Without trusted, data-savvy leaders, applying the Internet of Things to the workplace will crush employee morale.

Sustainability and reinforcement is part of most training initiatives. But how can we go beyond sustaining to learning that is integrated into our daily lives?

The image above illustrates the misconception as truth- you can not grow performance instantly by being a super amazing teacher. Some of the best faking comes from training. Most disheartening, I believe business customers know very well that training has been faking it for years. It's time for us to be brutally honest with ourselves, and I fess up- I'm guilty of these beliefs at times also. Here are common beliefs by 'training practitioners'  that are not only ineffective but unethical:Training is the solution for all performance issuesTraining people to know (versus do) is the best you can doContent drives performance.Just in case, here are the truths:Training without any additional  intervention will not change performanceIf you don't have the time, budget or resources to help people perform better, don't torture them with inadequate workshops that waste time and money just to justify your existencePerformance gaps drive design of intervention which improves performance measurablyYup, doing it the right way is hard. Doing it the wrong way is unethical. I recently asked a new e-learning developer what his focus was. He replied, "I have lots of content."  Arrrrrgggghhhh. We train dogs- we grow people. Let's abolish the word Training in 2016. Performance is our passion at RMA, so if you'd like to talk about innovative ways to drive performance, let Brittney know bhelt@russellmartin.com.

40% of workers leave because of a bad boss, according to an FSU study. Why? Failure to keep promises, blaming employees for leadership mistakes, lack of credit, disparaging remarks, silent treatment, poor or no decision making….the list goes on and on. The impact of poor leadership is not simply emotional, it’s financial. Various studies on the subject show that up to 32% of voluntary turnover can be avoided with better leadership. Calculate how much it costs to lose one competent, productive, contributing employee and then multiply that by having to replace 30% of your workforce. In case you want some help with the maths on this, estimates run as high as about 150% of their salary. Lower for more junior roles, but it all adds up as you can see. Of course it’s not simply the cost of rehiring, not that it is, in itself, simple. What about the impact in productivity, customer relationships, revenue growth, lost training costs, lost knowledge, market capitalization? One organization I read about felt that poor managerial and leadership practices cost them around 15% in sales growth annually. Gallup estimates that at any given time up to 20% of the workforce is disengaged due to poor leadership and a bad boss. Many act out their discontent in counterproductive ways, negatively influencing their co-workers, missing days on the job, and driving customers away through poor service. There is an ongoing concern you need to understand if you do not take a good look at the capability of your managers and leaders. Left to their own devices, they will then appoint their own version of what they feel to be good managers. The result is your C grade manager, then makes a D grade appointment, and eventually they appoint their own E grade manager and so on. The good news is that all of is this can be avoided. Look at leadership capability, hiring and promotional activity against numbers like sales, productivity or turnover. Run an employment engagement survey. If you are close to the business the clues will already be there. If you are not, then get closer and soon. There is the old adage that people leave managers, not companies. While that may be true, ultimately it is the company they walk away from.    

