“What’s in it for me?” is one of those questions that changes drastically based on your tone of voice. Said indignantly, it sounds like a challenge. Asked thoughtfully, however, it could be the key to what your current eLearning efforts are missing. The “What’s in it for me?” or WIIFM, principle, is something we use to design all of our courses as a way to consider how intrinsic and extrinsic motivation works as a tool for learning.
Ask yourself the question right now: What’s in it for you to learn more about WIIFM? The answer is personal, but we can promise that understanding WIIFM from a learner’s point of view could be the secret to unlocking and increasing eLearning value.
Understanding “What’s in it for me?” in eLearning
All day, every day, we make decisions based on what’s best for us at the moment. Should I go to the grocery store or stop for fast food on the way home? Should I watch another episode of a show or go to bed? Should I attend a voluntary training meeting in person or should I just read through the transcripts later?
The most interesting thing about these micro-decisions is that our motivations could change at any given moment, influencing our immediate behavior. One night, it might be worth it to stay up late. Another night, we’re hitting the hay early. That’s thanks to WIIFM. We aren’t just making decisions based on what’s right, but what’s right, right now. Motivations can change in seconds, and the average person is constantly making sometimes imperceptible calculations for behavior based on what will benefit them in the next 10 seconds, 10 days . . . even 10 years. Whether it’s contributing to long-term habits or short-term decisions, WIIFM simply means tapping into what motivates a person to act, change, and execute.
When designing eLearning experiences, WIIFM gives us greater insight into what makes learners tick and what drives them to make meaningful changes to their behavior. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s a purely selfish approach. We can harness individual motivation and translate it to team motivation and alignment with your organization’s goals—with the right application, that is.
What learners want: WIIFM from a learner perspective
So, what do learners want? That’s a great question. You should ask them. We have years of experience working with all kinds of different learners, organizations, and industries, so while we can’t tell you exactly what your learners want, we can give you a general idea of what drives the average learner and some clues of how WIIFM might work for you.
Personal benefits and goal fulfillment
One thing we know for sure is that change is hard. If you want your employees to change the way they’ve been doing something, you need to help them see the benefits—not just for the organization, but for the individual. Learners want to know that they’ll see positive benefits, whether that’s increased productivity, a reduction in pain points and barriers, or achieving goals. Personalized learning experiences should align with whatever those interests are.
Recognition
A Gallup poll found that employees that receive positive recognition are 20 times more likely to be engaged than those who receive poor feedback. It’s safe to say that in deciphering “What’s in it for me?” meaning, recognition is a key motivating factor.
Time vs. Output
Anytime you ask for your learners’ time and attention, you’re asking and competing for a lot. Families, friends, work, hobbies—practically every moment of the day is already spoken for. If you’re asking learners to give you their full attention, they want to know if the eventual outcome is worth the effort, time, and attention. If the input outweighs the output, it’s a hard sell.
Social gain
An often overlooked idea of WIIFM, social gain is an intense motivator when used in the right way. A paper published in the January 2022 Annual Review of Psychology suggests that, particularly in the case of adult learners, social expectations, status, friendly competition, and even rivalry can all impact how an individual works.
Opportunity for input
Everyone wants to be heard, and the opportunity for input can drive meaningful employee engagement. When learning is tied to collaboration and giving learners clear channels for feedback, the WIIFM is the ability to create change and have a positive impact. It’s a powerful way to direct learners’ voices and encourage the seeds of motivation into a full-grown movement.
Belief alignment
We can borrow this concept from consumer goods. Say a company donates a pair of shoes for every pair of shoes you buy. The WIIFM is (initially) getting a pair of shoes, but the overarching motivation also aligns with the consumer’s goal of helping others. When learners truly believe in what they’re doing, their motivation increases exponentially. That’s because, while they understand they’re benefiting from eLearning on a personal level, they also see how they are part of the bigger picture.
Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and the eLearning balancing act: 7 tips for best practices
Once you’ve decided what’s driving your learners’ decisions and behavior, you can start to build eLearning experiences that strike the right balance between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic behavior and goals. The good news? Chances are that you already have a lot in common with your learners. It’s simply about tweaking your message and delivery to remind learners that you’re all on the same page. Here are our seven best tips for using WIIFM to create better eLearning.
- Identify and get to know your target audience. It’s almost impossible to deploy WIIFM as a strategy if you don’t really know who the “me” is. Take the time to define your target audience and delve deeper into what drives them. Even a beautifully designed eLearning course will ultimately fall flat if it doesn’t speak to your audience specifically.
- Acknowledge the transaction. We know that seeing your relationship with your audience as purely transactional can feel—for the lack of a better word—icky. But it’s important to notice that there is a natural push and pull happening when you’re asking employees to change their behavior. This allows you to think of training from your learners’ perspectives and acknowledge that you need to give something in order to get something back.
- Clarify your messaging. If you know learners are craving something, it makes sense to change your messaging to speak to that. Messaging should capture the hearts and minds of your learners. If you try to “sell” your training as a way to improve company productivity, you might be met with, at best, ambivalence and, at worst, resistance. Try rethinking your messaging so that it addresses specific barriers or contributes to individual goals so learners know what’s in it for them long before they ever start the course.
- Segment learners and topics. Learners are different and so are their goals. Segmenting learners based on things like roles, objectives, teams, and topics ensures that the learning experience is relevant to their personal motivating factors.
- Offer personalization. Similarly, offering personalized learning opportunities is a game changer when it comes to intrinsic motivation. Allowing learners to skip ahead, take courses a la carte, toggle their learning environment, or spend more time on a tricky topic means that their training experience is hyper-specific to the factors that drive them.
- Pay equal attention to motivators and barriers. On the flip side of “What’s in it for me?” could be “What’s stopping me from getting it?” Understanding learning barriers is just as important as understanding learner motivation. Even driven individuals can be slowed down and even stopped by factors outside of their control. Think about accessibility, time, location, roles, and anything else that could be getting in the way of learner success.
- Ask for feedback. It’s important to check your alignment frequently throughout the learning process. It can be scary to open yourself up to feedback, but it’s part and parcel with making WIIFM a factor in eLearning. After all, you’ve promised your learners a certain outcome. What happens if they achieve it? What happens if they don’t? Ask for feedback and be willing to listen and adjust accordingly.
What’s in it for we
Here’s the secret about WIIFM—even if you’re not consciously using it, you’re subconsciously using it. Every person, no matter their role, education, situation, or background, is constantly internally hypothesizing how they’ll benefit from their actions and deciding how much or how little effort they want to expend accordingly. By considering WIIFM as a principle, you’re simply leveraging human psychology to tap into learner motivation. Tell your learners what’s in it for them, use eLearning to deliver those benefits, and you’re all the more likely to get what you want.
Want to learn more about the benefits of eLearning? Drop us a note about your project and we’ll tell you exactly what’s in it for you!
