Would you agree that the most common approach to modernizing L&D is to throw out what you have and start from scratch? This is one of the most common problems we share in our book. Each time a new model, theory or approach comes out, we in L&D often immediately write off our old programs as outdated and send them packing to the vault. Even worse, many of those old programs are kept available on the shelves of our intranets and learning management systems, creating a confusing and meaningless experience for our learners. With so many options out there to modernize learning, many L&D departments and professionals find the task at hand too daunting and just continue to deliver training “as is”, resulting in the same dismal perception from their organizations and learners.
Action of the Week: Upgrade Existing Assets
In working with L&D professionals across the country, we have found the reason the LCD Model works so well with their department and organization is that, unlike the scenarios above, it does not require them to recreate the wheel. Rather than shredding all your training materials from the past, the Upgrade Action is all about taking the learning assets you already have and tweaking them by incorporating just a few of the Nine Elements of Learning. It’s one of the most popular Actions of the model – some users start with this one in order to deliver quick wins and show the power of the LCD model.
In the wake of Covid-19, many L&D professionals had to quickly transition to a more modern delivery of their learning programming. Many automatically moved from in classroom to e-learning as the main solution. In addition, while the delivery was modernized, most of the content remained the same. The Upgrade Action of the LCD model provides guidance on how to access the lowest hanging fruit all while creating diverse approaches to modernization that L&D professionals need in the era of remote work and remote learning.
When we strategically upgrade learning assets we already have, we go from modernizing for the sake of modernizing to being able to meet learner expectations and provide an engaging learning experience, all without starting from zero.
This week I challenge you to think about any outdated learning assets you have in your library, and what upgrades could be made to modernize those assets into a modernized and engaging learning experience.
