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Many L&D teams are rightly sceptical of digital learning vendors who offer thousands of content options. They know that people won’t have the time nor the inclination to search through endless learning categories to find the resources they need. Offering choice a good thing. But if there’s too much choice, people can easily get lost in a mountain of content.
What’s needed is a new way to curate content, by focusing on the challenge that individuals are facing. When people speak to their family and friends, they don’t say “my team need a project management course”; they say “it’s chaos at work and no one knows what they’re doing.” They air the ‘problem’, not the solution. Learning content should be curated to address specific problems: if this is the challenge you’re facing, these are the resources you need.
At Hemsley Fraser, we’ve identified 100 core ‘learning topics’ that apply to every organisation, including communication skills, digital skills, sales, people management, customer service, performance management, continuous improvement and wellbeing. We’re not only developing digital learning content to address each of these topics, we’re creating ready-made ‘playlists’ of different assets that address specific business challenges or transition stages in an employee’s development. For example, if you’re moving from an individual contributor to become a manager, here are a set of resources that will support you in that transition.
This concept of playlists will be familiar to anyone who uses iTunes, Spotify or Amazon Music. People will cherry-pick individual tracks from their music library to suit their preferences. Why could they not do the same with their learning? The principle here is that you can make digital learning more engaging by making it personal to people and very specific to the challenge they’re facing. When individuals have their own playlists, they effectively have their own library of personalised learning resources that they can dip into, which directly relate to their needs.
With digital learning, L&D teams will need to manage the expectations of employees and train them to use the resources in the right way, so they become embedded into organisational life. Line managers can be trained to utilise learning playlists at performance reviews, to suggest an itinerary of individually-focused activities that their team members could undertake to address their needs.
An online learning resource centre is a benefit that can be promoted externally when you’re looking to attract applicants to your organisation. But the advantages go far beyond this. When individuals can more easily access pertinent learning and support resources, they can become even more effective in their roles. That leads to greater employee engagement, a more conducive work environment and stronger retention. What’s more, with effective learning you can improve your employer brand, increase productivity and facilitate organisational improvement.
Hemsley Fraser is a market-leading provider of leadership and management training, soft skills, digital learning and managed learning. Click for more information about the company’s digital learning support options
