2 Frameworks to Elevate Corporate Learning Through Generative AI Innovation

As organizations face unprecedented changes in the workplace, traditional corporate training methods are proving inadequate. To stay competitive, businesses must shift from a static, knowledge-based approach to one that emphasizes the continuous practice and application of skills in real-world scenarios. This article explores two learning innovation frameworks from My Baseline Builder that detail the future of upskilling- one that’s powered by Generative AI (GenAI). We’ll start with a real story many professionals find themselves- preparing themselves for their next role in a dynamically changing work environment.

Greg Johnson: A Journey to Discover My Next Calling My position was eliminated several months ago, and I am taking this opportunity to step back and evaluate my career direction. I don’t want to just automatically pursue another role like what I had done for the past four years. GenAI tools like ChatGPT have been a huge asset to me in my job search, but I recently realized that they could also assist me in interview preparation. I have only worked at three employers over my 34-year career and have not participated in many job interviews. I know that I need to hone my skills of selling myself to a future employer. I look forward to getting instant feedback from GenAI-powered tools on how I can give stronger answers to job description-specific questions.

The Future of Upskilling: Using GenAI to Shift from Learning to Practicing and Applying

The corporate learning landscape is evolving rapidly, driven by the need to not only equip employees with knowledge but also to ensure they can apply it effectively. For decades, corporate training programs have focused on imparting information through eLearning courses and instructor lead trainings (virtual and in-person). However, the challenge lies not in learning but in what happens when it’s finished. The real question is—can employees apply what they’ve learned when it matters most?

The future of corporate training lies in shifting from a static, knowledge-transfer model to one that is dynamic, practice-oriented, and integrated into daily workflows. The rise of GenAI offers an unprecedented opportunity to bridge the gap between learning and doing, by providing employees with the tools and personalized real-time feedback they need to practice and refine their skills continually.

What is GenAI and Its Impact to L&D? Generative AI, which is powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Gemini, can deliver personalized, adaptive training experiences that incorporate real-time feedback and scenario-based practice. The impact of GenAI is to accelerate employee upskilling and improve performance for their current and next roles.

Framework 1: Learn-Practice-Apply

Traditional training programs focus on knowledge acquisition, but knowledge alone doesn't guarantee skill mastery. In this framework, learning is just the first step in upskilling. Without opportunities to practice and apply new skills in real work contexts, employees often forget what they’ve learned (this is referred to as the Forgetting Curve). The Learn-Practice-Apply framework addresses this challenge by ensuring that employees not only acquire new information but also have the chance to practice and apply it in real-time, thereby reinforcing the skill and improving comprehension, retention, and application within the flow of work.

LEARN: Acquire Core Knowledge

Core knowledge on a particular subject is often acquired in a formal setting such as eLearning courses, in-person or virtual instructor-led trainings (ILT or vILT), and webinars. Typically assessments are included to prove mastery of understanding the content.

PRACTICE: Build Competence and Confidence

Next, employees practice the skills they learned. Here, they can fail safely in controlled, low-risk environments. They also can refine their core knowledge with the nuances and subtleties that occur in many realistic situations and scenarios. By successfully completing these practice sessions, they build their competence and confidence in their skill.

APPLY: Improve Performance

Finally, they can apply these skills in real-world settings within the flow of work. When learning tools are designed well, they can also become performance support tools. This ensures that employees retain their knowledge and can readily apply it to improve their performance in their daily work.

Practice Your Interviewing Skills Now Watch this brief video showing how to practice being interviewed and receive real-time, personalized feedback just by using ChatGPT and a Baseline Skill Builder PDF. Then download the PDF and experience it yourself.

Practicing in Real-Time

GenAI provides the ideal platform to support this framework. With GenAI tools, employees can engage in real-time practice scenarios that offer personalized, instant feedback. Greg’s experience of using a Baseline Skill Builder that’s powered by GenAI gave him the support he needed to practice and improve his interviewing skills:

Greg’s Insight The Baseline Skill Builder gave a great simulation of a phone call interview with a pleasant back-and-forth cadence of questioning and feedback to my answers. Since I uploaded the job description to ChatGPT, it was able to give me personalized feedback on how my answer fit with what it expected to hear from a top candidate for the role. That specificity helped me to know if I was giving a strong answer to the questions.

