2021 Rewind: 10 Top Online Education Blog Posts from Northpass

Well, we made it and 2021 is just about in the books. If you’re like me, you look forward to spending some time reflecting on the past 365 days to see what you did well and what could use some improvement. 

As a Content Marketer, much of my reflection revolves around, you guessed it, the content. A deep dive into Google Analytics and Search Console gives me a good sense of what performed best, which topics are worthy of more content and which ones I should avoid. 

But, I also believe there’s value for you, too, as I think there’s a strong correlation between top-performing content and the topics you need to know about to be successful in your roles. 

So, with that said, here’s a roundup of the most popular articles on the Northpass blog in 2021.

1. How to Create Online Training Courses in 5 Incredibly Easy Steps
   
   While we talk about online training all day and all night here at Northpass, the reality is that online training is still early in its evolution. Many companies are searching for resources to get their programs started. To launch quickly, it’s also a good idea to learn what other organizations do to create their courses. That's why this article is always a popular one. (If you’re starting out, check out #5 as well)
2. 7 Ways to Improve Your Customer Education Strategy in 2022
   
   Online customer education became a vital part of many organizations this past year. Being stuck at home and then going out again and then back to being stuck at home. Customer education has changed forever. Customer service and L&D teams must think about their strategy differently. These are a few of the best ways we’ve seen teams improving their customer education strategy for growth in 2022. Onto the next!
3. How to Measure the Effectiveness of Online Training (+ How to Get Leadership Buy-in)
   
   I love to see it. Online training is a long-term play; it’s not something you’re supposed to get right the first time. Head over to the Wayback Machine and look at the HubSpot Academy (or just click here). Look at the transformation between 2011 and now. It’s staggering and a reflection of HubSpot’s commitment to measuring performance and making strategic adjustments to improve it. The popularity of this post shows that others are making similar moves.
4. How to Improve Performance Management Through Training
   
   “I don’t want to improve,” said no one ever. No one — and I mean no one — accepts a job expecting to be in that role forever. They want to grow. Advance their careers. Take on more responsibility. In fact, a lack of career development is one of the biggest reasons people are leaving their jobs during the “Great Resignation.” A consistent commitment to performance management is the answer.
5. The Beginner's Guide to Creating an Online Training Program
   
   Online training is gaining SERIOUS steam, meaning many companies are dipping their toes into this world for the first time. The fact that this guide continues to get attention reflects that. If you’re one of the people who read this in 2021, props to you. Keep going.
6. SMART Goals Template for Strategic and Data-Driven Managers
   
   Goals are great. Except when they don’t make any sense or have no ties to an employee’s roles. Not only do your employees want training and opportunities to advance their careers, but they want to come together with their manager to make sure both parties are aligned and that they’re moving down the intended path. Clearly, more managers realize that and search the interwebs for content that can help them do that.
7. Employee Training Manual Template
   
   Ok, so this isn’t directly on our blog, but it caught my attention when I was scrolling through Google Analytics. In conjunction with the other top-performing content related to employee training, it’s clear that this is an initiative near and dear to a lot of companies’ hearts. The difference with this one is that it’s farther down the path. So, not only are companies thinking about employee training, but they’re making moves to put a plan into action.
8. A Super Easy 5-step LMS Implementation Project Plan
   
   Buckle up, ladies and gents. We’re entering the future. And by the future, I mean powering your learning programs with LMSs. Merely starting an online training program isn’t enough. To truly be successful, they need an LMS to automate many of the tasks, measure performance, and overall, just make learning fun.
9. eLearning Terms Glossary
   
   Is there a word on the tip of your tongue? How about a definition? We got you (and a lot of others) covered.
10. Introducing Northpass for HubSpot
    
    If you’re wondering, I’m smiling right now. We launched Northpass for HubSpot on the last day of June, but that didn’t stop this post from soaring up the charts. It’s great to see more learning teams gaining table stakes and weaving their technology together with other internal teams, namely Marketing, Sales and Services.

Final Thoughts

I have a lot of thoughts running through my head right now, but one sticks out: Online education is the talk of the town among both L&D newbies and pros. And to me, that’s the best news I could ask for after the past year.