There is a lot of speculation about what the future of work will look like, feel like, and function like. We are already experiencing dramatic shifts in the way we work, being driven and enabled by new digital-experience platforms and artificial intelligence, creating an experience that is self-directed and adaptive. Included with these shifts are the change in workforce demographics and the emergence of the empowered consumer who demands a level of service that is co-created in real time. This lineup could provide for the perfect storm unless organizations, specifically their leadership, plan and prepare for the dramatic change in mindsets and approaches to the way people think, learn, and perform in the very near future.

Companies that are proactively anticipating the 2025 or 2030 future of work dynamics and focusing on digital transformation are significantly improving their opportunities to improve both the employee and the customer experience, increase speed of innovation, increase productivity, and increase effectiveness of decision making results by having predictive analytics available.  A recent Forbes article written by Louis Columbus stated an interesting statistic, “55% of startups have already adopted a digital business strategy compared to 38% of traditional enterprises.”  By 2020, those that have not integrated and adopted a digital strategy will find themselves unable to compete in the evolved market.  To remain competitive, companies need to ensure they have a robust future-of-work transformation strategy that starts with the mindsets and actions of leadership.

Companies that are making it a strategic priority need to also ensure every critical aspect is covered in their work transformation strategy development. Companies having a keen focus on the human side of the effects are the front runners in preparing their workforce for a new way of working. These companies anticipate and proactively develop the required and relevant capabilities needed to perform effectively in the new environment and to meet the demands of the future customer.

The trick to having a work transformation strategy that really makes a difference is to ensure it is one that can be executed successfully. Too often, great efforts are put into creating a strategy only to have it be a communication piece that circulates, stirs up a bit of discussion, and then gets lost in the demands of the day. A strategy that is executable needs to use a holistic approach that goes beyond just getting the strategy documented; the approaches, tools, and resources must also be aligned to execute on each factor of the strategy. A holistic, executable transformation strategy entails five critical elements:

• Business Alignment
  • Vision and performance philosophy, strategic value, and structure for success
• People and Teams
  • Performance experience, capabilities matrix, and enablement journey
• Technology and Systems
  • Technology ecosystem, integrated user experience, and systems integration
• Policies and Procedures
  • Constraints and enablers, systems structure, and measurement and analytics
• Culture and Environment
  • Leadership and change management, stakeholder support and enablement, and governance and sustainability

Each of these elements plays a vital role in the development of a strategy that becomes the calibrated compass point for the execution and continued evolution of the strategy. By addressing all five elements and subcomponents of those elements thoughtfully and intentionally, leadership can produce an effective strategy that guides the creation, implementation, and evolution of the transformation. The strategy initially positions and informs the business case for the transformation and development of future-of-work performer experience. As the experience is rolled out, this strategy then serves as the operational blueprint that then becomes the governance playbook to serve as the standards guide and course-correcting compass point.

Work transformation is already occurring—now is the time to anticipate and design the experiences that align skills with business needs. Strategy needs to focus on empowering employees to develop their skills and to stay relevant in a fast-moving digital, agile environment. A solid strategy and conviction to be proactive is needed to advance digital transformation and ensure a workforce that is prepared to solve new problems across a varied landscape of changing business services and solutions and ever-evolving customer demands.

About the Authors

Kerry Hearns-Smith

Kerry joins GP Strategies with over 20 years of experience in senior roles working with Fortune 100 companies around the globe on engagements - transforming organizational culture, learning, and the employee experience. She is a life-long learner herself and her current sweet spot includes taking L&D from yesterday’s organizational driven formal learning to the future with learner driven digital, on-demand, and adaptive learning ecosystems.

This blog article was written prior to LEO Learning becoming part of GP Strategies.

Around 40 years ago, during the golden age of video game arcades, gamers would play knowing that winning was impossible. Playing primarily for fun and prestige, they would insert coins or tokens, knowing there was no way of successfully completing games—points were their reward and a gauge of their progress.

But over the years, as the format of games changed and became less “endless,” players began to care less about points in gamification and respond to more complex incentives. These days, alongside points, we are familiar with some of the most basic mechanics (or rules) of gamification, such as:

• Leaderboards
• Multiple choice questions
• Diminishing time to complete challenges
• Prizes

While all of these elements can potentially contribute to effective eLearning games and gamification, there is a train of thought that suggests they are fairly uninspired in modern learning terms. As gamification continues to grow in popularity across organizations, what other reward options are out there to challenge and motivate learners?

Challenge Learners to Retain Points in Gamification

Let’s start by thinking about different approaches to points. Say you arbitrarily offer a certain number of points for answering a question correctly. An obvious alternative would be to reverse this and challenge players to target loss aversion. A good example of this is a game called Papers Please, in which players are put in the shoes of an official in a fictional authoritarian state.