Application in Corporate Training

The Learn-Practice-Apply framework can be applied across various domains in corporate training. In fact, learning solutions that have leveraged this framework (formerly called “Push-Anchor-Pull”) have won three prestigious Brandon Hall awards for learning innovation (2 gold and 1 silver). Whether it’s leadership development, Diversity/Equity/Inclusion, or compliance, this approach ensures that employees not only learn the required skills but also get the opportunity to practice and master them. GenAI-powered platforms enable this by offering adaptive, scenario-based learning, where employees are given the tools to practice in real-time and then apply what they’ve learned directly to their roles.

Integrating GenAI to Enhance Practice and Application

The Role of GenAI

GenAI enhances the Learn-Practice-Apply model by providing adaptive, personalized feedback that helps learners improve continuously. Unlike traditional training, where feedback is often delayed or generic, GenAI offers real-time insights tailored to individual performance. Whether an employee is practicing communication skills, decision-making, or conflict resolution, GenAI adjusts to their specific needs at their level of demonstrated performance, and consistently guides them toward mastery.

Impact on Skill Development

This real-time feedback loop ensures that employees not only gain theoretical knowledge but also develop the practical skills necessary for their current and next roles. Greg’s journey highlights the power of this approach. Through continuous practice with Baseline Skill Builders and GenAI tools, he didn’t just become proficient at answering interview questions; he also felt assured that his answers were on point. This made him more confident and competent in a skill essential in high demand in organizations.

Behind the Scenes: How to Design Upskilling with GenAI by Changing the Frame

With the advent of GenAI tools, we are in a new era of skill development. These powerful tools allow us as learning professionals to transcend beyond the limitations of traditional training methods such as eLearning courses and instructor-led trainings. These methods, while still essential, often fall short of delivering personalized, adaptive learning experiences. Traditional branching scenarios, for instance, lack the flexibility to provide authentic, real-time feedback tailored to each learner’s progress. Instead, they offer only limited choices and canned responses. Also, role-playing during instructor-led trainings is an effective teaching tool, but it doesn’t scale and is restricted to scheduling limitations. As a result, these methods fail as a scalable model to prepare employees for the dynamic, unpredictable challenges they face in the workplace.

The Shift to Continuous Learning and Practicing in Triads/Groups

In today’s fast-paced business environment, learning must be continuous, not episodic, or even worse, a single event. GenAI enables this shift to continuous learning by offering a platform for ongoing practice and real-time skill refinement. Greg and employees at future-focused organizations can now access GenAI-driven tools to ensure they are always prepared to meet the challenges of their current and next roles.

Greg, for example, took his interviewing practice to the next level by incorporating a triad approach. The three participants in this triad are 1) the practicing person, 2) the GenAI who is playing the other half of the scenario and providing core feedback, and 3) a trusted colleague/coach/mentor who is providing more nuanced feedback. The Triad+ is a new and powerful workflow that leverages the deep expertise of GenAI and balances it with the human touch so people gain robust insights and supercharge their development.

Greg’s Insight I was able to bring my mentor into this interview process to receive a deeper level of feedback that is not possible from the GenAI tool alone. My mentor noticed that there were times when I was not making direct eye contact with the monitor or was not sitting up straight with a confident posture while giving my answers. Being aware of my non-verbal communication made me be more assertive and assured in my demeanor, which translated into a stronger response to each question posed by the GenAI tool.

The Impact of Authentic Practice

GenAI-driven feedback goes beyond the surface, offering people an authentic practice environment where they can refine both technical and soft skills. Greg’s experience demonstrates the value of GenAI’s real-time, personalized feedback, which helped him boost his confidence and enhance his readiness for interviews. This type of practice ensures that employees are doing more than passively learning- but are actively refining and applying their skills in realistic scenarios, which is essential to performance improvements.

