Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2017 - 59

LEARNER MINDSET
MICHELLE EGGLESTON

GETTING BUY-IN
FROM LEARNERS
Despite the dedication, heart and hours
that learning professionals pour into
developing corporate training programs,
learners often fail to foster the same
level of enthusiasm for training as the
developers. Let's be honest. Learners
are not exactly lining up to attend
your next training session like devoted
concertgoers waiting for tickets to go
on sale or tech-savvy buyers counting
down the minutes for the latest digital
tool to hit the shelf. Corporate training
is just not that enticing as a standalone
product. Employees need a little more
incentive to buy into training.
Just like a cable company that markets
multiple products to a single consumer
for an enticing discount, learning leaders
can create unique bundled training
packages for learners. In other words,
learning leaders can select training
programs based on individual needs
and market the bundle to employees
using a "what's in it for me" approach to
engage and motivate them to take part
in training.

WITHOUT BUY-IN FROM
LEARNERS, TRAINING
IS A WASTE.
Showing learners how training will
directly benefit them can help make all
the hours a learner spends sitting in a
classroom or behind a computer worth
it. Without buy-in from learners, training
is a waste - a waste of time, effort and
dollars. Organizations become at risk

for low performance and high turnover
without effective training practices.
It's up to learning and development
(L&D) to get learners more excited
about training - and that starts with
positioning training as an employee
incentive and effectively communicating
how employees can take advantage of
this high-value offer. Here are a few tips
to get started.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Learning leaders must understand who
their learners are in terms of their job
role, function and experience level.
Every learner must be accounted for to
develop learner pathways. L&D must
also understand what drives their
learners and become advocates for their
learning journey.

L&D should take advantage of any
opportunity to communicate the value
of training. This includes company
newsletters, events, intranet, email,
videos, etc. Learners must become
aware that training is available, how it
will help them on the job and how they
can access it.
LEARNER EVALUATION & FEEDBACK
Just like when buying a product,
learning leaders should have a plan in
place to obtain feedback from learners.
They must understand what's working
and what's lacking. There should also
be an adequate evaluation process so
that managers can observe and report
behavior change. Managers are essential
to ensure that training is reinforced and
the intended outcomes are realized.
THE TOTAL PACKAGE

BUNDLING THE RIGHT OPTIONS
Learning professionals must consider
all the training opportunities available
at their organization. This includes both
formal and informal solutions. L&D must
ensure that learning is a continuous
process throughout an employee's
lifecycle. Formal classroom training must
be supported by additional learning
interventions like coaching, on-the-job
training or job shadowing.
MARKETING THE PERKS
Learning leaders should embrace their
creative side when marketing training
to employees. This is your chance to
inject some energy into the experience.
Even mandatory training can be "spiced
up" with a more appealing message.

L&D professionals wear many hats and
must be fluent in many "languages."
They must speak the language of
business to senior executives, they
must translate business objectives into
learning solutions, and they must also
be well-versed in consumer language to
sell training to learners.
By marketing the total training package
to learners, L&D is positioning training
as an enabler to employee growth and
advancement. Training has a lot to offer
employees and it's up to L&D to show
them that value.
Michelle Eggleston is the editorial director at
Training Industry, Inc. Email Michelle.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - BUSINESS OF LEARNING 20 1 7 I WWW. T RAI NINGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2017