Whether for employees or customers, there’s a lot that goes into creating an exceptional online training program. 

Goal-focused content developed by subject matter experts. An enterprise training system that supports personalized, hands-on delivery. Analytics data alongside a clear idea of critical KPIs for both optimization and value demonstration.

Yet none of the above matters without consistency. This remains true regardless of industry, audience, or training type. 

What exactly is consistency in training? 

A consistent training program follows a well-defined framework that keeps it aligned with both its desired outcome and strategic objective. Through standardization, it provides everyone with access to the same knowledge, skills, and expertise. While adaptive learning may influence focus and delivery style, the core training remains the same. 

What makes consistent training so important? 

Imagine a certification program in which every participant received different information. Picture an onboarding experience that focused on random product features. Neither seems especially useful, correct? 

That’s exactly why consistency matters. Training that lacks repeatability can’t really be measured, as there are simply far too many variables. It also creates an uneven playing field for trainees. 

On the other hand, consistent internal training ensures that each employee is able to reach the same level of competence. It’s also crucial for compliance and safety. For customer training, it contributes to a more cohesive overall experience.

There are also quite a few benefits to establishing a standardized training program, including: 

• Reduced legal exposure and reputational risk in the event of an incident related to security or compliance
• Improved knowledge retention and transfer amongst employees 
• Better on-the-job performance
• Fewer skill and knowledge gaps
• Equitability and inclusivity
• Scalable, enterprise-wide uniformity
• Faster onboarding and ramp-up

 

Best practices for training standardization

There are a few things enterprises can do to deliver more consistent, standardized training both internally and externally.

Leverage hands-on virtual labs

Enabling consistency at scale is arguably one of the biggest learning and development challenges facing large organizations. Using hands-on labs for training provides instructors and instructional designers with the capacity to easily spin up as many sessions as required without any inconsistency or quality reduction. 

What’s more, by making these labs part of a larger virtual training environment, an organization gains the ability to develop, curate, and deliver whatever resources its people need. 

Establish a strong foundation

Define training KPIs and objectives before developing any training content. Align both with the organization’s core goals during development. In addition to keeping training consistent, this also makes it easier to demonstrate ROI.  

This should include: 

• Identifying operational and compliance risks
• Performing a skills assessment 
• Surveying trainees on what they’re interested in learning
• Conferring with leadership on current operational goals
• Defining the frequency of refresher training programs
• Understanding overall learning styles, preferences, and needs

Promote a learning culture

Continuous improvement and long-term success are two of the core pillars in creating an effective employee virtual training program. Encourage staff to constantly look for new professional development opportunities. Support them in doing so, or consider creating internal training to assist. 

Measure, monitor, and iterate

Use analytics tools to keep a close watch on how people engage with training content, paying especially close attention to the following: 

• Quit points that may indicate technical issues or bottlenecks in instructional design
• Completion rate between participants
• Time to proficiency between participants
• Behavioral metrics such as feature interaction, time spent per module, etc.
• Training assessments
• Feedback on training effectiveness

Use this information to identify weaknesses and potential targets for improvement. Contextualizing the above with performance data or customer details also gives insights into the training’s overall impact on the organization.