Many L&D conversations are focused on making L&D easy for the learner, but what about the individuals who design, coordinate, and facilitate those learning experiences? When L&D professionals begin a new design process, they often think about ways they can improve efficiency, effectiveness, and ease of learning. Addressing these three things can be challenging if the instructional designer does not have adequate resources and support to carry out that work.
The following tips are provided to help support instructional designers and admins in their efforts to facilitate learning and improve performance in the workplace.
-
Foster an organizational culture that promotes collaboration
Regardless of how small or large your organization’s L&D team may be, all training efforts should not rest solely on these individuals. Workplace learning and performance improvement should be everyone’s responsibility. Organizational leadership can support their L&D professionals by promoting a workplace culture that values learning and development. Engaging in proactive conversations that discuss how L&D can support the organization’s strategic goals.
This can be accomplished by providing L&D professionals with access to subject matter experts to support content development. Managers should have ongoing conversations with instructional designers on their workplace learning needs to provide employees with learning experiences that are relevant and engaging.
-
Utilize a Learning Management System
One of the best ways to support L&D professionals is to provide them with opportunities to streamline processes. A learning management system (LMS) provides a centralized location where L&D professionals can create, upload, and deliver content. It allows L&D professionals to track learner performance and report on individual learner, department, and overall organizational learning performance. Using an LMS not only provides a centralized location for employees to access training but also provides the mechanisms for L&D professionals and admins to communicate with learners and gather data to demonstrate L&D’s ROI to organizational leadership.
A good LMS plays an integral role in making L&D easy for learners by providing them with a location that is easy to navigate, access content, and establish personalized learning plans. Providing an intuitive interface also supports admins by enabling them to enroll students, manage learner performance, and run reports efficiently.
-
Provide Templates to Support Rapid Prototyping
The use of templates can support the overall efficiency of design. The use of design documents and storyboards not only allows for content to be reviewed and refined before development, but also provides mechanisms for subject matter experts, managers, and other team members working on the project to provide feedback. Rapid prototyping facilitates iterative testing and refinement which support L&D professional’s abilities to make the necessary adjustments before launching course content.
Rapid prototyping accelerates the development process while maintaining a consistent look and feel of the content. This not only aids in learner engagement, but also reduces the extraneous cognitive load during the learning process. The use of templates supports scalability and consistency across multiple training programs. Templates ensure that regardless of who is contributing to content, they are meeting organizational standards and performance benchmarks.
-
Automate Administrative Tasks
Providing L&D professionals with the tools needed to automate tasks can increase efficiency and free up their time to focus on more strategic aspects of L&D. Tasks such as enrollment, scheduling, reminders, and learner performance reports can be handled by automated applications in the LMS. Automating these tasks provides real-time analytics that L&D professionals can use to aid in their decision-making, strategic planning, and conversations with other organizational leaders.
-
Invest in Professional Development for L&D Professionals
Many L&D conversations revolve around making L&D easy for the learner. It’s important to remember that L&D professionals also benefit from being learners themselves. Another way organizations can make workplace learning easy for their L&D professionals is to invest in their professional development.
Technological tools and advancements in workplace learning seem to be evolving at an exponential pace. Providing L&D professionals with opportunities to train on new technologies, different instructional strategies, and industry best practices can equip them with the tools they need to create learning experiences that are relevant to learners and grounded in sound learning science.
In conclusion, while much focus is often placed on simplifying learning experiences for employees, it’s equally important to consider the needs of those who design, coordinate, and facilitate these experiences.
L&D professionals require adequate resources and support to effectively enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and ease of learning within organizations. By fostering a collaborative organizational culture, utilizing robust learning management systems, providing templates for rapid prototyping, automating administrative tasks, and investing in the professional development of L&D professionals, organizations can create a more supportive environment for these critical contributors. Such measures not only streamline the design and delivery of training programs but also ensure that L&D efforts are aligned with organizational goals, ultimately leading to improved performance and a culture of continuous learning and development.
