Online training is changing. Activities are becoming more interactive, engaging and tailored to learners. Updated training content now looks better and is easier to navigate. Today, new books on instructional design and learning and development (L&D) provide fresh ideas and innovative approaches. The list of improvements goes on and on.

However, the biggest issue remains: Employees don’t want to train.

A recent study by iSpring Solutions, titled “The State of Online Corporate Training in 2024: Key Insights for Businesses and Organizations,” found that every company faces this issue to some extent and considers it one of the major barriers to better training outcomes.

The good news is that some companies have found ways to motivate employees. Even though these methods aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution, they can make it much easier to manage. In this article, you’ll learn the five methods to motivating learners that proved most effective, and which method may work better for your organization.

But first, let’s gain some context into why employees resist training, and how you can identify this lack of motivation for training.

Are They Really Too Busy to Learn?

According to iSpring’s research, most employees (68%) say they skip training because they’re too busy with their regular tasks. While this is sometimes true, if you hear it from a lot of people often, it’s just an excuse. The same is true for complaints about training format, content and lack of focus.

Excuses show how employees feel about training, not why they don’t like it. Even if you give learners time for training, they might not do it. You see, it’s not that they don’t take training seriously because they can’t make time for it. It’s the other way around. Employees won’t make time for training because they don’t take it seriously.

Why not? The actual reasons vary for each case, but most employees resist training because they:

• Aren’t motivated.
• Don’t see the point of training.
• Feel their preferences are ignored.

So, to get your learners more involved, you need to address these issues.

The 5 Best Methods to Motivate Employees

Motivation can come from inside (internal) or outside (external) sources. It can be positive, like a bonus for doing well in training, or negative, like a salary cut if a person constantly ignores training.

iSpring’s data shows that some companies (24%) use negative motivation to get employees to participate in training; however, in this article, we’ll focus on positive methods to motivating employees both intrinsically and extrinsically. They’re more common and give better results.

No.1 Explain training goals to your team at meetings.

In the survey, 67% of businesses use this method, up 3% since 2022. When employees know what the training is for, they have a better chance at staying focused and motivated. Even with such formal programs as annual compliance training, you can engage learners if you make it crystal clear why it matters and how it affects them and the business.

No.2 Have the CEO broadcast the importance of training.

Another effective way to motivate employees that goes hand in hand with the previous method is to broadcast the importance of training through senior management. It’s one thing to hear about training from a training specialist, but entirely different when you hear it from the CEO. No wonder 55% of the organizations iSpring surveyed motivate their teams using this method.

No.3 Offer financial incentives.

iSpring’s data shows that more companies are using rewards for completing training (up 18% from 2022). Even though this constitutes less than one-half of all companies surveyed, the dynamic is still impressive. The reason rewards are becoming increasingly popular is simple — they are efficacious. Fewer employees skip training (4.2%) and complain about it (8.4%) in companies with a well-developed reward system.

Plus, these organizations state that learners are more focused and complete homework assignments more often. So, if you have the resources to provide financial incentives, they are definitely worth the investment.

No.4 Provide diverse and blended training experiences.

Data provided by the respondents in the survey shows that organizations often deliver content in formats that fail to connect with all learners effectively. This can potentially lead to reduced comprehension, lower knowledge retention rates, and a diminished overall impact of the training.

To avoid these issues, organizations should implement a variety of formats, such as interactive modules, multimedia presentations, and hands-on activities. This variety of training deliveries can ensure that you are catering to different learning preferences and, consequently, achieving greater engagement.

Blended learning is also an effective strategy worth considering. It allows companies to leverage face-to-face interactions (which, as shown by the survey, is a format that many employees feel is lacking in modern training) while integrating the flexibility of digital content.

No.5: Ask employees what they think of the training projects.

Finally, companies that collect and analyze trainee feedback regularly manage to create and deliver more relevant and engaging training, thus achieving better training results.

When you gather insights directly from participants, you can gain valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your training content and format. This allows employees to see that their opinions matter, and that they have a voice in improving the training process to tailor it to their individual learning needs and preferences.

In Conclusion

While employee resistance to training poses a significant challenge, it’s not insurmountable. Implementing these strategies can enable you to enhance learner motivation and engagement, and ultimately, achieve more effective training outcomes.