As we approach the New Year, I wanted to take a closer look at what’s been driving HR and L&D over the past 12 months. Our annual talent management conference Speexx Exchange on the eve of OEB in Berlin offered an exciting day of networking, discussion and fresh insights. I’m pleased to share some of the thoughts that were raised on the day. For me, the breadth and depth of conversation, as well as the wide range of countries, industries and roles represented deeply reflected the voice of global HR and L&D professionals. Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity started the forum by asking one simple question, "What do you want to do differently as a result of today?" Although the answers were highly diverse, some common patterns emerged very quickly.  I’ve summarised these objectives, as well as some practical solutions that emerged on the day. Small steps in the right direction: One major issue for many organisations seemed to be simply ‘getting started’ with digital learning. This involves numerous, challenges such as figuring out what works, how useful each solution is and finding the right tool for the right job. Clearly, there is still a long way to go for organisations to become well-versed in e-learning and measuring its benefits. Some initial actions would be to look at what the top performing organisations are doing in this respect, to have clear targets and KPI’s and to get management involved in supporting the initiative. Empowering communication in the workplace: Another area where HR and L&D experts see room for improvement is ‘communication and collaboration’. Despite living in a globalised and digitalised economy with suppliers, partners and clients all over the world, many employees are yet to be empowered with strong business communication skills and cultural awareness to make things flow. We can deal with this by offering a global language and communication skills solution for all employees, agreeing on a standardised business glossary and training our staff in cultural awareness. Furthermore, peer-to-peer collaboration tools will also help to strengthen ties among employees. Staying close to the business: This is a huge one and was cited many times throughout the day. Early results of the Speexx Exchange 2015-16 Survey also reveal that ‘aligning training with business needs’ is the top challenge HR and L&D Managers predict for the coming year, cited by 27% of survey respondents. Business alignment goes hand in hand with understanding an organisation’s priorities and adapting its talent strategy to move in the same direction. It also requires speed, adaptability and being able to work with data in real time. Learning beyond the course: Courses aren’t everything, as was shown by Yves Boudib, Senior L&D Manager at LG Electronics in his presentation on 70:20:10. According to this framework, around 70% of learning actually happens outside the classroom in our daily work, e.g. through trial and error or by solving complex problems without the support of others. The challenge now for HR and L&D leaders is to embed learning and development into everyday work life, as well as encouraging social learning (20%), where peers exchange knowledge and share best practice. We no longer need to rely on classroom training alone to maximise our talent, but frameworks such as 70:20:10 can only be achieved through a refined strategy with clear objectives which are communicated across the organisation and backed by management. It’s all in the design: Finally, corporate learners need great learning tools - both in terms of content and delivery. It’s something that’s high up on all L&D lists at the moment. This includes shifting from offline to online solutions, making learning more engaging for employees and is also connected to learning beyond the classroom, as mentioned in the previous section. Organisations should approach the design question by calling to all senses (hearing, seeing, etc.) and making learning user-friendly, autonomous, fun and even competitive. It also needs to be right for the particular target group it addresses, as well as culturally sensitive. We still have a long way to go. The business landscape is constantly changing and it’s not always easy to keep up. Nevertheless, I’m more encouraged than ever by the brilliant discussions and results I saw at Speexx Exchange this year. Big things are already happening in organisations across all industries, and the more we collaborate, the more we will continue to grow. So roll on 2016!

Towards the end of December last year I decided not to do an annual round up/review type of post and instead write about my dream scenario for the coming year. Re-reading the post I realise  that it could be my recurring annual end of year dream.  I don’t think there is much I’d want to change if I was writing the post today. So maybe I should just let it become like a (classic) Christmas song  and re-publish it every year . . . enjoy. So this is the time when a lot of people are making predictions, sharing their views on developments and trends over the past year. When ever I read these posts, I tend to get a sense of plus ça change plus ça la meme chose. So I’m not going to critique any of these reviews instead I’m going to share with you, dear reader,  what I can remember of a dream I had last night about what my end of year post would be. I don’t know if you have ever listened to Tenacious D (stay with me on this) on one of their albums they have a song called The Best Song Ever. It’s a cautionary tale of a rendezvous with the Devil, writing "the best song ever" or words to that effect, forgetting almost all of it the next morning but having the frustration and knowledge that they had indeed written the best song ever - if only they could remember the killer riff and the words. This post may be a bit like that . . . continue reading here . . . or just watch this video Tagged: #christmas #learningenvironments

It was requested by several readers, many months ago, but it’s finally here… Terminology Tuesday: Year 1 - The Ebook Loading… Purchase your copy through gumroad.com. The prices are in Canadian dollars, so it’s a steal for all of my American or international readers! I hope you enjoy the ebook, and keep your eyes peeled for Terminology Tuesday: Year 2!  

