Hello everyone, this is Tom Hallett from the Learn Grow Succeed Podcast.

In today’s podcast, I’m going to share with you how to take employees on a perfect learning journey, so that any training you deliver really does make an impact.

By the way, if you’re one of our new listeners, welcome!

As our regular listeners will know, you can find a transcript of this podcast on the Excel Communications website.

You will also find several additional resources there too, including podcasts, white papers and training webinars.

So, back to today’s podcast topic of creating a perfect learning journey.

As a leader, you need to be able to connect with your employees and know that you can develop them by imparting new skills, and today I’m going to share exactly how you can do that.

So, what do I mean by the term ‘learning journey’?

It’s a tool that every leader can use to help develop their team, whatever the subject.

A learning journey is a way of using all of the resources you have available to you to create a learning programme that connects with each of your learners at lots of different points. And we know from research that this is the best way to get the maximum results from your training.

In a typical ‘classroom’ learning situation, 56% of information that is taught is usually forgotten within the hour – leaders need better ways of getting their teaching to stick – enter the learning journey. We know that creating a journey for employees, rather than a one-dimensional event is a far better way of communicating skills and ideas and getting them implemented after the learning takes place.

Tools You Will Need for Your Learning Journey

While the learning journey itself is a tool of sorts, there are some other tools that you will need to explore and understand first to create your learning journey.

And these are as follows –

• Virtual classrooms and webinars
• Physical workshops (but only if it is safe to do so in line with social distancing measures)
• Interactive scenarios and games
• Digital learning platforms
• Videos and podcasts
• Resource material and collateral

And this is not an exhaustive list! Some organisations are using virtual and augmented reality in their learning platforms, but for the most part, this is not something that most businesses have access to – yet! Maybe in the future, as we have seen this year, technological advancements are improving all aspects of our lives at an accelerated pace.

So, as you can see – there is a lot to consider. Learning has moved on from the days of a flipchart and some coloured pens.

And as a training company, we are coming into contact more and more with these groundbreaking ways of learning – and we see first hand the impact they can have.

But still, a lot of organisations who still favour the ‘old school’ shall we say, methods of delivering training to their employees, don’t realise what they’re missing out on, and also don’t realise how easily accessible a lot of this new training technology is.

If you want to know more about virtual learning or any of the training methods I mentioned, get in touch with me via our website, and I’d be happy to have a conversation with you about what it’s possible to introduce into your employee training programmes.

Now, taking into consideration all the various tools there are to choose from to use in your learning journey – let’s look at selecting the right tools and creating the right learning journey specifically for your team.

The Three Steps to Create Your Learning Journey

Ideally, the best learning journey will encompass the best combination of activities for your team.

And it’s also important to be mindful of what is going to work with your team’s preferred learning styles.

Some people respond well to visual aids; others are more auditory.

Some like independent learning, while others like to have every step laid out to them.

This is why, when you create a learning journey for your whole team, it will encompass the different aspects that will speak to each individual.

So, think about the following three steps to create your learning journey –

1. Plan what you want to achieve from your learning journey. Are you aiming to teach new skills? Are you looking to take your business in a new direction? Are you teaching leadership skills?
2. Be clear with where you are now and where you want to be at the end of the learning journey. Setting a clear goal for your learning journey will allow you to keep your progress on track.
3. Think about what tools you want to use. Include a mixture of classroom learning, visual and auditory aids, webinars and virtual classrooms – make sure you have a variety of different media to suit everyone’s learning styles.

Summary

Your learning journey should be a transformational process – it will take employees from a starting point to somewhere new, with them learning new skills along the way.

And let me just summarise those three steps to creating a learning journey for your employees when you want to teach them new skills or essential information about your business –

1. Outline what you want to achieve from your training
2. Be clear with where you are now, and what is the measurable goal you want to achieve
3. Use a mix of different media to create an interactive, engaging programme to take your team on their learning journey

And remember to check-in with employees after the training to see how they are getting on implementing their new skills or knowledge.

If you’re interested in training and developing your team even further, don’t forget to check out our blog, where we write articles all about different aspects of leadership and training – I’ll leave the link in the comments.

Remember you can access all of our podcasts on iTunes by hitting the subscribe button.

This is Tom from the Learn Grow Succeed Podcast saying bye for now.

Thanks

Tom

About Excel Communications   

LEARN, GROW, SUCCEED

Excel Communications is a learning and development consultancy based near London in the U.K. For more than 30 years, we have been collaborating with clients across the globe.

Partnering with Excel empowers you to evolve your people and business by fuelling a love for learning.

We work with you to create unforgettable, customised learning experiences to achieve your vision of success and growth, with tangible results.

View our case studies here.

We have a team of expert trainers delivering programmes across five continents in multiple languages. Call us now on +44 (0) 1628 488 854.

Important 

If you would like to watch our leadership masterclass recordings, you can access the latest leadership complimentary guide here.

For more information on post-Covid leadership topics, head to our blog, additionally, click here to view our range of free leadership resources to help you become a better leader starting today.

Thanks,

Tom

P.S. If you would like to attend one of our complimentary taster workshops on working with remote teams, call us on +44(0) 1628488 854.