learning strategies during C-19 pandemic

As most of organizations are pausing, cancelling or in best case scenario, shifting to digital learning solutions in reaction to C19 pandemic; L&D professionals need to quickly adapt to the situation and turn it into an opportunity.

Instead of being perceived as the least priority function, this is the real time to show how L&D could be a solid cornerstone as a partner for business leaders to keep the organization holding together and more importantly ready for what’s after this global crisis and build a true resilient culture.

Here are few considerations and strategies to extend realistic L&D plan for your organization during this hard times:

1.Align with business priorities

Right now, business comes first, keep engaged with business leaders in crisis management or contingency planning meetings to make sure you know the situation and understand the scope of business issues and priority requirements. Keep that as your learning priority as well to achieve and link any learning initiatives to those business objectives.

Keep what’s nice to have or what’s digital appealing to a later stage. Most importantly, don’t offer solutions that would add financial burden over your organization's shoulders right now.

2.Strategies your offerings

Differentiate your learning intervention to 4 types according to: critical business requirement and relevance/likability to audience.

In such a turbulent time, people tend to think of their own needs and drop the collective organizational mindset that focus on organizational prosperity – and that’s a very normal human behavior during crisis, it’s all about what’s in it for them and how can they be safe (either physically in terms of health or financially in terms of keeping their job). So, it’s your job to balance between what important skill sets, topics or initiatives that would impact the business critically (Health and Safety – remote working – Crisis management – Business Strategies...etc.) and what would be interesting on a personal level for employees in such a stressful and demotivating (generally) environment (managing self well-being – technical savvy courses – interpersonal skills…etc.)

Refer to the attached picture for implementation tips

3.Engage learners - Digitally

Assuming the almost all the learning interventions are going to be digital, you need to make sure that audience are not going to get bored soon; it’s challenging to engage people while they are at home or workplace looking at a screen with social distancing in place. don't depend on one channel or method of digital learning, Think of adding elements of:

Group chatting

Personal reflection exercises

Challenging (in-place) web-search activities

Polling questions with kudos and digital thumb-up rewards

Open questions forums and discussions

Just make sure that you have sufficient time for interaction within the digital intervention to keep it as social and engaging as possible

4.Prepare for business recovery

After this wave – or tsunami - ends, that will be a real test for your capability to recover quickly.

The L&D industry will never return to the same norm again after this pandemic.

If we are learning one thing out of this pandemic, digital learning is no more a luxury, show-off or even optional. It’s going to be included in every single contingency business plan from now on. So, What are you going to do differently as an L&D professional? Here are few idea:

• Get yourself better in learning technologies, digital industry providers awareness, utilization of digital learning platforms and tools and ability to use diversified types of digital and social interventions
• Walk the talk and learn digitally! Take this time as an opportunity to test and learn about possible interventions
• Keep the pace with what’s happening in the HR and learning industries and emerging strategies to manage remote talents. check "Talent on Tap" channel on YouTube namely "2020 global talent trends" and "Tips for a productive all-remote workforce", which was filmed before the C19 outbreak. In it, you'll know about five steps recommended to make a smooth transition to a completely remote workforce
• keep the continuous conversation going with business leaders to identify the immediate critical learning needs once the business is back up and running

stay safe...optimistic and LEARNING!