Corporate E-Learning: Focus on Tasks

NOTE: Don’t miss the update to this article.

I’ve seen how several companies go about offering training via e-leaning channels, and it can be pretty dismal. In my opinion, too much corporate training is basically an information dump rather than skill development.

It doesn’t have to be that way…

One common approach to corporate e-learning is to use a behemoth learning management system (LMS) to throw a bunch of text documents at employees. Employees are required to read these documents at certain intervals and perhaps take a quiz about them. Afterward they’re left largely on their own to integrate that information into their daily tasks.

Unfortunately, the victims of info-dump training often retain little or nothing of the content of training materials. Or worse, they base decisions and actions on incompletely or incorrectly recalled information.

The document-based approach is especially common in large companies with many departments or branch offices, in industries where the legal, regulatory, or market landscape changes constantly.

…But it’s not true learning. In fact, it’s antithetical to learning.

Almost nobody really learns just by reading a document. The information must become part of their experience for it to integrate. That is, people learn better by doing.

NEW INFORMATION VS NEW TASKS

Take the example of an insurance company, real estate brokerage, or bank. Such heavily regulated, fast-moving businesses face constant change. The people in the field offices somehow have to keep pace with changes. This involves two kinds of ongoing learning:

1. New information to support the decisions they make and how they approach or interact with clients
2. New tasks such as learning how to enter data into an upgraded accounting system, or interpret new kinds of reports.

On an ongoing basis, employees almost always must keep up with far more new information than new tasks.

For instance, a loan officer at a national bank’s local branch office would have to learn about new regulations, policies, and products (all types of information) far more often than she’d have to learn new ways of handling the daily tasks of her job.

The reason why the loan officer would have to stay abreast of new regulations and products is to guide workplace decisions and interactions – that is, to ensure the ongoing quality and effectiveness of tasks she already knows how to perform. These tasks include interacting with customers, handling applications and records, entering data, making loan decisions, recognizing and responding to opportunities and problems, reporting to the bank and to regulators, etc.

Now, which would be more useful to that loan officer?

1. Storing in her head a considerable amount of complex, interrelated, and constantly changing (even contradictory) information related to her job.

OR

2. Getting a fast, clear, relevant overview of the new information, context about how it relates to things she already knows or does, and realistic interactive practice in finding and using the new information on demand.

Obviously, option 2 is the winner. The beauty of option 2 is that it focuses on the task of putting changing information to good use. It respects that people are human. Computers are good libraries. Humans are better at making judgement calls than storing and recalling information.

STOP DROWNING EMPLOYEES IN INFORMATION

Here’s my idea.

Rather than burden employees with a constant stream of detailed documents about new regulations, products, laws, policies, and minutiae of the business landscape, just deliver overview-level, “so what” -style highlights of the new information. Focus on context: How the new information relates to what employees already know and do. If they understand how the information landscape is changing, they’ll be able to navigate it more effectively.

Then, make the full details easily available on demand. That is, accept that they will probably end up looking up details when they have a specific need rather than memorizing them in advance.

Currently, many companies put a lot of time and effort into creating extensive e-learning documents that ultimately yield little benefit. A better use of thoser resources would be to think carefully about organizing and categorizing information that employees need. Tag each new piece of information with detailed metadata (labels or codes) that identify the topic areas, dates, and other context to support fast and simple search queries.

Finally make the e-learning package highly interactive and task-focused. Develop it more like a game than a presentation. For instance, a typical lesson might work like this:

1. Define the topic: A major bank is modifying terms for one of its most popular types of loans, making it more attractive to a growing market segment. How can loan officers explain and sell this product effectively?
2. Provide a brief overview of the main components of the new information. Offer some key potential implications for bank staff, existing customers, and potential customers. It’s reasonable to expect employees to remember this kind of practical information, rather than details.
3. Keywords: Give the learner a list of keywords or other identifiers that will lead them directly to the details of the new information in the bank’s learning repository.
4. Quiz for skill formation: Start with a simple interactive quiz asking basic questions about the new information. Learners then query the bank’s electronic information repository to retrieve the facts needed to answer the questions quickly and correctly.
5. Simulation for skill reinforcement. Use an interactive gaming environment (even a basic one with still images and simple audio or Flash animation) to challenge employees to put the new knowledge to use. The point is to allow learners to actively hone the skills of information retrieval, interpretation, quick judgement, and clear communication in situations that resemble the real world.

This is just an idea, and it’s probably not a perfect one. But I suspect it would be more effective than the rote-learning approach.

I’d love to hear what e-learning professionals, corporate trainers, and others think about this. Please comment below or e-mail me.