Workspace & Smart Working

How can L&D deliver behaviour change remotely?

During the months since the Coronavirus was declared a pandemic, we have spoken with a lot of Learning & Development professionals and read accounts of the things that they have been doing. The activity has been amazing, not just in L&D but in the way that companies are rapidly changing their operating models. Collectively, we have a lot to be proud of. We have noticed that in many ways, people have been transiting through the Kübler-Ross Grief Curve. Some are much further through than others. Perhaps you can relate to this or you have seen this in friends.

The best short term responses came from those in L&D who asked themselves a simple question along the lines of “What do WE
need to do to help our people do what THEY need to do in the cir...stances they are in TODAY?” Given so much of what we are dealing with as a result of COVID-19 is new, it is most unlikely that anything that we were doing way back in January 2020 is a valid response to this question. Are you still delivering anything now that was considered business as usual back in January?

In times of significant change, it is so easy to yearn for what was, and to try and deal with the new reality without suc...bing to it. It is a natural response to utilise as best we can the tools we already have, partly for familiarity, but also because it is quicker, simpler, and easier. The upshot of this is that the initial reaction of so many trainers to lockdown was to start transitioning their face-to-face training courses into a virtual classroom. They focussed on what platform to use and how to tweak the design of their existing courses to allow them to be delivered online. In effect, they ‘webinised’ their training course. Indeed, some have even just posted videos of classroom sessions online! For those who have applied a quick fix and ticked the ‘deliver online’ box for a training course, my concern is that this temporary solution delivered in urgency continues without a proper evaluation of the results it is achieving in terms of performance improvement.

There are very few cases where this initial sticking plaster response will stand up over time. Some organisations were already using virtual classrooms and blended online learning approaches, and this experience stood them in good stead as they responded to the new needs of their employees. Other organisations have been pushed into online delivery without this experience. They were not in a state of readiness to transfer their learning online, even if it was in their longer-term L&D strategy. COVID-19 didn’t introduce online learning, but it did make online learning an imperative.

One thing has become abundantly clear: L&D will not be returning to what it was before COVID-19. There have been huge changes in the short term, and many of these changes are likely to linger. The world has changed, we have changed, and there is a lot more change coming as organisations adapt to a world we cohabit with this new virus. We need to find a balance between what worked before and what will be needed in the next normal, and we need to do this at speed. There are many ways to deliver training and a myriad of possible blends. Think of these as different species adapting to a new environment.

Which ones will suc...b to the forces of natural selection? The consensus is that face-to-face training will return but at greatly reduced levels, probably much less than 50%, and then will continue to decline as it is found wanting in comparison to the alternatives we are busy creating now through necessity.

Except for niche solutions, face-to-face training will lose the battle for survival of the fittest. The customers we serve know that, much as they might prefer it, we can’t currently deliver face-to-face training, and we may not be able to do so without social distancing for some considerable time. Our customers are expecting training to change and any resistance to online delivery that may have been present has been swept aside.

This gives us an incredible window of opportunity to make changes we have been wanting to make for years — changes that were blocked by cultural and management inertia. There is indeed a silver lining in this COVID cloud. It’s been said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” So how can we benefit from the current lack of resistance to change arising from this crisis?

How to Reboot Training for 2020 and Beyond

This guide steps you through a process to figure out what those changes to training need to be. And it starts with taking a step back...

Taking e-learning back to its roots

This video follows on from 'Do we still need e-learning?' It goes back through the 40-year history of e-learning to show that it was at its most promising in the early days, when there was a strong desire to deliver a personalised instructional experience. There are now few, if any, technical obstacles to achieving those goals, as the latest authoring platforms provide increasing adaptive capabilities. The real obstacles are with us, as humans.

Do we still need e-learning?

'E-learning', by which we mean interactive, self-paced instruction, has had a role in workplace learning, under one name or another, for about 40 years. In this video, Clive Shepherd asks whether e-learning has delivered on its promise - how efficient is it, how effective, how popular and how commercially successful? More importantly, do we really still need it, given that other forms of digital learning have enjoyed more obvious success in recent years?