Framework 2: Change the Frame

Exploring Value from Multiple Perspectives

The Change the Frame framework explores a concept from multiple perspectives. In this case, it encourages organizations to assess the value of GenAI-driven training from different angles or stakeholders such as learners, organizations, and L&D professionals. Each perspective offers unique insights into how GenAI can transform learning experiences and outcomes as well as improve business performance.

ZOOMING IN: Value at the Micro-Level

Zooming in allows you to explore the specific value for stakeholders. At the learner level, GenAI delivers personalized experiences that engage employees and boost their confidence and performance. Learners practice in real-time and receive tailored feedback to address weaknesses and build strengths. Greg’s practice sessions with GenAI helped him gain confidence in areas where he struggled, preparing him for his next role.

ZOOMING OUT: Value at the Macro-Level

Zooming out shows broader trends. GenAI-powered learning platforms can rapidly upskill workforces, ensuring agility and future readiness. Greg’s improved interview performance benefits him and his future organization.

ZOOMING AROUND: Value from Multiple Perspectives

GenAI-driven solutions address the unique needs of stakeholders, including executives, managers, frontline workers, and customers. Each group benefits from targeted solutions that align with their specific goals.

RE-LABELING: GenAI as Universal SME and Strategic Muse

Re-labeling can shift perception and value. Referring to GenAI as a Universal Subject Matter Expert (SME) highlights its ability to embody expertise in various fields. Labeling GenAI as a "strategic muse" emphasizes its role as a creative and analytical collaborator, while the person is the “director” who guides the muse in its work. These personas enable organizations to unlock their potential for brainstorming, analysis, and content creation tailored to specific needs.

Changing the Organizational Mindset

GenAI adoption in corporate learning often meets resistance from stakeholders who view it as a threat or a complex technology to manage. By demonstrating the diverse benefits of GenAI through frameworks like Learn-Practice-Apply and Change the Frame, L&D leaders can encourage buy-in from executives, managers, and employees to shift their focus from learning to practicing and applying.

Organizations must be willing to embrace GenAI as more than just a tool; it is a strategic asset that will redefine how employees learn and grow. Greg’s journey of using GenAI to practice interviewing now to accept a new role in the future illustrates how one individual’s mindset shift can mirror and influence broader organizational change. This mindset shift is key to ultimately driving the adoption of GenAI as a key component of the L&D upskilling ecosystem.

Beyond Interviews: Other Difficult Conversations

GenAI can also be applied to more sensitive and complex workplace scenarios, such as managing performance reviews, handling microaggressions, resolving conflicts, and more (see a list of areas at All Products | My Baseline Builder). These conversations are often fraught with emotion, making them difficult to navigate. However, GenAI-driven practice tools provide a safe, controlled environment where employees can build the confidence and competence they need to handle these situations effectively.

Greg’s Insight As I continue the search for the next stop in my career path, I realize that I need to utilize as many resources as possible to market myself to my next employer. Most people don’t explicitly document their successes so that they are readily available to be discussed during the next job search. I am finding it hard to explicitly state what I have accomplished in my career and how I am qualified to land the role to which I have applied. The next generation of Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Baseline Skill Builders, are incredible resources for practicing my marketing pitch in a safe and iterative environment. It is tailored specifically to the position I have applied to and knows my background from my resume. I would wholeheartedly endorse using these tools to prepare for your next interview.

Looking Ahead

The future of corporate learning lies in continuous innovation, driven by GenAI’s ability to provide personalized, real-time feedback and practice opportunities. To stay competitive and foster a future-ready workforce, learning executives can begin integrating GenAI tools and frameworks such as Learn-Practice-Apply and Change the Frame into their training strategies.

Try It Yourself

Go to Interviewing for Your Next Role (entry/mid-level) and use the coupon "INTERVIEW" to download the Baseline Skill Builder for free. Try it by yourself (dyad) and with a colleague or two (triad+) to experience a whole new way to upskill yourself... and your organization.

Join the My Baseline Builder Community at SKOOL where you can collaborate to explore, design, build, and deploy real-world solutions using AI tools to transform personal and professional learning experiences.

Johnny Hamilton is an award-winning leader in strategic learning innovation, design, and development. He developed the Baseline Skill Builders for My Baseline Builder and leads learning innovation for Providence, a top healthcare organization.