How COVID-19 has disrupted Learning & Development and how we can take advantage of it

The unexpected COVID-19 has turned the world upside down, literally. To say that COVID-19 has impacted many aspects of our lives is an understatement. In many cases, it is a disruptor, big time. It changes the way we see the world (things we previously deem impossible such as city locked down became a reality), the way we interact with people (social and physical distancing), and the way we learn (online vs. offline learning). In particular, the learning and development sector has seen both opportunities and challenges in midst of crisis. Webinars and virtual classes are everywhere. When people are stranded at home, online learning becomes the only choice. Online learning does offer a lot of benefits – participants could do it anywhere they want, it saves the organizer’s time and effort to book and manage a classroom, trainers could easily reach out to international participants, to name a few. Since most people needed to work from home during COVID-19, we are getting used to using technology to meet, interact, and learn. All in all, it seems a no-brainer to move to online learning in full gear. However, it may not be as straightforward as it seems. This article aims to explore how corporate L&D and trainers can take advantage of the uprising trend of online learning and avoid the potential pitfalls. But before I do that, let’s clarify the definition of online learning.

Online learning takes many forms. The most common are:

1. Self-paced E-Learning: Learners access the content (pre-recorded videos, articles, discussion forums, etc.) at any time they want. It may or may not contain live virtual classes.

2. Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT): This is where the trainer or facilitator conducts live training class or workshop via a virtual platform. Learners attend the training in real time with the trainer on the same platform. Think of this as an online version of traditional face-to-face (F2F) class. Interaction with and between learners in VILT is usually high.

3. Webinar: Very similar to VILT. Most of the time people use the term Webinar interchangeably with VILT, although there are subtle differences between the two. Webinars refer to a live seminar but conducted online. The speaker(s) take most of the airtime. Interaction with participants is usually limited to chat box and Q&A.

4. Blended Learning: It refers to a hybrid approach of face-to-face (F2F) and online learning. For example, learners must complete both online learning requirements andattend a F2F class in order to be deemed completed in a program.

As you can see, there are many ways to conduct online learning. In the scope of this article, the term “Online Learning” is very broad and it could refer to one or more learning approaches mentioned above. 

Now we are clear on the definition of online learning, it’s time to discuss how corporate L&D and trainers can take advantage of the trend of online learning. I have summarized three key factors for each.

Corporate Learning & Development

1. Rethink the entire L&D strategy

Just because your competitor is launching a huge online training program and your staffs are all Zoom-savvy does not mean you also need to do it.

Online learning is not difficult to implement. We can add a lot of bells and whistles to make it engaging and interactive. But for corporate L&D, the most critical element is not the What or How of online learning, but the Why – why we are doing it. Just because your competitor is launching a huge online training program and your staffs are all Zoom-savvy does not mean you also need to do it. At the end of the day, training is meant to enable the business to achieve its objectives. Learning strategy should, regardless of COVID-19, always support business strategy. Whether you have an established learning strategy pre-COVID-19, it’s time to rethink and replan your learning strategy post-COVID-19. Ask yourself the following questions:

·      What does the business need the most right now?

·      How has the company’s strategy changed in midst of current crisis?

·      How can learning & development support the business to achieve the newstrategy?

Only when you have answered the above questions can you start to think the How – learning approach which may or may not include online learning, and the What – what programs to launch, what platform to use, etc. 

Don’t start the equation with low hanging fruits – the nice-to-have online programs. Again, start with Why. It’s not an easy question to answer, but answering the why will help you lay the solid foundation of everything that you do afterwards. More importantly, it will make your programs relevant to the business. Online learning may or may not be the best approach to support the business.

If you have already developed a program in light of the crisis, I suggest that you ask yourself this question:

What would happen to the business if I don’t do this______________ (fill in the blank with a program name)? Then answer it honestly. It will help you clarify the importance of your program.

2. Don’t forget Change Management

Let’s assume you have decided that online learning is the way to go. The next thing on your To-Do-List will be Change Management. Online learning disrupts the way we used to learn, and corporate L&D is responsible to manage the process of change. There are best practices in change management. Here’s a quick checklist:

·      Get the buy-in from key stakeholders. Just as any initiatives in the corporate world, learning strategy will never be successful without the support from key stakeholders. Take as much time as you need to win the buy-in from department heads and senior management.

·      Communicate often. As the saying goes, “You can’t overcommunicate”. This is especially true in midst of crisis or change. State the reason of moving into online learning in plain language and answer the question “What’s in it for me?” for staffs. What do they stand to gain by learning online as opposed to F2F style? Nothing turns people more off than saying “We can’t meet physically so the only way to learn is online.” Craft your answer thoughtfully.

·      Start easy and get a quick win. Don’t start your online program with a virtual brainstorming session using a third-party collaborative platform in addition to the meeting platform. People will be overwhelmed. Instead, start with a simple webinar and generate a quick win. Then gradually increase the complexity of your program. When people see the quick result, their anxiety level goes down, and they get a boost in confidence of online learning.

·      Provide enough software and hardware support. Do your staffs have access to the necessary hardware and software in order to attend the online learning? Some platforms such as 3rdparty collaboration platforms require certain level of CPU power in order to run the activity smoothly. If your staffs work/learn from home, do they have strong and stable internet bandwidth? Get your IT department onboard when designing online programs and be ready to provide IT support to your participants.

