Exclusive Interview with Simon Greany, Chief Learning Officer, Elucidat
“To Engage Employees, Align Training With Their Personal Goals”
Posted on 08-04-2020, Read Time: 6 Min
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“There are many examples out there of over-engineered training solutions. I have seen too many examples of teams focused on winning industry awards, rather than designing the most efficient, effective course to deliver business results. If we saw a big increase in VR and AR - I would be questioning what is driving this? Is it the needs of the learner or L&D teams desire to flex their creativity?,” says Simon Greany, Chief Learning Officer, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, Elucidat. Simon knows from experience that when digital learning is designed well, it has the ability to motivate, inspire and change behavior. However, as someone who has designed award-winning digital learning programs himself, he knows that this can be a big challenge! His passion for digital learning stems from his 15 years’ experience in the industry. In an interview with HR.com he talks about the changes COVID-19 is bringing to the learning world. Excerpts from the interview: |
Q. What changes are we expecting in the corporate learning and employee development space?
Simon: Our research suggests that the shift to online training is here to stay. We found that only 13% of organizations plan to fully revert to previous levels of face-to-face training. While the initial response to COVID-19 was to lean heavily on virtual instructor-led training, L&D teams have quickly turned to other approaches. The use of e-learning for example, almost doubled between April and June (Brandon Hall Group), whereas webinar delivery has dropped off.
Moving forward, successful HR and L&D teams will be developing a sustainable online strategy - using a blend of modalities. There is a real opportunity right now to get smart about how to do this at scale.
We are seeing more L&D teams becoming centers of excellence, becoming the order givers rather than the order takers. As demand for online training increases, they are trying to avoid becoming overwhelmed. So instead of being snowed under by incoming requests, they are becoming the orchestrators - identifying where interventions are needed and crowdsourcing training from subject matter experts across the business. I think this centralized approach will become more common for big employers who need to react quickly to change - but want to maintain consistently high-quality training.
I also expect (and hope) to see more attention being paid to the impact of training on productivity. We are waving goodbye to sitting people down in a classroom for a half day. The digital future of training can be more respectful of people’s time. The best interventions are those that take people away from their day job for as little time as possible - and deliver on the required objectives. Using an online blend this can be done in small, regular nudges and on-going support - accessed on-demand or around busy schedules.
Moving forward, successful HR and L&D teams will be developing a sustainable online strategy - using a blend of modalities. There is a real opportunity right now to get smart about how to do this at scale.
We are seeing more L&D teams becoming centers of excellence, becoming the order givers rather than the order takers. As demand for online training increases, they are trying to avoid becoming overwhelmed. So instead of being snowed under by incoming requests, they are becoming the orchestrators - identifying where interventions are needed and crowdsourcing training from subject matter experts across the business. I think this centralized approach will become more common for big employers who need to react quickly to change - but want to maintain consistently high-quality training.
I also expect (and hope) to see more attention being paid to the impact of training on productivity. We are waving goodbye to sitting people down in a classroom for a half day. The digital future of training can be more respectful of people’s time. The best interventions are those that take people away from their day job for as little time as possible - and deliver on the required objectives. Using an online blend this can be done in small, regular nudges and on-going support - accessed on-demand or around busy schedules.
Q. Why is the adoption of emerging learning technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mobile applications still sluggish? What are their benefits and why should more companies adopt them?
Simon: VR and AR can be good approaches for high-consequence training - for example training pilots on emergency landings or delicate surgical procedures. But, most corporate training is not of high consequence in the same way as these examples. Most corporate training focuses on the day-to-day things that are needed to keep the wheels turning - process, procedures and rules.
When planning any training or learning program HR and L&D should be looking for the best way to deliver on the business goals and needs of the learner. As well as designing a great learning experience, they should be considering the time it takes to produce and keep up to date.
There are many examples out there of over-engineered training solutions. I have seen too many examples of teams focused on winning industry awards, rather than designing the most efficient, effective course to deliver business results. If we saw a big increase in VR and AR - I would be questioning what is driving this? Is it the needs of the learner or L&D teams desire to flex their creativity?
When it comes to mobile, we always advocate designing e-learning to work on any device. This is critical to enabling employers to be able to access and interact with training on-demand, on any device. But unfortunately, there are external barriers to this - for example, different U.S. states have different BYOD policies. So for some organizations, it is not actually possible to deliver training via mobile apps unless they equip all employees with a phone or compensation.
When planning any training or learning program HR and L&D should be looking for the best way to deliver on the business goals and needs of the learner. As well as designing a great learning experience, they should be considering the time it takes to produce and keep up to date.
There are many examples out there of over-engineered training solutions. I have seen too many examples of teams focused on winning industry awards, rather than designing the most efficient, effective course to deliver business results. If we saw a big increase in VR and AR - I would be questioning what is driving this? Is it the needs of the learner or L&D teams desire to flex their creativity?
When it comes to mobile, we always advocate designing e-learning to work on any device. This is critical to enabling employers to be able to access and interact with training on-demand, on any device. But unfortunately, there are external barriers to this - for example, different U.S. states have different BYOD policies. So for some organizations, it is not actually possible to deliver training via mobile apps unless they equip all employees with a phone or compensation.
Q. How can companies protect their learning budget amid the current uncertainty?
Simon: Being clear on the business impact of your training dollars is crucial when you are looking at potential budget squeezes. If you are able to show that there will be a negative impact on business performance or productivity if your budget is cut, then you are in a much stronger position.
Whether your budget is being reduced or not - I would urge HR and L&D leaders to look for ways to train smarter and reduce the cost-per-head to train. Not only will this make them look awesome to the CEO - they will be able to deliver more and better training where it is needed most.