Learning and Development's Two Customers

Imagine if you had to satisfy not one set of customers but two. Both were demanding, and each was looking for quite different things. Well, such is the lot of the learning professional. Not only do you have to provide a great service to your clients, business sponsors and key stakeholders, you also have to deliver satisfying experiences to your end users – the learners.

Show me the data: the case for learning analytics

Data is the fuel that drives effective decision making. Without the right data, you’re relying on guesswork and hoping for the best. Data allows you to accurately assess needs, compare alternative approaches, assess progress and determine results. We look at the arguments for data analytics for learning and performance.

When performance support trumps learnig

This past year I have worked with clients on a number of projects in which the sole focus has been supporting employees in adapting to a change by providing resources that they could access at the point of need – a process that we normally call ‘performance support’.

In a world of immediate access to information at any time of day and night and wherever you happen to be, we no longer expect to have to acquire all the knowledge required to do our jobs. Yes, we still need to understand fundamental concepts and principles, and to develop key skills, but the rest we can look up as we need it.

Performance support is not quite the same as learning

The purpose of training or any other learning experience is to bring about a long-term change in knowledge, skills or attitudes – and that's not an easy thing to do. Depending on the requirement, we need to apply just the right strategy to help our learners make lasting connections in their brains. This process takes time and success is never guaranteed.

Learning and teaching activities aim to build lasting knowledge and skill. When future problems occur, the individual can access their memories to help them decide what to do. They can then take action.

With performance support, we are not concerned with long-term retention. It doesn’t matter whether the users of our support systems remember anything – just that they're able to get the job done. So, if we have an immediate problem, we access the support system to find out what to do and we take immediate action.

Performance support is not completely separate from learning. You could regard it as knowledge that exists externally to ourselves, as a sort of ‘outboard brain’. George Siemens described it like this: ‘Instead of the individual having to evaluate every bit of information, he or she creates a personal network of trusted nodes - people and content, enhanced by technology. The act of knowledge is offloaded onto the network itself.’

Traditionally, we have used performance support materials as part of the follow-up to a formal programme. Our courses are supported by a modest selection of resources - perhaps a handout or a checklist.

The modern approach still values courses as a way to engage people with new learning and to help them establish confidence. But the emphasis shifts to what happens next, how we follow-up to support learners at the point of need.

You could say that it’s becoming more important for people to know where to look or who to talk to than it is to know the what, why or how.

Deciding when performance support is the right approach

One of our most important tasks is to decide what needs to be taught in a course – or through some other sort of learning activity – and what can be included as a resource. Let’s look at some criteria that will help us decide …
Performance support is going to be useful when a task is performed infrequently. It’s unrealistic to expect people to remember what to do in every eventuality. Better to provide the information only when it’s needed. A good example would be a form you only complete once a year – by the time the next year comes around, you can remember very little.

Another indicator is when the task is complex. Even when you perform a task fairly frequently, you may not be able to remember every rule, every code, or the precise sequence in which every action should be carried out. Performance support tools refresh your memory and give you confidence that you’re getting the job absolutely right.

Performance support comes in handy when there are tricky problems to resolve. Even when you are well trained and have a lot of experience, you can be caught out by particularly thorny problems. A support system can provide you with a method for tackling the problem or access to others who might have experienced the problem before.

Another indicator is when job holders change frequently. When employee turnover is very high, the argument for training diminishes. Better to provide really excellent performance support which allows those who are new to do an acceptable job first time.

And then there are situations when there is simply no time for training. Better performance support than nothing.

Performance support is better when it’s learner-centred and agile

Obviously, it’s possible to determine requirements for performance support from the top-down – after all, managers have valuable insights into what would unlock performance in their areas of responsibility. But no-one knows better what would work in the real world than the people who are doing the job.

The best way to approach performance support is from the user’s perspective. Talk to employees; find out what challenges they face; get a feel for the contexts in which these challenges occur; ask employees what they feel would help them to overcome the challenge. They might say that they could really do with some training. More often than not, they’ll say they need a quick video, a checklist, a template, a fact sheet or a decision aid.

Don’t set about creating these resources as if each was a Hollywood production. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and trouble by working up a quick prototype and testing it in the field. Who knows? It may just be fine as it is. Typically, you’ll make some changes to take account of the feedback and put it back in the loop again. Performance support is best approached from an agile perspective.

