There is no one best model for a learning and development function, but there is a best model for your organization.

In any company, L&D interacts with other internal entities according to certain rules: who has decision-making authority, what the roles and responsibilities are, and who owns the money for training development and delivery. So what are those entities? It could be functions within a business – say, Supply Chain or Sales. For a global corporation, it might be geographic regions – North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific. In a consulting company, it might be major service offerings, like Audit, Tax, and Advisory. In a very large company, the components might be a matrix that crosses both regions and functions or offerings.

Whatever the components, your L&D organization falls somewhere on a continuum of authority and centralization. I’ll talk about the pros and cons of structures along this continuum.

The Centralized Model

How It Works

L&D planning and decision-making are driven centrally. Let’s say Jack Lerner is the head of the L&D function for a consumer products company. Jack has a training budget and a team to build a curriculum and courses for each of the functions. He and his team of direct reports are responsible for onboarding, compliance, and leadership programs that cross the functions.

Jack works with each business function to understand its training and development needs. He then looks across all the existing curricula to see whether there are materials or courses that could be leveraged. If Jack can’t find anything, he works with instructional designers – who might be part of his team or a separate service – to build courses the function needs.

Jack prioritizes course development according to the strategic needs of the overall business. For example, the Rental function might be new, and therefore have a heavier need for development than the very mature Manufacturing function.

Why Use This Model

Centralized models are efficient. Jack will have a good view of what is already in the curriculum and what the gaps are. This model reduces redundancy; without this model, each function tends to build its own courses though another function might already have it. A centralized model fosters standardization of content and processes. The model makes it easier to ensure that all training programs are aligned with the strategic objectives of the company rather than the sometimes conflicting needs of each area. Jack gets his budget from the company overall and usually has the authority of how to allocate funds.

Common Pitfalls

If the other entities in the organization aren’t communicating well with Jack or if they don’t have a good understanding of learning and development issues or if they try to circumvent the centralized function and develop training on their own, they risk creating training that is disconnected from the goals of the business. If Jack’s team isn’t large enough and/or skilled enough, they can be too slow and too removed from the business to be useful in a fast-paced functional area.

The Decentralized Model

L&D planning and decision-making reside in the business components. Jack might have responsibility for programs that cross functional areas, such as onboarding and compliance. In smaller companies, these programs might be handled by HR with little or no dedicated L&D support. In either case, some cross-functional programs are typically still held centrally in the decentralized model. The rest of the learning professionals are deployed to the functions. Each reports to the function’s leadership and develop programs specifically for that function.

How It Works

Let’s say that Alicia is responsible for the Manufacturing function’s learning program. Each fiscal year, she and the VP of Manufacturing work on the training priorities and budget to train the professionals. Alicia then partners works with her team to develop the Manufacturing training program for the year. She is aware of the central training that is impacting the people in her group, but has very little visibility to the training is being built in any other business unit.

Why Use This Model

Decentralized models can be very effective and targeted for the business. There is less coordination, as Alicia has a clear reporting relationship only to the function she serves.  With the Manufacturing team as her focus, she can respond quickly to every request. Her budget is allocated by Manufacturing, annually.

Common Pitfalls

Because Alicia doesn’t know what the other functional leads are doing, she won’t realize that, for example, each of them is building a course on communications. That means wasted development dollars. Each function must also prepare facilitators to deliver the training. And, and in some areas, they might not have enough learners to make a full class. Alicia might not know there’s a new and innovative program Luis is building for his function, so she won’t take advantage of his best thinking. Finally, since Alicia’s L&D team is relatively small (it might just be Alicia, in fact), she is less likely to grow as an L&D professional.

Finally, in the middle of the continuum is the Balanced Model.

The Balanced Model

In this model, L&D planning and decision making are driven through a central function with significant partnership from the business. Jack has responsibility for the company’s cross-functional curriculum. The rest of the learning professionals or HR business partners are deployed to the functions. They are responsible for ensuring function-specific training is built. They own the functional requirements and the outcomes.

