In the world of online learning, engagement is the golden ticket.

As someone who’s spent years helping organizations roll out sales training programs, I’ve seen firsthand how challenging it can be to keep learners motivated and actively participating, especially in online earning.

But the payoff for getting it right is substantial.

A recent study by the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research revealed that leaders at organizations with the most effective sales training—training that helps achieve strong sales performance and productivity—are 2.2 times more likely to strongly encourage and support continuous learning. Moreover, they’re 1.9 times more likely to ensure their sales professionals have access to and participate in virtual instructor-led training and twice as likely to provide independent self-study, including online courses.

These organizations understand the value of ongoing skill development and recognize the importance of having their sellers take advantage of the learning opportunities provided.

This is where the role of an Engagement Champion comes into play.

Think of them as the secret weapon in your online learning arsenal. This role goes beyond traditional L&D responsibilities, focusing specifically on driving participation, maintaining motivation, and ensuring the overall success of learning initiatives.

An Engagement Champion embodies the strong leadership support that organizations with highly effective sales training demonstrate. They ensure that continuous learning isn’t just a buzzword but a living, breathing part of your organization’s culture.

In this article, I’ll share why this role is crucial and how it can transform your online learning outcomes.

Defining the Engagement Champion

An Engagement Champion isn’t just another title to add to your org chart. It’s a pivotal role that can be filled by someone from L&D, HR, sales enablement, or even a particularly enthusiastic team leader. The key is finding someone with the right mix of skills and qualities.

What makes a great Engagement Champion? Look for someone who is:

• Passionate about learning and development

• Excellent at communication and relationship-building

• Data-savvy and comfortable with learning technologies

• Creative in problem-solving and strategy development

• Empathetic and able to understand learner perspectives

This role differs from traditional L&D roles in that it focuses on engagement. While L&D professionals might be concerned with content development or program design, the Engagement Champion’s primary goal is to keep learners active, motivated, and progressing through their learning journey.

Core Responsibilities of an Engagement Champion

The Engagement Champion wears many hats, but their core responsibilities include:

Driving participant engagement: This involves creating and implementing strategies to boost participation and completion rates.

Bridging the gap between online content and the seller’s world: Application coaching or application support/monitoring is critical to realize behavior change and results.

Implementing engagement strategies: From gamification to personalized learning paths, the Engagement Champion always looks for new ways to keep learners interested.

Communicating with stakeholders: Regular updates to learners, managers, and executives help keep everyone aligned and invested in the learning initiative’s success.

Monitoring progress and addressing challenges: By closely monitoring engagement metrics, the Engagement Champion can identify and address issues before they become major roadblocks.

Motivating and holding learners accountable: The Engagement Champion’s primary role is to drive accountability for learner completion. Keeping learners motivated throughout the learning journey is crucial to success.

Fostering a culture of continuous learning: Beyond individual programs, the Engagement Champion works to make learning an integral part of the organization’s culture.

Strategies Employed by Effective Engagement Champions

Successful Engagement Champions have a toolkit of strategies at their disposal. Some of the most effective include:

Personalized outreach and support: Tailoring communication and support to individual learners’ needs and preferences.

Gamification and incentive programs: Using elements like points, badges, or leaderboards to add a fun, competitive edge to learning.

Facilitating peer-to-peer learning: Creating opportunities for learners to share knowledge and experiences and foster community.

Leveraging data analytics: Using learning analytics to identify engagement trends and make data-driven decisions.

Creating and curating engaging content: Working with L&D to ensure learning content is relevant, interactive, and aligned with learner needs.

Accountability check-ins: Allow Engagement Champions to recognize participants who are completing learning and bring those who are falling behind up to speed.

The Impact of an Engagement Champion

The results delivered by an Engagement Champion can be impressive. Organizations often see:

• Increased completion rates for online courses

• Improved knowledge retention and application on the job

• Enhanced learner satisfaction and motivation

• Better alignment between learning initiatives and business goals

In essence, the Engagement Champion helps bridge the gap between learning activities, strategic priorities, and real-world application, making training more effective and valuable for both learners and the organization.

Challenges Faced by Engagement Champions

Of course, the role has its challenges. Engagement Champions often grapple with:

• Balancing engagement efforts with other responsibilities

• Overcoming resistance to change, especially in organizations new to online learning

• Maintaining momentum over long-term initiatives

• Measuring and demonstrating the ROI of engagement efforts

Addressing these challenges requires creativity, persistence, and strong support from leadership.

Best Practices for Supporting Engagement Champions

To set your Engagement Champion up for success:

Provide necessary resources and authority: Give them the tools and decision-making power they need to implement engagement strategies.

Offer training and development opportunities: Help them stay current with the latest learning technology and engagement techniques.

Ensure executive support and buy-in: Ensure leadership understands and values the Engagement Champion’s role.

Establish clear goals and KPIs: Define what success looks like and how it will be measured.

Facilitate cross-functional collaboration: Enable the Engagement Champion to work closely with L&D, IT, and other relevant departments.

Conclusion

With the growing use of online learning, the role of an Engagement Champion is becoming increasingly important. By focusing on driving participation, maintaining motivation, and ensuring the overall success of learning initiatives, this role can transform the effectiveness of your online training programs.

If your organization is serious about maximizing the impact of its online learning efforts, consider implementing the Engagement Champion role. It could be the key to unlocking the full potential of your learning initiatives and creating a truly engaged, continuous learning team.