I hope you feel inspired to make an impact with performance support in your organisation and that you’ll do this working alongside your users.

Good luck!

Who is responsible for learning transfer?

Is it L&D, or the line managers?

I have heard many people in L&D say something like this… “You asked for training; you got it. Job done. Our responsibility finishes at the end of the course. Learning transfer is not our responsibility.”

This attitude arises when L&D set themselves up as an order taker, as a shopkeeper. One tool which is commonly used by these shopkeepers is a traditional Learning Management System with its list of courses and events that people can book to attend. It’s like ordering something off an online shopping site where the seller is not involved in any way with how the product will be used. Some even have a background algorithm that says, “Other learners who attended this course also attended these other courses."

A common lament I hear among L&D people is the lack of access to the top table and a lack of involvement in top-level decision making. I often find that the people with this lament are the very same people who have the shopkeeper attitude. Think about it. Would you as a senior decision maker in an organisation want to have the head shopkeeper from a small peripheral department at your board table? Not likely.

So, start getting interested in how people are using your training courses, and why they order them in the first place. Assume that at least part of the process of learning transfer is your responsibility and notice how that shifts your thinking about your role as a trainer and as a course/programme designer. People want a training course to solve a problem they have. What is that problem? Become someone who solves problems for people rather someone who just sells stuff that might be a solution. If we are buying anything other than a commodity, we really appreciate the expertise of a salesperson who takes the time and effort to find out what problem we are trying to solve and then guides us to a viable solution.

And often management says it’s not their responsibility either. They say that their job is operational excellence, not staff development. “L&D should be doing staff development.”

There are two aspects to this. One is that most management role job descriptions include a section that states their responsibility for developing the members of their team. If the job description does not include this responsibility, it should. The second aspect, which they also cannot run away from, is that most of the learning that happens at work, happens on their watch in the general day to day workflow. The 70:20:10 learning model tells us this, and even a moment’s reflection also tells us this from our own experience of where we learned to do what we do at work.

What most managers don’t understand is that unbeknownst to them, they have superpowers. These powers manifest themselves every time the manager answers a question, delegates a task, has a conversation or has any other interaction with a team member. They also manifest when a team member observes how their manager interacts with anybody else either directly or in any other way. By their actions, the manager sets the mini-culture within the team to be accountable or not, to learn or not, to blame or not, to help or not, to experiment or not, to seek excellence or not, to serve customers or not, to go the extra mile or not. Employees look to their manager for a lead to understand what is rewarded and what is frowned upon.

Every manager has an immense effect on how their team functions and performs, and most of them don’t begin to comprehend the magnitude of their power. They are already ‘developing’ their team members to behave a certain way by being the manager they are, and they have far more power over developing/moulding team behaviour than L&D ever will. A manager cannot abdicate their input into staff development because it is already baked into their role. The question is whether they become aware of their power and use it consciously, or whether they remain unaware and use it haphazardly.

Extract from Paul's latest book Learning Transfer at Work: How to Ensure Training >> Performance available on Amazon and our website http://pal.gl/dx

Digital Learning Glossary – What does it all mean?

A Glossary of frequently used terms for those outside the online learning bubble

(For the full glossary, to ask a question or add your comments please visit https://coachical.com/digital-learning-glossary/) 

Digital learning solutions have enriched the way we learn and opened up new opportunities to enhance or, in some cases, to replace the more traditional course/classroom-based approach.

Due to its accessibility, ease of use, visual appeal and mass-scalability, it’s easy to see why digital learning is becoming a popular choice for many employers.

The different options available are hugely diverse. To those outside the online learning industry (and even some with extensive experience) it can be difficult to work out what the key difference is between different types of digital learning and what particular terms refer to.

Here we provide a glossary of some key terms for those outside the digital learning bubble.

If you come across another term you’re unsure of, please add it in the comments section and we’ll provide you with a simple definition. Or if we’re unsure… we’ll ask the wider community for you.

Beginning with digital learning itself… digital learning is any type of learning that uses digital technology and enables learners to gain knowledge and skills. This encompasses a variety of ‘online’ solutions.