How It Works

This is the most matrixed model. All parties must coordinate, collaborate, and communicate for this model to work well. Jack probably owns curriculum that impacts all employees. This might include onboarding and compliance training as well as professional, leadership, and/or consulting skills. Jack also owns the company-wide training schedule, and the learning management system and other development and delivery technology.

The business partners or functional designees are responsible for understanding and representing the needs of the business and the functional and on-the-job skills that need to be built. Together, the crew works to balance priorities and build an effective and efficient curriculum.

Why Use This Model

When implemented well, a balanced model represents the best of both worlds. There is a deep understanding of the business married with standard processes, tools, and governance. This model is both effective and efficient, particularly when it works within a clear governance structure.

Common Pitfalls

On paper, it seems like the Balanced model should be the nirvana of organization structures, but successful implementation is tricky. It requires all parties to communicate and collaborate in good faith – weighing the needs of each part of the business with the company overall. If Luis decides to create custom communications training for his function, even though there is a company-wide communications course, the model loses some of its value.

These three models are common examples of many possible variations. Organization structures are sometimes more fluid in practice than in design. Think about which L&D organization structure you have, whether it’s functioning as designed – to take advantage of the model – and whether it’s aligned with your company’s overall objectives.

Don’t assume training is the solution to your business problem.

Sales are down! We need training.

Turnover is high! We need training.

Compliance is low! We need training.

We Learning and Development specialists love to be needed. But our first question is always, “Is training the solution?”

When organizations simply default to training, they sometimes overlook the real issue. Here are some things to consider.

First, investigate the need you think you have. Is it really about skills, knowledge, or behaviors? Or is it motivation? Could it be a broken process or a clunky system, rather than the people?

Even if you don’t use that decision tool, a good learning methodology should answer the question: Is training the right solution?

The first step in Emerson’s learning methodology looks at the big picture. We examine the need – what prompted a request for training? What is the pain point? If it’s a business metric that’s underperforming, or a new target the organization needs to hit, or dissatisfaction because things aren’t working as they should, we ask to what extent people’s performance drives that pain.

A good learning methodology should answer the question: Is training the right solution?

Often, we find that there is some people-driven imperative. Maybe poor employee performance is impacting business results. Maybe there’s a new compliance requirement. Often, it’s a defined change, like an acquisition, influx of new employees, new technology or processes, or some other strategic imperative.

In every case, before we get training design rolling, we want to be sure that new skills, knowledge, and behaviors will get us there.

How to engineer a magical experience for your team and your client.

Everything at Walt Disney World is intentional.

The trees are groomed in such a way that the bees had access to their nectar. Thorns are removed from the cacti within patron reach. The pavement around low fountains changes to a worn, uneven brick pattern that commands subtle attention, reducing the risk of texters and scrollers falling in.

On the safari, you feel like you are so close to the animals. But, invisible to the untrained eye, are ditches, specifically planted foliage, and other ways to ensure patrons are safe. Is it magic or science? Maybe a little of both. It’s clear that Disney studied animal and human behaviors, and that information was used to ensure an immersive but safe experience. But the effect is certainly magical.

Throughout the park, the mechanics are also designed to be invisible. You hear music but don’t see speakers, see projected images but never see projectors, hear and see fireworks but never see barges, boats, or pyrotechnic staff. You never see a groundskeeper, yet the place is immaculate.

During my recent visit, I marveled at the choreography of the rides. It seemed like no seat was left empty for more than 30 seconds before the next rider was seated. Moving floors went at the same speed as the cars, so the line kept moving as customers eased on and off the rides without getting hurt. The effect was almost elegant, like a waltz.

The cast members are specially chosen and perfectly trained. Everyone stays in-character, no matter what; you’re always interacting with Cinderella or Peter Pan – never, ever the actor. The driver of your vehicle doesn’t feel like a Lyft or Uber, but a new friend taking you to one of their favorite places.

The effect was almost elegant, like a waltz.

The overall experience is that you are the center of this wonderful universe. Everything was created, designed, and implemented with you in mind. A visit to Walt Disney World leaves you feeling embraced and cared for.

