. A mobile-ready course is one that is accessible and user-friendly for learners across all devices. Many industry leaders have implemented this learning method to keep their growing global workforces engaged.

Mobile learning is an effective delivery method that will help businesses conquer common learning and development challenges. For example, the average workplace has recently been altered, with more employees working from home than ever before.

Many organizations are also considering adopting a hybrid workplace model which will allow their employees to alternate working from home and in the office throughout the workweek. Designing and delivering an online training course that is mobile-ready will help your business provide your employees with quality learning experiences, no matter their location.

By allowing this increased access, your employees will feel empowered to learn and access training material whenever it fits their schedules best.

2) Virtual Instructor Led Classrooms

Organizations are looking for online training methods that are effective alternatives for in-person instructor-led training but will still encompass the idea of social learning. In this case, virtual instructor-led classrooms can be highly effective.

A virtual instructor-led classroom is just as it sounds when an instructor provides employee training within a virtual environment. It is an instructional design method that is highly engaging as it provides learners with a social experience where they can engage with other learners through virtual projects, activities and discussions.

This way your learners can still reap the benefits of in-person type training, without risking face-to-face interactions and still maintaining any social distancing orders that may be in place. Virtual Instructor Led Classrooms are also a very cost-effective solution for businesses as it eliminates many other costs that would usually be associated with in-person training.

3) Scenario Based Learning 

Scenario-based learning is another great training method that can assist in boosting learner engagement. It is also a type of training that is done in an online learning environment.

Typically, online learning modules are created with an underlying story line and the idea is to have employees interact with this content by applying their knowledge and feedback to the simulated scenario.

This “virtual role-playing” is highly engaging due to its interactive nature and will help employees deeper understand the context pertaining to the training topic.

Scenario-based learning also provides employees with a safe and risk-free environment where they can practice new skills. It will help strengthen their confidence before they actually have to apply it on the job.

4) Personalized Learning Journeys

Today’s modern learners have varying needs. It is very common for employees to have different skill sets, experiences and learning preferences. Developing a learning program that covers all the bases of your material, whilst keeping engagement levels high is challenging.

Determining employees unique learning styles and developing personalized learning experiences will address this challenge. Personalized learning paths will keep your learners engaged by providing only the most relevant content to them based on their experiences and needs. 

5) Microlearning 

Breaking down online training content into small bite-sized segments is a highly effective and engaging strategy. When your training material is structured in a microlearning format it will help you design a training course employees can work into their daily schedules. It also gives them the advantage to have it completed faster.

Microlearning can also be utilized as a learning resource by allowing employees access to material when they need it. It is also particularly advantageous for businesses whose training material needs to be regularly updated.

For instance, in the last year organizations have spent a considerable amount of time and money updating their health and safety compliance training. In unprecedented times, a microlearning format can help your business create and update your training content in an easy and time efficient manner.

Businesses and employees needs have significantly changed over the past year. With many employees working from home, upskilling and reskilling are high in demand. SkyPrep can help you utilize the right online training methods to engage the modern workforce.

To learn more, request a call and a specialist will be with you shortly. 

Creating an online learning course takes a lot of preparation and is a challenging and rewarding venture. However, before you get started it is good to know what you are getting into.

We’ve compiled a couple of questions to guide you prior to creating your course so that you can hit the ground running.

1) What knowledge level is my course designed for?  

You need to determine how much you expect your online learners to know before they start your course.

Are your learners going to be new to this area of study, do they have some experience in the field? Is your course best suited for a learner with a certain number of years in the industry? Or is this the beginning of a new profession?

If you can answer these questions, you will be able to figure out what information should be included in your online course and what audience it can be marketed to.

For a beginners course, you may want to let your learners know about any basic requirements you see fit, such as internet access or familiarity with particular topics or programs. For an advanced level online course, you need to be specific about what prerequisites would be needed (for example: “Learners should have 3 years of web design experience”.)

2) Where will learners be taking this course from: Home or Work?

Many organizations invest in online training and certification for their employees. It helps in improving knowledge training and to develop and nurture talent. If that is your target audience, you will need to market to businesses, rather than individuals.

When employees are enrolled in corporate training courses, they usually have a set timeframe to get through the learning material and that can reinforce motivation for completing your online course. However, when learners enroll in a program with their own initiative, they are most likely squeezing the learning course into their schedules, on the side.