Here are some other terms that typically come under the banner of digital learning. Though this is by no means an exhaustive list:

Blended/hybrid learning Mobile learning Mobile apps E-learning E-books Gamified Learning / Gamification Computer-based training

On our website we provide a basic definition for each... check it out here: https://coachical.com/digital-learning-glossary/ 

Have you come across a term you would like us to explain for you? Ask us on our website. 

Coachical - A New Digital Coaching Tool

In this video, Bigrock Client Director Jon Luckett gives an interview about our new digital coaching tool and the benefits it offers learners and business leaders alike. 

We would love to recieve some feedback from the industry and invite readers to take try a Coachical topic (just £60 +VAT and you get a load of online learning content too) 

See the video transcript and accompanying blog post here: https://coachical.com/an-introduction-to-coachical-an-interview-with-jon-luckett/ 

Is mobile learning the de facto standard for learning at work?

What’s the first thing anyone does when they want to learn about something these days? They pull out their mobiles and look it up on Google, Wikipedia or YouTube. Easy!

 

Mobiles are now ubiquitous. Whether in the office, out on the road or at home, we get all our information from them. Organisations are  increasingly realising that mobile learning is the best and most cost-effective way to educate and train their employees. To put it another way, mobiles provide the lowest cost solution for accessing the greatest quantity of knowledge. It’s fast and flexible.

 

A well-designed mobile learning module is fast as well as flexible. It can be accessed from almost anywhere in the world and won’t take up as much of the learner’s valuable time. Rather than having to be in a certain place at a certain time to receive training, learners can access their learning while on a train or sitting in a hotel room.

 

We know from the Agylia Learning Technology Research Project that people don’t generally sit at their office desks to learn - 76% of them areout of the office and 66% complete their modules at home. It seems that, when learning is easily accessible, useful and enjoyable, people are quite happy to study and complete tasks outside working hours and in any free time during the day.

 

This flexibility has led to a rapid growth in microlearning, a training technique which has benefitted enormously from the advent of smartphones and vice versa. Microlearning delivers teaching programmes in small, specific bursts that learners can access wherever and whenever they want. It holds great appeal for staff and companies alike. According to a recent Association for Talent Development (ATD) study, 92% of learning professionals expect their organisations to increase their investment in it this year.

 

Microlearning is a perfect fit for the way we use our mobile devices to consume and digest information. In particular, the larger touchscreens of tablets are ideal for gesture and game-based interaction, which helps to stimulate our senses. However, in order get the best out of this happy marriage of technology and learning, there are three steps you should take before you tie the knot.

 

Make sure your content is specifically designed for mobile learning. Mobile first should be your maxim. Recognise the advantages of a ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) policy - including ease of access to content, increased productivity and morale as well as cost savings. Run your learning programme on a dedicated App.

This last step is the most important for the following reasons:

 

Mobile users don’t like using a generic browser. They know the delivery of the information won’t be as good. It takes them longer to find it - even if they have a URL. An App says to the user, “here is the information you need”. A browser says, “here is a place to start looking for what you need’’. The latter is extremely off-putting, not to mention irritating. With an App there is more consistency in the way information is displayed. It is still the case that different browsers on different devices can cause some elements to be displayed differently. An App ensures that that won’t happen. Within an App environment, (consistent) branding is much easier. With an App you can deliver all sorts of messages and set up a common destination for them, all with a single tap. An App is the ideal vehicle for sending push notifications to users. It is widely acknowledged that, while only 5% of promotional email messages are seen, an impressive 97% of push notifications are opened and 90% of them are seen within the first three minutes of their arrival!

Today’s learners want to be able to access their learning and support materials at convenient times and in surroundings of their choice. Mobile learning Apps are the easiest way to provide this service. While there may still be a requirement for more formal learning in the work environment for some specialist skills, mobile learning has become the accepted solution for most learning requirements and its popularity is increasing all the time.

 

SKY TV UK Case Study

SKY UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting and BSkyB) is a telecommunications company which serves the United Kingdom and parts of Europe. Sky provides television and broadband internet services and fixed line telephone services to consumers and businesses.