As I enjoyed my visit, I thought about the Walt Disney World organization needed to create that magical experience. It requires leadership, strategy, science, innovation, and tight management, thousands of skilled employees – the same things that serve any high-performing organization. After my trip to Walt Disney World, I’m trying to put a touch of Disney into my work with clients.

So how can you manage a magical project?

The Magic of Information

• Learn as much about the client and the subject matter as you can. Information is power; it will help you to deliver the best for your client. You might uncover business needs that weren’t part of the original scope. You might find synergies with other initiatives. Doing your research and constantly learning will help you be more agile, making smart decisions and delivering beyond your original scope.
• Science is your friend. There’s a wealth of information out there that can inform your solution. Ground your work in behavioral science, technical knowledge, and lessons learned by organizations who have done similar projects.

The Magic of Invisible Design

• Think about the outcome your client wants, and design everything toward that end. The organization doesn’t need to see what you did to deliver the results; they need the results.
• Take the employee’s point of view. What will they see, hear, read, and experience? How do you want them to feel, think, and act as a result of the program you’re building? That’s what matters. Start by thinking of that end-user experience and their work lives after you have implemented your program. Focus on creating that future state for them.

Think about the outcome your client wants, and design everything toward that end.

The Magic of Seamless Efficiency

• Break down barriers for your team. I like to call this Dragon Slaying. Look ahead to see what dragons may be on the path to slow your team down and remove them. Sometimes this means that the magical dragon poofs into thin air and sometimes it’s mitigating the risk in a way that your team must merely step over the dragon’s lifeless body. Either way, identify and minimize them, ideally before they become a hindrance for your team.

The Magic of Elegant Orchestration

• Keep up with schedules and deliverable dates. Use your project plan as a living document; update it daily, identifying risks, challenges, and wins. Keep detailed notes of and track deliverable status.
• Ensure all team members are aware of the project plan, dates, and outcomes. They need the whole picture, including the hand-offs: what comes before and after a task and how their work affects other team members and teams.

Dragon slaying: Look ahead to see what dragons may be on the path to slow your team down and remove them.

• Ensure smooth sign-offs and transitions as project moves from one stage to the next. Have clear methods for sign-off and task completion. Document and share completion criteria for each task.
• Build strong communication channels across functional areas. Ensure teams know who to communicate with, when, about what, and how. Establish stand-up meetings, status documents, collaboration forums, or anything else that ensures great communication.

The Magic of Being In-Character

• Cast wisely. Know your team’s roles and superpowers: what they do, how they do it, their capabilities, and their limitations.
• Give them their script and character. Each person must know their roles and responsibilities and the roles and responsibilities of the other Super Friends.
• Put on a show. Remind them they are a cast of characters, not solo players. Where one person is weak, another might be strong. Encourage them to lift each other up and succeed as a team, in service of the client. Your client’s experience depends on the entire team playing their parts.

Know your team’s roles and superpowers: what they do, how they do it, their capabilities, and their limitations.

The Magic of Caring

• The project experience hangs on the well-being of your teams, client, and stakeholders. It might go without saying but treat them with care. Make sure they walk away from your project feeling good about their work and themselves.
• Is your project NOT the happiest place on earth? Set rules of engagement. Plan to deal with conflict. Handled well, conflict breeds innovation and invention. Set the standard that respect, dignity, and civility are requirements on your project.
• Think again about the experience of each client team member and stakeholder. Do they get that your efforts are centered on them? Will they feel your program was a custom-made experience that made them better? Keep your eye on that goal and adjust your work to make that happen.

Make sure they walk away from your project feeling good about their work and themselves.

Whether we think of Disney as a magical experience or an elite organization, we can learn a lot from them.

Gamification is all the rage these days. But underneath the hype, there are many misconceptions – about what gamification is and isn’t, and how best to use it in learning.

The Top Gamification Myths, Debunked

Myth: Anytime you add a game to a learning experience, you have “gamified” it.

Truth: Gamification occurs only when learning happens in a non-game context, such as classroom-based or eLearning course, and when a series of game elements is arranged into a system, or “game layer,” that operates in concert with the rest of the course.

