This post is adapted from my book Ingaging Leadership. A new and expanded edition will soon be released by Motivational Press.

How are you currently motivating your employees to take your training?

I would like to offer my opinion that if your employees are saying, “I am going to take the training because I am required to,” you are not doing enough to motivate them to sign up and learn. Let’s explore a better way.

Use “What’s In It for Me?”

Trumpet an immediate benefit that employees will get from taking your training – a benefit that is clear, immediate and significant. Then communicate that benefit by announcing your training with promises like these . . .

• “Increase your commissions by 50% after only two hours of training”
• “Power Hour: Drive repeat business in your store with these five simple practices”
• “Learn to use our new point of sale system in only one hour of training”
• “Master 10 tactics for filing your T&E reports in only 15 minutes a week, so you can get back to work”
• “Learn to cut employee turnover by 75% in a half day of training with top retention expert”

Value propositions like those are called “WIIFM” statements – “What’s In It For Me?” To use them to increase training enrollment and enthusiasm, be sure to communicate them where they cannot be missed. Use them in the subject lines of the emails you use to announce your training programs. Use them in the titles of your training programs. In short, don’t bury your WIIFM statements in the middle of your descriptions of your training programs, where people can easily miss them.

I encourage you to use WIIFM and to let me know how it is working for you and your training. I predict that this simple approach will quickly energize your training and your trainees.