They may be enrolling in your course because they are highly motivated individuals that want to keep learning and developing while dealing with other life commitments. If you want learners to be able to take your course from anywhere and at any time, think of ways your content can be easily digested to fit around a busy schedule. 

3) How long should my course take to be completed?

Many online courses do not require learners to have it completed by a certain deadline. These open-ended courses allow learners to sign up and learn at their own pace.

On the other hand, some learners may be looking for an online course with a more firm schedule that they must complete within a given timeframe. If that is the case, you will need to let your learners know how much time they need to allocate to your course before they enroll.

You can deliver information about your courses time frame by noting “this is a three-week course that requires an 8-hour commitment a week” or “this certification course will take a total of 30 hours to complete.”

Online courses vary in length, you could also be providing a 2-hour informational webinar that learners can receive a micro certification. No matter the length of your course, make sure your learners are never blindsided and know what to expect. 

4) Will learners require one-on-one training?

The majority of online training courses allow learners to progress at their own rate without a live instructor. However, certain courses may require individual learning sessions. If so, you will need to plan your schedule to accommodate a larger workload.

A good tip would be to limit the number of learners that can be enrolled at a time so you don’t get in over your head. With this in mind, virtual training sessions are a major selling point for some learners. The inclusion of a live training session will add a lot of value to your package and allow you to charge more for your online learning course. 

5) Will learners want to pay for my course?

Is the course you are offering valuable? Will learners be able to use it to advance in their professional careers? Or is it more geared toward someone that wants personal gratification? Do you offer a certificate on completion of your online course? Do learners need to complete this course for a current job role they are in?

Online training programs that are highly valuable are the ones that educate you on a measurable and definable skill that you can link to your own professional growth.

People are likely to easily justify spending a lot of money for a course that they can receive certification from or help them land a promotion at work. 

6) Will learners know how  to navigate a Learning Management System?

The familiarity of education through online courses varies among individuals and demographics. Most students nowadays are familiar with some form of online learning with their educational experiences.

They have most likely completed homework their instructors have assigned via an LMS or submitted their work through an online portal. For this group, your online course will not be hard to maneuver. On the opposite side of the spectrum, some learners may not have any experience with a Learning Management System, so you will need to include some extra instructions and tips ato help them navigate your course with ease. 

7) How will you measure learners’ success?

Upon defining the objectives of your online course, you will be able to easily measure the ways in which they will be achieved.

If you are promising learners that they will be capable of a particular skill at the end of your course, you need to be positive they are able to do so. Whether that means creating a series of tests and quizzes or having them submit a final project for you to review. If the results are measurable, the more confident you can be in promising success to your learners. 

8) What will learners gain upon completion of the course?

No one is going to enroll in your course if it is unclear what they will be learning. You can create a clear understanding for your future learners by outlining your course syllabus or by describing specific skills they will learn per section.

Try to include some concrete examples to strengthen your value proposition. Think of how you would add a section in your course description that promises a specific outcome. What would it sound like? A good prompt to start with could be “by the end of this course, learners will be able to…(list all the things they will be able to do.)

It is so important to ask yourself the right questions before creating your online course. SkyPrep can help you create effective and engaging courses, no matter who your audience may be. Connect with a specialist today to learn more.

The integration simplifies the whole process by letting you create, manage, and broadcast Microsoft Teams sessions right from your training platform.

Keep on reading to learn more about the integration and how you can keep your learners well-trained wherever they are.

Accomplish More With the Microsoft Teams Integration 

Don’t Let Distance Get in the Way of Your Training

Training multiple employees located in various areas may seem like a daunting task. However, SkyPrep’s built-in Microsoft Teams integration makes it easy to train employees located in different places.

The integration lets you create, deliver, and track Microsoft Teams sessions from within the SkyPrep platform — no more swapping between platforms to create or launch a session.launch a session.  

Conflicting schedules and no-shows associated with live training are a thing of the past. All meetings can be recorded and stored in SkyPrep’s resource center. Learners who missed a live session or want to review one they attended can watch the recordings at any time.

SkyPrep’s reporting feature provides you with the tools needed to easily track the attendance of your Microsoft Teams’ sessions within the training platform. You can schedule these reports to be automatically delivered to specific people on your team to keep everyone on the same page when it comes to training performance.  

