We’ve all been thrust into a new reality that has expedited the transition to online learning programs across the enterprise
Not surprisingly, L&D leaders have been inundated with requests to launch and scale online training programs that are imperative to critical skill-building, employee engagement, and business growth and transformation.
1. Plan for Success
To Scale Big, First Start Small
Pick an initiative to start with:
- The most pressing – A canceled in-person training
- The program with the greatest impact – An initiative with the greatest impact on employee engagement or business performance
- The easiest program to transition online – An initiative that already has online components
Make a Plan!
- Form a team
- Identify your resources
- Understand your technology
- Define your timeline
- Determine your content
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
John Wooden, Former UCLA Basketball Coach
Don’t Recreate the Wheel
Centralize and standardize
- Decide on the length of your program
- Build a common framework for your course content
- Create content that can be reused – powerpoints, infographics, videos
2. Choose Your Facilitator Persona
Don’t fear digital facilitation! You can be effective no matter how much time you have.
Choose Your Level of Facilitation
Train Conductor
- Plan ahead and automate communications
- Create an ‘Ask Me Anything’ discussion board so learners can easily seek help
Camp Counselor
- Excite and engage learners with reflective emails that acknowledge and reinforce activity
- Run engaging live events to connect the learning community
Coach
- Keep learner motivation high with personal check-ins
- Provide individualized feedback on projects
Learners with a coach are 56% more likely to complete an online course
3. Maintain Engagement and Feedback?
Interactive aspects of face-to-face training – group collaboration, mentoring & coaching, peer sharing, and formal and informal feedback – can all be done online AND at scale.
Use Teams to Keep Engagement High
- Assign teams & team leads
- Create interest groups
Involve Mentors & Coaches
- Involve learners’ managers
- Recruit subject matter experts in your company
Incorporate Peer Sharing & Feedback
- Encourage interaction by prompting questions in discussion forums
- Create an assignment gallery where learners can share work
- Encourage peer-to-peer feedback
Use Data to Track your Learning as it Scales
- Number of active learners
- Learner engagement
- Discussion activity
- Video views
- Learner progress & completion