How to create people-centred learning experiences
“To me, the model of success is not linear. Success is completing the full circle of yourself.”
Gloria Steinam
There will be something of a circular theme to this reflection on why people are at the centre of learning.
As the quote above suggests, circles and success are no strangers to each other. And this is especially true when it comes to the cycle many eLearning developers like Access proceed through to create people-centric learning solutions.
This people-centric approach to learning all stems from the belief that it’s really important to ‘put people into products.’ What this means is to ensure that the initiatives and developments we undertake are really focused on, and effective for, those intended to benefit from them.
In this article, I’ll explore why a people-centric approach to learning is so important, and share the three key principles that make our eLearning solutions so engaging for learners.
Why ‘tick-box’ learning never works
Traditionally, businesses have followed a largely compliance-based approach to training – one that mandates employees must ‘do this,’ or ‘do that.’ The problem with this approach is it lacks the dynamism needed for today’s workforces.
Often, this approach fails to promote a culture of learning in an organisation. Rather, it can lead to employee disengagement, lower productivity, increased staff churn, and compliance vulnerabilities.
Furthermore, ‘tick-box’ activities don’t ensure that people have absorbed their training. They may have just completed it for the sake of doing so and moved on, meaning no real improvements to their behaviour.
What does people-centric learning mean?
Instead of just offering employees ‘tick-box’ learning experiences, organisations need to provide one that employees will not only look forward to, but that helps develop valuable skills they can apply in their roles. Doing so will help organisations retain and nurture their people, as well as enhance overall workforce performance.
Access recently undertook research to develop a people-centred approach to learning. We came to appreciate more than ever that doing so goes much deeper than, say, fancy videos or a set of features. Rather, it’s about meeting the needs of both the organisation – e.g. operational efficiency, results, value – and those of its employees – e.g. productivity, a sense of fulfilment, recognition.
The combination of these two requirements is key to delivering the ultimate learning experience. It means approaching people-centricity from the user’s perspective, giving them the content they need and will engage with.
3 principles for engaging eLearning
We at Access have been devising a positive, people-centric cycle for creating more effective, engaging and fulfilling eLearning experiences. Here I’ll outline the key principles of this approach, which you too can use to enhance the learning experience offered by training and development courses in your organisation:
1. Know your learner
This means avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach. We need to consider the learner, and customise a learning experience that suits them. This means considering things like; their role, where they work, their career ambitions, their level of seniority, their previous learning history, and learning preferences, to name a few.
All these considerations help to identify any skills gaps the learner may have and how to address them. It also helps to identify how their needs and career aspirations can be satisfied in the most effective and efficient way.
Designing learning courses in a people-centric way enhances time-to-value and engagement. Or to put it another way, it satisfies the ‘give me learning in a format I enjoy, that gets results fast’ need of employees.
2. Personalise for and empower your learner
Analysis of the data which your HR system collects is critical to personalising learning for your employees. It can help you identify key variables about them, like their role, learning needs, and interests. In addition to this HR data, we can also look at data about the actions an employee may take during an eLearning course.
For instance, if someone often ducks out of videos halfway through, you may want to consider using a different medium in their training. Whereas if they complete eLearning consistently and pass any associated tests well, we can safely say they’re engaged by that form of learning. We can use this data to tailor learning content for quicker time-to-value, matching the content to the learner.
We also need to consider the variety of formats through which learners can engage in learning. Whether it’s through videos, modules, interviews, webinars, animations, audio stories or games, it’s about providing the medium that suits the learner best.
3. Capture and utilise learner feedback
This part closes the loop on people-centricity, so that we fully understand the learner. After having personalised the learning experience for them, we’re in a position to capture their feedback. By doing so we can modify the solution to ensure we’re constantly improving the learning experience.
At the content level, this could mean asking for reviews and ratings. By looking for such responses we also regularise the notion of feedback, lend a greater sense of process to the training and development, and foster a broader learning culture.
Discover more about Access digital learning solutions today.
