All learning is valuable, but account management training courses and other e-learning courses are more than just educational opportunities. First and foremost, they are investments. If the training does not help participants acquire new skills they can apply to the work they do, it is not worth that investment.
Precise goal-based evaluation in e-learning not only allows you to ascertain whether the participants truly grasped the material presented – it also provides an opportunity for learners who have already mastered parts of the material to skip the segments that are not useful to them. This leaves them with more time to focus on absorbing new knowledge and skills that will move them forward in their professional careers.
Why Evaluation Matters
E-learning can deliver incredibly valuable training experiences, but only if it addresses participants’ actual professional needs.
A busy professional who is forced to take time away from other important tasks to complete basic training modules on topics they have already mastered will likely not feel like their time is being respected. Even if the intent behind the training is to ensure that your entire team is on the same page, assigning the same e-learning modules to everyone is not an effective solution.
E-learning evaluation gives participants a way to prove their competency without wasting time on redundant material. For example, an account manager who specializes in serving large accounts may have enough pre-existing knowledge to pass evaluations for entry-level key account management training without completing the associated courses.
Instead of wasting their time on studies that will not improve their skills, these professionals can work on other modules that have more to offer them. The AM described above could explore more specialized training, such as managed care training programs or courses that cover the latest healthcare market research.
Evaluation also benefits participants who do need to work on the skills the training covers. By assessing multiple competencies, instructors can determine what each participant does and does not understand about the material. They can then offer additional material to supplement the standard coursework in the participant’s weakest areas.
What Good Evaluation Looks Like
To get a true understanding of a participant’s grasp of the material, an e-learning course must do more than track basic completion. Ideally, it will measure things like:
- The scores a participant received on assessments
- The time it took for them to complete the module
- How they interacted with the module
- How their metrics compare to those of others in their cohort
These measures offer much more valuable information than your standard completion rate. You can gather these details using quizzes and other traditional assessments as well as non-standard tools like games, simulations, and role-plays. The more assessment options a course offers, the more likely it is that participants will truly understand the material.
Paving the Way for Your Company’s Success
Thorough evaluation is key to making the most of your company’s training budget. The Brooks Group’s custom e-learning courses are designed to test participants’ knowledge in multiple ways, ensuring they develop the desired skills as they complete course objectives. Each course also offers branching learning pathways that allow participants to focus on the areas that are most beneficial to their unique educational needs.
Contact us today to learn more about our instructional design services and get your staff the custom learning experience they need to reach their full sales potential.