Players’ points are represented by their salary and savings, but they can lose them through fines when they make mistakes, as well as on costs such as rent, food and protecting their family from illness. There is a powerful incentive for players to retain points in gamification in order to stay in the game.

Experience points are a trope used by a plethora of games in the industry today. The hugely popular and compelling game awards points to players after they have carried out tasks such as completing quests. They can then spend this currency on tools to enhance their experiences in the game.

Use Gamification to Build Connections and Collaboration

While leaderboards can be useful for making learning more social, it isn’t always correct to assume that people feel connected through competition. Interacting with other gamers as you race to score the most points at Pac-Man can be fun, but there are more sophisticated ways to nurture a connection between gamers.

Games produced by the former developer, Telltale, were known for requiring players to make difficult moral choices before revealing what percentage of their fellow deliberators made the same tough choices as them. This is a much more rewarding form of connection for some players, as well as involving an intriguing additional element of psychology.

Opportunities to provide support rather than competition can create strong connections. In eLearning, we know the value of bringing people together through conversations and discussion forums.

One game that offers this spirit of collaboration is Bloodborne, a notoriously difficult action role-playing game. To help navigate the danger-strewn missions, players can leave each other notes—passing on their experience, even if they’re taking on different challenges several weeks apart. Within the game, players can also rate these notes according to how useful they found them.

Teamwork is vital in most workforces, and another very popular game, Overwatch, creatively brings this to the fore. While its premise is a class-based first-person shooter, each player is part of a team. And each character assigned to a player has different strengths and weaknesses, such as speed or medical capabilities. This type of connection makes people feel unique and highlights their specific contribution to the success of their team in the game.

Enhance Understanding and Link to Learning Points

Empathy is another quality that can be developed by games. Spent, an online game about avoiding bankruptcy and poverty which has been played more than four million times in over 218 countries since 2011, demonstrates this well.

One of the levels uses an engaging grocery store mechanic. Given a set budget for the month, gamers must avoid going bankrupt while making a monthly grocery shop. Unfortunately, junk food is significantly cheaper than healthy options in the game (and, often, in real life!). This cleverly illustrates a key learning point around why families living below the poverty line might eat less healthily. It’s a good example illustrating that when message and mechanics are aligned, the learning resulting from it is even more powerful.

Gamification is also being used to effectively communicate learning points in areas such as customer service and healthcare. Games around managing insulin on a day-to-day basis, for example, have been used to educate learners about diabetes.

Another example is a competitive gameplay environment that we developed with the aim of keeping young people on an asthma trial. Two years into the trial, this approach continued to produce 100 percent adherence from participants.

For students and professionals, acclaimed puzzle-platform game Portal has provided a level of mastery that transfers to real-life knowledge. As players navigate a series of laboratories, they can use a variety of solutions to solve puzzles set within compelling gameplay.

Portal excels at teaching players a totally novel (at the time) gameplay mechanic. The game teaches you how to use your ‘portal gun’ to solve challenges that start out basic, but become more and more difficult (and deadly) as you progress. In its later stages, the game removes the support structures and forces the player to improvise using the skillset they’ve built so far to overcome the game’s most difficult puzzles.

Points in Gamification: Providing Adventure and Stimulation

We’ve looked at some of the ways you can take your gamified eLearning courses to the next level. Of course, let’s not forget that there are other ways to show progression and achievement in games. Story, social collaboration, progressive mastery of game mechanics, among others are all important elements of a great, engaging game.

When it comes to points, there are arguments for and against using traditional point-scoring. But the main aim of gamified learning should always be to give learners unique, interesting and meaningful experiences.

As learning managers and designers, we need to go above and beyond simple points and leaderboards and consider new and innovative ways to align gamification mechanics with learning points. Above all, creating a sense of adventure and exploration is a great way to improve engagement levels and keep people coming back to learning.

Excited about the possibilities of gaming elements for your learning programs? GP Strategies has extensive experience in using learning games and gamification to enhance training success. Get in touch to find out more.

About the Authors

Rich Calcutt

Rich Calcutt is a Director of Consulting Learning Experience, and also chairs the Game Design team at GP Strategies. Rich's team brings together the science of learning design with the art of play, helping global brands create immersive and impactful experiences that change both mindsets and behaviors. Rich is a believer in the power of games to educate individuals, engage communities, and transform organizations.

We made it! The year 2019 is here and while each new year holds promise and a vision for what success looks like, this potential for success can only be reached by setting the RIGHT goals that align strategy with execution. Equipping the people who support these goals while continuously adapting to increasing changes in the digital and global landscape is no small feat, but you are not in it alone.

