organization could get the right training for their role, at the same
time, from managers on down to the front line?
A global consumer goods manufacturing company deployed
just such a cascading approach across their workforce to support
their bold change transformation vision, to great success. They
used high-touch, in-person workshops across the top echelon,
but cascaded that same information, urgency and mindset shift
through blended learning to middle managers and pure digital
learning experiences designed for the rest of the organization. This
way, everyone in the company heard the same message, received
the right content for them and applied the objective of the stra-tegic
change to their specific work context. The lesson here for
organizations is that you can get everyone on the same page when
things change, and fast.
YES, EVEN SOFT SKILLS
The essential imperatives of digital disruption – speed, global
reach, user contribution, etc. – combined with ever-more engag-ing
technologies, mean that virtually all skills can now be trained
effectively via online modalities. Fortunately for us all, because
there are now compelling online learning options beyond point-and-
click PowerPoint presentations, soft skills can be learned very
effectively online. Which is key because soft skills are increasingly
critical to effectively lead responses to business disruption today,
but they are among the hardest skills to learn, and old models have
serious limitations.
Enter digitally disruptive new learning approaches. Venerable
training companies such as Miller Heiman Group, VitalSmarts,
Mandel Communications and more are embracing the latest,
most engaging online learning techniques to help their custom-ers
develop sophisticated interpersonal and communication skills.
VitalSmarts, for example, cites advantages to online versus class-room
learning, such as the opportunity for the learner to set their
own pace and learn over time, the ability for moderators to provide
individualized attention to learners and enhanced collaboration
between learners within a cohort of learners.
training & development
SOME ARGUE THAT
LEARNING IS THE MOST
IMPORTANT SOLUTION
TO THE CHALLENGES OF
DIGITAL DISRUPTION.
In conclusion, in this context of accelerating digital change and
complexity, learning organizations are critical enablers of orga-nizational
success. Learning professionals have an incredibly
important role to play helping the people they serve adapt to a
changing world faster, utilizing those disruptive modern modali-ties
and technologies to face down the challenges of organizational
disruption. It’s quite an exciting time to be in learning! n
Sam Herring is CEO of Intrepid Learning. This article
was originally published in Training Industry Magazine,
www.trainingindustry.com.
Where We Are:
The Need to Optimize
for Learning
Source: Eric (Astro) Teller’s idea explained in Thomas
Friedman’s Thank You for Being Late, 2016.
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