Gone are the days when movies with terrible story lines dazzled the box office just with the strength of the cast. While a great cast, excellent director and cracking marketing strategy can create a great platform for success; without a strong storyline, it loses its fizz after the first show. In fact we can all recall multiple examples of a low profile but content rich movie that has made its mark.
A good learning intervention is like a movie. We can have world class facilitators, strong learning need and even active learners but if the learning content is not appealing to the audience, it loses its essence. Especially, in an intervention which is targeted to drive performance and not just engagement.
Of course, training feedback is a great indicator about the quality of content but how accurately does it capture the quality of content delivered?
Often, the feedback of the program is very facilitator or trainer driven. However, with the change in learning format and learner’s preferred mode of learning, the need to focus on content has become more important then ever.
Quality content brings consistency in learning with less dependency on the facilitator and also an increased accountability on the learner.
Most organizations I have worked with tend to do these 5 things to ensure that their learning interventions percolate the strategic objectives in a way that resonates with learners’ need.
1. Readily accessible content anytime and anywhere
With the rise in millennial task force and drastic change in work schedule and lifestyle, the preference of the learners has changed too. Learners want content that:
- Is readily available
- Is quick to read
- Focuses on the ‘how’ part and not just what needs to be done
A good content does not just sensitize people about a skill but digs deep into the ‘know how’ aspect so that learners have clarity about how a skill can be best used in the scope of their work.
2. Strong, but not an overwhelming learning engagement plan
Videos, infographic, assessment, gamified learning, e learning modules – today learners are spoilt for a choice. We cannot use all of them and we cannot use any one of them. So, how do we go about it?
- Blend more than one methodology to break the monotony, especially if the intervention has more than one modules
- Use one methodology every week or every fortnight to surprise your learners If you are using one topic
- Do not forget to consider the topic. It will help you choose the mode that is best suited for your learners
- You can also use them in incremental format for example, begin with an infographic for a quick and easy recall, introduce a short video, follow by an assessment or gamified learning and so on
3. Outward vs. Inward looking – Does it have the right balance?
We all love tailor-made solutions and learning content is no exception. While it is important to use ‘real’ cases and ‘day to day scenarios’, it is also important to expose the learners to scenarios beyond their world.
This means introducing business cases from the same as well as different industries. Help the group to analyze a current scenario which they can easily connect to but also introduce them to a hypothetical scenario which may be completely new to them.
This allows the group to not only analyze, but also synthesize a given situation.
The purpose of a learning intervention is not to merely equip the focus group with tools that will help them deal with the current challenges but also prepare them for potential challenges or opportunities.
The pandemic have compelled us to look beyond traditional approach and weave unconventional strategies so it is only fair to prepare the employees in a way where they are confident to not just embrace but lead unconventional strategies. The outcome? They are not ‘forced’ to think out of the box but are naturally driven to look beyond the obvious
4.Blending it with demography, market and cultural context
World class content also offers a level of cultural relevance. Culture, is our survival strategy to an environment. It includes but is not limited to ideas, convictions, beliefs, and implicit theories of the world we live in and the way we work or do business. All these are largely driven by the culture we are surrounded by. Culture drives our decision-making process. Thus, building content that speaks through a filter of cultural relevance will make it more likely to resonate and build long-lasting, meaningful relationships with the learner group.
5. Message from the leadership
Last but not the least, a strong message from the leadership or any senior leader is always a great way to not just set the tone for the intervention but also to align the content to the business objectives which is really the measure of success at the end.
This could be in the form of a leader’s talk section, or a quote from a senior leader, or a video recorded message from a functional head or even a round table conference of the leaders that can be pre-recorded.
It could also be in the form of a short story too which is connected to the topic. The idea is for the learners to find coherence in the topic, the skill that they are about to learn and its impact on their performance along with the business.
I am sure there can be many more ideas to make learning content more valuable and meaningful.
Learning and development professionals are experimenting with new methodologies everyday to set new standards and goals.
Would love to hear your thoughts on meaningful content for new age learners.