In the instructional design world, gamification is also called “Serious Games,” where a narrative takes the student on a journey to achieve the intended learning outcomes. “Game-Based Learning,” on the other hand, is where students design and create their own games, or play commercially produced games, within a training program to explore concepts they are learning.

Think of the difference this way: gamification is “baked in” and game-based learning is “dropped in.”

Adding games to learning doesn’t gamify it. To truly gamify learning, think process. Gamification turns the entire program or course into a game. The learning design uses game mechanics to elicit and reinforce new behaviors. It’s a subtle but important distinction.

Myth: There’s only one way to gamify a learning experience.

Truth: There are two types of gamification, Structural Gamification and Content Gamification. When you gamify the structure, you apply game mechanics to the overall design of the course, but not the content itself. Points, levels, badges, leaderboards, and other achievements are great examples of structural gamification. Content Gamification, on the other hand, uses game elements, game mechanics, and game thinking. For example, the central narrative might use game thinking elements like Influence, Choice, Risk, Chance, and Immediate Feedback.

Some of the best examples of gamification in learning employ both structural and content gamification. In my next blog post, I’ll cover some frameworks that include both structural and content gamification strategies.

Myth: Gamification works only on millennials.

Truth: Research shows recognizing excellence is one of the top motivations for most people, not just millennials. Game elements that give feedback on achievements – such as points, rewards, and leaderboards – boost engagement for all types of learners.

Everyone loves to play. Play provides a safe and fun way to risk and fail and develops confidence to try new things. That’s not a millennial thing; it’s a human thing.

What matters more is how you gamify your learning: the type of game mechanics and elements used. The quality of the gamified learning program matters, too. The story, character development, game strategy, rules of play, graphic outputs, and how you position and communicate the program – those make the difference between low and high engagement.

What matters more is how you gamify your learning.

Gamification is one of many effective learning strategies. But it is just one strategy. It has its best-use-case scenarios, and there’s good and bad gamification, but it’s not a miracle fix. Don’t buy into the hype. It can be an excellent tool, but only if you use it strategically and thoughtfully.

Keep employees sharp during tough times.

In times of economic uncertainty, some organizations decide to freeze hiring. This is a great way to save money for better days.

But the work doesn’t stop. Your business needs to keep running smoothly and hitting its targets. Performance issues might go unaddressed and build up. Without the option to hire new perspectives and skill sets, the future can feel daunting.

You might be thinking, “Surely, there’s another way,” and you’re right. Upskill and invest in your people. But how do you start?

Competency Model

First, figure out what “good” looks like for your people and your organization. What knowledge, skills, and attitudes does each role need to succeed? This is the foundation for competency modeling. It’s the destination on your upskilling roadmap.

You have a competency model? Great, here are some questions for you:

• When was the last time you looked at it?
• Is it clearly tied to your organization’s go-to-market strategy?
• Is it role- and level-specific?
• Do you have skills mapped to your competencies?
• Have you defined proficiency levels for each of those skills?
• Have you identified observable, measurable behavior statements that reflect the relevant proficiency level?

If you answered yes to all these questions, congratulations! You have a comprehensive competency model, you’re ready to move to the next step.

First, figure out what “good” looks like for your people and your organization.

Learning Blueprint

With your end goal in mind, you can now start plotting a course: mapping learning moments to your competency model.

Start with what people need to know and do to exhibit proficiency in a skill. And keep in mind, they don’t need to know and do everything, all at once – that’s an easy way to overwhelm your learners. If you teach everything, it’s too hard to distinguish what is most critical that your learners must get right from what is mundane.

How do we make that distinction? Priorities, with an eye on business impact:

• Common: What do your learners do every day? They have to get that right.
• Critical: What must your learners do right to be successful right now?
• Catastrophic: What must your learners do to prevent disaster? There are hundreds of buttons in a cockpit, only two will cause a crash. Teach those two buttons early and often.

Cross-reference these impactful topics with how complex the subject is to learn. Your top-priority topics are where high impact and complexity intersect. Put the most effort there.

These prioritized topics become the foundation for your learning journey. Meeting them requires a curriculum full of learning moments, beyond just formal training.

