How to Write Learning Objectives for Employee Training: A Practical Beginner's Guide (2023)

How to write successful learning goals

Learning objectives describe the learning outcomes of a training course. It sounds like a simple task, and it is. Therein lies the challenge. You only have a few sentences to summarize the learning outcomes of your course in a way that employees resonate with.

But why should you care about learning objectives? Can a few words really make a difference? Good yes. The development of learning goals plays an important role in training and ultimately contributes to the success of your company.

Sometimes employees don't see the purpose of training. Clear learning objectives are the best way to convey the tangible benefits of your course to employees and get them to participate wholeheartedly.

Even if you don't have much experience writing learning objectives, fear not. To write learning objectives for employee training, beginner's edition:

1. Align learning goals with your business goals

They create online training courses to improve employee performance. So your first step should beAlign your training goals with your business goals. Thinking about your future goals is a good place to start: what do you hope your company will achieve in the next X months (remember to set a specific number there)?

Then go back to your team and think about how your training will help your organization achieve its goals. When you're done, review the business goals and make sure they still align with your training goals.

2. Keep them short and simple

Remember to keep your learning goals short and concise. One or two sentences will suffice. In the meantime, try to be as specific as possible. You don't need to go into the details of the learning material, just focus on the learning outcomes. Use simple language and don't make exaggerated statements. Otherwise, your learning goals will sound like sales pitches.

It helps to formulate learning goals according to a fixed format. This format should include a timeline (but not necessarily a deadline), an audience, a measurable action verb that describes the learning outcome, and any details needed to complete the description.

Learning objectives for eLearning should be as follows: "At the end of the training (deadline), project managers (audience) will be able to delegate tasks (action verb) (details) more efficiently."

3. Be specific

Learning objectives should address a specific pain point, not generic learning objectives. Employees want to know what to expect from training. Ideally, it should be something relevant to your needs.

For example, you want to increase sales. Your first instinct might tell you that your learning goal is to improve your sales skills. But that's more of a learning goal than a learning goal. In this case, in order to improve sales skills, you need to improve several individual skills. This can be product knowledge or interpersonal skills. How do you know what your employees need? Do you dare to take a lucky break?

The key to identifying knowledge gaps and writing meaningful learning goals is aAnalysis of training needs. Set aside time for e-learning assessments or workplace observations. This is the only way you will know what to focus your training on.

Later, your learning goals will be more like, “After this sales training, salespeople will be able to see the differences between our new line of products and our competitors.” That's a lot more specific and meaningful than “improve sales skills,” right?

4. Be realistic

Aiming high usually works well in life. But when it comes to training, it's better definedrealistic learning goals.

The results of your training needs analysis help you to assess the level of knowledge of your employees. You can adjust your learning goals accordingly, which in turn will help you articulate them more clearly. Try to find that sweet spot between challenging and discouraging employees. You should also be careful about the amount of information you put into a course.

It's hard to tell if your training goals are appropriate unless you have a lot of L&D experience. A reliable way to solve this is to create eLearning assessments in an LMS liketalentoLMS. If you see high failure rates, you need to reconsider your training plan and set new learning goals. You can also monitor student behavior through the LMS reporting tools. Do they get through the sessions quickly and still manage to pass the tests? Then you may have set the bar too low.

5. Use a Bloom taxonomy

Bloom's taxonomy was first developed in 1956 by the American educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom. It is a classification of learning goals based on the cognitive processes involved. Each learning objective corresponds to a different learning level. L&D practitioners often use this taxonomy as a guide for writing learning objectives.

Let's look at the 6 learning objectives of Bloom's taxonomy and some action verbs for each (this is not an exhaustive list). You will also find examples of training goals and goals using these verbs.

1. Remember:recognise, remember, retrieve, enumerate, name, define, compare. Remembering requires the learner to recall previously acquired knowledge. An example: "By the end of safety training, warehouse workers will be able to list the 5 most common safety hazards in a warehouse."
2. Understanding:interpret, identify, classify, explain, delimit. By now the student should have understood the information well enough to explain it to others. In IT security training courses, for example, employees learn to “recognize common security threats”.
3. Use:organize, plan, implement, execute, solve. At this level, students use the information to move from theory to practice. For example: "By the end of this time management course, telecommuters will be able to organize their workload more efficiently."
4. Analyze:categorize, classify, simplify, enumerate, distinguish, compare. The student can break down information into its component parts and see the relationship between them. For example, a healthcare information technician might “categorize patient data” after successful training in the software.
5. evaluate:select, compare, measure, determine, refute, prioritize, interpret. At this level, students are able to make judgments and decisions based on the knowledge they have acquired. A project manager can learn to "prioritize their tasks" and a quality controller to "pinpoint the quality of a product."
6. Create:develop, design, improve, adapt, solve, modify, execute. Students can create something new by combining previously acquired knowledge. Just like a sales manager can “develop a strategic sales plan” or HR professionals can “resolve conflicts in the workplace.”

6. Choose the correct verb

Development and learning goals should motivate employees to participate in training by clearly stating learning outcomes. The verb you use to describe your learning goals determines the clarity of your message.

In general, avoid generic verbs like “learn”, “understand”, “be aware”, etc. Prefer action verbs. They are more specific and measurable. Use Bloom's taxonomy to find the verb that corresponds to the desired learning outcomes.

Let's look at an example:

1. "Employees will understand waste management procedures."
2. "Employees can use waste management practices."

These two phrases try to do the same thing, but only the second gets the message across effectively.

Because "understanding" is generic, not measurable and leaves room for other questions. Yes, the staff will know. What are they to do with this knowledge?

“Apply”, on the other hand, is specific. Explain that employees will be empowered to act. It's also measurable. They can create a simulation to test if they can actually use the waste management practices.

Diploma

You might think that quality training speaks for itself, but that's not the case. You can include all the latest technologies you want. But if employees can't see the benefits of this training, they still won't jump on the right training bandwagon. Specific and measurable learning objectives should be part of yourstraining schedule. Improve your writing skills and create learning goals to help set a clear learning path and engage co-workers!