10 Challenges When Creating A Blend
More than 60 individuals responded to a survey regarding the challenges they experienced when implementing a blended learning curriculum in their organization. Being aware of theses common challenges will help you to manage them in your own design.
1. Ensuring participants can be successful using the technology.
2. Overcoming the idea that online learning cannot be as effective as classroom training (convincing stakeholders).
3. Keeping online offerings interactive rather than just "talking at" them (keeping the attention of the learners).
4. Ensuring participant commitment and follow-through during "non-live" elements (accountability).
5. Matching the best delivery medium to the objective(s)- arriving at the right blend.
6. Readjusting facilitator roles.
7. Looking at how to teach content- not what to teach.
8. Resisting the urge to use technology simply because it is available.
9. Ensuring all the elements of the blend are coordinated.
10. Managing and monitoring participant progress.
Virtual Training Saves Best Buy Big Bucks
Through the use of virtual training at Best Buy, the company saved $630,000 in travel expenses and an additional $120,000 in labor expenses in fiscal year 2015.
Adults need time for Observation and Reflection
How often do we allow trainees to contemplate what they have just learned and how it will affect them or how they might implement it on the job? Not often. Reflection takes time and these days we aren't even offered enough time to do the teaching, much less allow for observation and reflection. (Our usual requests sound something like this: Can you take this 6 hour class and cut it down to 3 hours?
No one ever asks, once the teaching is done - how much additional time would be needed for the learners to reflect on what they've learned and how they can best implement it on the job?)
Here is a great case study of one company that "gets it”.
Background: New-hire orientation of a select 300 people per year.
Curriculum design: 12-week program which includes self-study, virtual classes, in-person sessions, group case study and individual assignment.
Time for observation and reflection: The entire final class meeting (2 hours) is dedicated to ensuring observation and reflection. The participants are reminded of each phase of the training and the intended learning outcomes. They are then asked reflective questions:- What did you learn most from this segment of the curriculum?- What are you already using on-the-job?- What do you intend to start doing, as a result of your learning?
They are also put in small groups to compare and contrast their responses, which helps to further their awareness of what they have learned (oh yeah! I forgot about that. How are you going to do it on the job?)
Next they are asked "What more would you like to learn?" Once they have completed the "prescribed curriculum" they are often aware of what they don't know about the organization or their field. By giving thought to what more they would like to learn, the organization is able to direct them to further professional development.
Finally, (and our favorite) they are asked: How can you take what you've learned and pay it forward? Since they are in a select group of 300 enrolled in the curriculum, they have become privy to information, approaches or perspectives that not everyone in the organization would have. They are tasked with taking the initiative to coach others in the organization and share what they have learned in constructive ways.
This formal approach to observation and reflection ensures the learners have thought-through what they have learned, identified the value of the learning for themselves and how they will change their behaviors on-the-job as a result of their learning. It also makes them good "corporate citizens" by tasking them with sharing what they've learned with the rest of the organization.
Ted Talk Fails
Straight from the Ted Talks Blog - they suggest these videos as "how NOT to" create / deliver a Ted Talk. Funny, but full of insight and important lessons as well. Enjoy!
Adobe Connect Tip
Adobe Connect Tip
If you like to make engaging, visual, dynamic slides for use in your online sessions, you undoubtedly love the SmartArt feature of PowerPoint. However, if you use Adobe Connect you undoubtedly are also frustrated by the fact that Connect doesn't always display your beautiful creations.
Here are two work-around tips that can fix that:
1) Try loading your slides to the Content Library of your Connect account, then load your Share Pod from there (rather than loading the slides directly from your hard drive/server). Choose Browse Content Library rather than Browse My Computer when choosing what to share.I
f that doesn't work -
2) Go back to PowerPoint, click on the SmartArt to highlight the whole design (not just one segment), and then right click to display sub-menu options. Choose "Change to Image." This will make your SmartArt function like a .jpg that Connect will recognize.
The downside to this approach is that if your design builds, it will have "fused" it in to one image, which isn't always the reason you chose to useSmartArt in the first place.
How to Conduct a Level 3 Evaluation
According to best-selling author Marcus Buckingham, performance ratings rely on "bad data." Labeled the "idiosyncratic rater effect," he states that who we pay, what we pay, who we promote and the training we offer is based on the assumption that one's "rating" is reflective of the one being rated - when in fact it is reflective of the one doing the rating.
Often, when conducting Level 3 evaluations, we ask a manager or some other entity to "rate" a newly trained employee in order to confirm they have learned and can apply their new skills on the job. In order to not succumb to the idiosyncratic rater effect, it is wise to use an impartial observation sheet, so that the rater simply confirms whether or not the employee is performing the job as expected.
For example:
Comments
Answers phone within 3 rings ¨ Yes ¨ No
States name and badge number ¨ Yes ¨ No
Asks permission to put caller on hold ¨ Yes ¨ No
But even a seemingly straightforward observation checklist can be fraught with imprecision that may skew the rating results. Before designing a Level 3 evaluation for your own training, consider these factors which may impact your learner's reported "success."
Who should be the observer?
What should be the setting?
Should the trainee be told in advance they will be observed?
Does the time of day matter?
Does the day of the week matter?
Should it be a simulated scenario or a real life one?
How long should the observation last?
Should the observer give them feedback? When?
Should the trainee explain what they are doing?
If you need assistance with designing training evaluations for your organization, visit our web page.
Which Type of Learning is "Best?"
According to a survey of 422 employees, spanning all generations, the #1 "preferred" type of learning and the one deemed "most helpful" is one-on-one mentoring.