The Artificial Intelligence trend will take the L&D industry by storm. Or by surprise, depending on how open you are to believe it. AI is not something any industry enjoys discussing because it usually means "machines doing the work that humans used to do." We’re all excited about technologies that help us do our jobs better, but not so thrilled about tech doing our jobs for us. Writers were transitioned from print to blogs. Musicians were transitioned from CDs to internet singles, and YouTube. The job of instructional design will transition as well, but into what is not clear. But the reality is that computers can and will do it better than we do. What is AI Currently Capable of Doing? AI conversations often revolve around the creation of robots that help us complete tasks, and, at least partially, think for themselves. But AI is much more useful than that even with today's tech. It's not just a dream for the future. It's part of the reality of today. Not only did technology disrupt publishing, but in at least 2 use cases technology has already illuminated human writers. Simple sports and news reports are now generated completely by computer.  Writing instructional content is a logical business application and saving companies money. From an article in The Guardian, Kris Hammond, co-founder of Narrative Science, is quoted as saying this. "Look!" he says, "we are humanising the machine and giving it the ability not only to look at data but, based on general ideas of what is important and a close understanding of who the audience is, we are giving it the tools to know how to tell us stories." We currently only consider the possibility of personalized instruction. And in those conversations we discuss a computer deciding what content should be presented and in what order. I don’t think anyone in our industry is considering computers actually creating learning content as well. And yet all technology signposts point in that direction. Artificial Intelligence, Web Publishing and eLearning In a recent entrepreneur magazine article AI is discussed as part of a web site building system. "Founder and CEO Dan Tocchini IV says his goal is to enable business owners to wrest control from web designers and template-driven website services. "You’re not sending ideas back and forth with a designer, waiting weeks to approve the latest backend," Tocchini says. "All that latency is gone."" Exchange the term "web services" with instructional design services, and "template-driven website services" with template-driven training course design and you have the future of the learning management system. The name will probably never catch on, but in our industry the feature might be called Artificial Intelligent Instruction Design... or AIID. There are many simple rules that instructional designers follow when designing content. They've been well documented in books like Ruth Clark's E-Learning and the Science of Instruction. One of the most widely quoted in elearning development groups is the theory of cognitive load. A quick google search turns up this quote... "In cognitive psychology, cognitive load refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory. Cognitive load theory was developed out of the study of problem solving by John Sweller in the late 1980s. Sweller argued that instructional design can be used to reduce cognitive load in learners." Considering what a little artificial intelligence can currently do for web design in systems like the Grid,  integrating elements that support cognitive load theory is not that far off. In fact, it would not surprise me if The Grid's AI didnt already define it's solutions based on the science of designing content for human consumption. Since much of eLearning development has focused on content design issues, I would guess that AI can handle that for the eLearning industry as well. Even our learning solutions design processes are based on simple decision tree structures. Any check list currently in use for audience analysis, and conclusions you draw from them, will soon be part of a Learning Solution Designer system's AI. The LSD could even use HR records to constantly perform employee/learner analysis and define learning solution algorithms based on that data. I would expect that my friends promoting xAPI have considered this future and firmly planned a stake in the ground of xAPI being part of that future. LMS's like other internet sites already use a form of AI in the form of responsive design. You, the trainer, simply upload a video to the LMS and the system decides how to deliver that video based on the device being used to view it. Your work as instructional designers is already significantly easier than it was 10 years ago. AI will soon take even more human work out of the process. This is just another reason why non-training professionals are quietly leading the revolution in L&D within corporations. Why Business Will Love AIID and LSD The move to eLearning by corporations was largely a decision made by the bean counters. When looking at the human resource costs, travel costs, and material costs, it was easy to see how much money could be saved moving all that online. Consider how much more money will be saved when all employees have the ability to load content into a system and have that system analyze the content and then reconfigure it to match instructional design theories like cognitive load. Not only that, its ability to assess HR data to create and present the instruction in a format best suited for each individual. And that doesn't just mean adjusting the CSS depending on the device. No. It means writing unique content for each individual based on skill level, past experience, and personal data...and THEN presenting it with contextually appropriate imagery and multimedia content in the proper format for each device. What will this look like? I can imagine one scenario in which a training session between a SME and a new hire is recorded and converted to training material instantly by the LSD. A webinar tool like gototraining might be used to manage the live conversation and record it. when the session is over the video is analyzed and a series of options are presented to the SME. For example a voice like siri might say "I noticed your vocabulary is at a the level of Engineer-PhD. Would you like me to publish a version more suitable for the greater employee population?" Or something like that. The possibilities are limitless. But this scenario won't happen over night. It will be an evolutionary process that has already started. Some of my first CBTs took months to create with large teams supporting the design, development, and delivery. We had to code multiple choice questions manually where today its as easy as importing a spreadsheet of questions into the LMS. Tomorrow's LSD will review the video of a training event and create assesments automatically based on a multitude of corporate, business, amd personel data. It's a future not quite fully baked, but the ingredients are ready for mixing. Are you ready?   The post Artificial Intelligent Instructional Design appeared first on Litmos.

