How to Improve Annual Training Completion Rates in Post-Acute Care  

Training is a cornerstone of compliance and quality care in post-acute settings. Yet, ensuring high training completion rates can feel like an uphill battle. With both administrative resources and frontline workers already stretched thin, annual training often falls to the bottom of the priority list, risking compliance issues and potential lapses in care standards.  

Fortunately, there are simple, yet effective ways to address this challenge. Here are five tactics you can implement today to boost completion rates. 

1. Set Clear Expectations & Deadlines  

Ambiguity is the enemy of engagement. When employees don’t understand the importance of annual training and view it as just another requirement, it’s easy for them to deprioritize it. Clear communication from day one can eliminate confusion and empower employees to take ownership of their training.  

• Outline the Why: What does annual training mean for the care outcomes you provide? The answer to this question can help drive “the why” behind training for your organization. And it will likely include references to higher quality care, risk mitigation, higher client or resident satisfaction scores, and/or fewer errors. Positioning training as an essential component of care, and not just a check-the-box, can reinforce the value, and cultivate a culture that embraces continuous learning instead of pushing it to the bottom of the to-do list.  
• Define Deadlines: Specify training deadlines well in advance and allow ample time for employees to complete requirements. Continuously remind employees of training deadlines during team meetings, one-on-ones and/or reminders from your LMS or e-learning platform. Showd.me monitors completions on an ongoing basis and proactively reminds employees of available trainings via text or email, so nothing is left to question. 
• Make It Visual: Keep completion progress top of mind for managers by offering regular updates on who has met requirements. Showd.me sends completion reports directly to your inbox, making it easy to keep track of progress. To keep annual training top of mind for employees, put up a progress tracker in the breakroom and provide updates during team meetings. 

2. Offer Incentives & Celebrate Milestones

Because training is typically a paid requirement, many providers are reluctant to put incentives behind it. However, we all know, that just because something is required, doesn’t mean employees are going to prioritize it. When staff see a tangible benefit, their motivation naturally increases. And by celebrating success, you reinforce the value of training and build a positive learning culture.  

• Financial Rewards: Gift cards or even a small bonuses upon completion of training can be highly effective in driving up completion rates. These could be distributed to every individual as annual training requirements are met, or reserved for those who complete training within certain parameters. 
• Team Contests: There’s nothing like a little friendly competition to motivate employees. Offer a reward to the first team who completes training requirements. How you reward employees could be anything from a free lunch, a new uniform, new shoes, or even an extra PTO day.
• Host a Raffle: Reward employees with raffle tickets as they complete training. Tickets can be distributed based on how long it takes them to complete training once assigned, or simply based on completion. Some providers will raffle off multiple items of varying values, while others have gone as big as raffling off one big item, such as a new car. 
• End-of-Year Recognition: What gets recognized gets repeated. In fact, a study by Deloitte shows that 85% of employees are satisfied with a simple “thank you” for their efforts. If you already have an employee recognition program, consider an award for those who go above and beyond to prioritize completing annual training or those who go beyond the requirements by completing any electives your organization offers, such as leadership development or upskilling. 

3. Simplify the Learning Experience  

A complicated or inaccessible training process can discourage even the most well-intentioned employees. By reducing friction in the process, you remove excuses and make it easier for employees to get started—and stay engaged.

• Go Mobile: More and more providers are moving away from in-person training. And with good reason! The administrative logistics that support in-person training are extremely time-consuming. And many employees struggle to fit training provided outside their typical shift into their schedule, requiring them to be out of the field or off the floor. Moving training online is a win-win for everyone. LMS or e-learning platforms can free up valuable resources on your team and allow employees to finish training on their own time and pace, boosting knowledge retention. 
• Break-It-Up: Learning fatigue is real, as anyone who has sat through a 6-hour long training session can attest. If managing training in person, work to break it up by offering shorter sessions throughout the year. Logistically this can be a lot to manage and is another clear advantage of utilizing an LMS or e-learning platform, which allows you to release training in segments, whether that’s monthly, quarterly, etc. 
• Ensure Relevancy: One struggle of traditional LMS or e-learning platforms is that content is often tailored to a healthcare audience, but not necessarily a post-acute care audience. Look for a vendor who specializes in content for your specific service lines. At Showd.me, we craft our content with a patient-centered approach, ensuring it resonates with real-world practices specifically in fields like skilled nursing, assisted living, home care, and home health. We also align our language and terminology with industry standards, making our content both reliable and relevant. 

4. Gather Feedback and Act on It

Actively seeking input from employees about their training experience can uncover hidden barriers and opportunities for improvement. Plus, when employees feel heard, their more likely to be engaged, leading to better retention rates and reduced turnover. A study from Gallop shows a 15% increase in patient safety when a healthcare team is highly engaged.

• Conduct Surveys: After each training, ask employees about the format, content, and ease of use. Showd.me asks learners to rate their satisfaction after each course to ensure content is always relevant, engaging and informative. 
• Host Focus Groups: Many of you likely have employee councils or host regular town meetings to capture feedback and discuss concerns. If so, make annual training part of those discussions. If not, ask for some volunteers to participate in a quick feedback sessions to capture insights. 
• Act on Feedback: Show employees you’re listening by implementing their suggestions, such as how training is conducted, content quality, relevance, and accessibility. While you may not be able to solve every issue right away, making incremental improvements can go a long way in showing employees that their voice matters. It will also encourage others to provide feedback in the future, whether it’s in regard to annual training, software issues, benefit needs, etc. 

5. Leverage Technology to Boost Accountability  

The right technology doesn’t just make training more accessible—it creates a structure for accountability that drives completion rates. But having software isn’t always enough given the limited resources in post-acute care. That’s why it’s important to look for a vendor partner that offers great service, on top of great software, including:

• Program Recommendations & Development: Showd.me will work with your team to design programs that meet your needs, including state and federal requirements.
• Automated Enrollment: We ensure employees are enrolled in the right training program based on their department, role, unit, etc. 
• Proactive Notifications: A dedicated Account Manager continuously monitors progress and reaches out directly to employees via text or email to remind them of upcoming deadlines.  
• Progress Monitoring: Always know where you stand from a completion standpoint, with reports sent straight to your inbox. 
• End-User Support: From lost passwords to technical issues, we make sure nothing keeps employees from the training they need with multilingual end-user support. 
• Certificate Management: Documentation of training shouldn’t be a burden. Showd.me makes it easy for both employees and administrators to download certificates.

Improving training completion rates takes effort, but the benefits are worth it. Because high training completion rates aren’t just about a check-the-box requirement–they have a direct impact on client and resident outcomes, employee retention, and your overall reputation. 

Showd.me is designed with post-acute care providers in mind. We work with hundreds of organizations across the post-acute care continuum to deliver the training their employees need, from start to certificate. Our fully managed training solutions are designed to help post-acute care providers set clear goals, engage learners, and drive completion rates—93% on average, to be exact.  

If you’re frustrated by low completion rates at your organization, Showd.me can help. Click here to learn more about our fully managed service model and how we’re helping post-acute care providers see higher completion rates than ever before.