How will you create a human-focused learning experience?

It’s that time of year when we start seeing articles reflecting on what we’ve learned this past year and where we think industries are headed next year. There’s no doubt that events in the past year and more are bringing a focus on people and technology to the top.

Digital Transformation initiatives sped up, getting done in a few months what would have taken years to support virtual meetings, events, and asynchronous communications. Thank you to all our IT friends!

But what about the Human Transformation? Many companies are now responding to the Great Resignation or Reshuffling or whatever you want to call it. They are trying to entice top talent to stay and attract new talent to join them. But as my friend and colleague, Kevin Bishop, said in a recent post, that perspective is still company focused and not employee focused.

So, as you think about your learning initiatives going into 2022, are your learning experiences learner focused? As I reflect on the human experience over the last two years, I see 2022 as an opportunity for L&D to create learning experiences that are focused on human beings and being human.

Now, you’re going to tell me that your learning offerings already focus on the learner because they are based on the skills the employee should learn. Your learning efforts are focused on upskilling or reskilling the employee.

So, okay, you’ve identified the skills they need. However, have you considered where someone may struggle with these skills? Why they need these skills in the context of how they really get their job done? Have you put them in real-world scenarios that highlight the “gray” areas that make their jobs hard? Have you considered how you want them to feel after taking your course? Have you considered if the course length and mode of delivery is realistic with how they work and their life schedule?

Do you include stories from other humans who have gone through these or similar experiences in your course to make that human connection with the learner? Or do you have a talking head that is simply telling them what to do? Do you have speakers or facilitators or videos of colleagues who are vulnerable enough to share stories that didn’t go as planned or where they made a huge mistake and the impact of that mistake?

And, most importantly, are you getting feedback from your target audience to really see if your course is moving the needle for them and those they impact? User focus groups, prototype labs, and pilots are a great way to get feedback from your target audience to see if your course connected with them and triggered the human emotion to make the positive behavior change. Follow-up surveys 60 or 90 days after the course to participants, their managers, and direct reports are a great way to see if the behavior change stuck and if the behavior changes are impacting those they work with the most positively. A participant can say they’ve made a change, but the true test is if others see the behavior change and notice the positive impact on their lives.

As you develop your learning experiences in 2022, consider how you will incorporate a human experience into what you are creating? How will you create a human-centered experience that brings out the human connection we have been lacking?

Whether you’re building an eLearning or a virtual or in-person learning event, consider...

• What should my learner be able to do after completing this course? What behaviors should they exhibit? Why are these behaviors important? What happens if these behaviors aren’t exhibited?
• What do high performers or those who do this well do? How do they behave? What sets them a part?
• Where and why do most human beings struggle with this task or skill? What is their day-to-day really like that may make this hard?
• What are real-world examples of when this worked well and when it didn’t? What were the trade-offs with certain decisions? What needs to be considered when determining what may be the best decision for the situation (e.g., team impact, customer impact, company impact)?
• Who has stories (both good and bad ) to connect the learner to this topic?
• How should the learner feel after completing this course?
• How and when should I get feedback from my target audience to make sure I’m creating something for them? Something that is practical in their life schedule; something that triggers the emotions that will inspire them to change; something that will bring out that authentic a-ha moment!

What else do you think L&D needs to do in 2022? How are you creating human-centered learning experiences?