When Quality beats Speed: Learning & Development in Uncertain Times
In these uncertain times, one thing is certain: Covid-19 has a significant influence on our way of working, whether working from home or working at the office or in one of the vital jobs. Will it have the same effect on Learning and Development as well?
Like many other countries, when the corona virus hit the Netherlands, we collectively pushed the panic button. We ran into the shops and started buying toilet paper, frozen foods and tinned vegetables as if there was no tomorrow.
In our experience many businesses had a similar gut response to their learning and training projects. Face-to-face trainings were of course immediately cancelled. L&D departments began producing alternatives at warp-speed. Don’t sweat the quality, just get it out there! Let’s keep servicing our students, colleagues or participants, let’s keep business moving with as few hold-ups as possible.
Psychologically, this makes perfect sense. Everyone is trying to adapt to the current situation as quickly as possible. It helps with damage control and creates a sense of continuity in times where there are no real certainties nor a definite end-date.
Fast forward to the future…
Initial speed of response is important in times of crisis. But quality of response determines longer-term success.
Now that the dust of the first impact on daily life has settled, it is time to rethink what we are doing. Maybe gathering groceries in large quantities is not the best way to go :)
Similarly, now is the time for L&D folks to ask themselves: how can we design sustainable learning solutions that contribute to our employees, students, colleagues’ growth and development over time?
To perform our jobs whilst simultaneously entertaining the kids at home, being their schoolteacher and find the time to be a sane, loving spouse too is already quite challenging. Let alone attend extensive ‘face-to-face’ trainings via Skype, Teams or Zoom fully focused.
The answer is not just chopping a larger training course into smaller chunks. In different contexts, people learn differently. They absorb and process information differently. And that means you will need different messaging, maybe a different medium, you may need to apply different learning methods and more.
Playing the GAME
At Enstin, GAME is one of our most often applied L&D problem-solving methodologies. It helps figure out the right combination of messaging, medium and methodology through a person’s full learning journey.
Let me briefly outline the process.
Goals:
What are your specific goals on a business level? What are the learning objectives that will support those business goals?
Audience:
Who is your audience? Where are they now in their learning journey? Where do they need to be? What are their needs along the way?
Messaging:
Which key messages and storylines will best help them through their learning journey?
Expression:
What is the best mix of learning methodologies to help you reach your goals as a company?
Especially in times like these, we need to put people and their contextual and behavioural needs at the centre of learning solution design.
Doing so will ensure effective knowledge transfer now and safeguard longer-term business goals as well.
At Enstin, we take pride in advising companies on producing quality learning solutions that put understanding people and their behaviours first.
Every audience has its own specific needs and challenges. Every medium — from digital leaflet and infographics, to strategic intranet communications, cases, job-aids and more — has its best use. And every message should serve a specific purpose.
We will explain more on our approach to L&D design in a new series of articles, soon. Meanwhile, if you would like a sanity check on how to (re)design your L&D solutions, we’re happy to help. Contact us on Dirks’ phone number. +31 (0) 6 14 65 62 46.