Where do trainers fit in the game?
As always, trainers need to know their audience. Reinforcement can be anything that motivates the learners. Thats why deeply understanding the learner demographic is key not only to the trainings success, but to their ongoing motivation on the job. One fundamental rule is that people enjoy experiences that make them feel capable, successful that enhance their self-esteem. Such experiences include solving puzzles, winning games, receiving recognition and applause from others. So a reinforcement can be anything from an animation or video of applause and fireworks or balloons, to a pure-fun brief game of Whack-a-Mole, to a printable coupon for a 15-minute neck and shoulder massage at the company gym. Phun is no longer a four-letter word. Trainers who know what motivates employees will know how to reinforce their learning. In the last ten years, neuroscience has found out a lot about the brain and how we come to recall what we remember best. Those discoveries have been applied by training
