Hi LCD Community –
Have you been faced with wanting to chunk a mandatory live training, but received pushback from your organization due to a preexisting roadmap? This week, we’re answering that very question that came to us from a Senior Learning Advisor who joined a past Public Practicum.
“I’m currently working on breaking down in smaller chunks some e-learning elements, but today some trainers in a train the trainer virtual class asked me: how is it possible to chunk up the content of a (mandatory) live virtual classroom when the organization must respect a rigid roadmap for the training delivery?”
The first step to getting buy-in to chunk the mandatory live content is to identify where there is flexibility, and where we can achieve some small wins.
Rather than completely chunking and upgrading the entire content, identify which portions can be taken from the live training, and moved to a more asynchronous, blended learning environment.
For example, if there is a portion that could easily be a video or an eLearning, participants could complete those portions asynchronously as pre-work or post-work. With this, it’s okay to start small, and build up to the total buy-in. Maybe it’s starting with just a 5-minute video, or one article that replaces just 5% of the live training.
If there is a lot of resistance towards chunking mandatory live content, we recommend the “both/and” approach – having the live class unchunked, while also having bite size pieces offered through other learning assets/modalities. This can help manage the change of different delivery methods while still meeting the mandatory need.
By allowing the organization to acclimate to the small change, you make way for larger changes to take place.
Speaking of larger changes, once you can get more buy-in for this blended learning approach, the next step is changing the cultural viewpoint. When it comes to mandatory training, it’s important to identify why it’s mandatory in the first place. Many organizations revert to “mandatory” content critical information, including government and regulatory requirements, to cover their own bases. In this case, if it’s the “knowing” that is critical, begin to test the organizational waters with a “test out” model of that content.
While each organization is unique, meeting the organization where it’s at and creating incremental change will ultimately set the organization – and your learners – up for success as they transition to a more modern, learner-centric framework that still provides the organization with the risk management and mitigation they seek with mandatory training.
Thanks for reading!
