How do you motivate employees?

In the previous blog, we talked about the recruitment and selection from new employees. Among other things, we discussed that you should focus primarily on applicants' talents and skills, and less on the presence or absence of diplomas. Any further training is always possible. That is our conviction. Internal training courses are increasingly becoming the norm, and these can also be facilitated online very well. This is how you create a team that has the right skills and the necessary knowledge, fully tailored to your organisation or position.

But now you might be thinking one step further. Because after hiring the right staff, you will therefore have to make a training offer available. But what if your employees are working remotely or have already completed a long course of study? Not entirely incomprehensible if you ask yourself:

How do you motivate employees for (online) training?

Great question! We are happy to help you with that.

How do you motivate employees for (online) training?

If you want to motivate your employees for any task or project, it's wise to focus on their intrinsic motivation. But what does intrinsic motivation actually mean?

Intrinsic motivation is a form of motivation, where someone performs a task because they want to do it themselves. This is very important in education, because this is the only way the information penetrates at a level where it can be applied. Intrinsically motivated people perform better, but it emotionally costs them much less effort. What more could you want?!

Intrinsically motivated people like what they do. As a result, they push their boundaries almost unnoticed. You may know the feeling: you're reading a very thick book, but are so carried away by the story that time flies by. Before you know it, you've devoured 600 pages. Or you're playing a new video game and taking every spare moment to try to break the record. By practicing a lot, you will get better and your fun will grow.

The mental state that often goes hand in hand with a high level of intrinsic motivation is called flow. Flow seems to come almost naturally. It is therefore an excellent characteristic of intrinsic motivation. You want someone to get into the flow while going through your training or education. But that is not so easy.

Unfortunately, it doesn't always turn out to be easy to hit the right chord. An online study portal is being launched with great enthusiasm. But this one is almost not visited. Unless, of course, you make it mandatory to complete the e-learning modules. But then your employees are mainly driven by extrinsic motivation, which often means that the knowledge does not stick around as well. But, how do you motivate your employees?

At Pluvo, we regularly put together online learning platforms for all kinds of companies and organisations. Of course, we have gained many tips during this process, which we would like to share with you.

Stimulating intrinsic motivation among employees

First of all: connect to daily practice! Intrinsic motivation gets a real boost when the content of the training answers questions that the student encounters every day. So build a lot of 'oh, is that right?! ' -moments in, so that the student always has a connection between theory and practice and can immediately apply what has been learned in the work.

The topics don't always have to be big and compelling. Start the training by harvesting low-hanging fruit: link theoretical knowledge to those minor irritations and time-wasters that can be removed with a handy trick or fact. The recognition makes the participant enthusiastic and creates a curiosity for more course material.

In addition, it is good to know that experiencing autonomy significantly increases intrinsic motivation. Of course, there are qualification and training requirements that must be met. But especially with e-learning, it is quite easy to turn different knobs and put together a training program that suits the student completely.

Especially online, there are several roads that lead to Rome. Take advantage of that flexibility. Make sure that someone within your knowledge platform can choose from various alternatives, in order to ultimately tick all the necessary qualifications.

Does he already have certain knowledge? Optionally, test it with some control questions and, if you have a sufficient score, offer an exemption, or an extra in-depth look. This is how the development of your employees never up.

You can read more about this knowledge testing through e-learning!

Playfully working on employee development

A lot of teaching material can easily be offered in a playful way. In fact, it is precisely by using options such as a quiz or competition that someone is triggered to think extra deeply about certain things. In this way, the knowledge is also stored very well in the memory.

Installing a game element has another advantage: it's fun! It promotes creativity, interconnection and fun factor. And then the circle is complete again: pleasure is the driving force behind intrinsic motivation.

Did you know that a game element can also help your employees motivate each other? Take care of each other sharing knowledge in your organisation! Super good for the connection within the team and for the work results.

More tips for intrinsic motivation

Then we have two important tips to give you, about:

1. The guidance.

No matter how beautiful your digital knowledge platform is, almost every student needs' warm 'support sometimes. A human supervisor trumps every chatbot or mailbox. He can move around easily and asks where an automated system drops out.

So make sure it's easy to contact a 'real' lecturer or coach, who can answer questions or offer a helping hand in difficult moments. Make a link to a contact person and clearly indicate when they can be reached.

Then don't just keep in touch digitally: a phone call or (if that's okay) a live meeting is actually nice to leave the online world!

2. The pace of the learning process.

Some people need more time to learn the subject matter than others. E-learning can adapt perfectly to individual learning needs and opportunities. Does someone go through the dust at a rapid pace? Then he can accelerate with peace of mind.

Don't make it too easy, there may be some challenge in it. Motivation grows when there is something new to learn.

‍A slower student, or someone dealing with difficult conditions at home or at work, may benefit from some extra supportive modules, or a repetition of a lesson. Of course, that is no problem with e-learning.

By being able to adjust this themselves, the employee continues to feel comfortable in the training. If he stays connected to the course material, he will not easily drop out of frustration, but will continue to be motivated.

Already motivated yourself?

Hopefully, you now have enough tools, and you know how to motivate your employees to learn. But what about your motivation? Are you already intrinsically motivated Are you interested in getting started with an online learning environment? Then quickly discover the possibilities of Pluvo!