Start with what people need to know and do to exhibit proficiency in a skill.

Learning Program

A comprehensive, continuous learning model demands a holistic collection of learning moments beyond formal training. Growth toward competence doesn’t happen just by sending people to training sessions, your learners need more. The reasoning here is that training is not the same as learning. Learning involves doing, reflecting, and then doing again; training is simply the preparation for the doing.

With this in mind, your program should embrace these elements:

• Education: Traditional training, whether it’s in the classroom, virtual instructor-led sessions, eLearning, micro video, etc.
• Experience: Application and practice, which might be in a simulation, in a controlled real-world activity, or on the job.
• Exposure: Social learning, whether as part of a cohort of peers learning from each other, working with a coach or mentor who provides context and perspective, or attending fireside chats or expert panels to broaden horizons and learn new applications.
• Environment: Tools, templates, and infrastructure to facilitate learning over time and support at time of need, within the flow of real work.

Interlace these four components into a deliberate sequence to form learning journeys for each role.

Growth toward competence doesn’t happen just by sending people to training sessions, your learners need more.

The Way Forward

If you got this far, then you have a route and now can take inventory:

• What are the strongest existing learning materials that you can slot into your journeys immediately?
• What’s pretty good, and just needs some modification?
• What do you have to build from scratch or curate from another source?
• What do you have that no longer serves the organization or your learners?

With these defined, you’re ready to hit the road and build your upskilling curriculum. But don’t stop at building; you also need to roll out the program. You can have the greatest learning program in the world, but if your learners don’t know about it, don’t care about it, or can’t easily access it, none of this effort will matter.

Wherever you’re at in your journey, know that you’re doing a good thing for your organization — building a learning culture and empowering your people. Know that there will be a return on this investment. (More on this to come!)

Active listening is a behavior we can improve.

You’re telling a colleague about something that happened yesterday. You finally drop the most surprising part of the story, and you’re met with a blank look and “uh-huh.” In that instant, you know they haven’t been listening. Their eyes shift from a point across the room back to your face and they realize they’ve been caught.

It doesn’t feel good, does it? It might feel even worse for your colleague, who realizes they have been outed as insincere, at best.

Next time, you might avoid confiding in that person. They might feel uncomfortable around you. It might not be a big deal, but it certainly didn’t make your relationship stronger.

Humans have a fundamental need to be seen and heard.

Listening is respect; it lays the foundation for trust-based relationships and shared understanding, without which teams can’t succeed.

So how do we become good listeners? Active listening is a behavior we can improve and, like all behaviors, it requires both “being” and “doing.” Think of your being state as your attitude and intention. The doing state is observable behavior.

How to Be

1. Be neutral. This is a variation on mindfulness, or non-judgmental awareness. Being human is messy; the person who is speaking has emotions and thoughts that might not seem logical or sensible to you. And they don’t have to! Don’t feel like you must respond right away. Suspend your judgment. First, just listen and try to understand.
2. Be curious. Imagine the two of you are carrying backpacks into the conversation. The backpacks are full of experiences and habitual emotional responses built up over a lifetime. To listen well, take off your backpack. Forget yourself for a little while and experience what the other person is saying from their point of view.
3. Be regulated. Sometimes we hear things that bring up our own discomfort. Try to regulate your physiology so you don’t react to your own internal responses. That will help you stay present. In other words, “practice the pause.”

What to Do

1. Tune in. Eliminate distractions. If you’re face-to-face, start by turning off your devices. If you’re connecting remotely, turn on your camera and minimize other windows. Give yourself and the other person the gift of space they can fill with their message.
2. Take in what is happening in front of you. As you listen, what are you seeing and perceiving? What kind of energy or mood state is this person demonstrating? What’s their rate of speech? How is their breathing? What are their gestures and eyes doing? Once you do that, you can confirm that you are beginning to understand. For example:
3. Check in. Share something like, “I noticed you got quiet when you talked about your performance review” or, “When you talked about that project, you seemed excited.”
4. Use their words. If someone says they’re frustrated, you can simply say, “Frustrated.” If someone says they enjoy project management, you can say, “You enjoy project management.”
5. Sometimes people just want to vent. They’re not looking for a solution, but rather an open and safe space to hear themselves think. Before inserting your ideas or opinion, ask, “Do you want to be heard, or do you want me to offer feedback?” Then make good on their answer. And if you’re at a loss, ask, “How can I help?”

