There is a wealth of information and opportunity available to you when it comes to developing workplace learning. While this is a nice problem to have, it also makes it difficult to know where to start.

If the sky's the limit, where do you even begin?

If you want your workplace learning programmes to be as effective as possible, we’re here to help with a list of eight questions you can ask yourself. These questions will serve as your jumping off point, helping you create the learning culture your team truly deserves.

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1. What are my goals?

This is the first question to ask yourself. It’s no good starting out on a path if you have no idea where it leads. Chart your journey first.

Goals shouldn’t just be based on your individual efforts, or the learning achievements of individual learners. Instead, they should seamlessly feed into the wider goals of the organisation. This is the ideal starting point to help the rest of your strategy fall into place.

For example, say one of your organisation’s goals is: “Improve customer satisfaction by 40%.” One of your Learning and Development goals could then be: “Deliver additional customer service training to the relevant teams.”

When setting goals, it’s helpful to use the SMART framework: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. This will help you set up  metrics by which to measure success, and a specific time-frame to stick to.

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2. What budget or resources am I working with?

Everyone has a budget, all the way from £0 up to eye-wateringly high numbers. Whatever your budget, asking yourself this question is crucial in helping you understand your limitations.

Although parameters are - by their very definition - restrictive, they can actually be your best friends and most helpful signposts. With parameters in place, you know exactly what you can (and can’t) achieve. They can even help you to get extra creative with what you already have.

This is why it’s so helpful to set out your goals first. Once you’ve done this, you’ll understand exactly what your priorities are - and how your budget can support them. To continue with our customer service example: if an increase in positive customer sentiment is one of your goals, it doesn’t make any sense to pour the majority of the budget into, say, Advanced Coffee Brewing Techniques for The Office Kitchen. Organisational goals align with Learning and Development goals, which then align with your budget.

Financial budget isn’t the only thing to consider here. How much time; how many resources; how many people can you devote to this? These are all things to factor in when reflecting on this question.

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3. Who is this learning for, and do they have any specific needs or preferences?

Who is your workplace training for: everyone in the company? A specific department? A specific role?

As a part of that, think about learner needs and preferences. Obviously when developing material for multiple people, you aren’t necessarily going to know each individual’s needs in advance of creating it. This is why your content needs to be versatile, and ideally be hosted on a platform that allows for multimodal learning (that is, learning in multiple formats such as PDF’s, videos, and quizzes.)

It’s important to make the distinction between multimodal learning and the ubiquitous “Learning Styles” theory that has been discredited by multiple researchers. We’re not talking about meticulously designing individual pieces of learning in specific, prescriptive “styles”, and never deviating. Rather, you should  make sure you’re offering a wide range of options so that no matter someone’s preferences, they can find learning that works best for them.

In-line with this, you also need to ensure that everyone can take part in the training, no matter their access needs. To discover more about how to make learning content accessible, read our blog on the topic here.

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4. What skills or knowledge do my people need?

Okay, so now you know what you want to achieve, the resources you have to help you achieve it, and the people you’re creating the learning for. The next step is to think about the skills your teams need to succeed in their roles.

A great place to start is with a Training Needs Analysis. This is the process used to identify gaps in the current knowledge and skills of your employees, and how to fill them in order to meet your goals.

Once you’ve established this, try to think beyond mandatory training. Instead of just developing necessary learning needed to fill existing skills gaps, use your time, resources and imagination to create colourful, engaging, additional learning content designed to add real value to your learning function.

By providing these optional opportunities, you’re encouraging the culture of knowledge-sharing and continuous learning that we’re all striving for.

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5. How will my training be delivered?

The way the training is delivered, fairly obviously, alters the way it’s developed.

There is no “one right way” to deliver workplace learning. It’s all about considering which method best serves the material.

Some learning is genuinely best delivered as a classic, face-to-face workshop or seminar. Use this method for training that requires complex explanations, group discussions, and interactive elements. For other types of training - for example, something self-paced - elearning is your friend. Keep your elearning materials engaging with fun and dynamic elements like quizzes and videos to help the training land.

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6. What methods of assessment will be used to measure learning outcomes and effectiveness?

It’s all well and good designing the learning itself - but once you’ve done this, it’s time to look forward. Understanding your preferred outcomes is key to knowing whether your training has been effective. How will you assess your individual learners, and the overall success of the initiative?

This also ties into our point about goal setting, and lends itself well to the SMART goals framework. This is where the “M” for “Measurable” comes into play. Ahead of time, establish one or several tangible metrics by which to measure your training outcomes. During and after the programme, you can monitor and record results to see whether you have been successful.

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7. What helps you learn from others in the workplace?

In order to think about how to craft effective Learning and Development programmes, it’s helpful to reflect on this question: what helps you learn from others in the workplace? Stop to consider the organic nature of social learning; how knowledge naturally passes from person to person.

Here are a few insights to get you started:
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Social learning: This describes the process of naturally learning from other people in an informal or social setting, as opposed to intentional, structured learning that takes place as part of a mandated programme.

Inspiring social learning in the workplace is easier than you might think. It starts by fostering a social, collaborative culture where lively discussion, knowledge-sharing and collaboration is actively encouraged. You can support this with an LMS that has social learning features like User Generated Content and social media functionality (such as likes, comments, and shares.)

This means that even remote colleagues can take part in social learning, in a way that seamlessly blends the personal and the professional.
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Mentorship and coaching: Peer-to-peer learning is nothing to be sniffed at, but what about utilising the knowledge of SME’s (Subject Matter Experts) within your organisation? Setting up internal mentoring or coaching programmes is a great way to kick-start a culture of learning from the top-down.
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Normalise feedback and constructive criticism: This should flow both ways between you and your people. Feedback and criticism is all part of learning from others in the workplace, and the more you normalise it, the less of a faceless boogeyman it becomes. It also opens up the doors for positive feedback; just as useful as criticism. Encourage your people to feed back to you and one another, and offer them suggestions and praise where appropriate. This sets the stage for continuous learning - for everyone.

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8. Is this learning programme sustainable long term?

So, you got your Learning and Development programme off the ground - great! Maybe it was a success, by the metrics you yourself set? Great!

But just as important as launching the programme itself is making sure it’s a viable long-term strategy. Because you already made sure that your Learning and Development goals aligned with those of the wider organisation (tick, tick) you’re already on your way there. But here are a few more things to consider:

Continuous refinement: So you want to establish a culture of continuous learning in your organisation. This should also extend to you and your efforts. Make sure to continuously collect feedback from your learners, refine and improve your learning programme. Set up regular check-ins to establish how they’ve been finding it, and whether it’s been successful at helping them achieve their goals.

Getting that coveted stakeholder buy-in: The golden ticket. In order to make sure this is a sustainable long-term option, you need to get your leadership team and stakeholders invested. We have a whole blog about how to stand up for your L&D budget - follow the link for wisdom on how to communicate the value that you already know Learning and Development holds!

Creating the right culture: Having a Learning and Development programme is great, but not if people don’t feel empowered to actually use it. To make sure the environment is set up for learning, foster a culture that celebrates it. Set aside dedicated chunks of time for self-development, encourage knowledge-sharing, and provide as much access as possible to tools and resources that will help.

Thanks for reading our guide to eight questions to ask yourself when developing workplace learning. If you’re interested in an LMS to help you get your Learning and Development efforts off the ground and measure the long-term impact, book a Thrive demo.

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