Each September brings excitement for die-hard TV watchers and armchair red carpet fashion critics as the Emmy awards celebrate outstanding achievements in acting, directing, producing and more. This September was doubly exciting for me and the entire team at Expand. Shouting from my couch, I cheered as Jon Hamm finally (finally!) won an Emmy for his portrayal of Don Draper on possibly the greatest television drama of all time, Mad Men. On another September day, Eric and I cheered from the Expand conference room as Expand took home not just one, but three Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards in our first year of applying. The team here deserves it, too. They work hard. They are endlessly creative and resourceful, and produce incredible results on varying budgets. They genuinely care about the success of our clients and about their craft, whether it’s design, development or programming. So what did we win? We won three awards that perfectly encompass everything we do, from consulting to eLearning development to software. Gold - Best Sales Training Program for Extended Enterprise Silver - Best Advance in Custom Content Bronze - Best Advance in Learning Technology Implementation We’re in incredible company, too. You can check out the full list of winners on Brandon Hall’s website. If you’d like to take a closer look at some of our work, let us know and we’d be happy to give you a personal demonstration!

We all have aspects of our jobs we don’t enjoy, and the time we must spend on those things is often done reluctantly and half-heartedly. Unfortunately, training sometimes falls under this umbrella despite its importance, so it’s critical to make training programs as engaging, useful, and even fun, as possible. Some leaders may be tempted to take the position of, "I don’t care if they like it or not, if they want to own a franchise, they have to do it." And that’s true, but doesn’t really sound like the foundation of a great business relationship, does it? A good franchise training program is one that franchisees value, want to participate in and are even excited about. But what if they secretly hate it? How do you know, and what do you do about it? In a recent post, we talked about the importance of getting all different kinds of feedback from your franchisees about the training program. But there are signs there’s a problem with the training program that, while more subtle, are quietly throwing up a red flag that isn’t captured in feedback data. Below are some commonly seen examples. It’s gotten harder to recruit the top-notch franchisees. The best people want to be part of the best organizations, and many studies have concluded that training and support programs are in very high demand. Franchisee turnover has increased. If the rate of franchisee turnover has increased, it’s crucial to find out why. It could be any number of things and you should be asking departing franchisees while they are leaving. Be sure to ask for their opinion on the training program, and whether it was a factor in their decision to move on. Engagement has declined. Does a franchisee just seem distant lately? Is attendance and participation declining? Are more franchisees starting to find their own ways of doing things rather than following the system? Franchisees aren’t following the system. The system is there for a reason, but if franchisees aren’t inclined to follow it, you need to find out why. It could be that the system needs updated, but it could also mean the franchisees don’t know it well. That indicates a training issue. New franchisees consistently struggle to get their business off the ground. When franchisee struggles increase or become a steady pattern, it could mean the training and support system is lacking in some way. If Red Flags Are Spotted, What Can Be Done? If you’re watching for these telltale signs and start to notice a trend, you’ll want to take corrective action. First, make sure the training program is indeed a culprit, and the quickest way to do that is simply ask. If and when you’re confident the training program is indeed the problem, explore ways to fix it. In a previous post, we explored possible culprits for why franchise training isn’t working, and how to fix it. Some of those include: length relevance accessibility tone and more Click over there next and give that post a read, because it will get you on a path to putting out better training for franchisees. You can also sign up for a free training assessment with one of our experts. He or she will talk through the current training program with you and offer suggestions on how to make it stronger and more successful. Get started today! photo credit: Caution Line

