having difficulty at work.....
Jul 06, 2012
The training team that I am currently part of at work simply don't understand e-learning at all , it is really affecting my work. They are all grounded and fantastic trainers, but do not come from an elearning background.
I feel like im in a different time period to the rest of them. I am getting more and more secluded, and when I try to introduce new work modules with eLearning, they all look blank. I do feel that eLearning is a very niche area, and that many other eLearning managers have a tough challenge in battling the defintion of Training and eLearning content. My manager (who is a Product Director) is not of much help at all, in fact he is also part of the problem, being a traditionalist in spin selling and training, with no concept of what eLearning is.
Anyone here experience a similar problem at work , any tips on how to deal with it?
74 Replies
Well put, Steve.
I feel the same way. When I read the first post in this thread, my first thought was "What an exciting opportunity."
However, I do realize that there are other factors that come into play regarding the decesion about whether to stay or to go.
Human nature being what it is, I would guess that his co-workers are both scared and threatened by this "new and different" type of learning. They are probably comfortable doing what they have always done. If someone starts providing training, what will happen to their jobs? They see a threat instead of a help.
That is why I would suggest trying to start by providing an added benefit to their existing training instead of replacing it. Start small and let the momentum build.
Just suggestions from my point of view.
Do what is best for you in your particular situation. Life is too short to be unhappy everyday.
Good luck.
I've always wanted to start a movement.
Bruce,
Love the video.
Let's start a movement!
Jill started it - I'm a follower!
YEY!
One of my favorite quotes on change is from Machiavelli:
"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order, this lukewarmness arising partly from fear of their adversaries … and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it.”
http://androidgogy.com/2012/04/24/take-the-lead-in-change-2-2/
But I really love this one:
"The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader"
"Your success in life isn't based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business."
— Mark Sanborn
I think you can talk about the benefits to your heart is content to these people but it just doesn't sink in at first, they think you are stealing their jobs by replacing it with e-learning/technology not enhancing their role or allowing them to do something else (ie research different areas etc).
What I do is look at a standard classroom taught module and take bits out that will enhance the whole module for the students and the lecturer, adding videos to an LMS, developing an interaction that the student can access at home or on a tablet, adding a survey or a quiz, the list goes on. This then enhances the lecturers role as a whole whilst giving the students a better experience.
Show them it in a working format and at first don't ask for permission from anyone or they will knock you back, even do it in your own time just to get the idea of how you are envisaging the whole process of working different. Once they see it in action an the amount of benefits you get from this approach then it starts to sink in. Otherwise like the folks have said before if you don't take an approach like this they think "my work is going to be put online and I won't be needed anymore"
In terms of change, you could start with creating a stakeholder engagement strategy - you need to research, analyze, then plan for engaging with them based on different needs. Rarely are they a homogenous group of people who all think/feel the same about whatever the change is. Here's some practical things you could do:
Research:
Analyze
If a stakeholder has high levels of influence over and interest in the project’s outcomes they should be placed in the top right quadrant. Conversely, if they have a low level of influence and low interest they should be placed in the bottom left quadrant.
Engage
Then you can figure out what to do with each stakeholder group. It may be more work than you are willing to put into it, but I think it's a great exercise to do to prove to yourself that you've given it your best shot.
Even if you do the 1st step you'll have way more information to work with.
Hope that helps,
Holly
PS- that is my all-time favorite TED video Jill, thanks for sharing.
Now it's a crowd - see what you started, Jill?
Like Steve I like when there are a few resistent people around, but I can see it would be no fun to be so out numbered.
I'm probably just adding emperical evidence to what Holly's said but I'll just explain what I like to do in this situation.
I like to run my completed work past the resistent people first. They point out all the faults, what parts aren't very intuative to them in the training, how learners won't understand this or that and tell me again how people learn better from lecture style face-to-face instruction (I refrain from telling them there is absolutely no research to support that statement and that it is quite the opposite).
I take their suggestions on board and rework my training based on their suggestions - well not all their suggestions but I keep an open mind and try view it from the perspective. Then I show them the training again and point out the improvements I have made based on their suggestions. I guess it gives them a level of ownership to what I am doing and when the training roles out they are just that little bit more on-board with it.
I agree wih Bruce and Daniel that fear is what drives their resistence to change and I'd like to think this process takes away some of the fear. After all people are only scared of change for the same reason my 3 year old son is scared of the dark - he doesn't know what's out there... and I shouldn't have let him watch Ben 10.
Also, I really feel that getting such a polar opposite opinion to mine is to my benefit too because there will be people like me and people like them doing the training and this way I'm accounting for more learning styles/abilities.
@ Holly - Thanks for the reading!
oh my word Jonathon... you have basically just completely explained my situation at work!!! am going to be keeping a firm eye on these replies!!
Remember.. you're not alone!!!!
Today my boss sent a list of free courses to "know more about e-learning". They're all basic courses.
If you complete all of them, you become an "e-learning expert".
And this is EXACTLY the degree I ALREADY have... together with 2 years of experience.
I'm burning. They don't know who they contracted!
Fortunatelly, I'm not alone, as @Ant put it...
Belén
That is terrible!
You need to explain this to them...
