With more and more research emerging on how diverse people’s learning preferences truly are, gone are the days of a one-size-fits-all approach to employee training content. And hardly anyone is feeling this shift more than the HR and L&D managers responsible for training frontline workers. 

Frontline workers may be the most diverse group in your organization, after all. Think about it—not only do they come from different backgrounds, age groups and socioeconomic statuses, but their growth objectives at your company might also vary wildly. 

While some of your workforce may be students working a summer job, others may be looking more long-term, seeking growth opportunities like cross-training or tracks to management. And with so many types of employee learning content to choose from—training videos, interactive content and podcasts, just to name a few—no wonder that your L&D team’s heads may be spinning while determining how to align training content development with such diverse learning preferences and needs.

To help level set, we’re unpacking 17 examples of employee training content and exploring the benefits and detractors so that you can make an informed decision on what types of training materials are the best fit for your employee training programs. Let’s dive in! 

What is training content?

Training content generally refers to the materials, resources and information that are provided to employees during their onboarding and beyond. No matter the industry—retail, hotels, restaurants or generally any company with customer-facing, frontline roles—content is essential to an employee training program and ensures your frontline staff feel equipped and enabled to perform their jobs effectively and safely. 

Some companies may create a custom training program, either outsourcing content development or building it in-house. Others may tap into a library of existing training content to cut down on costs and employee workload. Some employee training programs lean more towards in-person learning sessions, while others take an e-learning approach, possibly housing their content in a learning management system (LMS). 

Whatever your approach, L&D teams should first focus on solidifying their program’s learning objectives by establishing specific, measurable training goals. Ask yourself, what knowledge and skills do our frontline employees need to possess in order to do their jobs well in safety, compliance, customer service and product training? 

Once you’ve established your learning objectives, it’s time to develop learning material that aligns with those goals. Take a look at these types of training content to help inform which ones work best for your organization. 

Types of training content

1. Slides

When you think of a traditional employee training session, what comes to mind? Perhaps a group of onboarding employees sitting in a classroom or a break room, while managers or corporate training members walk through PowerPoint presentations of on-the-job knowledge and skills? 

There’s a reason slide presentations have been used for employee training content for years. They’re an inexpensive and convenient way for information to be presented. However, training presentations can often include text-heavy slides, which may be ineffective for certain learning styles. And although these presentation slides may be supplemented with breakout sessions or Q&As, they are primarily designed to be delivered in an instructor-led training format—another learning methodology that has its drawbacks.

2. Charts and graphs

Data visualization, in the form of charts, graphs, infographics and diagrams, makes complex information easier for employees to digest—and can improve the accessibility of job aids for those who are visual learners.

3. Images

Images may be included in a slide presentation, or perhaps as a safety reminder, such as a WHMIS or OSHA poster hung in the break room. Though images are great at quickly conveying information, they are less effective at communicating more complex and nuanced information. Therefore, images as training materials are best served in conjunction with other content. 

4. Screenshots

For frontline jobs that require training on technologies like POS systems or tablets, screenshots are handy tools that provide step-by-step instructions on how to use the devices. Again, images like screenshots aren’t as effective at communicating deep industry knowledge or skills and should complement other training materials, not replace them. 

5. GIFs

GIFs—short, looped videos that are only a few seconds long—can also be useful as instructional materials that communicate information quickly. George Hanshaw, Director of eLearning Operations at Los Angeles Pacific University, discovered the value of using GIFs to teach hands-on skills like soldering. 

6. Videos

Video content and other visual education materials have been found to be up to 83% more effective at enabling learners to retain information for extended periods. When it comes to the style and content development of training videos, there are endless options to suit your learning objectives, whether that’s animated elements, graphics, whiteboard animation or live actors who may speak to the trainees directly or act out scenarios that demonstrate best practices in common on-the-job situations. Video training content can also be easily integrated into e-learning courses that live in your company’s learning management systems. 

The main drawback of video content is that long courses that cover numerous topics may be hard to update and change and become costly—both in terms of budget and time—as your training process changes or learning objectives shift. 

7. Interviews

One-on-one conversations (between a frontline worker and a manager, for example) can provide helpful real-time feedback for trainees in smaller settings, though this approach isn’t easily scalable.

8. Podcasts

Podcasts have exploded as a way for people to consume content over the last five to 10 years. According to Podcasts Statistics Worldwide, 464 million people listened to podcasts last year. For companies striving for a more adaptive, personalized learning process, podcasts are a way to meet your employees’ unique learning needs by creating the type of content they’re already consuming on a day-to-day basis. As an audio medium, however, podcasts leave a gap for training that would be best delivered visually, such as training on how to read warning labels on hazardous materials. 

9. Checklists

Checklists are helpful training materials for managers looking to track their teams’ learning progress. As a text-based medium not designed to communicate deep skills and knowledge, however, they’re best used in combination with other existing material. 

10. Quick Reference Guides (QRG)

Quick Reference Guides (QRG) provide a condensed set of instructions on how to perform a task. Though these 1-2 page documents are handy to have in the break room for employees to refer back to, like checklists, they are not designed to convey more than high-level knowledge and should be used to complement existing training material. 

11. Flip cards

Tactics like spaced repetition and retrieval practice help transition important information from short to long-term memory, making flip cards an effective add-on to other existing materials. 

12. E-books

On the flip side (pun intended), e-books provide a detailed, one-stop shop for on-the-job learning. However, these lengthy training materials are not optimized for frontline workers who may have various reading comprehension levels and simply don’t have time to read through large chunks of text. 

13. Interactive content

Interactive content is emerging as an increasingly popular type of training content. The tactile nature of interactive elements, plus their ability to offer instant feedback and move information from short to long-term memory, can boost employee confidence in day-to-day work beyond the moment the training material was first consumed. Types of interactive content include quizzes, simulations and games.

14. Quizzes

When integrated with a training program—perhaps as a training module in your learning management system—quizzes offer real-time feedback that further solidifies trainees’ learnings.

15. Simulations

Training simulations present an opportunity for frontline workers to test and explore their reactions to real-world scenarios. These can be particularly helpful for training your workforce on how to deal with high-stress situations, ensuring they feel equipped and prepared. 

16. Games

Integrating games into your course materials—even when they are not related to the on-the-job training itself—has been shown to help people focus on the task at hand, eliminating distractions in their learning environment. Game mechanics such as points, rewards and leaderboards can foster a sense of camaraderie and healthy competition amongst your staff, increasing participation in your training course. 

17. Microlearning

Microlearning is a valuable approach to frontline training that combines the benefits of multiple approaches to training content. 

Microlearning, in a nutshell, delivers training materials in short, focused bites. It typically limits the learning experience to just 5 to 10 minutes a day, minimizing disruption to essential workplace operations and fitting naturally into an employee’s everyday workflow. By incorporating a wide range of media—including text, training videos, images, infographics and games—you can cater to trainees with different learning styles and preferences.

Unlike other forms of learning, microlearning platforms can apply an adaptive algorithm to identify employees’ knowledge and skill gaps, and then deliver the training modules needed to close those gaps.

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As we’ve discovered, there are countless examples of training content, just as there are seemingly endless learning preferences among frontline staff. Though each has its benefits and detractors, the most effective solution is one that suits your teams’ specific needs, keeps them engaged and delivers results.