Support Face-to-Face Training From Anywhere

With more employees working from home, in-person training is becoming less viable for training multiple employees at once. To combat this challenge, the integration lets you deploy video training right from the SkyPrep platform. Use your computer or mobile device to deliver face-to-face training to your employees no matter where they are and eliminate the need for inefficient in-person training. 

Engage Your Learners and Create a Collaborative Environment

Even online, training can be interactive and engaging for your learners through the use of virtual classroom features like whiteboards, screen sharing, and breakout rooms. You can show the screen of your desktop or mobile device for a quick and easy way to share visuals with your team. 

If you want to get their feedback on content, interactive whiteboards provide your learners with drawing tools. This is especially helpful when you need to get your team’s thoughts on material like presentations, mockups, and images at one time. If you want to facilitate brainstorming sessions with a smaller set of learners, you can use the breakout rooms feature to split participants into groups. This is a great way to encourage participation and ensure everyone has a chance to voice their opinion. 

Easy to Set Up

Getting started is effortless. With SkyPrep’s built-in Microsoft Teams integration, you don’t need to jump through hoops to connect both platforms together. You don’t need to go through third-party integrations or APIs, and coding isn’t required, the integration can be set up with only a few clicks, enabling you to get up and running very quickly.

SkyPrep’s built-in Microsoft Teams integration is quick and easy to set up. With no need for third-party integrations or APIs, everything is done within SkyPrep — hassle, worry, and coding-free. 

To learn how you can start delivering virtual training with ease, contact us for a free demo.

We received 27 points for popularity and 48 for user ratings (out of 50).

• The Popularity Score shows the relative popularity of our software based on web search trends and our product’s web presence.
• The Rating Score shows the relative score of our LMS software based on ratings given by users on Capterra, normalized for number and recency of reviews.

With an overall score of 75 out of 100, SkyPrep is among their top 14 emerging favorites.

Capterra Shortlist, previously called Capterra Top 20, is an independent assessment that evaluates user reviews and online search activity to generate a list of market leaders in the LMS software space that offer the most popular solutions.

The purpose of this report is to help customers easily see which products are strongest in terms of:

• User ratings of products based on reviews written in the last 24 months.
• Popularity based on average monthly search volume for a set of product-related keywords and the position of the vendor’s domain on the search engine results page (SERP) for each keyword.

Capterra’s inclusion criteria is quite straightforward. Being on this list means SkyPrep:

• Has at least 20 unique product reviews published on Capterra within 24 months (we have a total of 114 reviews, as of May 2021).
• Has shown evidence of offering required functionality as demonstrated on our website.
• Serves North American users, as shown by product reviews submitted from that region.
• Is relevant to software buyers across industries or sectors.
• Has achieved a minimum normalized overall user-review rating.
• Has achieved a minimum popularity score.

You can learn more about Capterra’s research methodology and inclusion criteria here.

Disclaimer: The Capterra Shortlist report constitutes the subjective opinions of individual end-user reviews, ratings, and data applied against a documented methodology; they neither represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Capterra or its affiliates.

About SkyPrep

SkyPrep is an intuitive industry-leading LMS. It allows you to deliver effective and engaging onboarding training, compliance training, and more to your employees, partners, and customers. Helping hundreds of organizations in various industries globally, we can empower your employees with the knowledge and skills they need to continue making your business a success. 

Request a demo to take a closer look at SkyPrep and see how it can help with your online training needs.

We’re proud to be recognized as a cutting-edge LMS and are committed to providing the best online training platform solutions in the market.

When your employees have access to online training based on all your business’s products and services, they are able to provide a best-in-class customer experience. 

Improve Customer Satisfaction With Product Knowledge Training Best Practices

Ask your customers what their pain points are when they interact with customer service or sales representatives. One popular issue is the lack of knowledge on products.

If your employees are unable to answer certain questions about the products your business offers, you are headed in the direction of losing a sale.

Product knowledge is essential when it comes to customer satisfaction, and is undoubtedly an area companies should spend more time zeroing in on. 

What is Product Knowledge?

Your salespeople or customer service representatives do not need to know every little detail about a product. They do not need to be an expert. Of course, if they are able to, that is an obvious bonus.

