Scalable learning is the idea that performance will improve more rapidly if people learn faster and more efficiently. Through scaling learning, which requires the processing and disseminating of knowledge across a network, an organisation can better cope with change and disruptions in the 21st century.
To effectively scale learning across your organisation, there are three common challenges to be addressed.
Delivering consistent training can be challenging due to busy employee schedules and geographic limitations. With long travel times and major projects, attending training after work, or at weekends, could be tricky for some. On the organisation’s side, staffing issues and budgets are also roadblocks to expanding learning programs if they are conducted in traditional face-to-face learning methods. Without consistent training, learning effectiveness may be greatly undermined. A solution to face this increasingly prevalent challenge is needed now more than ever.
Solution 1
Avoiding face-to-face training on weekends or after-hours and limiting travel requirements for training may sound like an obvious solution to delivering consistent training. This could be assisted by the integration of new technologies, like the Guroo Producer ACADEMY and the Producer Suite, which includes PRODUCER, ANALYTICS, and the LEARNING CANVAS. Such tools will not only provide an accessible alternative to face-to-face programs but could also ease concerns about staffing and cost. However, a further step needs to be taken to avoid clashes with employees’ schedules. The micro-learning approach, where content is delivered in bite-sized chunks, will allow learners to absorb knowledge and work through the course more easily. By combining a micro-learning approach and mobile optimised content, participation in the training can occur anywhere and anytime. This can be assisted by a digital program delivery platform that supports online, blended and virtual learning, such as ACADEMY. The short and straightforward assessments and content throughout a course, as featured in ACADEMY, will also save time with many opportunities for feedback and guidance on learning progress. This occurs when senior staff within the organisation take the role of coaches, transmitting knowledge across the network more effectively.
Now, another challenge that comes with expanding successful learning programs is engaging learners. As behavioural change requires learning engagement, passive learning and a lack of commitment may lead to poor outcomes. With packed schedules and different learning preferences, how can we motivate employees to actively participate and follow through with learning activities? In addition, despite the convenience of remote training, some learners may disengage from online learning due to distractions in the home and on mobile devices. As such, unique delivery methods need to be implemented to maintain engagement and increase skill development and knowledge retention.
Solution 2
Incorporating different content types such as videos, graphics, and written texts in a learning program can help ensure that employees are following through with the activities while having their different learning preferences met. The use of micro-learning, as mentioned previously, will further reinforce information retention in a bite-sized and entertaining way. This can be achieved through designing a learning program with the use of an authoring tool that allows the design of interactive content types, such as PRODUCER. For example, embedded self-reflective questions and response playback will create a more engaging experience for learners as they gain a deeper understanding of how the content relates to their own life or work. In addition, incorporating practical learning activities such as case studies, scenarios, and examples related to real-life experiences will engage learners in active problem-solving. With the short assessments and instant feedback available on PRODUCER, learning outcomes and actionable insights are communicated upfront to increase active participation. As such, the innovative and employee-centred solutions will make learning across the organisation more efficient by enabling both cognitive and behavioural engagement.
After determining how to deliver content consistently and, ensuring learner engagement in programs, there is one more challenge to face. Gaining an understanding of learning capabilities and existing knowledge is significant to both the employees’ and the company’s development. However, after implementing learning programs, tracking learning activity and quantifying training effectiveness can be difficult or even neglected. Companies may struggle to identify capability and knowledge gaps, as well as track employees’ individual development. A lack of understanding of what the employee already knows, or struggles with, can pose another challenge to improving learning, where a learning program might end up delivering unnecessary or redundant content. This could then lead to little to no positive impact on the organisation, essentially rendering the program inefficient.
Solution 3
To track learning activity, it is important to figure out what the learner needs and how, and when, to follow up after the training with the appropriate analytics programs. Data-driven, personalised and adaptive learning is a central feature of the Producer Suite and ACADEMY that will help organisations face the challenge. With adaptive pathways and personalised learning plans created based on diagnostic assessments on a delivery platform such as ACADEMY, learners will get the opportunity to work on skills and capabilities that need to be developed further. The measurement of each learning objective with multiple scores and micro-credentials on ACADEMY could also help organisations adjust future training and goals based on the results. Through ANALYTICS, you can access a range of data that includes the completion rates of the program, information on time spent on various screens, results on quizzes, common misconceptions or hurdles, and learner responses to write-in response questions. The quantitative assessment can be used to track learning activities, target individual needs, and other insights needed to optimise learning. This allows for a systematic process of spreading new knowledge across a network and improving individual as well as organisational performance.
Combined with the previous scalable learning strategies for facing other challenges, your organisation will be ready to successfully expand learning programs.