  "Storytelling is ultimately a creative act of pattern recognition. Through characters, plot and setting, a writer creates places where previously invisible truths become visible. Or the storyteller posits a series of dots that the reader can connect." Douglas Coupland Storytelling is popular topic amongst L&D professionals. It's the type of thing we all talk about, but do you actually practice your storytelling skills? If you do, what is it that you practice? I think we often practice our storytelling skills in very random places without even knowing it. Like, for example, in crafting an email, or Facebook post. Stories don't need to be long. And stories can be told with pictures as well. But in this post I've limited my tips to writing and telling stories. Learn the Basics of Storytelling Structure All stories tend to follow a similar framework known as the story arc. Start by learning this basic structure. Its origin goes all the way back to Aristotle in 335 B.C. Since then we have similar templates to follow like the three-act structure typically used screenwriting. But you will find it in novels as well. This is the foundation that will make everything else you do make sense to you. Think about creating your next course with a three-act structure. Read More Books About Storytelling And read less about instructional design. I'm serious. Learning the craft of storytelling will take you further in your career. It's takes much longer practicing to become a good storyteller than it does to learn instructional design. So start now. Start by reading great books about writing like Writing a Novel and Getting Published by Nigel Watts. Sure, it's not specifically about writing training content, but all of what you learn applies to the work you do. Listen to More Stories I enjoy listening to podcasts. Not everyone does. But for me, especially when I'm driving, it's better than the radio. There are many varieties to choose from. There are short practical podcasts that cover the mechanics like Grammar Girls Quick and Dirty Tips. And there are interview podcasts that speak with famous writers and story tellers. Listening to Tim Ferriss interview Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (2 comedic writers/storytellers) was hilarious and educational for me. You don't need to find a podcast specifically about writing or storytelling either. Every good podcast that is highly rated often has great storytelling elements. Its what tends to make for a great podcast. And likewise, a great story can make for great learning content. Informal Practice We can tell stories. Informal practice can occur in our daily lives. We tell stories every day during regular conversations. And we don't ever really put too much thought into telling them. We simply recall the facts and verbalize them. Some people are naturally more entertaining at this then others. If you happen to be on the "not-so-good" end of this spectrum, then telling the same story multiple times can be helpful. Most of us tell a good story one time. Then we're bored with it and move on unless there is a reason to share that experience again. Try telling the same story in different ways to your friends. Practice under Pressure Events like The Moth are great for learning to craft your storytelling skills. Start by listening to the podcast of past events, or watching their YouTube channel. And then take the next step and tell your story at a Moth event. Actually, any event will do. I just wanted a reason to tell you about the Moth. It's one of my favorites. Write More of Your Own Stories If you want to become better at writing instruction, you can start by just practicing the art of writing and telling stories. Many people do this in a daily journal. Recall the events of the day and write them down. But as you write be mindful of how you are telling the story of your day. Don't take it so seriously that the habit becomes stressful. Just put a little thought into the little details. Try something new. Use a new word that you recently heard. Or tell the story of your day through the eyes of someone else. Include Stories in Your Training If you are a teacher/instructor/facilitator you should be telling stories during every training event you lead. If you've been running a particular course for a long period of time you may be getting bored with the topic. So, mix it up by either improving existing stories that you tell, or write new ones. Storytelling is a natural teaching tool for gaining attention, sharing examples, or transitioning to new topics amongst others. Your learners will most likely forget most of the facts in your course, but there is a high probability they will remember your stories. The post 7 Tips to Practicing the Craft of Instructional Storytelling appeared first on Litmos.