What product knowledge means in customer service is they should be able to answer basic questions about your products and how they work.

Your employees should be able to answer questions without referring to a manual or guide on the product.

Enlisting your employees in new product training is highly essential in order to keep them up to date on any changes that have occurred or new product launches.

If you are still wondering why product knowledge is important in sales, put yourself in the customer’s shoes and think of their perspective.

A customer’s purchase decision is based on facts they know about a product. If your employees are unable to provide basic explanations or answer simple questions, customers will be doubtful.

They are less likely to trust the product or think it is worth them spending their money on. 

Now, in comparison to customer service, product knowledge training may differ a little. Your customer service representatives will need to know how to troubleshoot common issues a customer could typically encounter after a purchase.

For example, a customer may not know how to put a product together or how to get it functioning the way they want. Your customer service rep should be capable of helping your customer with problems of that nature and offering a resolution.

A significant reason product knowledge training is crucial in service and sales is to reduce costs and losses for your company.

If an issue is unable to be resolved, a customer’s next step is usually to return the product.

Your business will not only lose money on a sale but could potentially lose a customer to another company. Your employees need to have the knowledge to uphold your brand’s integrity and keep your customer happy.

How to Offer Product Training Knowledge for Your Employees

After understanding the importance of product knowledge, the next step is for you to deliver and develop it in your employees.

Many managers see this as a major task or roadblock because they are unsure on how to develop product knowledge in their employees. Most businesses utilize both online and offline material to develop product training.

You could have your employees read through handbooks or other material on your products that require specific knowledge, or you could implement a learning management system.

For product training, a learning management system comes in really handy. It gives you the ability to effortlessly upload a copy of any manuals or information online and your employees are able to access it from any location, at any time. After they have completed the material, you can track their progress and have them enrolled in a test to determine their level of competence and knowledge. 

How to Create and Implement Product Knowledge Training

When you utilize a learning management system, you are able to create product training for existing and not yet launched products. You can allow access to all the employees that need it and make certain sections a requirement to be completed.

Your LMS will provide you with reports that can be generated to see who has completed their training and their progress levels. You can even incentivize with the use of gamification, to keep your employees engaged and wanting to take the initiative to learn. Product training should also be a part of all your new hires onboarding and orientation process.

As a matter of fact, you can utilize a learning management system for ALL your training needs, and just simply include product knowledge as a module for your employees who interact with customers in sales and service.

SkyPrep LMS offers a range of features your organization can utilize to ensure product knowledge training is easier and more effective. It does not matter how you want to train your employees or with what methods, whether it be instructor-led training for more complex products or online training courses. The system will be able to track it all in one place and create reports that determine important information such as:

• How many employees have completed your required training courses
• What scores employees have received on tests, quizzes and modules
• Which employees have taken the initiative to complete additional training
• If your employees are up to date on any compliance or regulation training

A learning management system adapts and grows with you and your company. If your company’s product inventory increases or you create new job positions, your LMS will adjust to accommodate your changing needs.

Request a demo to learn more about SkyPrep and how it can help with your employee product training.

Their job is to help customers discover and purchase the best products, services, or solutions for their needs whilst embodying exceptional customer service. However, just as any other customer-focused industry, the retail sector is not excluded from having its challenges.

As a retail employee, you must be prepared to work in an extremely fast-paced, high-pressure, competitive environment- one that is known for its rapid staff turnover rates. With this in mind, it is extremely crucial to make sure you are enrolled in any ongoing training and development courses.

With continuous learning you will keep your retail skills sharp and current, giving yourself the opportunity to “ladder up” and create a pathway for a successful career in the industry.

Let’s look a little more closely at the importance of professional development in the retail industry.

The Success Skills For The Retail World

In order to succeed in the retail industry, there are certain skills one must possess. For obvious reasons, customer service skills are first and foremost. You really need to dive deep and take a look at the skills that epitomize a fantastic customer service experience.

Your interaction with customers is much more than simply helping them select a product for their needs. It is about seamless communication, professionally handling complaints, and building and securing their trust.

Online training programs offered by your company are great tools that will help you improve your skills in predominant areas such as productivity, motivation, time management and handling deadlines successfully. Luckily, these are “soft skills” and they can be developed and constantly improved.