The more you practice, the stronger your active listening muscle will get. As you turn active listening into a daily habit, you’ll promote an inclusive and productive culture and more easily sustain high-performing relationships at work and in life.

You Really Need These Answers Before Day One

Your new system and processes are going live pretty soon. You have solid training and communications in place. So you’re ready, right?

Not necessarily. There are organizational dynamics that can scuttle your smooth transition plans. Ask yourself these questions, and plan to go live with no unpleasant surprises.

1. What message is the boss sending? If he or she does not support the change, the team will not buy in. Ensure executive leadership visibly and vocally supports the change.
2. Is the old way faster? People might revert to doing what they know to get the job done. Think of ways to ensure workers do their work in the new way, with the new tools.
3. What are the consequences for not working the new way? If there are no consequences, expect noncompliance. Prepare to demonstrate the business impact of not doing it the new way.
4. How “real” is the training? Without realistic scenarios and simulations, you can’t expect good performance on the job.
5. Are you training roles or tools? The tool is simply the means for executing job functions. Effective training is role-based and teaches to day-to-day business processes.
6. Will they learn to handle mistakes? If you only teach people what to do when everything works perfectly, that is not realistic. Train people on what to do when things go wrong.
7. Where do people turn when they need help on the job? Do they turn to peers, their boss, procedure manuals, or online help? Create a post-training support system that makes sense for these users.

First, we have to agree on what AI is. Then, we can help employees adopt it.

In March, tech gurus including Steve Wosniak and Elon Musk signed an open letter calling for a pause in AI development, citing “human-competitive intelligence (that might) post profound risks to society and humanity.”

More recently, Geoffrey Hinton, hailed as the godfather of AI, quit Google so he could air his concerns independently. In a 2021 commencement address, Hinton said, “I believe that the rapid progress of AI is going to transform society in ways we do not fully understand and not all of the effects are going to be good.” For Hinton, the downsides seem to outweigh the benefits, like improvements in healthcare. The risks he envisions range from job elimination to lethal autonomous weapons. He also says AI might create a world where we will “not be able to know what is true anymore.”

Speaking of misinformation…these stories made it to the table at The View, where hosts weighed in. They talked about the pros and cons of AI, but couldn’t even agree on what AI is. Notably, Whoopi Goldberg said that she defines AI as something “sentient” that “can think for itself.”

Whoa. I’m not saying a robot boyfriend is not in my future, but sentience is NOT what the scientists are talking about. There’s a big difference between smart or fast or autonomous and self-aware.

The lesson for those of us who help the workforce deal with change is this: AI is scary to some people, and possibly for the wrong reasons.

Let’s say your organization is adopting AI to gain efficiencies, reduce costs, or deliver better customer value. How should you approach employees about it?

1. Mind your language.

Maybe don’t call it “artificial intelligence.” I’m not suggesting lying to people; just the opposite. Explain exactly what the new technology will do.

The term “AI” can be triggering. Moreover, “AI” is too broad a term to be useful when talking to employees. AI is a huge category; labeling a new tool “AI” gives very little information to the people who are desperate to know how it’s going to change their work lives.

Think of it this way — will your AI solution detect and prevent dangers in the workplace? Say that! Call it Safety Software. Is AI going to supply customer service agents with better, faster answers to help customers? Say that! Call it Your Customer Service Assistant.

2. Get real.

Approaching any change, what do employees want to know? They want to know how it will affect them – their job responsibilities, their daily tasks, their compensation, their team performance, and their job security.

Get ahead of the resistance by answering questions honestly and thoroughly. Yes, even the bad news. If your new AI… sorry, Customer Service Assistant…will eliminate jobs, be up-front about it.

Most important: document and communicate the day-to-day work that will be different after implementation.