Our Resource Library offers content from the best thought leaders in the industry, providing insights and tools that help make possibilities achievable. With nearly 70 posts published on the Performance Matters Blog in the past year, 5 stood out that are worth sharing as we embrace the new year:

• Five Strategies for People Friendly Digital Transformation
• Organizational Change Management (OCM): Top 10 Aims for Success
• Innovation the Introvert’s Way
• How to Measure Informal Learning
• Five Things Learning Professionals Want

Our webinars, with interactive content and engagement from our audience, continue to offer a deeper dive on key topics. In 2018, our top webinars included:

• Learning Trends 2019: Voice of Our Customers
• Design Thinking: Moving From Theory to Application to Business Results

Research also continues to be a key offering for our readers. Last year we surveyed global audiences and published the results in two research reports:

• Tomorrow’s Leaders Today

As we continue to share thought leadership in 2019, our resolution is to make an impact by continuously surveying our customers and developing content to address the challenges they face. We also aim to stay ahead of e-learning solutions and development trends and recently launched our series on learning trends for 2019. We invite you to join us for an exciting look at the broad implications of digital learning and the emerging trends facing organizations.

In 2019, the stage is set for transformative moves and we look forward to continuing the journey with you.

About the Authors

Kayla Ratz

Kayla Ratz is the Digital Marketing Manager for GP Strategies and the editor of the GP Strategies Blog. Her focus is on sharing thought leadership and insights across digital mediums, and through collaboration efforts, to support performance improvement and enable knowledge sharing in the Learning Industry.

Rarely does any battle plan survive contact with the enemy. And in business, this is also true—unpredictable market forces interact in such a way that can quickly render a plan obsolete. This is true of one year, horizon one, planning, and especially any 3- to 5-year strategic plan. Hence, organizations need to build adaptive capacity to ensure their people can be more agile in the face of change.

As the New Year begins, leaders should be considering the following strategic planning questions:

• What worked in 2018, and how can we accelerate our advantage?
• Where do gaps remain, and what are the insights behind these that will allow us to take appropriate action?
• What disruptive forces have emerged, and how should we address these?
• In which areas have we chosen to just show up for, or even abandon, so that we can do other things amazingly well?
• If we were starting the business today, where would we place our bets?
• Is the organization deployed in such a way to deliver on our differentiated advantage—and what shifts should we make?

The best companies “ritualize” the habit of coming together often to revisit questions like those above—and involve key leaders, and ideally high potentials, in the conversation. At a minimum, even testing the current plan through an “operational rehearsal” is prudent, as it can highlight risks and untapped opportunities.

Indeed, it is that most wonderful time of the year…and it all leads to very real business financial success—this year and many years to come!

About the Authors

Duke Maines

Duke Maines has a history of success in enabling people and businesses to unlock opportunities to transform their organizations. As a commercial leader, Duke built and led what is widely considered the best sales organization in beer industry at Boston Beer Company—brewers of Samuel Adams.   After starting his own brewery, he established Oregon Ale & Beer Co. as a top ten craft brand within just one year.  All of this came after he paid his own way through University from the proceeds of a start-up t-shirt company.    Recognizing his true passion—and personal purpose—he began a career in learning and development which led to critical experiences in all areas of OD including leadership development, talent management, recruiting, workforce planning, change management, and internal communications.  In this capacity, Duke has  led change management efforts of two of the largest mergers in history as well as found unique and creative ways to help companies tap into their core purpose to accelerate culture transformation efforts.   His past positions include the Chancellor of Challenge, Emir of Excellence, Optimus Prime of Talent Maximization, and the Dark Over Lord of Learning.  These “official” titles provide a sense of the style, passion, and energy, Duke brings to any organization—especially those who want to enjoy life while they deliver exceptional results.

“Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow”

Be ready or be snowed in.

Are you a person who loves the snow or one who dreads the snow? It often depends on how prepared you are for the upcoming winter and snowfall. If you have the right equipment, like a snow shovel, good tires, skis, snowshoes, or a snow machine (snowmobile), then snow can be an opportunity. You can plan on what you are going to do next. You can go outside, stay by the delightful fire, and even play.

We can also think of data as snowflakes. Each piece of data is unique. We can have a plan on how we are collecting, sorting, and analyzing data. Or, we can just ignore the data and let it just melt away, but it can limit what we are able to do. Data can be considered a worrisome threat or an opportunity.

Data as an Opportunity
Data helps us make a decision. When we look at a learning program or other initiative, we need to consider key decisions such as:
• Should we continue this program?
• Should we stop offering this program?
• Should we change this program?

We can then collect the right data to help us make a decision. To establish whether we should continue a program, we need to know the impact of the program on performance and business outcomes. We need to determine whether the performance of learners has changed, which impacts business outcomes like sales, retention, production, and customer satisfaction. We also need to make a prediction or hypothesis about the training. An example hypothesis is, People who complete this training will solve customer problems, which, in turn, will increase customer satisfaction. So, we count the number of problems solved, and then track the results of customer-satisfaction surveys. The data is an opportunity to determine impact and decide on whether to continue the learning program.

