L&D Roadmap to Deal with Change

Times of change for Learning and Development (L&D) professionals too. What is the right next step? Recent articles and resources suggest many of us are busy moving classes to webinars. We call that ILT to VILT: Instructor-Led Training, with a leading "V" for "virtual" when done online.

But is that where L&D departments should focus now? When an unexpected change hits and an "obvious" target seems to appear in front of us, it may be tempting to simply focus on that target. A pandemic, however, is not your average change. And when facing a change of that magnitude, I suggest stepping back and taking a strategic approach. Circumstances have changed, yes, but we cannot forget about the inputs. After all, our work is based on the analysis of known inputs, and we are held accountable by how we contribute to change them.

So what follows is a simple strategy framework, one that helps add perspective, add new inputs, one you can customize to your own context. It should help make informed decisions about where to invest L&D efforts now.

Going Back to How We Work

The first step, as suggested earlier, is to step back. See what we do, how, and why we do it. Although there are many ways to look at it, let me stick to the following way of describing our work: at L&D, we do three things:

1. Partner with the customer to identify problems
2. Determine how to measure the problems, and if learning can help solve it, design a solution
3. Deliver the solution, and measure to see if it is helping solve the problem

Let's look at VILT conversion again. We are redesigning an existing solution so that it can be delivered under new circumstances. It does not question the analysis process that led you to design that solution. But in times of change, isn't that a risky assumption? Do areas 1 and 2 remain constant?

That is not a rhetorical question. I promised you a custom L&D strategy, so it is your turn. Grab a piece of paper or a document you can divide into three columns, 1, 2 and 3, for the three areas above. Then, write two or three things your L&D department does or must do in each area. If you are engaged in converting ILT to VILT for a course, go ahead and write that. It should probably take space both in columns 2 and 3, because it involves design and delivery.

Here are a few hints to get more items on the chart:

• List things your L&D team does, and also the ones you know it will have to do in the future
• List things you do well, and things you know you want to get better at
• Think new inputs. Is resilience for remote workers a new requirement? Not sure? Sounds like a new analysis round
• Think not only about what you do (training) but how you do it (remote work, technologies)
• Include new things brought by change that seem a temporary measure
• Include new things brought by change that seem likely to stay for good

Draw a circle around each item. You may feel some circles must span across more than one area, and drawing circles is an easy way to communicate that. Do not continue reading until you have a handful of items on your chart.

A New Horizon

Great, a list of to-do items. Now what? Well, not far to go now. In fact, that is precisely what we are going to do, give a sense of what "far" means. By adding a horizon, a point in the future. Grab another piece of paper or create a new document. Trace the three columns, 1, 2, 3 as before. Then, trace a horizontal line, a new horizon, right in the middle of the page. Now, rewrite all the items from the previous document. Those you feel must be done now or in the immediate future (weeks, months... you decide) go below the horizon. Place all items for future work above the horizon. Again, circle each item, and if you feel the circle has a footprint both below and above the horizon, that makes sense too. I said "rewrite" and not "copy" because now that we are adding a time dimension, you may feel some tasks need further breakdown or rephrasing. Terms like "planning" and "research" may appear now if they were not already present.

Now you have a chart divided into six sections. It covers the three areas of the L&D function, and gives you a sense of time, how imminent they are. If you expect me to point to one of these sections and tell you that it is the most important, well, that would be generic advice. I do not know your context! I promised a custom roadmap, so you will assign the priorities. That is the last step.

Priorities

Finally, think about the worst-case scenario. This is one where your resources are limited, perhaps your budget or headcount reduced, but you have to deliver a basic set of solutions to the business. Highlight the items on the chart that will help you achieve that goal. That is your minimum viable response, and the top priority list. The remaining items are the lower priority group. And although by doing this exercise it seems you only have two priority groups, most likely there is a sequence, a sequence defined by those columns 1, 2, 3 which we follow to do our work.

Perhaps VILT conversion was one of the items you wrote on the map. What is its relative position now on your prioritized list? It may sit at the top, which confirms your initial thinking - great. It may be a little lower, and if so it would probably be good to discuss it with your colleagues. An that is the value of this simple exercise: it is a great way to trigger conversations about making informed decisions in L&D, both within your department and with your customer. It is one where you can progressively add more layers and continue that strategic conversation to ensure you invest your efforts where they are most valued. What other layers would you add?