If you don’t tell people the story, they will fill the gap with their own.

3. Reframe AI.

Is the anxiety warranted? Maybe some of it. But AI can also benefit workers — sometimes in big ways. In fact, some employees have already adopted the positive mindset you’re hoping for. A Pew Research study shows 37% of workers are “purely excited” about AI.

And there’s plenty of evidence to back their enthusiasm. AI solutions, like tech before it, can take mundane, focus-intensive tasks off employees’ plates, freeing them up for more analytical and creative work.

One real-world study showed that AI offered big benefits for inexperienced or less-skilled workers by raising the quality of their work and productivity to be on par with their best-performing colleagues.

Armed with facts, examples, and those 37% already excited about it (your “early adopters”), you can – with authenticity — frame your AI adoption as a win-win.

When we need to worry about killer robots, we’ll worry about killer robots. In the present day, lead the change by taking these three steps. You can definitely make AI work for both your bottom line and your human workforce.

How to manage your own transition to your new job

There are plenty of articles, including our own, on how organizations can improve employee onboarding. But how can you create a great transition for yourself?

Prepare

You’re ready to start that new job in a new organization. How can you set yourself up for success?

Reflect on the behaviors and habits in your old role.

What served you well? What mistakes did you make? In other words, what advice would you give yourself about starting a new job?

Find your info gaps.

Consider that you don’t know what you don’t know. Where might you have knowledge gaps?

Identify your early support network.

As you onboard, you’ll see org charts and meet people. Who are the people you hope to rely on? Choose people based on their role (new resources) or your initial connection (new friends or mentors).

Envision your best transition.

If, six months from now, you tell a friend, “I love my new job. I’m exactly where I need to be and I’m crushing it.” What does that look like? Who do you need to be to create that? What do you need to keep/stop/start doing? Which people, information, or resources do you need to get there?

Ask

During onboarding and your first days on the job, ask these questions. You might find answers baked into your onboarding experience. If not, ask!

How do I fit in?

You’ve just jumped aboard a moving train, metaphorically. So it’s important to understand where it’s going and why you’re on board. What is the goal of your department or team? How does success depend on the person in your role? What is your boss trying to achieve and how can you help? How do your efforts fit into the big picture of the organization’s vision?

What do others need from me?

The answer will depend on who the “other” is. If you’re onboarding as a group. Your peers are transitioning too. How can you help each other succeed? Those early connections can become important relationships you’ll rely on for a long time to come.

If you’re onboarding solo, what does your new team need from you? Are they behind, because your position was unfilled? Do they hope you’ll deliver a certain skill or function to help them succeed? Again, don’t just wonder or rely on observation. Ask!

What are the unwritten rules I need to know?

Organizational culture is the set of unspoken norms that guide behavior. They are the ways people make decisions in the absence of direction. The sooner you figure those out, the easier your life will be. You’ll figure out some of it instinctively; you’ll pick up on the energy, language, and little behaviors of people around you.

But it never hurts to ask. As you make friends and mentors, get them to share the likes and dislikes of the culture. How do people like to communicate? What really pisses people off? Is it better to be right or to be supportive? Decisive or thoughtful? Do people “fail fast” or work meticulously to the right product? Do you work and succeed as a team or as individuals? How do successful people in the organization balance work and life?

The more you learn and observe, the better you’ll understand how to smooth the way forward.

Learn

You might feel overwhelmed, but think of it as growing, because it is.

Let go of the past.

Transitions – even good ones – are hard. Acknowledge that and give yourself a little grace. At the same time, develop a new vision for yourself based on what’s around you.

Ask for feedback.

Seek input from peers, supervisors, and anyone else you trust. The faster you correct course, the happier you’ll be. And remember, no one expects the new person to be perfect! If you ask for input, you’ll scramble up the learning curve as quickly as possible and look good doing it.

However you recharge your batteries off work, do that, especially now.

Transitions are draining, and you need all the mental, emotional, and physical strength you can get.

And take care of yourself at work, too.