  Thanks to our ever-shortening attention spans, things just keep getting smaller, shorter and broken into pieces. Music isn’t consumed by the album anymore; it’s downloaded song-by-song. Rather than reading a newspaper cover-to-cover, we use news aggregation apps and social media sites like Twitter to quickly scan headlines. Magazines are consumed article-by-article more than issue-by-issue. And we might be doing two or more of these things at once, on our smartphone in line at the grocery store or coffee shop. Without question, we are a people on the go facing a never-ending barrage of information. Learning, too, has been impacted by the mincing of content into smaller and smaller pieces. It started when full-day, instructor-led training classes were repackaged into an eLearning course that could be completed in an hour or two. Now, microlearning is taking eLearning even further. Microlearning Supports Continuous Training and Development We all agree that continuous learning is a good thing, right? Any individual can take responsibility for his or her own continuous learning through books, articles and webinars. But as a company, you need to add structure to make sure employees are getting the training they need to do their jobs well. Microlearning is a way to overcome the attention-span deficit and increase training effectiveness by making learning part of a regular routine. Companies are finding that rather than sit someone in a chair for two days, one day or even just an hour, peppering them with complex information, it helps to break content into pieces to be consumed and digested a little bit at a time. Microlearning supports continuous learning through the delivery of training and knowledge items at regular intervals. When done right, it can be accessed anytime, anywhere, from any device. As with most training methodologies, there are pros and cons to consider before launching a microlearning campaign. Six Reasons to Try Microlearning at Your Organization Microlearning puts more power and control in the hands of the learners. It lets them choose when, where and what device, so they can learn over lunch at a cafe using their smartphone, or on the computer at their desk when they first arrive in the morning. Delivering training in small chunks is a great way to adapt to common behaviors of today’s audiences, which has yielded a lot of multitasking and short attention spans. Focusing on granular topics one at a time can reduce confusion or information overload. It allows the learner to focus solely on one topic, absorb it and digest it before diving into the next topic. Information inevitably changes, and it’s incredibly easy to update segmented microlearning modules and redistribute them as needed. No need to take an entire eLearning course over again just because one piece of information has changed. As learners quickly move through each brief module, there’s a sense of accomplishment as modules are completed and they are able to immediately apply what they’re learning. Microlearning makes repeating lessons incredibly easy. Content can be revisited as needed. Microlearning May Not Be For Everyone If you were reading the Microlearning pros above and nodding enthusiastically, that’s great! But there are a few considerations that are important to consider before diving in head first. In order for microlearning to work, it has to be done well. Production quality must be high. It must be engaging and, ideally, device-agnostic. Technical demands could be higher than you’re used to, especially if you want to develop for mobile. Discuss internal resources and capabilities before proceeding. You may need to outsource some of the development work. If it’s important that a series of microlearning "bursts" need to be understood in context with each other, plan each module and its timing carefully. You want to make sure learners are grasping each concept but also connecting the dots to create the bigger picture. Does your organization use microlearning? How are you using it and what results have you seen? Would you recommend it to other organizations? Leave us a comment below, we’d love to hear your experience. photo credit: via photopin (license)

We and others have pointed out the similarities between training and marketing. Both involve communicating a message to a select audience. Both provide helpful information to the audience members. Both have the end goal of persuading audience members to take a certain course of action as a result of the communication.  In the case of marketing, we want that consumer to buy our product, or at least get in touch to learn more. In training, we want to change on-the-job behavior. We want our audience to buy into an idea or perform a particular task in a certain way. Most importantly, both require an in-depth understanding of that audience. Without it, none of the other things will happen. We won’t get our message across. They won’t change behaviors or take the desired action. Those of us who design and build training courses absolutely must create for the user. What do they want in a training program? Every audience is different. What Makes Franchisees Different From Possibly Any Other Training Audience? Whereas other training audiences are specialists in one business function or another (e.g. operations, sales, etc.) franchisees are unique. They need to be business generalists with an entrepreneurial fire. They may come to your franchise from all different backgrounds. And this is why, as a franchisor, you have The System. You may have a different name for it, but it’s the detailed program that covers every single thing a franchisee needs to know about the brand and how to open and run a location. Franchisees are different because They have to learn a greater breadth of information, from marketing to operations to finance. Even seasoned franchisees with experience in these areas need to learn them within the context of your brand. The stakes are high. They’ve invested a good sum of money to buy into the franchise. While this drives motivation, it can also make a franchisee more likely to stray from the system if he or she hasn’t learned it well and needs to solve a problem. What do franchisees want in a training program? Accessible & Repeatable - In-person training programs at the company headquarters or at an existing store can be very powerful, but they’re packed with information. If a new franchisee needs to review a topic, how easily is that done? Searchable - If after-training support materials are made available, how quickly can they be searched to find a specific topic of interest? Provides ongoing operations and marketing support - Training and support should continue beyond initial sessions to make sure each franchisee is up-to-date with the latest best practices and ideas. While a franchisee may hire additional managers to help run his or her business, they still will lack resources to craft creative marketing campaigns. They look to the franchisor to provide these on a regular, timely basis. Provides support for training employees, including managers - As a new franchisee begins to build a team, he or she will need support from the franchisor to adequately onboard those people and get them up to speed quickly. Employees of the franchisee are where brand experiences are delivered (or not) so it’s critical they be trained well. Ongoing - One of the most important factors for franchisee training is that it remain ongoing. Information changes constantly and details are difficult to remember. Ongoing training helps franchisees stay current and revisit important concepts. If you’re a franchisee, what’s most important to you in a training program? If you represent a franchisor, how do you make sure you’re meeting franchisee training needs? Leave a comment below! photo credit: the other side

