You did the research. You created the content. You even got people to take your course. But it still wasn’t a success. Forgetful learners, unenthused managers, and a lack of engagement caused your training session to fall flat.
Insanity is often defined as doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results each time. If your training is ineffectual, you know all too well how exhausting it can be to plan and prep, only to have it become a total dud for your purposes. And, whether you’re in L&D or HR, there’s a good chance that the same mistakes are happening over and over again.
Give your training a makeover by identifying if one of the following reasons might be the culprit for an epic fail in training so you can stop what doesn’t work and focus on success.
Choppy Workflow
Workflow is an important part of training, but it’s often forgotten. By the time you’ve developed and built learning modules, you might have missed the fact that learner retention is driven by much more than something displayed on a screen.
True learning occurs with components before, during, and after training. Before the training begins, proving its worth to learners gets them excited and invested. During training, engaging content keeps them glued. Afterward, a chance to recall and practice their newfound skill and knowledge creates a stronger connection between learning and learner.
A lack of workflow and follow-up can definitely lead to learning that isn’t as effective or impactful as it should be. Make sure that your plans have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
No Manager Buy-In
If the C-suite doesn’t care about eLearning and training, it’s hard to get employees to listen up. Manager buy-in sometimes requires you to showcase the benefits of new training to those who make the decisions and lead employees, otherwise it could cause an epic fail.
It’s really about strategic alignment: Training must benefit the rest of the business. It’s not just about training sales managers; it’s about training sales managers to improve profits and reduce costs. Without that strategic alignment, learning simply floats untethered, without support from managers or interest from employees.
Unbalanced Tech
A good instructional designer knows how to walk the fine line between treating technology as a powerful ally and using way too much of a good thing. After all, adding tech components to training applications–think mobile accessibility, media presentations, and even social media-based learning–can definitely improve engagement, but overdoing it can be overwhelming and impersonal.
A blended approach to the classroom, where some lessons are done face-to-face and the others are accessed via computer, smartphone, or tablet, is typically the best course. This allows collaboration and discussion without weighing learners down with mandatory meetings and superfluous information. Getting too tech-based (or ignoring tech altogether) can make for a one-dimensional approach to learning.
If you feel like your training is falling flat again and again, it’s probably time to alter your approach. Isolating the things that are holding you back and utilizing more of the tools at your disposal can help right even a sinking L&D initiative–as long as you’re willing to make the change.