That means setting boundaries and maintaining the habits that make you happy. Is there an 8:00 am meeting you dread? Build in time to grab your favorite drink beforehand. Do all your new extraverted teammates love group lunches? If you need that alone time at lunch, keep it. Join the group once or twice a week. Do you hate the interruption of calls or instant messages? Reply on email. That will teach people to contact you in the way you prefer.

At the end of each day, think for a few minutes.

What worked well? What didn’t go well? What can you do to make tomorrow better? If you’re a journal person, level up by keeping a log of your lessons learned.

There’s no one way to onboard perfectly, but there is a right way for you. Figure out how to prepare, what to ask, and how to learn and you might love your new work home.

(cheesy commercial voice) “Do you find yourself enamored with things that sparkle or shine? Are you often the one bringing the latest learning trend to your organization? Maybe you fancy yourself an instructional daredevil, trying to impress your boss by being the first to do something new. If this sounds like you, you could be suffering from Shiny Object Syndrome (Objectivius Shinium Syndromus). Yes, it’s a real condition, defined as the attraction to new methods that exhibit a glassy, polished, gleaming or otherwise newfangled appearance. And, if you’re not careful, you could develop a full-blown case of Innovation for Innovation’s Sake. This is a serious condition that can distract you from the bigger picture and cost you, your learning team, and your organization many hours of productivity and quite a bit of cash.”

If only it had a quick fix we could buy from an infomercial! Many of us in the learning field are always on the hunt for new ways to deliver training. We chase the latest buzz-words and trends in our industry. It’s a never-ending journey, driven by a sincere desire to improve the engagement and behavior changes our programs seek to provide. It seems a new modality (learning delivery mode) hits the market every week. Each time, we write the obituary for tried-and-true methods like instructor-led training (ILT), eLearning, and job aids, then tout the merits of the trends: virtual learning, micro/Nano learning, MOOCS, individualized learning, gamification, social learning, etc.

Don’t misunderstand me, each modality has its merits; however, as a learning consultant, I consider it my duty to walk my client through the dangers of hopping on the latest training train with little investigation. There are three steps I highly recommend whenever you are trying to land on a modality: be practical, evaluate all legitimate modalities, and conduct a proof-of-concept.

Be practical.

Practicality means concern for the actual doing or use of something, rather than the theory and ideas. Why? Because business is about getting whatever you sell to the market with speed and accuracy. Very few have time to test an idea each time employees need to be up-skilled. Be practical (not to be confused with boring); keep these things in mind before selecting a modality.

• Skills – What behavior are we teaching? Are the skills regulated? Do they present a high risk or danger if the user doesn’t perform correctly? How often will the skill be used? How complicated is the skill?
• Goals – What do we need to accomplish? Does learner performance need to be checked at the end of training to make sure it will get us to that goal?
• Learners – Are they rookies or veterans? Are they tech-savvy or nah? How are they used to working? Ensure the method works for the audience and their environment.
• Budget – What platform, equipment or setting do the modalities require? Can we afford to deliver training using the latest trend?
• Schedule – Do we have time to properly plan, design, develop, and deliver the training?
• Logistics – Where are the learners and how many? Is the training organization equipped to deliver and support the program? How long do we have to maintain the program?
• Culture – Ignore the culture (formal and informal) in any program targeting employees and you lose, every time.

Evaluate all modalities.

Conduct a proof-of-concept.

Listen, I’m not some old fart (can I say fart in this blog?) who resists innovation – quite the opposite. I love to see organizations do something new to pull the learner in and improve the likelihood of behavior change. In my job, I see it happen quite often. But I also see clients trying too hard to force the latest thing into their program, only to have it fall flat. If you want to try something new, you can minimize the risk. Do a proof-of-concept. Pilot the new modality with a trusted audience and see what happens. Introduce your new idea as a small part of a larger program. Implement a low-fi approach to the cutting-edge method. Any of these will give you valuable information you can use before going all-in. And remember that a blend of learning modalities is usually the solution to your organization’s learning needs.

New toys are fun, but choose them wisely. This is just a reminder to do what learning professionals should be doing every day – properly assessing the landscape before selecting a learning delivery method.