Whether your budget is being reduced or not - I would urge HR and L&D leaders to look for ways to train smarter and reduce the cost-per-head to train. Not only will this make them look awesome to the CEO - they will be able to deliver more and better training where it is needed most.
When it comes to e-learning for example, I was gobsmacked to discover how much some companies are spending on producing e-learning. According to Brandon Hall Group research, on average it costs £53,742, and 106 hours to produce one course. This is crazy - and completely unnecessary!
At Elucidat our mission is to help big employers drive down the cost of business-critical training - making it easy to produce - super fast.
It is also worth remembering that moving away from face-to-face training to more modern, agile methods of training can radically reduce the cost to train.
At Elucidat our mission is to help big employers drive down the cost of business-critical training - making it easy to produce - super fast.
It is also worth remembering that moving away from face-to-face training to more modern, agile methods of training can radically reduce the cost to train.
Q. What should be your strategy to align employee development with business continuity?
Simon: To get engagement from employees and get them caring about training and development, they need to know what is in it for them. I would recommend aligning any training initiative with the personal goals of employees and wider business goals.
First, you need to get clear on the business goals - the more specific and practical the better. Then identify where training and development can help (it will not be the answer to every problem). Once you have identified this you need to the crux of the issue and what is getting in the way of success.
Blog on this topic here
First, you need to get clear on the business goals - the more specific and practical the better. Then identify where training and development can help (it will not be the answer to every problem). Once you have identified this you need to the crux of the issue and what is getting in the way of success.
Blog on this topic here
Q. How is the culture around learning changing, especially in the current scenario?
Simon: The culture of learning has been shifting to digital for years now - and the pandemic has catapulted everyone into this space now (some more comfortably than others).
For years, the modern learner has been crying out for personalized, timely, quality training. They have short attention spans and naturally turn to their phones in times of need - often on-the-job. If L&D teams are not giving them access to the support they need, they are likely to turn to Google.
With the increase in online training, the culture of learning has become more asynchronous - this self-serve environment should better suit the modern learner. They are not going into a training room at a specified time, but engaging in training and development at a time when it works best for them.
Online training is here to stay, so I would expect to see this culture really bed-in now that the crutch of in-person training has been removed.
For years, the modern learner has been crying out for personalized, timely, quality training. They have short attention spans and naturally turn to their phones in times of need - often on-the-job. If L&D teams are not giving them access to the support they need, they are likely to turn to Google.
With the increase in online training, the culture of learning has become more asynchronous - this self-serve environment should better suit the modern learner. They are not going into a training room at a specified time, but engaging in training and development at a time when it works best for them.
Online training is here to stay, so I would expect to see this culture really bed-in now that the crutch of in-person training has been removed.
Q. How important are people-centered learning and learning aligned to the expectations of employees? How will it be in the future?
Simon: Taking a people-centered approach to L&D is critical. It is not just good for employee engagement, it is good for business too.
One great example is to look at “Respecting time”, one of our six principles of people-centered learning. The biggest cost to the business is the time it takes the learner to be trained - not the software, not L&D salaries, and not the time it takes to produce online training. If you reduced a mandatory compliance course from 40 to 20 minutes for 8,000 employees - you will give a whole year of productive time back to the business. As you can see, the compound effect of training more efficiently can be enormous!
Ultimately, the success of training should never be judged on the time spent, but on the behavior changed and the goals met.
Being people-centered also means taking time to understand the needs, contexts and perspectives of the people you need to train - personalizing experiences to be relevant and engaging for them. It is pretty clear that by taking this approach, you are far more likely to meet (and maybe even exceed) employee expectations.
In the future, we expect to see more “connectors” taking the baton from L&D to localize and adapt training content to ensure it’s meeting the needs of people at a regional level.
We also see a shift towards people-centered learning being available in the flow of work - using technology to ensure training is available at the right time and the right place when people need it.
One great example is to look at “Respecting time”, one of our six principles of people-centered learning. The biggest cost to the business is the time it takes the learner to be trained - not the software, not L&D salaries, and not the time it takes to produce online training. If you reduced a mandatory compliance course from 40 to 20 minutes for 8,000 employees - you will give a whole year of productive time back to the business. As you can see, the compound effect of training more efficiently can be enormous!
Ultimately, the success of training should never be judged on the time spent, but on the behavior changed and the goals met.
Being people-centered also means taking time to understand the needs, contexts and perspectives of the people you need to train - personalizing experiences to be relevant and engaging for them. It is pretty clear that by taking this approach, you are far more likely to meet (and maybe even exceed) employee expectations.
In the future, we expect to see more “connectors” taking the baton from L&D to localize and adapt training content to ensure it’s meeting the needs of people at a regional level.
We also see a shift towards people-centered learning being available in the flow of work - using technology to ensure training is available at the right time and the right place when people need it.
Q. What sort of changes have you brought to your company’s learning strategy owing to Covid-19?
Simon: Our values at Elucidat are “Learn, Care, Share” and we have focused even more on really living by these to support our team through the changes we are all experiencing as a result of COVID-19.
We have been sending more regular surveys to the team to identify where support is needed. This data has been invaluable for understanding how our team feels and where they need help and support. With everyone remote working and more people working flexible hours, we have been particularly mindful of making materials available and accessible at any time.
We have been sending more regular surveys to the team to identify where support is needed. This data has been invaluable for understanding how our team feels and where they need help and support. With everyone remote working and more people working flexible hours, we have been particularly mindful of making materials available and accessible at any time.
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