Industry Insights - Lars Unneberg, CEO Mohive
Train the trainers for today’s enterprise rapid e-learning landscape
The learning landscape has changed. No longer the pet project of the innovators, rapid e-learning has become the de-facto standard for businesses keen to ensure knowledge management programmes are equipped to cope with today’s accelerated business environment. So, for many training professionals, working successfully in today’s rapid e-learning environment requires more than simply choosing the right technical solution. It also means acquiring the new skill sets critical for developing the knowledge sharing culture that best practice rapid e-learning is founded on. In short, many of today’s trainers may need to look inwards and identify their own skills’ shortfall, before really being able to maximise the positive effect that rapid e-learning can bring to the wider business.
Trainers need to develop from “people that do” to “people that coach”
For many trainers, the collaborative process means breaking out of an established departmental silo. Course production is no longer a one man show and, effectively, trainers need to develop from “people that do” to “people that coach”. Many of them have become so used to setting learning objectives and defining outcomes that the process has become second nature for them. They need to recognise this skill and develop ways of transferring this ability over to the new breed of SMEs that are now becoming more involved in the course production process.
Being a good coach requires a combination of good managerial skills, to make sure material is delivered on time and on budget, and good motivational skills, to maintain interest within the widening group of stakeholders involved in course creation. If you have decent process it’s not too hard to do the right things at the right time.
Fresh produce
Finally remember you’re working with “fresh produce”. If rapid e-learning is to properly support the needs of today’s dynamic business environment then the shelf life of any course created will become increasingly limited. Within this environment the coach’s objective must be to get as much utility as possible out of the material before the learning requirement reaches its “expiration date”.