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5 Steps to Simplifying Association Training

Two goals that exist in all associations and nonprofits are: 1. the education of members; and 2. the training of volunteers.  The problems in achieving both goals are similar: how do we present the training or learning in the most engaging manner possible? How do we make it consistent across offices and chapters?  

In associations and non-profits, there are often various layers of technology and traditional learning that are being used inconsistently depending on the facilitator and the audience.  Other times, the facilitators simply don’t know about, or know how to organise, the various resources they have at their disposal.

Here, we’ve put together some ideas on how you can solve these problems:

1. Make sure that all of your training and learning content is available online

With today’s busy schedules, making your educational content as accessible as possible is paramount.  Many associations and not-for-profit organisations are drowning in paper. There may even be various offices or chapters using distinctly different sets of educational content, and some of which may no longer be relevant.  Information, content and communication, can be centralized online and version controlled, to maintain consistency across national organisations or multiple chapters. 

A new report by the Non-profit Technology Network shows that 75% of surveyed organization members are familiar with some sort of on-line training for their employees, volunteers or members.  Another 2015 report from eLearning Industry found that 77% of organisations use some type of e-learning tool in their training.

A recent survey by NTEN, shows what types of e-learning technology are currently in use in associations and non-profit organisations.

2. Get the right content management system (CMS) for your organisation

There are a thousand and one CMS platforms out there.  Many claim to be a one stop shop for all your needs, while others are customizable and costly.  Take time to review your specific organisation’s needs before investing in new software.  Make sure you have a solid idea of what type of training you will be presenting, and what types of media you might be using.  

The best modern eLearning solutions take advantage of a vast array of different media types, like video, audio, games and interactive components.   You’ll also want to have an idea of what the learning goals are going to be, and what kind of data you’ll want to gather from learners in the system.  

This pre-planning will better equip you to choose the right platform, and not over-spend on expensive customizations or upgrades at later dates.  A report of 800 non-profits put together by NPEngaged.com showed there are more than 90 CMS platforms in use currently.  Most of which are only running one or 2 small components of a non-profit’s web infrastructure.  WordPress lead the pack of most used platforms.  

Source: NPEngage.com @bkgranger 

3. Develop your eLearning

Modern eLearning is no longer just webinars or dry PowerPoint presentations uploaded to the web.  The development of educational games, simulations, interactive videos, virtual reality and augmented reality is helping eLearning to become more engaging for learners, and is also giving administrators and facilitators more data. Data from eLearning can be used to re-iterate training plans, update resources that are not working, and discover what type of resources are working well with your user base.  You can also make use of self-directed learning courses that can be made available in bite-sized portions for busy association executives and members.  Self-directed learning can employ narrative, branching choices and your learners’ own motivations to help engage them with the content.

4. Make use of gamification

First off, gamification does not specifically refer to games, but instead means using game-like mechanics to enhance the user experience. Gamification can, help guide learners through the system, and keep administrators and facilitators motivated to keep logging in and taking a next step in their learning pathway.   

That said, adding gamification to learning and training solution is not a simple task.  The first step is taking time to dive into your users’, administrators’ and facilitators’ needs and motivations.  Slapping on badges or points isn’t going to work long term. Gamification only works if you do your homework first, and design various levels of gamification into your systems to coax users through the content, and reward them at various stages for performing positive actions, like starting a new course, or giving feedback to learners. 

Read our blog on Game Based Learning Vs Gamification, and take a look at the best use cases of gamification in this post via WePlay.co.  We’ve also put together some easy ways you can add gamification to your organisation, with or without tech involved. 

5. Use your community to help develop your education program

The advantage of opening content to your online community is the ability to get feedback directly from the people who use your educational and training content the most. 

This can be done traditionally through surveys, collaboratively through discussion boards, or analytically using data collection. In the latter, user data tells you how, when, and for how long different components of your educational content is being used, and can help you roll out changes that best reflect the behaviours of your learners.

Anything we missed?  Let us know on Twitter.  How are you making education and training simpler in your organisations?