Executing Learning Solutions at Workplace

Despite vigilant resource allocation, many companies still find their training to be ineffective in achieving its goals. This is usually due to some common workplace challenges of executing learning solutions. These training issues range from an over worked and sometimes dispersed workforce to confining costs while improving engagement, and providing for diverse learning preferences. We have discussed some of the challenges in the previous article. Let us discuss some more

Lack of Engagement

Engagement is significant on three levels: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. Without all three in place, inadequate knowledge retention, inactive learning and a lack of commitment lead to challenges of executing learning solutions. What’s more, behavioral change is not possible without learning engagement. When training seems inapplicable or unnecessary, most learners mentally and emotionally drop and resist engaging.

The Solution

• Apply practical learning activities like case studies, scenarios, role-plays and related examples into your training. These activities engage learners in active problem-solving leading to better cognitive engagement.
• Use discussion forums and other informal live online spaces for learners to engage naturally. This encourages learners to interact emotionally with other learners, and with the training process.
• Establish an active learning culture, and making all employees feel a part of it, can boost emotional engagement which in turn leads to increased learning.
• Communicate learning outcomes straightforwardly to increase behavioral engagement. More learners are likely to take part in the learning activities if they understand the objective behind it.

Training That Isn’t Relevant

Many training programs are too common, and not personalized enough for specific roles or skills. Sadly, generic training can strain learners’ time and patience by forcing them to engage with content that simply isn’t logical to them. This leads to further challenges of executing learning solutions.

The solution

• Classify learning outcomes into essential and desirable for each role undergoing training. Make only essential training compulsory, but use other methods like gamification through rewards and points to boost learners to engage with desirable content.
• Influence just in time training to update skills or convey new information exactly when it’s needed most.
• Use related case studies and scenarios to reinforce the significance of the training program to employees’ jobs.
• Conduct feedback surveys after training to see what learners found most useful, and where the training program needs improvement.

Costs, Costs, and Costs

Assistance, equipment, venue charges, and the cost of employees’ time, all make training an expensive undertaking. Training budgets are likely to be small, while training demands are always excessive. What further contributes to challenges of executing learning solutions, is when a strained budget also needs to include travel and software costs.

The solution

• Shift your training online. This will removes the need for travel and venue costs and often reduces facilitation costs too.
• Use a high-performing, cost- effective learning management system. It’ll make a great difference to how far your budget can extend when you’re training a huge number of employees.
• Streamline your content development by focusing on the best output formats. Short text sections placed with feedback activities can save on development costs.
• Use webinars instead of face-to-face seminars as another way to reduce travel and time costs.

As is visible, there is an answer to every challenge of executing learning solutions. Most of these can be carried out with a great learning management system, which must be easy to use so both educators and learners don’t feel tense using it. It must have all the components required for your training needs. And finally, it must have a cooperative support team. All these will improve the effectiveness of your training fast.