If you’re familiar with Atul Gawande’s New York Times bestselling book, The Checklist Manifesto, you know what a transformative role checklists can play in an organization, helping even the most skilled experts achieve optimum results and efficiency. Technically, checklists can be created and completed with paper and pencil. However, as we’ve illustrated in other posts, a paper system is inherently flawed. It’s cumbersome, prone to mistakes, and isn’t fit for digital recordkeeping or analysis. An interactive checklist, especially a mobile-optimized one, is much easier to embed right into the workday of the user. It can be accessed quickly, shrinks the margin for error and can be submitted and analyzed lightening-fast. Interactive Checklists: A Use Case We’ve been working with a client who came to us with a 500-point checklist. Yes, 500 items. Imagine having to complete that with paper and pen! Leadership recognized this checklist wasn’t fulfilling its potential and decided to make a change. They were on the right track by creating this checklist in the first place; it was just a matter of using modern technology to refine it to the point of becoming a very valuable tool. The checklist was converted to an interactive one that’s completely responsive, so it can be completed on any device. It’s quicker and easier to work through each section, and once the checklist is submitted, the information collected is immediately analyzed for managerial reports. It’s powerful stuff and is redefining the way this organization manages its multi-location business. I share this example to drive home the idea that interactive checklists are infinitely more powerful, more effective, and faster and easier to use than its paper-based ancestors. And there’s a lot you can do with them. Interactive checklists can help people remember steps. They can make sure a process is completed thoroughly. They can be a source of data for reports. They can collect feedback. They can provide information. They can provide support for situations encountered less frequently. Let’s dive into seven things you can do with an interactive checklist. Coaching: Learning to do something new takes time and practice, and a checklist can help you remember all the steps. Say you’ve brought on a new salesperson who is learning to use your CRM software and all that’s expected of him or her in using it. A handy checklist they can quickly pull up on their computer or phone will help remind them of everything they need to do in the CRM and how, so that no steps are missed. Not only is the company collecting the information it needs from the new rep, but the rep will feel as though he or she is acclimating to the new job quickly and avoid the frustrating hurdles of being the new person. Conduct Inspections: Inspections of a facility or piece of equipment ought to be thorough, especially when safety and regulatory mandates are a concern. Interactive checklists not only make sure an inspection is done thoroughly, but there is an immediate electronic record of each step being completed and marked as a pass/fail. In our client example above, they use these completed inspection checklists to identify trends and problem areas. Collect Feedback: An interactive checklist tool can also be a way to solicit feedback from a user base. A procedural checklist could include a question or two about how helpful the checklist is to the user. Gather Information: In the example above, completed inspection checklists are used to identify trends. Is a particular location repeatedly missing the mark in the same area? Looking for trends in inspection results helps management pinpoint problem areas for swift resolution. Emergency Response Protocol: Fortunately, emergencies don’t happen every day. But in the event something does happen, will your team feel confident in what steps to take? Checklists they can quickly access on any device will help them remain calm and instruct them how to handle the situation at hand, step-by-step. Quality Control/Process Improvement: Checklists not only make sure procedural tasks are completed—and completed properly—but allow for process refinement over time. Are any steps redundant? Should steps be completed in a different order to increase efficiency? Analytics and Reporting: Interactive checklists gather information that can be aggregated and turned into robust reports in near-real time. Data collected through paper checklists has to be manually entered into an analytics system before the information can really be of any use. Has your organization relied on checklists to accomplish any of the above, or perhaps something we haven’t mentioned? Comment below to share your experience. We’d love to hear about it.

For the second year in a row, Expand was included on the Weatherhead 100 Upstarts list! Each year, Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management recognizes entrepreneurship and business success in the Greater Cleveland area by compiling a list of the fastest-growing companies headquartered in the region. Last night, Eric and I attended the awards dinner to represent Expand and congratulate other winners. Companies are included based on sustained sales growth over a five year period. Many industries and cities within Northeast Ohio are represented, and it's exciting to see new brands join the ranks each year. It's a reflection of how strong the entrepreneurial spirit is here in Northeast Ohio.  Congratulations to all of the honorees.    

This article was first published at elearningindustry.com Many organisations are now transforming their learning and development programs to the eLearning domain. But choosing the right methods for their business based on their needs is still a challenge. Choosing the right eLearning programs depends upon many factors like proper need analysis, target audience analysis, task analysis,[...] The post Choosing The Right eLearning Methods: Factors And Elements appeared first on Amit K Soni | A Learning Professional.

This article was first published by me at elearningindustry.com Most Institutes and organizations are still using the board (white/black) techniques to teach their students/learners. Whiteboard animation is the concept of teaching the learners digitally while maintaining engagement. This mode can be altered with some interactivities and voice-overs. Whiteboard animations can play a huge role in[...] The post Using Whiteboard Animation For Training And eLearning appeared first on Amit K Soni | A Learning Professional.

This article was first published at http://elearningindustry.com. In today’s business scenarios, anyone may be able to create a simple online course; however, creating an effective eLearning course is a different thing altogether. eLearning is becoming a common area where employers can create their eLearning courses with ease; but using several media does not necessarily improve[...] The post How To Create An Effective eLearning Experience? appeared first on Amit K Soni | A Learning Professional.

Storyboards are very important elements of eLearning development; they direct learners towards achieving the performance objective, whereas also give a clear direction to the developer to create an effective eLearning experience. This article first published at elearningindustry.com. In this article I will focus on rapid storyboard development and share some tips on how to create eLearning storyboards[...] The post 3 Tips For Rapid Storyboard Development appeared first on Amit K Soni | A Learning Professional.