Is Your Coaching Linked To Enterprise Outcomes?
Is your training linked to business results?
In the first part of this series, I introduced the person of an “eLearning champion” and went into some basic aspects of training and learning. In the second part, I looked at integrating eLearning into the overall training strategy, including combining eLearning with training in the classroom.
This last part deals with the all-important aspect of setting learning objectives that seals the fate of a course of study if it is not done properly.
How do managers see training?
A majority of managers believe that training is of limited value and benefit. It is rare for managers to find a way to the trainer’s office for help training their staff. Usually it’s the other way around – training managers trying hard to find work! Most training managers rarely think about how their training will affect business results. You simply respond to a request from a manager, jump in and start designing or delivering the course.
Most training is conducted in isolation without linking it to the ultimate goal of achieving business results. Neither the manager nor the trainer pay much attention to this very important aspect. If you don’t do this, there will be huge costs, ineffective training with little impact on business results, and loss of credibility for training and education managers. How do we make training a coveted value-adding endeavor that has a positive impact on results?
Link training to business results
Let’s look at the continuum below. The correct order is from left to right: first identify or understand the organizational outcome you want (increase sales, reduce costs and / or time, improve quality, reduce waste …) and then translate it into the desired one Achievement (what is the human achievement, which is that would produce those business results if all other things are constant?), And then that desired achievement needs to be translated into achievement-based learning objectives (what achievement would you like to see from the learners after completing the training? ).
In this way, you create a connection between your business goals, human performance and your own training efforts.
Learning objectives and business results
Setting learning objectives is the first step you need to take before you even think about designing, developing, or choosing an authoring tool. This applies to both teaching and e-learning.
Learning objectives should be:
- PERFORMANCE-based
- Clearly decided with performance conditions
- And carefully set performance criteria
First you have to decide what it is performance You want to improve with your training. Performance-based learning objectives are learning objectives that include performance, which means that they can be measured at the end of the training. If not for the benefit of the learner, then at least for the benefit of the designer, the conditions The conditions under which the performance will take place should be considered and decided – under what conditions, or rather under what conditions, the performance will take place. And finally the accepted level of performance, criteriaand passport marks should be carefully determined. If you focus on these three elements before going to your drawing boards to design a course, your course will be high quality and impactful.
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of setting performance-based learning goals first. Not only do they link the objectives of the course to the performance that will deliver the desired business outcomes, but they also serve as a frame of reference for deciding on:
1. Scope of content
In most cases, subject matter experts give a lot of content on you and expect all content to be included in the course, whether it is eLearning or classroom. The course becomes long and unwieldy with a lot of irrelevant and sometimes irrelevant content. So what are the criteria for choosing the most relevant content and rejecting the rest? The learning objectives! With very clear performance-based learning objectives, you can not only accurately identify relevant and irrelevant content, but also carry it out without any problems.
2. Choice of teaching method
The choice of teaching method depends on the goals. A teaching strategy depends on three factors: the learner, the goals and the subject. Let’s see how goals define the method. If a goal includes “calculate a value,” the method for learning how to calculate is different from that of a goal that includes, for example, “compare and contrast values.” Your rating also depends on the goals.
3. Evaluation
How can you formulate the questions when it comes to assessing learning, for example through a summative assessment or a quiz at the end of the course? It can turn into a virtual minefield if you don’t ask questions of each target. You may have questions that test something completely different from what you set out to do when you started the exercise – and the link with performance is broken.
4. Training costs
The duration of the course depends on the goals. more goals, more duration. Generally supervisors will ask for a “three day course” or a “30 minute eLearning”. You’re not talking about learning goals, but you should. And when you do, they want all of the world’s learning objectives to be included in the course. The best way to counter this type of request is to explain to them that it will take three days if all of these goals are included, not one. Or you need a 3-hour eLearning, not a 30-minute one. The duration affects the cost.
Design, develop and translate
If I asked you what your preferred authoring tool is, you would probably say “Articulate Storyline”. Not surprising, but there are some who prefer Adobe Captivate or Lectora Inspire. Is there a perfect authoring tool? Well there aren’t any.
Choosing an authoring tool depends on the following factors.
1. Required output
Are you looking for quick conversions or do you have text-heavy content that you want to convert into eLearning? Would you like to translate the English master’s course into multiple languages? Or are you looking for device-independent content that you want to transfer to multiple devices?
2. Development process
How will you design your courses? Are you going to have collaborative authoring? Are your writers or teaching designers spread across different countries or are they all in the same place? Where are your SMEs? Would you rather leave reviews online? At what stage of the introduction of eLearning are you? Are you in the “Beginner” level or in the “Very advanced” level?
As you can see, there are many factors involved in choosing your authoring tool. Authoring tools have their own advantages and disadvantages. The best thing to do is to evaluate your needs and choose a tool across the company. Multiple tools create many problems once your business scales eLearning.
eLearning translations for global training
About 10 years ago nobody talked about eLearning translation. Almost all of our customers now translate their English-language master’s course into around 40 international languages. The most important consideration when translating eLearning is that you don’t make an afterthought. You can’t suddenly choose to translate your eLearning course after you’ve designed and developed it. That is because if you have to translate it after the master’s course is developed, you will have to spend more time, effort and money. You need to make this decision right at the beginning.
You should plan translations with the course as the teaching strategy, content strategy, graphics, audio, and choice of authoring tool are heavily influenced by the decision to design a multilingual course. You may not need to translate it right away. You might want to do it after six months or a year. However, if you have designed for this eventuality, you will save a lot of effort and expense.
The reasons for the translation and localization are pretty nonsensical. Culture and language influence how people learn. It makes a lot of sense to translate your courses to reach the maximum number of staff and get maximum impact.
With this piece, I have come to the end of my 3-article series on “Become an eLearning champion”. Hope you found it useful and thought provoking. If you would like to dig deeper into these topics, you may want to receive my book of the same name, which is now available on Amazon.
CommLab India
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