WE NEED TO BREAK BAD HABITS NOT BUY NEW TECHNOLOGY

Over the last few years, we’ve seen businesses take a ‘digital first’ approach to connecting with their people. More teams are holding virtual meetings, delivering online training and using Teams to ‘quick dial’ rather than pick up their phones. This brings about less travel and/or the need for face-to- face connected productivity.

With this approach also comes an irrational need to spend big budgets on software and invest in the latest technology, particularly for workplace training. And yet, there’s little point in doing this if your people have no idea how to use it.

In my opinion, new software isn’t needed. I see a need to change bad habits and improve skills in digital training design and delivery.

Designing and delivering online training – the best of the bad habits

I’ve delivered online design and delivery programmes to over 2000 coaches, teachers, trainers, facilitators and managers. I notice the bad habits that creep in over time – people bring them to the online space:

Text heavy slides designed with headings and bullet points.
Mics and cameras turned off.
Content focussed materials meaning little opportunity for regular interaction and engagement.
An acceptance that their people won’t be engaging in their virtual classroom.

Moreover, most only access 20% of the available techniques and technology for great online design and delivery.

I don’t think these bad habits creep in intentionally, in truth, I think sometimes online facilitators just don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t have the skills, tools and mindset to explore true engagement in the virtual classroom.

It takes time to convert a suite of training materials and make them suitable for online learning – and let’s be honest, this might not be a priority.

What is the impact if we get this right, though? We’ll get onto that shortly.

Let’s think about the impact of bad habits in our own lives. So many of us enter the New Year wanting to overcome bad habits that have edged in the year before. We set out to eat healthily, drink less alcohol, do more exercise or accrue less screen time. But when do we decide to do something about it? Often when the effect has already taken hold.

If we make this relevant to online design and delivery, why do we wait until performance dips, feedback becomes less positive, or attrition rates rise to realise we need to address this issue?

These bad habits start to become stumbling blocks, challenges and pain points which affect organisational productivity.

Online learning and the appeal of shiny new technology

So, when we notice that something’s not going how we want it to, a common solution is to invest in the latest technology.

Engagement rate dropping within the online learning environment? Scope out alternatives.

Hybrid meetings becoming dull? Invest in the latest immersive hybrid technology for meeting rooms.

Feel disconnected from people in Teams? Explore virtual reality headsets.

What catches our eye and why? Why do we feel this is the solution? Why do we not self-reflect on our own skills and capabilities? Probably because these are new capabilities, and they will take time and commitment to address.

Technology is expensive and L&D budgets are often small, so is investing in technology really the best way? Of course, there is a time and need to invest in new technology to support more innovative solutions – I suggest saving that spend for when the infrastructure and capabilities of your people are in place to maximise your investment.

When designing and delivering online training, people need to break bad habits and upskill, not buy into new technology as a quick fix.

Genius People – transforming their online teaching

Let’s look at what this really means.

Forward-thinking organisations invest in upskilling their teams to not only help them feel more confident online but also to equip them with the innovative tools they need to make a real impact. Online delivery is different to face-to-face, and we need to start bridging the skills gap.

Genius People did just this.

Their goal was to increase capability of their tutors when delivering online training. Our ‘How to Design and Deliver a Great Online Training Session’ programme was readily deployed to the team, who completely immersed themselves in it. So much so that during the recent Ofsted visit, inspectors were shown recordings of the team’s new online skill set in action and were very impressed. In their words:

“The virtual learning programme was practical and interactive straight from the off and provided our team everything needed to design and deliver great remote teaching and training.

“How to Design and Deliver a Great Online Session”

This programme was born from seeing first-hand the impact that good online delivery can have on businesses and on people’s mental health – by providing more flexibility and opportunity for a good work-life balance. I truly believe that by investing 6 hours of your time in this programme, you’ll see results far greater than investing in the latest technology without the skills and capabilities to use it.

It saves on your budget, shows an investment in your people whilst generating better engagement, creativity, interaction, attendance and progression. It drives learners’ knowledge retention by up to 65% through effective design with new learner centred methodology, specific to online delivery.

It can help overcome this perception of passive learning, lack of engagement and interest, whilst providing all the benefits that digital learning is known for.

So, it’s time to stop buying new technology, and invest in the skills of your people. Then start buying tech again when they know how to use it…

Give me a call if you want to chat through the bad habits you want to break. You can also read more about our work with Genius People.