These skills add an exponential value to your customer’s experience and will boost your success in your retail career. 

Employers-Make Employee Development A Commitment 

If you are a retail employer reading this article, always remember- your employees are your best asset. In this era, employees in the retail space are looking for more than a pay cheque.

Many individuals want to work for companies that transparently show a commitment to employee professional development. If your company does not offer this, your employees are likely to feel unappreciated, unmotivated and like there is no opportunity for growth in that job.

The lack of employee development and training programs can create a negative work culture. The implementation of an online training program will help employees progress and reach new heights of their potential. An LMS will always be a win-win solution and a worthy investment.

Employees that are well-trained are way more efficient and effective and will produce higher quality work. For employers, this means less money, time and resources wasted. An online training program will give employees the skills and confidence they require to make progress and move up the ranks to become an all-around asset to your business.

In addition, with ongoing employee training programs, your team is less likely to be involved in workplace accidents. This means they will require less supervision, which could potentially give more time to your or your management team to focus on other areas of the business. It will also ensure your business is up to date on safety compliances and regulations. 

Training Is Key In High Turnover Industries

As we mentioned earlier, the retail industry is known for its high employee turnover rates. Employee development training has shown the power to increase staff retention, while minimising the cost of employee turnover and any loss of company knowledge.

A considerable amount of money is typically spent on the hiring and recruiting process. That can also be said about employee onboarding and initial training. With this knowledge in mind, it is so important to hold onto new employees the best you can.

If you can retain your staff members it is most beneficial for your business, in reducing future hiring and training costs. As an employer, you need to set the tone for your staff. You need to ensure you are providing them with a positive, supportive, strong workplace culture and environment.

Establishing a workplace culture that fosters leadership and collaboration is your best option for retaining employees in high turnover industries.

In a professional environment that supports employee training and development, your staff will be increasingly productive, innovative, creative, and a lot less likely to want to leave.

Utilizing Online Training Courses In The Retail Sector

No matter what your role is in the retail industry, one of the best ways to learn and develop new skills is by enrolling in online training courses.

With the help of online training you will be able to increase your knowledge of the retail industry and continually work on developing your “soft skills” for professional growth and development.

Taking time out of your day to complete your companies’ online training programs will show your current or prospective employer that you have the ability to take initiative and the drive to work hard towards your career goals.

These impressive qualities will help you stand out and keep you on the path to success!

SkyPrep can help your employees engage in learning that is effective, relevant and inspiring. Get in touch with us to find out how we can transform professional learning at your organization. We would love to hear from you, request a call and one of our specialists will contact you shortly.

If employees feel this way about their corporate training courses, they are very likely to lose interest and motivation in their training programs, lowering their knowledge retention.

How can you change the unfavorable preconception around corporate training to make it more effective?

Let’s take a look at five ways you can make your corporate training courses more immersive and impactful for your employees.

1) Deliver Online Training Based on Skill Gaps

Employees are likely to lose interest and may possibly become annoyed if they are having to complete corporate training courses they have already mastered. It will most likely make them feel like they are wasting their time. If it is a topic they have already mastered, there is no need for them to re-learn it.

A good way to avoid this is by implementing a “pre-test” module within your LMS that quizzes your learners before they begin the online training courses to determine what they already know.

Additionally, when you take inventory of your employee’s existing skills, you can then prescribe relevant training content through your LMS.

This will ensure they get the information they need without them spending any extra unnecessary time. A pre-test will also help you recognize common skill gaps that exist within your business and delivering more targeted training will eliminate them.

2) Utilize Virtual Classrooms to Instill a Culture of Learning

Employee training can get very costly and time-consuming for organizations to maintain, especially when they have a large number of employees located in different areas.

Mentorship and coaching however, are undoubtedly one of the best corporate training tools a business has. It can contribute to keeping your employees motivated to continue learning. With the utilization of an LMS, organizations can scale back the costs of training by leveraging the power of interactive virtual classrooms.

Virtual classrooms give employees the opportunity to view scenarios and prompts, and once they feel confident on how they would like to respond they can do so by video response to their virtual coach.

The virtual classroom gives employees the opportunity to make mistakes in a stress-free environment and will help them improve how they respond to challenges through repetition. 

3) Make Training Bite-Sized

If you make your employee training courses too long, employees are likely to lose focus while learning. Microlearning, the concept of dividing training into small bite-sized sections that are easier for employees to digest, is a good strategy to implement.

Additionally, look for ways to reduce repetitive information in your online training courses, and provide your employees with additional resources if they may need it. 

4) Make Training Mobile

The days of sitting in an office having to complete the training are now ancient. Your employees should have the power of completing training from any location and even while they are on the go.

Incorporating mobile learning into your online training will give your employees more options as to when they can fulfill their required training and it will less likely feel like a burden.

5) Implement Gamification

If you want to keep your employees engaged, a great way to make your corporate training courses more impactful is by turning them into a game. Gamification is the process of incorporating game designs and mechanics to your training.

The goal is to keep your learners motivated and is a proven method for increasing employee engagement. All you need to do is find some ways of turning your training courses and lessons into a game.

This can be by assigning points and badges based on progress, or by creating a leaderboard to get some excitement and positive competition going. 

Now that you know some great ways to improve your corporate training courses, take some time to analyze your existing training materials to see where improvement could be made. SkyPrep specializes in helping build flexible, engaging learning and development programs through our Learning Management System. Speak to an expert today to learn more!

If your retail business is experiencing an upswing, you may find yourself in a position of having to hire a retail manager as things are getting back to normal and getting increasingly busier.

Keep in mind, COVID-19 has altered a lot in the retail industry and you will want to make sure whoever you are hiring has the capabilities to really fulfill the job.

Here are five helpful tips to help you select the right person.

1) Do they have a sales mindset?

You will want to hire a retail manager who has the experience of running a store and managing a team. Ideally, someone who also thinks in terms of KPIs and tracking everything, from in-store sales to staff productivity. Your ideal retail manager should also be detail-oriented.

They should be able to memorise product information, be able to juggle different tasks without getting overwhelmed, and also have a good instinct on how to improve your store in order to influence your customers’ purchasing decisions. It is an incredible benefit if they have solutions or ideas to help your business improve customer retention and customer satisfaction.

Lastly, a retail manager that possesses some digital marketing experience in e-commerce, social media marketing, SEO and email marketing will be extremely instrumental to the success of your online store and your business’s growth. 

2) Are their “soft” skills up to standard?

Determining how your managerial candidates think will give you insight into whether or not they will excel in your retail manager position. It is a good idea to ask them for examples of particular situations or give a few examples of scenarios and have them answer to see how they would handle the situation.

If they will potentially be in the role of managing a large team, you will want to be certain they have the skills to do so. How do they deal with tricky personalities or challenging customers? Are they a good “people person”? Are they good at delegating various tasks to staff members? Are they kind to your other employees and offer advice or constructive criticism?

Are they more solutions-oriented rather than trying to put the blame on others when things don’t go as planned? These are some useful questions to keep in mind.

3) Are they good with technology (such as HR tools or Training tools)?

An LMS (learning management system) has never been more important in a post-pandemic world. You can provide your employee knowledge with online training courses, about the latest health and safety information and how it might impact their interactions with customers.

An RMS (retail management system) on the other hand, keeps your store organized, making it easier to quickly locate specific products and track inventory. It also enables staff to gather feedback from customers and may also help with the administering of rewards or loyalty programs. You want to make sure your retail manager is technical enough to navigate and utilize these systems. 

4) Are they familiar with COVID-19 protocols? 

The retail world has definitely changed a lot since the COVID-19 pandemic. You need to ensure your retail manager understands the significance of COVID-19 safety plans, registering the business as COVID safe and setting up QR codes.

Ask them what they would do in the event that there was a COVID case at your store, or if it needed to shut down. Determine if they are capable of coordinating curbside pick-ups, contact-less deliveries or any other options you may have to consider to keep your business running.

5) How do they act in an unconventional interview environment?

Traditional interviews are usually conducted in an office setting. If engaging in a second interview with your chosen candidates, try taking them onto the sales floor and see how they interact with your existing staff members and even customers. Do they smile? Are they pleasant and polite? Are they naturally engaging?

These are a couple of questions to keep in mind when evaluating the situation. Conducting role-play situations can also help you determine how people interact with others in typical sales-type encounters. It can be a valuable way in helping you decide if that hire is a good fit for your business.