Data as a Threat
How is data a threat? Data can impact the way learning and development (L&D) organizations operate. Data, like course completions, hours spent in training, or number of courses offered, alone does not show an alignment between learning and the business. The data could show that people are finding other ways to learn such as through Google, coworkers, YouTube, and other informal learning offerings. The data could signal that L&D needs to move from building courses and eLearning to using existing content and job aids to enable learner performance on the job. The data could indicate that it is time to change the program or approach.

A measurement plan that answers the following questions should be in place to handle the data:
• What decisions do we need to make about a program or initiative? (Stop, continue, pivot.)
• What data do we need to make those decisions? (You need business and performance data.)
• Who can we partner with to collect the right data? (You need on-the-job data.)
• How do we sort and analyze the data? (Use your hypotheses to analyze the data.)

So, as the snow falls this winter, and as you consider the data that you collect, think about what decisions you need to make and what data you need to make those decisions. The more prepared you are, the more you can take advantage of the data and the snow.

About the Authors

Scott Weersing

What is learning analytics and why am I passionate about it? Way back when I was a newspaper photographer, I really wanted to know the who, what, when, where, and why about the story I was assigned to. I loved to find out more information so I could be in the right place at the right time in order to get the best photograph. The more information I had, along with personal experience, prepared me to take an impactful photograph. My journey to learning analytics follows the same path of asking questions and finding the right tools. When I started working in Learning and Development as an instructional designer, I always was curious about what the learners were going to do with the training on the job. Oftentimes, I would get a response from the SME that the new knowledge would just change behavior on the job. I guess I am a little cynical about the magic of training. Just wave the magic wand, attend the training, view the WBT, and your problems will be solved. I did not know the questions to ask to ensure that the training would be applied on the job, but my leaders noticed that I was curious and liked to ask questions. They asked me whether I would you like to be a performance consultant. After telling me what a performance consultant does, I said that it sounded great. Who wouldn’t want to solve business and performance problems with a series of interventions? It was my time as a performance consultant that I learned about the right questions to ask to get to outcomes and, in turn, I became fascinated with metrics. My favorite questions are still as follows: Can you tell me more about the problem? What have you have already tried to solve the problem? What would it look like after this problem is solved? What metrics or data do you have that show there is a problem? I became data driven to find the causes of problems and then track the solutions to see if we were moving the needle. The tools to find the root cause of a problem are the same tools to see whether the training is being applied on the job. I use interviews, focus groups, observations, checklists, and surveys to find out what is causing a problem, and then I use the same tools to find out what is happening after training and, in turn, making an impact on business outcomes. I would say that learning analytics and photography are similar in that you need to plan with the end in mind to collect the right information in order to tell a story and make an impact.

The first time I wrote about performance management, more than a decade ago, “Death, Taxes, and Performance Management” was a fitting title. At the time, I argued that all three topics conjured up images of unavoidable misery, paperwork, and delicate conversations about money. So, I jumped at the chance to tackle the topic again―this time with a little ho-ho holiday cheer.

I’ve observed, despite all the reports of revamped performance management approaches and continuous coaching cultures, that the tradition of year-end performance conversations is still alive in many organizations (much like the annual delivery of Aunt Ida’s holiday fruitcake that could double as a doorstop). I’d like to offer up three performance review tips for managers on how to make the most of the conversations.

Make a List and Check It Twice

Just like the fabled big guy in the North Pole, make sure you have the information you need. Before you start the conversation or make entries in your HRM system, review your notes from conversations you’ve had throughout the year. What were the expectations? How did they change? What accomplishments made a difference? Were the outcomes stellar or not what they needed to be? What criteria are you using to shape your thinking?

Don’t stop with what has been achieved. Go back and consider how your team member managed to deliver results this year. Which organizational values were demonstrated? What special capabilities or efforts did the individual bring to the role? What behaviors do you want to highlight―naughty or nice? After all, if you have a team member who creates chaos or a trail of tears in pursuit of results, you need to address the situation now.

It’s Not All About You

A quick but relevant holiday aside: When I met my husband, he used to go to his favorite discount retailer to buy things he thought were cool, and then he decided who in the family was going to get what. It took me a year or two to help him realize that holiday gifts should also reflect what the recipient cared about. Here’s the connection to end-of-year reviews: Sure, they’re about performance, but sustainable results require your team member’s full engagement.

Plan to ask questions that explore the team member’s experience, like: What aspects of their projects were most challenging or fulfilling? What would they like to do more of? Where did they learn the most? What did they enjoy? If you’ve been having regular conversations with team members, you may think you know the answers. But the time you spend exploring each person’s engagement drivers will help ensure continued team member commitment and create a more holly jolly vs. ho-hum discussion.

