5 Ways to Foster Employee Engagement with Online Learning

Learning opportunities not only make your organization more attractive to candidates but can also increase retention. 

Importance of LinkedIn learning for employee engagement

Providing LinkedIn Learning to your employees is a smart investment worth making for many reasons. Therefore, investing in your people to help them leverage the power of LinkedIn and build their professional brands is a smart business move. Surely, your organization will benefit and so will your employees.

LinkedIn’s on-demand online learning experiences were responsive to the needs of today’s rapidly evolving workforce. The goal was simple: reimagining online learning by creating a learning platform to boost greater employee engagement.

5 ways to foster employee engagement with online learning

Here are 5 ways to develop a culture of engagement with online learning: 

1. Making Learning a Priority Since Onboarding

The best time to start a new habit is when there’s a clean slate. Introducing online learning through your onboarding experience helps employees make an early habit of learning on demand rather than waiting for a training. Consider a blended orientation model, such as assigning pre- or post- work through your online learning platform. Learning content around employee function and company values, for example, are a natural fit for online training during onboarding. 

Tip: With LinkedIn Learning, you can create a new hire group in the platform to guide new employees to online learning content unique to them. Use the Custom Content feature to send a video of your executive welcoming them to the company.

2. Incorporating Online Learning into Performance Reviews

By incorporating online learning into performance reviews, it becomes an employee-driven, employee-centric experience that benefits everyone: the employee, the manager, and the organization.

Tip: With LinkedIn Learning, you can give managers sub-admin permissions to curate online learning content and set reminders for employees.

3. Leveraging Managers to Urge Employees to Learn

According to the 2018 Workplace Learning Report, two-thirds of learners would be motivated to spend more time learning if their direct managers were involved in their workplace learning. 70 According to Gallup, managers account for at least 70 percent of employee engagement scores. 56 percent of employees say they would spend more time learning if their manager suggested a course to improve skills.

Tip: LinkedIn Learning sub-admin permissions enable managers to assign learning content to their employees. 

4. Pushing Online Learning Through Leadership

One of the most important elements to building a culture of learning is the support of your leadership team. Executives give employees permission to take time to learn at work and set the tone for a learning culture. They can also play a role in mobilizing the organization from the top, ensuring managers make learning a priority for their teams. As per LinkedIn, 90 percent of executives say that learning and development is a necessary employee benefit.

Tip: LinkedIn Learning enables you to upload and publish a custom video message or learning content from your executives. 

5. Creating Gamification Schemes for Online Learning

Online learning is easy to gamify. Employees can learn on-demand—whenever, wherever—and you can easily track and share the status of the competition. What starts as a game-winning strategy for employees can quickly turn into a learning habit. 

Tip: With LinkedIn Learning social features, employees can see who is watching what courses to get ahead of the competition.