Last week, we shared tips on how you can help users to love your software by boosting user adoption. Today, we discuss the role that user training plays in driving the process of user adoption. A 2010 study by Oracle revealed that even then approximately 44% of employees found that insufficient training was a barrier to adopting new workplace technologies. Training is, therefore, a critical factor in the success of software utilization and user adoption.

Businesses must offer comprehensive user training to help their employees make the most of new software technology. Providing great training often requires meticulous planning and ongoing commitment. Here are a few tips to keep in mind, when developing a user training plan.

Keep it all in one place

Instructor-led training is important, but not essential; it can also be expensive and time consuming. A great alternative is creating a dedicated space online, a training portal, where users can log in and learn. To get the best return out of a training portal, ensure that the portal is packed with varied types of e-learning resources, including training courses, how-to-videos, quick start guides and user cheat sheets. With a training portal, users are free to learn anytime, anywhere and at their own pace.

Make it device friendly

According to recent marketing statistics, 83% of mobile users say that a seamless experience across all devices is very important. It has been estimated that mobile usage will steadily accelerate and that there will be a rise in BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) to workplaces. Any training content must therefore be accessible on mobile devices and should be optimized for multi-device usage. Device-friendly content can help trainers be more productive with their time when training users and enables users to learn on the go.

Tailor the content to the user

When more than one type of user will be using the software, it is important to offer training content to users that is relevant for them. Develop separate training content for each type of user role, such as the administrator, and make sure that it covers all the functionality that they will be using.

Introduce fun incentives for learning

There must be incentives for users who finish taking training courses or view training resources on the training portal. Give them badges that show up on their portal profile when they view a certain number of resources. Or offer a certificate of completion when they finish a training course. Keep a roll of honor that lists out the top ten users of the training portal. These incentives are sure to keep users engaged with your training content.

Keep content fresh

With time, your software will most likely be updated and undergo changes to functionality with new releases. At those times, apart from updating the existing training content, you can also introduce new content types for training, such as training quizzes or learning games. Keep your training content up-to-date and fresh. If your training content is hosted on a portal, ensure that users are informed of the changes to content. This will keep users involved with the training portal and encourage them to revisit training content.

Here at SYNETY, we understand the need to offer great training to users so that they can get the most out of their software. This is why we launched the CloudCall Academy. The Academy is an easy to access and informative learning portal. With the Academy, our customers can access consistent and relevant training videos and quick start guides on how to use CloudCall and its many features.