Avoid Surprises

Finally, save the unexpected for your office “Secret Santa” gift exchange. There is no place for surprises in a performance review. If you’ve been talking to your team members regularly throughout the year―revisiting goals, coaching performance when you see it, clarifying evolving expectations, and identifying development opportunities―the end-of-year discussion should be a recap of everything you’ve talked about already. It’s a wrap-up of “performance past” (get the Dickens’ A Christmas Carol reference?) and a great jumping-off point for planning a stellar future.

You may notice that all three of my points assume regular coach-in-the-moment conversations. What if, despite your best intentions, those haven’t occurred? Prepare as best you can for the performance reviews… and start working on your New Year’s resolution to talk to your team more next year.

About the Authors

Mary Ann Masarech

Mary Ann Masarech spent the first third of her career writing, designing, and marketing skills training for top-notch consulting firms. She acquired a broad Mary Ann is the Lead Consultant for GP Strategies’ Engagement Practice. In this role, she leverages her extensive experience with instructional design and client experience to create practical tools and strategies that clients apply worldwide to create successful businesses and thriving workplaces. She is also co-author of The Engagement Equation: Leadership Strategies for an Inspired Workforce (Wiley, Oct 2012), and a founding member of the Norma Pfriem Urban Outreach Initiatives, a not-for-profit that addresses food insecurity and education for underserved adults and children. Mary Ann is a graduate of Wesleyan University. 

Over the past several years, many learning trends have emerged that continue to impact the market for professional development and lifelong learning. Advances in learning technologies and methodologies provide new opportunities for L&D to design and deliver meaningful learning experiences that align with business objectives. As companies evolve to become digital businesses, they expect their learning organizations to also be more digital.

In 2019, the stage is set for transformative moves as 2018’s digital learning developments continue to mature and converge. Learning trends such as integrating learning into work along with innovative and immersive technologies allow for endless possibilities to improve the learning experience.

During a recent webinar with TrainingIndustry, I discussed a few of the questions professionals are asking and offered insights on the learning technology trends that can help them achieve their business goals:

• How do I measure the impact of learning?
• How can I improve the learner experience?
• What new developments are ahead in personalized learning?
• What are some practical uses for chatbots, augmented and virtual realities, and robotic process automation (RPA)?
• How can we develop a process for innovation and ensure viability?

If you missed the webinar, a recording is now available for you to watch online. I also know that it’s important to stay on top of the latest trends and insights from industry experts. I’d like to invite you to join our upcoming webinar series that takes a deeper dive into the trends above.

After the presentation, several great questions came up from the audience and I wanted to share them with you. Below are those questions and my best answers. Please feel free to add your experience or thoughts on these questions in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

Q: Can you elaborate on more RPA examples? Any easier or cost-effective wins?

A: I continue to believe that the most easy, cost effective RPA solution for learning and development is LMS administration. In large companies, thousands of LMS transactions occur each month so automating this process can reduce both cost and errors. At GP Strategies, we use RPA for some of our financial transactions in our ERP system. I think organizations will continue to see widespread adoption of RPA in a number of areas that are highly transactional and repeatable.

Q: What was the tool used to create the course that allowed learner personalization to occur?

A: We created that personalized learning course using HTML5.

Q: You shared that there are more high-tech options. Can you elaborate on what they are?

A: The high-tech option for personalization is adaptive learning. Adaptive learning uses a software tool that modifies the learning experience as the learner is going through the course. It uses a number of algorithms including how much time you spend on a screen, how you answer questions, and other variables to create a real-time personalized experience. The drawback to this is it requires a cloud based software that is typically licensed on a per-user-basis and that can drive up your delivery costs for each course.

Q: Please share some examples of messaging platforms.

A: You can find the top chatbots for 2019 at the link below:
https://www.consumersadvocate.org/chatbots/a/best-chatbots?msclkid=17dbc466e24118ca9881987c8a26b233&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=zr%20Chatbots&utm_term=best%20chatbot&utm_content=Best%20Chatbot

Q: Are any chatbots 508 compliant?

A: Since chatbots send messages via a phone’s text feature and most phones today have a number of features that allow accessibility to individuals with disabilities then I would assume that they would meet the 508 requirements.

Q: When do you know your organization is ready for a chatbot?

A: If your organization is committed to being a digital organization then your company is ready for chatbots. Today chatbots are becoming very ubiquitous. In fact, I just received an automated text today from my dentist confirming the appointment and asking me if I had any questions about my upcoming visit. We could do the same thing confirming a learner’s attendance at a face-to-face event.

Q: How do you analyze leading indicators for enterprise training or soft skills training versus something that has concrete data?

A: The process of developing the Measurement Map is the same.  Yes, it is a bit tougher.  You really have to push people to articulate “what would be different around here if …” in order to get at the data.

• What do you expect people to do differently?
• What would it look like?
• How would you know?