 

Sky offer outstanding training and development opportunities to staff as they believe the performance of their people is a key driver of their growth and success and everyone learns throughout their career. They want their staff to be equipped to deal with queries across all of their products so it is easier for their customers to interact with them all.

 

Blyth Priestley,

Senior Procurement Manager

 

 

The Challenge

Sky is a project, process based business. Projects are running daily in all departments and across all job functions.

 

The SKY supply chain and procurement team wanted to improve the way they deliver projects, particularly with the way they interact with what they consider are the core ‘project managers’ of the business. However, they do not want a typical ‘project management’ course as they do not want to become project managers. Instead, they wanted to manage and lead their own procurement projects more effectively.

 

They selected Supply Chain Academy, to develop a unique and highly practical training session where core principles of project management were taught and delivered around their real live projects. This SMART business simulation approach used real work scenarios and provided delegates with all the tools and techniques they needed to support them as they instantly applied the learning to their work.

 

The Supply Chain Academy helped the team:

recognise when it is appropriate to adopt a ‘project’ approach to managing their workload apply a simple lifecycle to a project to break it into easy to manage stages clearly define their projects to provide real clarity in terms of project scope, roles and responsibilities, and other key factors confidently plan, organise and document a project by using a wide variety of tools that add value to the project management process become more effective in monitoring and controlling the project work, change requests and resourcing pressures by using best practice processes and techniques understand what lessons can be learnt from managing work using a project approach tailor their approach to projects of varying size and complexity

Blyth Priestley, Senior Procurement Manager, confirms that the improvements in team performance are already noticeable:- She commented: “The team have made real positive changes since the training day at Supply Chain Academy; the course was highly relevant, a good mix between theory and practice and colleagues appreciated the relevance of the scenarios and case study to help them take the learning and apply at work. This has been a great opportunity for the team to come together to share their knowledge and learn new skills, whilst at the same time create action plans to become more efficient.”

Hybrid Learning - The best blend of online and live workshops

Online and mobile learning tools provide an unprecedented opportunity to deliver high quality learning content and business tools right into the user’s hand, whenever and wherever they need them.

Whether you’re looking to support a wider training initiative or simply deliver learning in a more modern and innovative way, a hybrid approach can help.

Watch this video for more on the benefits of a hybrid approach: https://youtu.be/YSzsa3tja_0 

Digital learning tools enable us to create a broader, deeper and smarter learning journey that everyone in your organisation can benefit from.

Bigrock are about to launch a new digital coaching tool, that can help make hyrbid learning a reality in your organisation. Register your interest in Coachical here: https://www.bigrockhq.com/coachical/ 

The Future of Workplace Learning: Presented by Ben Reed, Nimble Product Consultant

Filmed at the Growing Gloucestershire Conference 2017, this 30-minute session is an overview of some of the main drivers for the future of workplace learning, presented by Ben Reed, Nimble Product Consultant.

WATCH VIDEO: https://youtu.be/BRQJ147gQ7w

About Ben Reed

MLIA DIP, NLP Practioner, HND Hotel Management, Training and Coaching Consultant: Ben is an active evangelist for modern learning within the workplace. As a Product Consultant for Nimble Elearning, his day is often spent understanding what businesses want to achieve with their workplace training.

Ben has over 25 years of involvement in consultancy, training and development in a wide range of sectors which include; financial services, manufacturing, energy, logistics, automotive and IT to name a few. A business coach, specialising in relationship development, the psychology of sales, goal setting and strategic planning, Ben is also an NLP practitioner working with clients to develop a clear picture of where they want to be and what they want to achieve.

Ben is deeply involved with the charity sector, providing support for charities to help reduce training costs. Ben has 27 years serving on the Board of Directors for YMCA Cheltenham and is a volunteer youth mentor at The Door in Stroud.

http://trynimble.com

Binary success in the digital world for Nimble Elearning

The trophy shelf in the Nimble Elearning office is looking crowded after the company won back-to-back awards within the space of a month.

Their success began by being named Business of the Year at the Stroud Life Awards. The award honours firms who have made a difference to Stroud’s economy. Judi Bonham, one of the judges said of the company, “The Nimble entry demonstrated their commitment to the Stroud area and community, through their staff, local customers and how they introduce their wider customer base to all that our Stroud area has to offer when visiting them on site."