Getting your elearning project off the ground? Need some guidance to get started? In this article, we look at the first stage in the process of producing elearning: analysis and scope. There are no hard and fast rules about how to produce great elearning, but there are a few tried and tested methods. The graphic below outlines the steps of one approach, from the initial analysis to the final evaluation of the product. In this article we’re going to start with the planning phase, stage one: analysis and scope. Set yourself up for success Preparation is all about setting up the project for success and making sure you’re going about it in the optimal way. The planning phase is sometimes neglected in the tight time-scales you are often required to work to. But, planning is really important. Ignore it at your peril. Analysis is the planning step in which you identify what it is the project needs to achieve. Getting the right people involved from the start will save you time in the long run. I recommend you include the following: Lead author: the person who will oversee the project from start to finish ensuring quality and objectives are met. Project owner: this may be the lead designer, or on larger projects a project manager who can ensure the day-to-day running of the project Stakeholders: the person or people who have an interest in the project, either as sponsor, commissioner or subject matter expert (SME). Once you have the right people involved, arrange a kick-off meeting. Start with the problem you are trying to solve. This will inform the outcomes that you want from the completed product. Here are some questions you should be asking: Where are the knowledge gaps? What do people already know about this topic? Are there any common misconceptions? What benefits will this learning have to the organization and the learner? Does this training align closely to your business goals? By now you should have a clear understanding of the problem you are trying to solve. Next, you’ll need to find out who your audience is. There’s no point designing a program to run on a desktop if your target audience is a mobile salesforce seldom in the office. Find out where the learners will be starting from: Are they new learners, or do they have experience you can draw on? What is their attitude to training and learning? If your audience are top civil servants, they may need a more academic approach than if they are salespeople who may respond best to contextualized learning. Is your audience used to self-study and directing their own learning? If they are not, your training design may need a more structured and supportive approach. If they are independent learners, you can free-up the structure and allow them greater choice in navigating the program. I love using focus groups to elicit audience characteristics. You can learn a lot by running fact-finding sessions where you brainstorm a few words or phrases to personify the audience. It’s a good idea to have a colleague with you when you run the session—one of you can handle the questions and discussion while the other records responses and interprets the findings on the fly to help inform the rest of the session. Here are some questions you need to think about during this early analysis stage: Where are they functioning? What devices are they using? What experience do you want them to have? What outcomes should result from the learning? How are you going to measure this behavior shift or new understanding? Do the anticipated outcomes align with the business objectives and goals? How are you going to check that you’re focusing on the right things? Scope Scoping involves getting a clear understanding of the design challenge that you’re about to address. For example, is it going to be a tool, survey, game, resource, course, micro-experience, simulation, diagnostic, reflection, or an app? Several factors can affect the scope: budget, time, resources, and requirements. If there are no objections with the first three, then you’re relatively free to push the boat out on the last one. If, as normally happens, you do have limitations on some or all of the first three, it’s important to find out what your end goal is and work backwards from there. For example, if you need to deliver a course covering safety legislation to ensure compliance, your aim will be to create an informative and behavior-changing course quickly and effectively, so don’t get distracted by stakeholders requesting lots of videos or games. If you gather your requirements thoroughly, arriving at an agreed goal before starting, you should find that you don’t get the dreaded scope creep during the production phase. Source content and materials Find out if any source content or materials are already available and can be reused. Schedule time with your stakeholders or SME to analyze the content and use that time to align the content against the goals and objectives to decide what to include or exclude. Final thoughts The purpose of planning is to set up the project to succeed. Honing in on the answers to fundamental questions such as, what’s the purpose of this project, what problem will it solve, and what outcomes do you want really helps to set the process on the right course. And remember, including the right people in the early steps is crucial, so make sure your stakeholders represent both the business and the learners, because ultimately the engagement of both is crucial to success. Stay on top of the latest elearning ideas, trends, and technologies by subscribing to the Elucidat weekly newsletter. The post Analysis and scope: How to approach the 1st stage in the elearning production process appeared first on Elucidat Blog.