There is also a wonderful book by Douglas Hubbard:  How to Measure Anything

Q: Can you please share any tools to help come up with solid learner journey?

A: Learning journeys can be created with a wide variety of tools including SharePoint, interactive pdf, and most e-learning development tools are capable of the task.

Q: Where do you see scenario-based learning in the future?

A: Scenario-based learning will continue to gain traction as an important part of any learning event. I firmly believe that when learners are presented scenario-based learning they retain more and are able to put the learning into use much faster.

About the Authors

Don Duquette, Executive Vice President

As the executive vice president of GP Strategies' global workforce excellence practice, Don Duquette is responsible for leading organizations in designing, implementing, operating, and supporting their talent management and workforce strategies, enabling them to gain greater competitive edge in their markets. His more than 30 years of international consulting experience includes the full spectrum of talent management including strategy, digital workforce, future of learning, and governance. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and an executive MBA from Loyola University, Maryland.

On the first day of learning, my trainer gave to me…a class.

On the second day of learning, my trainer gave to me…a survey based on my experience. 

On the third of learning, my trainer gave to me…nothing…

Wait…what? That’s it? Where are the five golden rings? And my knowledge retention?

When we think of training, it’s simple to think of it in terms of an “event” or a “course” – a class, a web-based course, or an eLearning module. Training is something that someone must complete, because upon completion, that someone has gained the necessary skills to do something their job requires. And, let’s be honest, as L&D professionals, it’s nice to design and build an event or a course. There is a defined beginning, middle, and end. It’s easy to scope, fairly easy to implement, and easy to track. And because the training is well defined, we can analyze data on who completed the course/event versus who didn’t. From that comparison, we can determine whether the training had a positive business impact.

But, if we simply stopped there, we would be missing out. We’d be missing out on the learners’ needs, because a one-time event or course simply doesn’t help with knowledge transfer and thus long-term job performance.

A Dartmouth study conducted in 2016 explains that practice is more effective when spaced out over time, instead of massed or grouped together, as it would be in a single class or an eLearning course. Spaced practice enhances memory, problem-solving, and transfer of learning to new contexts as well as offers a great potential for improving outcomes. And it’s more learner-centric. When spacing out learning, we give learners more opportunities to contribute, get support, and create connections to their day-to-day job, driving relevance.

In fact, we see this tension play out organizationally between what employers or organizations desire versus what employees desire as part of their training and how they fundamentally want to learn.

For long-lasting learning, space out the content over time. It’s definitely less easy to scope, track, and implement, but the impact can be tangible. (And isn’t that all that matters?)

What if the 12 days (or weeks) of e-learning courses looked something like this?

• On the first day of learning, my trainer gave to me…a login to a portal personal to me.
• On the second day of learning, my trainer gave to me…a virtual meet and greet to say hello.
• On the third day of learning, my trainer gave to me…some videos to watch to understand the concepts of the course.
• On the fourth day of learning, my trainer gave to me…a reflection exercise based on those concepts to work with my peers or a mentor.
• On the fifth day of learning, my trainer gave to me…a microlearning series of quizzes to play and compete with my peers.
• On the sixth day of learning, my trainer gave to me…a classroom exercise simulating what I’d do on the job.
• On the seventh day of learning, my trainer gave to me…a chatbot that helped me and reminded me to build habits over the next month.
• On the eighth day of learning, my trainer gave to me…a video coaching exercise to practice my skills and get personalized feedback.
• On the ninth day of learning, my trainer gave to me…a short virtual reality or online course with advanced scenarios where I get realistic and relevant feedback based on my choices.
• On the tenth day of learning, my trainer gave to me…access to an expert to ask questions and get advice.
• On the eleventh day of learning, my trainer gave to me…a checklist and rubric for me to use with my manager.
• On the twelfth day of learning, my trainer gave to me…additional resources to enhance all that I learned and help me continue to grow!

…and a partridge in a pear tree.

About the Authors

Britney Cole

Britney is a learning leader with experience in organization development, human performance, and corporate learning and has worked remotely, managing virtual teams for more than a decade. Britney lives in Minnesota with her husband and three small children (ages 5, 7 and 8) where she keeps warm with plenty of blankets and cozy hats. She likes to talk, so you might see her at learning conferences as a speaker. Britney has provided consulting for clients in the financial services, pharmaceutical, steel, chemical, media, technology, retail, manufacturing, and aerospace industries. She forms lasting partnerships with her clients helping them with learning design and architecture, content development, leadership and professional development, performance consulting, technology implementation, and change management. Most recently, she is helping pioneer new experiential learning methods and defining learning 3.0 taxonomy.

Ring-a-ling, hear them ring, soon it will be orientation day. Bing Crosby may not have been referring to training and development in his duet with Carol Richards, but as the industry snows down on us with all the shiny new objects we could invest in, it’s important to not get distracted. Instead, listen for the innovations that will ring true for your learners.