3. Get help if needed

Online learning and F2F learning differ in many ways. One difference lies in program design. Online learning must be designed to keep learners engaged and focus. Simply putting all the F2F PowerPoint slides online and talk through them won’t work – you are basically encouraging your participants to check social media and their inbox. In online learning, especially Virtual Instructor-Led training, engagement trumps content. If the design fails to captivate learners’ attention, even world class content will not get you any result. Start by thinking about what existing contents and topics you want to convert to online learning. Some topics are inherently more suited for online learning, such as knowledge-based training (compliance training, resilience and EQ). Some topics, while you can do partly online, must be combined with face-to-face format to achieve the optimal result, such as hands-on training (coffee brewing, making the bed), team building, and creativity and innovation. Start with an easy topic will help you build confidence and momentum on the learning curve (and get a quick win too).

Some corporate L&D may have internal resources to do course design and development. However, as mentioned earlier, online learning requires a slightly different skillset and experience. Don’t be afraid to get external and professional help. There are off-the-shelf online learning platforms and programs to choose from. Some even allow customization to suit your company’s unique culture and values. There are also consultants specializing in online learning who could provide professional help in design, development, and delivery of online learning.

Trainers / Consultants

It’s time to discuss how trainers and L&D consultants can take advantage of the rising trend of online learning. First and foremost, trainers must equip themselves with the skillset to conduct online training and workshop. Otherwise, they will find themselves significantly disadvantaged. It will be like Motorola in the 90’s. They placed a big bet on StarTAC, the latest analog mobile phone at the time, when the trend of digital phones was rising quickly. Failure, was inevitable.

Once trainers are willing to leave their comfort zone and step into the world of online learning, they can benefit from the following three advices.

1. Add extra value to your program

During the COVID-19 crisis, it’s not difficult to find free webinars swamping the virtual space. You can keep yourself busy the whole day attending one webinar after another, if you want. The implication is that content has become a commodity, in a sense. Therefore, trainers must be able to add extra value in their program if they want to stand out from the crowd. Ask yourself, if you can turn this program into a self-paced E Learning program, does it serve the purpose? If so, what’s the value of doing it in a virtual classroom format?

Content is a commodity and is free everywhere. Connection is not.

The way to add value in virtual classes may take many forms. For example, virtual trainers can strive to build connection in the virtual classroom. Connection trumps content in virtual trainings. Content is a commodity and is free everywhere. Connection is not. Connection is personal, and the more we are told to maintain physical distance with people around us, the more we crave for interpersonal connection online. Human are by nature social animal after all. Successful virtual trainers must be connection builder. Fortunately, there are many tools and features available to help build the connection in virtual classrooms, such as breakout rooms, annotation, third party collaborative platform, etc. Trainers just need to learn and master them.

Another way to foster connection is to utilize online community. Nearly all social and communication platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, WeChat, allow you to create social groups. Create learning groups for your cohorts so that people stay in touch after the class. Trainers may continue to add value by sharing additional resources related to the topic.

2. Redesign to engage

As mentioned before, design is everything in online learning. Whether you are converting your existing content or creating new content from scratch, one principle to abide by is engagement. Ask yourself: how the content can be designed to keep learners engaged? Here’s a few quick tips:

·      More slides – It may seem counterintuitive, but in virtual training you want more slides, not fewer. More slides mean more visual changes, and participants will stay engaged. Staying on a single slide and talk for 20 minutes will send your participants to absolute boredom.

·      Get animated – You lose about 50% of physiological communication power when you conduct your class online, because your participants can’t see your whole body gesture, your hand movements are limited, and you can’t make use of the physical space by walking around. So your voice, gestures, facial expression all need to be a bit exaggerated or your learners won’t feel it. If you use slides, utilize the animation function to make frequent visual changes.

·      Get familiar with the interactive functions – Regardless what online platform you are using, there are plenty of bells and whistles to interact with participants: Chat, Poll, Breakout Room, Annotation, etc. Get yourself absolutely proficient in using those features. Aim for one interaction every 15 minutes. If you don’t interact at all, people might as well attend self-paced E-learning programs.

3. Ready, Fire, Aim

Learning to deliver virtual training is just like you first learned delivering F2F training decades ago. How did you learn that back then? By practicing and learning from mistakes. Same here. Conducting virtual classes, just as any other skill, can only be learned by practicing and learning from experience. So take actions, and proactively seek participants feedback. Create a “Lesson Learned Log” and document any successful and not-so-successful instances. Don’t wait until you are perfectly ready to deliver your first virtual class. Your perfect class may always be your next class.

How do firefighters fight the fire? Do they make sure they aim at the bullseye of the fire before shooting? No! They get ready, fire, then adjust the shot. Same here. Get yourself ready, go deliver the class, and learn from it.

“In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity.”

There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has disrupted our lives and the world of learning & development. In retrospect, online learning has been in the market long before COVID-19, but it hasn’t got into mainstream by any means. If there is anything we should thank COVID-19 for, it will be its strong push for worldwide adoption of online learning. Willingly or unwillingly, people are getting used to learn online. Therefore, corporate L&D and trainers who are willing to adapt, take actions, and learn from the experience will thrive. Those who stay put and wish for the world to go back to pure F2F post-crisis will fall behind. The world has changed, and there’s no going back.

The article was originally published by Macau Manager Magazine Volume 82.