The other top vote-getters, in order:
1. One-on-one mentoring
2. Traditional classroom learning
3. Team collaboration
4. Online courses (they did not specify if this was asynchronous only)
Source: Jones/NCTI survey
You can view the full report, "What Gap? Generational Views on Learning and Technology in the Workplace," here.
FAIL: LMS's not living up to their promises
Source: Software Advice survey of 155 HR professionals. You can view the full report here.
Users spend 59% more than they expect to (average spend $70,000+)
Live video / conferencing ranks as the #1 feature LACKING in current LMSs
26% of users are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their current LMS
LMS's have the greatest impact on overall costs of training
WebEx Tip: Pop-Up Note
If you'd like to have a pop-up welcome note as people join your WebEx Session, you can program it when you schedule your class, OR if you are opening a session spontaneously, go to the menu bar: Meeting > Welcome Message. It will open a new browser window and you can type your message. Be sure to check "Display this message when attendees join the meeting."
The result: As each new attendee joins, this message window will pop up over the WebEx interface. Useful for introducing yourself, giving instructions (e.g. "Be sure to close down your email."), or providing alternate call-in numbers, if needed.
Which Type of Employee Training is Most Effective?
Cited as the most effective approaches for developing global leaders:
External academic or leadership development programs
Experiential learning (such as games, exercises, simulation, role-play, case studies, etc.)
Traditional classroom-based instructor-led training were
Source: 6th annual Global Leadership Development Survey conducted by Training, AMA, and i4cp
The Two-Manager Model is Necessary for Professional Development and Organization Stability
According to demographics, three out of every four employees in the workplace will be a Millennial by 2025. That's ONLY ten years off, which means there is a lot of skill development required for Millennials to be prepared to lead our organizations- at any level.
Unfortunately, a recent study by EdAssist (a tuition assistance management service provider) showed that nearly three-quarters of millennials feel their schooling didn't give them the preparation they needed to enter the workforce. This leaves most professional and skill development to be accomplished on the job.
Given that organizations have downsized and right-sized so much in recent decades, and understanding that most managers are working managers and not solely dedicated to manage others, The Training Doctor proposes a two-manager model going forward.
Each individual in an organization would have two managers who would guide and develop them as they entered and grew within an organization. The Training Doctor has observed the inordinate amount of training of managers to provide them with soft-skill managerial-capabilities such as giving feedback, performance appraisals, coaching and the like.
The two-manager model would break off these soft-skills responsibilities to one manager and the second manager would be the individual that ensures quality work outputs. For example, Susan joins a public accounting firm as an entry-level accountant. Her manager, Cameron, would be responsible for her technical and skills training, including how to participate in client meetings, how to use the firm's software, ensuring adherence to IRS regulations, etc.
Jacqueline would be Susan's developmental manager. She might sit in on meetings with clients and offer feedback on the way in which Susan presents herself or participates in the meeting. Jacqueline would also help Susan to identify or understand her career path and help her to make the right choices in terms of personal and professional development opportunities within the company [SHRM's most recent Employee Engagement and Satisfaction survey also shows that Millennials value professional development and career advancement and will jump companies for a developmental opportunity, so this second managerial role would also help to ensure retention].
Jacqueline and Cameron would meet regularly so that each had the big picture of Susan's abilities and accomplishments as well as future aspirations, and they could collaborate on developmental opportunities for Susan.
This two-manager model would take a large burden off the mid-level manager as it currently exists. It would allow someone to be solely dedicated to the professional development of individuals within an organization while another manager is dedicated to on the job performance, accuracy and mastery.
Marketing the Training Function
If your company already has an internal newsletter, speak with the editor about writing a regular training column. If no such newsletter already exists, you can easily begin your own e-newsletter using your internal email system.
Ensure that anything sent from the training department is engaging and helpful in performing one's job. Don't just send a calendar of events. Training tips might be about software applications, management practices, or on-the-job-skills that are unique to your organization. Keep the tips short and how-to oriented so that recipients clearly see the value of reading your e-newsletter. You can start with a helpful tip, and then provide a calendar of upcoming events. This format helps to ensure that your messages get opened (because one never knows what this week's helpful tip will be) and once recipients begin reading, your hope is that they will read the entire message, including the calendar of events.
Here's a "tricky" tip: Consider having a "for manager's eyes only" tip - which of course everyone will read. You are subtly training future managers.
Why Utilize a Virtual Classroom?
Book Excerpt from "Tailored Learning":
The ability to interact with experts and peers in real time is a comfortable and familiar environment and eliminates the isolation that often comes with asynchronous technologies. Often a participant requires live interaction with an instructor or an expert, but that interaction does not need to be face-to-face.
For example, medical students observing surgery would, arguably, benefit from being physically in the operating room or a surgical observation area. However, those same participants do not need face-to-face interaction to ask post-operative questions of the surgeon. Questions can be asked and discussed among all of the participants via a virtual classroom. If a recording is made of the synchronous discussion, all the participants can go back and review the recording, at any time, to ensure that they understood the answers. One of the most common reasons for organizations to implement a virtual classroom is an audience that is dispersed across a large geographic area (oftentimes worldwide). Compared with traditional classroom delivery, the money saved in classroom costs, travel, and time away from work quickly becomes apparent. In addition, organizations may choose to deliver content that they never would have scheduled in a more traditional (classroom) setting. For example, an update to a computer system may only take one or two hours to teach, but an organization would rarely convene a training program for such a short period of time because it would be cost prohibitive. The virtual classroom makes this type of content easy to distribute.
As organizations become more global, and the need to collaborate across a distance is becoming more important, a virtual meeting place can help close the distance gap by providing a forum through which employees collaborate in real time.
Why Your Onboarding Training Process Matters
According to a survey of 1,000 employees by BambooHR: 1 in 6 reported they had quit a job between the first week and the third month of starting the position.