Learning technologies. Emerging practices. New roles. We have a lot of disruption in the learning space; many of them have value, but the question is, Will they really work for your learners in your environment? So, how do you reduce the risk of selecting something that isn’t a fit for your company?

Here are five tips to keep in mind when shiny objects (new corporate training strategies) ring out this holiday season.

#1 Begin with a sustainable innovation process.

Effective companies have created innovation spaces to help navigate the path from the art of the possible to the business of the viable. These spaces allow teams to embrace and effectively process new solutions without disrupting day-to-day activities.

As new shiny objects emerge, the key is to take them away from daily execution activities while learning how effective they may be on a larger scale. Rather than trying a shiny object out on a mission-critical initiative or a high-profile global rollout, try it in a safer test environment first. The idea is to take a proactive approach and gather data on how new, shiny objects might have a real and larger-scale impact for your learners and organization.

#2 Look for the trends before they are obvious—and engage them.

A key to this process is to identify possible innovations and solutions before they arrive. Once you can identify the trends, you proactively align those solutions that are truly viable and invest in scaling them within an organization. You can structure design-thinking sessions about applications, align them to emerging business needs and challenges, gather evidence of success, or invest in continued exploration. Some of the current trends that are having impact on our conversations include appification of learning technologies, enterprise-wide content engagement process and platforms, adaptive learning platforms, and a focus on the learning experience integrated with strategic data-collection points.

#3 Open up to the new—challenge legacy views on content, experience, and the learner’s role.

A key to being successful while exploring new technologies or approaches is to be able to let go of legacy approaches to designing learning events and the associated learning experiences. Many of the emerging technologies require a new design mindset in order to really benefit from them. The role of the designer moves away from architecting highly structured, transactional, efficient learning events into the role of designing experiences that meet the needs of digital learners, wrapped in a digital learning enterprise, supported through digital learning operations. Micro-, social, learner-driven, spaced, adaptive, and multimodal are all features of the new learning experiences enabled through the many shiny objects out there.

#4 Think creatively about growing communities to dynamically meet a range of moments of need.

As learning professionals, we need to open up to the concept that we cannot meet the needs of every learner or performer at their moment of need. With the accelerating pace of disruption, a critical component of dynamically meeting emerging needs is the creation and facilitation of a performer community. Several emerging platforms are really enabling groups of learners to better collaborate on business challenges, moderate high-impact conversations, and curate relevant resources. How they are successful in your organization depends on your approach to finding what works for your learners in their environment. Keep in mind that this is not about technology integration—it is a change-management effort focused on how the human will use the technology to solve the problem.

#5 Cultivate, develop, and reinforce innovative behaviors.

It isn’t enough to draw up an innovation process or set aside time for innovation activities. Organizations need to take time to nurture and reinforce innovative behaviors, embracing the concept that innovation by its very nature is a disruptive, difficult process. Some of the behaviors that organizations should actively cultivate include:

• Observing
• Questioning
• Networking
• Experimenting
• Associating

These behaviors are the backbone for how companies take the information, gather data on it, and then share among others so that they can benefit from it. Especially in questioning.

Companies need to consider questions such as the following: How would we use it? How does it function, and will it be secure in our environment? How will it work with our populations? Where is it a good application and where is it not a good application?

These tips help to explore, experiment, and determine if shiny objects can work within each organization’s unique needs. They will ultimately ensure your object will provide the return you desire.

About the Authors

Matt Donovan

Chief Learning & Innovation Officer

Early in life, I found that I had a natural curiosity that not only led to a passion for learning and sharing with others, but it also got me into trouble. Although not a bad kid, I often found overly structured classrooms a challenge. I could be a bit disruptive as I would explore the content and activities in a manner that made sense to me. I found that classes and teachers that nurtured a personalized approach really resonated with me, while those that did not were demotivating and affected my relationship with the content. Too often, the conversation would come to a head where the teacher would ask, “Why can’t you learn it this way?” I would push back with, “Why can’t you teach it in a variety of ways?” The only path for success was when I would deconstruct and reconstruct the lessons in a meaningful way for myself. I would say that this early experience has shaped my career. I have been blessed with a range of opportunities to work with innovative organizations that advocate for the learner, endeavor to deliver relevance, and look to bend technology to further these goals. For example, while working at Unext.com, I had the opportunity to experience over 3,000 hours of “learnability” testing on my blended learning designs. I could see for my own eyes how learners would react to my designs and how they made meaning of it. Learners asked two common questions: Is it relevant to me? Is it authentic? Through observations of and conversations with learners, I began to sharpen my skills and designed for inclusion and relevance rather than control. This lesson has served me well. In our industry, we have become overly focused on the volume and arrangement of content, instead of its value. Not surprising—content is static and easier to define. Value (relevance), on the other hand, is fluid and much harder to describe. The real insight is that you can’t really design relevance; you can only design the environment or systems that promote it. Relevance ultimately is in the eye of the learner—not the designer. So, this is why, when asked for an elevator pitch, I share my passion of being an advocate for the learner and a warrior for relevance.