It’s quite a coup for the Stonehouse-based elearning company. Stroud is a national “hotspot” for the industry so competition can be fierce. Managing Director, Neil Hyde said at the event, “Nimble enjoy supporting our many local customers and introducing to our national customers to the delights of Stroud. No matter the size of the organisation, Nimble takes pride in supporting our customers every step of the way and we get tremendous satisfaction in playing a part in their success.” 

The company’s continued growth has meant those visiting the Gloucestershire town have included some big names: Laura Ashley, Costa, Premier Inn, Ann Summers, Gatwick Airport, Pukka, EasyJet. 

Growth of their customer base has allowed Nimble to expand and this became a significant factor when they won the Gloucestershire Live Award for ‘Digital Business of the Year’. 

The judges looked for evidence of exceptional delivery, site engagement and functionality, security, innovation, ethical practice and sales growth. As Neil Hyde explained, their secret is because “Nimble Elearning helps companies create their own professional and engaging elearning. we. work across many industry sectors such as health, security, retail and charity at a global, national and local level.” 

The company’s expansion has included customers from all over the globe, best illustrated by their latest - Sydney Airport. This success is due to themes that regularly feature in customer reviews: 

Ease of use: “Nimble stands out as being the most comprehensive and easy to use solution on the market.” EasyJet 

Cost effectiveness: “With Nimble we've delivered triple the training in six months. We've grown our suite of training and are now able to track results and produce individual development plans. In nine months we've created 50 courses and our staff have completed over 5000 courses... and we're just getting started.” Europa Insurance Group 

Ongoing customer support: “The support from Nimble has been outstanding – nothing is too much trouble. It's just a great experience." MoneyPlus. 

It’s not surprising the Nimble team are also excited about their recent inclusion in The South West Business Awards, where they were short-listed for Outstanding Business of the Year. It's been a busy start to 2018 already as Nimble Elearning have just finished exhibiting and meeting new audiences at Learning Technologies at London Olympia and are looking forward to CIPD in April.

About Nimble
Nimble is no ordinary elearning website; we've made it super simple to create engaging courses and share them with teams.

With Nimble Author, create elearning teams will love with its super-easy course editor. Publish SCORM courses and quizzes that work on every device and LMS, and Nimble Elearning supports customers every step of the way with its free training and support programme.

Nimble's beautifully simple LMS allows people to effortlessly manage their elearning.

Do more on http://trynimble.com.

Nimble Elearning are Winners of Business of the Year, Stroud Life Awards

Nimble Elearning have won Business of the Year at the prestigious Stroud Life Awards 2017.

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/67mrsorZHVM

Organised by Stroud Life newspaper and sponsored by WSP Solicitors, the award is about honouring firms who have made a difference to Stroud’s economy.

Competition was tough amongst the top three, with Fluid Transfer who have won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade and Rempods, investment winners from Dragon’s Den and a previous Stroud Life Award winner.

Judi Bonham, Managing Partner at WSP Solicitors said, "As one of the Judges, the Nimble entry clearly demonstrated to me their commitment to the Stroud area and community as a whole. This commitment shows through their staff, local customer base and by the way they introduce their wider customer base to all that our Stroud area has to offer when visiting them on site."

Nimble Director Neil Hyde adds, “Nimble is extremely proud to have been selected Business of the Year and to be a part of the Stroud community. Nimble enjoy supporting our many local customers and introducing to our national customers to the delights of Stroud. No matter the size of the organisation, Nimble takes pride in supporting our customers every step of the way and Nimble get tremendous satisfaction in playing a part in their success. Nimble’s continual commitment to Stroud stems from a solid belief in the outstanding services, talent and expertise the people of the Five Valleys has to offer.”

http://trynimble.com

ABOUT THE STROUD LIFE AWARDS The Stroud Life Awards rightly puts Valley and Vale businesses and people in the limelight. Every year they discover and celebrate new talent, and share successes and the Awards are a fantastic opportunity for businesses and the community in Stroud district to shout about it. The Stroud Life Awards have established themselves as the most prestigious event in the local calendar since they were first held eight years ago.