Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2018 - 57

LEARNER MINDSET
MICHELLE EGGLESTON SCHWARTZ

RISING EXPECTATIONS

IN L&D

The race is on. Today's fast-paced world
is leading to increased expectations on
just about everything - and learning
and development (L&D) is not immune
from this pressure. Whether it's training
professionals getting new employees
to proficiency as quickly as possible or
learners challenged with finding the
information they need to efficiently solve
a problem on the job, the pressure is real.

With the challenge of turning expectations
into concrete results, how can training
professionals ensure they are delivering
learning solutions that hit the mark? How
can they meet the unique needs of their
learners and reach the goals set by the
organizations they serve? Identifying key
success metrics is an important first step
when developing a training strategy.

L&D is becoming more integral as the
speed of business increases. As the Greek
lyrical poet Archilochus once said, "We
don't rise to the level of our expectations,
we fall to the level of our training."
Success is dependent on our training and
preparation. We can't merely set goals and
expect to achieve our desired outcomes
without effort. We need to roll up our
sleeves and put in the work.

DEFINING SUCCESS

L&D IS BECOMING
MORE INTEGRAL
AS THE SPEED OF
BUSINESS INCREASES.
As learning professionals, we must set the
bar for organizational performance and
prepare employees to meet and exceed
expectations. For employees to excel in the
workplace, they must have training that is
relevant and applicable to their roles. They
must be able to practice their skills in the
context of their daily workflow, and they
must have access to related information at
the point of need.

Learning professionals have become
accustomed to wearing many hats and
juggling competing priorities to ensure
successful training takes place. It often
feels like there's a tradeoff to be made
when it comes to competing priorities.
Choosing among price, quality and speed
are challenges frequently faced by learning
professionals. The scenarios are endless.
You could quickly deploy an off-the-shelf
training program to avoid the cost and
time to develop a personalized program,
or you could focus on developing a highly
personalized program that inevitably
takes longer to produce but could be
irrelevant when launched. Can you ever
have it all?
By narrowing the scope of a project
and focusing on what success looks like
for the learner, training professionals
can gain a deeper understanding of
the components that are necessary for
effective performance. If you're not sure
where to begin, start by defining success
in terms of the three big variables: price,
quality and speed.

* Price: What is your training budget?
Identify available resources and areas
where you may need to invest.
* Quality: Define how the program will
help learners improve their performance
and what features will enhance or
inhibit the intended outcome.
* Speed: Determine the timeframe
in which the solution needs to be
deployed and how learners will access
the information.
All these factors contribute to the scope
of a project and play a role in defining
success. By keeping the learner in mind
when designing the program, L&D is
better positioned to create more strategic
training offerings that target what learners
need to succeed.
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
As the tempo of business continues to rise,
organizations are challenged with keeping
pace. This challenge puts increasing
pressure on business units to do more
in less time and with fewer resources.
By taking a step back to consider what
learners need to succeed in the context of
their work environment, L&D can develop
learning solutions that create value
and prepare employees to navigate the
challenges of their role.
Michelle Eggleston Schwartz 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 - THE MODERN LEARNING MINDSET 20 18 I WWW. T RAININGINDU 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 2018

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