All I want for Christmas is learning
As a child I remember going to the local shopping centre, sitting on Santa’s knee and having a photo. Then Santa would ask me, “What would you like for Christmas?” I would rattle off a long list of the latest action figures, a skateboard, a basketball hoop and of course lollies and chocolates. I bet you’ve done that at least once before, right?
Now, imagine that instead of delivering gifts under your Christmas tree, Santa was designing your latest training programme. There you are sitting on his knee and he asks you, “What do you want your training programme to be like?” How would you respond?
You could start by listing every possible thing you want your staff to know just in case they ever need to know it. Your list might include everything from the history of your industry and where all your offices are located down to how your product works, what to do if it breaks and what the logo means.
Alternatively, you could think of all the jingle bells and whistles you’d like to see. “Some roll overs, a couple of pop-ups, a multi-choice quiz, and then they can click a button and a spaceship appears and blows up all the frequently asked questions!”
Yes there is some knowledge that your staff need so they can do their job and when it comes to e-learning there will be some interactivity. But, the problem with both these approaches is that neither of them is what you really want from Santa (or your training programme).
So what do you really want?
You want learning that works, for you and your staff. How do you get that? Here are four things to ask your training Santa for this Christmas.
1. What’s your goal?
Your organisation has a need to fill for example, when there’s a new product staff need to sell. Or you have a problem to solve – your staff aren’t selling enough products. Fulfilling this need or solving this problem is what you really want to happen. That’s your goal. The knowledge staff will gain or the pop-ups in their module are only worth it if they help to achieve the goal.
2. What does great look like?
Next you should think about how you will know if you’ve achieved your goal. What will your new reality be? Will sales increase by 23% or will staff sell 8,000 units of your new product in the next six months? Set a goal and decide how you’ll measure it in terms of your business results.
3. What do people need to know and do?
Here is where information like the list of product features and the five steps to closing a sale come in. Don’t try to think of everything. Even Santa doesn’t bring everything on your list. What knowledge do people absolutely need to produce the business results that achieve your goal? What new skills do they need to develop and what behaviours do they need to display?
4. How will people learn?
At this point it is probably best if you hop off Santa’s knee and let your learner’s give their list. I bet they won’t say they want to read through pages and pages of text, or watch a trainer read bullet points from PowerPoint slides. What they might ask for is learning that is engaging and relevant to them, activities that challenge them to think and make decisions, chances to work in groups or alone and practical exercises that relate to their job in the real world.
There you have it!
- A business goal
- Results you can measure
- Only the things people need to learn
- People-friendly methods of learning
The ultimate Christmas list for learning that works.
So next time you’re asked what you want your training programme to be like, follow these four steps and o’er the field’s [you’ll] go, laughing all the way!