This blog article was written prior to LEO Learning becoming part of GP Strategies.  

Blended learning has become widespread in successful organizations. In fact, Training Magazine’s 2023 Training Industry Report revealed that the companies surveyed delivered 32% of their total training hours using blended learning techniques.  

But what exactly do we mean when we say blended learning? And what are the unique benefits of a blended learning approach? In this guide, we’ll introduce the basics of blended learning and discuss what organizations may have to gain by combining face-to-face training with eLearning. 

What is Blended Learning?

At its core, blended learning is an approach to training that combines both traditional face-to-face instruction with eLearning methods. The aim of a blended learning strategy, then, is to leverage the strengths of both digital and in-person methods of instruction to deliver a more diversified and effective learning or training experience. 

Blended Learning vs. eLearning: Understanding the Differences 

eLearning is often used interchangeably with online learning, which is not entirely accurate. While most eLearning today is delivered online, it can be an offline experience too. Typically, eLearning is delivered through computers, tablets, or smartphones. eLearning is one component of a blended learning strategy, which is made up of a mixture of face-to-face and eLearning methods.  

The Components of a Blended Learning Course 

With their mix of offline and online formats, blended learning courses typically offer a series of self-study and guided learning activities. A typical blend might include the following types of blended learning activities:  

• eLearning 

• Video demonstrations 

• Animated process overviews 

• Face-to-face workshops 

• Scenarios (digital or offline) 

• Workbooks (digital or offline) 

• Podcasts 

• Simulations 

• Online forums 

Key Benefits of a Blended Learning Approach

The Strengths of Face-to-Face Training

Face-to-face training, with its emphasis on human interaction, offers some clear advantages: 

• It allows learners to raise queries in the moment. 

• It enables learners to spend time with peers. 

• Learners can actively practice, collaborate, or compete while receiving guidance from an experienced facilitator. 

However, one significant downside to face-to-face learning is the cost of delivering it: venue booking, the costs for a trainer, food and drink, plus, the need for a person or persons to administer the course. Because of these challenges, classroom learning tends to consist of occasional, one-off events, which can be long and risk presenting learners with too much to take in and retain. 

To make matters worse, when learners don’t use their new skills for a while, they are likely to forget them before being able to apply them. This is known as the Forgetting Curve. Learners often come away from workshops with notes, but in many cases need more guidance and support to help maintain and apply their learning. 

The Benefits of Introducing eLearning

Supplementing face-to-face training with eLearning methods can help offset the downsides of face-to-face learning, while providing additional benefits such as: 

• Efficient information delivery – in a well-designed blend, initial underpinning information can be more efficiently delivered via eLearning, which can incorporate highly engaging formats such as video and animation. 

• That underpinning information can be delivered in a way which is “bite-sized” (also known as microlearning) which makes it easier for people to fit it into their working day. 

• Learners can move at their own pace, rather than the pace of the group and they can decide when and where to engage with online activities. 

• Learners are also given a structure, pathway, and some deadlines, so they aren’t left to plan and design their own learning. 

• Rewinding and repeating content can clarify anything not immediately understood, which also helps to combat the Forgetting Curve. 

• Increased interaction – online forums and virtual classrooms allow for more interaction between people who cannot meet face-to-face. 

• New technologies and approaches – new ways of interacting, such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and learning games can allow learners to gain experience and practice in new ways. A good example of this is practicing for rare situations and events in realistic environments. 

Why Blended Learning Offers the Best of Both Worlds

When it comes to sustained learning programs—those that take place over time—a blended learning strategy can offer several benefits, such as: 

• Learning that is both cost-effective and more effective at reaching larger numbers of learners in remote areas. 

• Learning that supports shorter, structured practice that takes place over a longer period of time. 

• A balance between combining a clear structure and pathway with flexibility about where and when to engage with many of the individual learning activities. 

• Interaction with subject matter experts (SMEs); asking questions or discussing new concepts is often a key factor in mastering a subject. 

• Increased interaction with peers, which enables people to learn through collaboration and discussion. 

Blended Learning Meets the Needs of Both the Learner and the Organization

Blended learning effectively integrates the best aspects of face-to-face training and eLearning, creating a balanced approach that leverages the strengths of both methods. By combining the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of digital learning with the interactive and personalized nature of in-person instruction, organizations can offer a comprehensive learning experience that enhances retention, engagement, and practical application.  

Find out how to apply a blended learning strategy to drive more effective learning in your organization.  

About the Authors

GP Strategies Corporation

GP Strategies is a global performance improvement solutions provider of sales and technical training, e-Learning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services, customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers.