What makes it so difficult to qualify and train service employees? Is it the lack of time? The limited budget? Or a lack of motivation for training among employees?
In the end, all three and often more factors play a role when it comes to the question if on-the-job training should be offered on a regular basis. Too often it is refrained from – a mistake! Obstacles can be removed very fast, as the following 3 thoughts shall show.
Train faster
Neither building nor following service training needs to cost a lot of time. More often than not, companies already have relevant material at hand. This material can be quickly converted into online training using eLearning software. Participants then complete the training independently when and where they want. This is how goal-oriented learning at a convenient time becomes possible.
Conventional on-premise training already takes more time as travel time, coffee breaks, etc. have to be considered. Plus, participants do not always pay the same amount of attention. The specific advantage of eLearning is that participants can pause and then resume their training when time and capacity for new information are available again.
Reduce costs
If fewer meetings take place and the service training is held online – at least in parts – a lot of money can be saved. On the other hand, eLearning also costs money – especially if it is produced by external parties. A possibility to keep the costs low is the production of eLearning content by one’s own employees. It is impressive how effective self-produced pieces of training can be if employees have software that supports the process from beginning to end.
Such software does not need to be highly expensive, especially if a software-as-a-service solution is the choice. The advantage is that costs for implementation are eliminated and simply a monthly fee is paid to the provider. The safe hosting of data is already included in these fees. Software-as-a-service as a standardized product for companies is quite cost-efficient. Nevertheless, company-specific adaptions are often possible: on the one hand through the individual branding of the platform, and on the other hand through cooperation with the provider who might support additional functions for free and with pleasure.
Increase motivation
There is a dilemma: On the one hand, employees want to be up to date. They want to be familiar with the latest developments and have a sense of expertise about different processes within the company. On the other hand, they often feel that training is time-consuming and boring. Too often, information is rather dry and has little practical relevance, especially if the training is designed by external lecturers. This can be avoided by offering internally designed pieces of training – by employees for employees, so to speak.
Unfortunately, internally created training is mainly based on written information: PDF, PowerPoint, and other text documents. These can be easily converted into online training. However, the training still does not really become interactive and motivating this way. It is therefore recommended to enrich the training. Small tests, films, and surveys help to involve the participants more strongly. In addition, there are social components to prevent participants from feeling left alone while training. When it comes to online training this is an important factor, since eLearning is quickly perceived as an anti-social learning method – which it is not supposed to be! With eLearning, a company provides flexibility and independence. Nonetheless, contact between coaches and participants should always be maintained, whether within the training platform or offline.
How to train service employees with Coursepath
Coursepath is an eLearning platform wherein you quickly create interactive training. It provides all features belonging to learning management: participant overviews, reporting, and technical support such as linking with other systems. For small and medium-sized businesses such as in the automotive service field, it is especially important that no software has to be loaded. And no support from technical employees should be needed. Instead, the responsible employee – for example the sales manager – manages everything themselves: From setting up the platform and creating the courses, to giving feedback to the participants. Of course, they receive support from colleagues. E.g. an assistant can add participants, or an author supplies content and test questions for the courses. Coursepath ensures quick and easy handling of further education for all members of the platform. Since there is hardly any time needed to familiarize with the platform, training with Coursepath is particularly fast. With the time saved, especially small and medium-sized companies in the service sector have an advantage, since they have more time for internal processes and, first and foremost, their customer service.
Would you like to know more about easy academy and eLearning management?
Schedule an appointment with us for a quick webinar. We are happy to show you how you can use Coursepath to create your own online training and set up a full-fledged academy.
