How to Motivate Your Team: 5 Ideas for Training Success

Engaging employees in internal training and exams can be challenging, but with the right approach, you can turn it into a productive and even enjoyable experience. Here are five practical ideas to boost staff engagement and completion using quiz maker tools like ClassMarker in your training program.

1. Make it a competition

People love a bit of friendly rivalry, especially when there's something on the line. Gamifying your training process can drive motivation and make employees more likely to complete their exams and assessments.

• Example: A sales team at a mid-sized software company used leaderboards for their product training quizzes. The top scorers each month won small but exciting prizes-like a premium lunch or a gift card to their favorite store. This added element of competition kept employees engaged and pushed them to do their best.

• Use ClassMarker results and statistics to display top performers. The visibility of scores can encourage people to put in their best effort, while customizable certificates can reward the top achievers with public recognition.

2. Make It quick and mobile-friendly

Training that feels like a never-ending lecture will lose people fast. Instead, keep exams short and allow employees to take them on the go. This is especially helpful for remote or on-the-move workers.

• Example: A logistics company wanted drivers to complete safety training regularly. Instead of requiring them to sit through hour-long sessions, they split the content into 5-minute lessons with a quick exam. Drivers could complete training on their mobile devices while on break or waiting for a job.

• ClassMarker quizzes are mobile optimized to ensure quizzes are accessible on smartphones and tablets. You can also set up Question Banks to keep questions fresh and randomized for repeat quizzes.

3. Connect training to real outcomes

Sometimes, employees skip training because they don't see how it applies to their work. Show them the tangible benefits or consequences of the material they're learning.

• Example: A restaurant chain had trouble getting staff to take their food safety training seriously. They used real-world scenarios in quizzes, such as handling customer complaints or health inspection results. Employees saw how their actions had direct consequences for their work environment, making the training much more relatable.

• Use long text, scenario-based questions to simulate real situations employees might face. Including multimedia content, like images or short videos, can further make these scenarios feel relevant.

4. Break up the training Into phases

Rather than overwhelming staff with a large amount of information at once, consider splitting the training into smaller, more manageable chunks spread over a few days or weeks.

• Example: A marketing agency broke up its training on new social media guidelines into three weekly quizzes. This phased approach helped staff absorb the material better and reduced the stress of cramming everything into one session.

• Use quiz availability to phase content over time. Reminders can also be set up to notify employees of upcoming assessments.

5. Gather feedback and act on it

Employees will feel more motivated to complete training if they see that their input is valued. After running a set of training sessions, ask staff for feedback on what worked and what didn't-and be prepared to make changes.

Example: A retail company used feedback surveys to understand why staff weren't engaging with a product knowledge course. They learned that staff preferred shorter, more interactive content. After updating the material, completion rates improved by 40%.

Use Classmarker surveys after your exams to collect comments and suggestions at the end of each training module. Reviewing these insights can help you tailor future training sessions to better suit employees' needs.

Boosting employee engagement with training and exams doesn't have to be a daunting task. Gamifying assessments, keeping them short, connecting content to real outcomes and gathering staff feedback, can be effective strategies for higher completion rates and a more enthusiastic workforce.