Bruce
Thank you all for the encouraging replies, unfortunately things are getting worse and worse- i just feel like giving up with this lot, i tried having 121 conversations with my team this doesnt help me either..
they are on a completely different world. One colleague ignores me totally and it depresses me. I tried to take him out to Lunch and he declined my offer twice. I blame my manager I don't think he see's Training as a priority as he is concentrating on the product development team. I have raised this with him, and all he does is side with them and that he has 'no time for petulance, and this will all die down'
@Holly Thank you I am going to propose this
@Belen We all have done the eLearning courses. It is not a case of 'I can't. It is more 'I won't'
@Ant How are you dealing with it?
Have you tried going to see the Sales Manager, and saying "Would you like me to create some short eLearning that helps your guys understand EXACTLY what the F&F of the product are, and how to use them to sell them REALLY well?" (...thereby helping you hit your bonus...).
Very often, Product Devlt. and Sales do not talk.
This way, you get them to talk, (because Sales are the customers of Product Development here...), the business benefit for Sales is that they get a consistent message, (wirth a fortune!).
You could build in "This feature was introduced because Customer X had business problem Y"
Add Case Studies (Built by Product Development...) into Resources.
Act as the "middleman for stragegic business knowledge". This was EXACTLY the role I was hired for once, and it was an immensely successful strategy.
Bruce
Hi Everyone,
This is a reply to Daniel at the beginning. Daniel I have to disagree with you on eLearning is no longer a niche. I live in a metropoliten area "Phoenix" and in the last month I have been on six job interviews. I was interviewing for eLearning developer or eLearning designer positions. To my surprise when I went to these interviews (three where large corporations I will not name) I found that they did not know what type of quesitons to ask me and did not even have the tools required to build eLearning. One did not even have an LMS or CSM system. None of them had Articulate. Many were using Dreamweaver and when I mentioned Articulate all I received were a bunch of blank stares. So speaking for my area and what I have seen over the last three years many corporations are behind the times and still building either just classroom training or web based training that consist of clicking the next button.
I have received two emails so far out of the six interviews that said thank you for your time but you were over qualified. In one way it is quite comical in another it is very sad.
One other suggestion to those having trouble reaching others in their office. What if you tried taking their own quotes/information and "e-learnify" them? Granted there's no such word, but technically an image that's emailed could be considered e-learning. I went to an education conference last year and we took a few of the best quotes I'd heard and just layered them on images because I like to "visualize" things. I gave people credit for their quotes on the images which they then distributed. (Everybody likes credit) I wasn't doing it for the same reasons I'm suggesting here, but I'm wondering if that might be a way to break into the group? (see attached example) I know and you know that graphics are just one part of e-learning, but if it works to break the ice? More examples here if you are interested in the concept.
That's a great idea, Todd. To provide a taste of service to inspire folks and get the juices flowing. So often, something simple can make all the difference.
When we started out doing this e-learning stuff over 15 years ago, nobody had any technology in their classrooms. And frankly, nobody was interested in changing. We went into one of the classrooms to audit the course with the highest rate of attrition and reversion (where folks were having serious problems "getting it") after chatting with the director. After observing, we made a few suggestions where we thought we might be able to help, careful NOT to criticize the skills or methods used by the training staff.
After a few weeks we presented a couple of really simple paper based exercises with some great conceptual illustrations. They LOVED these. We then suggested maybe the students could use the computer lab to prepare for the troubleshooting section of the course, since there seemed to be a confidence problem going into the lab under pressure. We built a simple set of simulation problems (really simple) that walked through the process of taking measurements and identifying faulty blocks of components. Guess what? Scores went up on the initial lab exercises and the attrition rate dropped by more than half.
Two simple things built to integrate with stuff they were already doing and help both the students and instructors focus on the strengths of the classroom. The classroom and lab both have strengths! eLearning can help to amplify those strengths.
15 years later, I'm working for a different part of the same organization. I don't often get an opportunity to go into the classroom but I help to construct tools and policy that makes it easier for folks to identify solutions. We recognize that the classroom and the relationship created by face to face is really valuable in many contexts. Not so much in others -- chalk and talk from the lecturn isn't a great use of a mentor. We're making real inroads into establishing programs as a system where learning is not an event but a process. This opens up a world of possibilities for balancing a solution around strengths and resources.
I've decided to join in 2 of these e-learning courses to see what others are doing.
Well, at first I tried to explain things but, after hearing from my boss that things in his company are like he wants them to be, I started to show elegant courses -and stop talking. They didn't utter a word (just 2 salary rises in 5 months
), but it had to be a client who was amazed with a rather simple demo built in Storyline the one who congratulated 'us'.
So @Jonathan, @Ant and whoever is in this situation, we'd better show things than explain, and should also try to get something from the way our company does things and turn it into an engaging project.
Let's try it, Towanda!!
Belén
Jonathan, my 2cents....
I had a very similar situation to you....was working with a really great bunch of trainers, but they were brought up with viewfoils and old-school-style teaching....with high-technology meaning lots of animated clipart on powerpoint and lists of sentences One course had a schedule of about 30 powerpoint slides per hour...over 200 in one day! Talk about 'death by powerpoint'!
I would cringe when having to present their courses and the slides they were being forced to use...but they were in their comfort zone and didn't know any other way.
But actually, they were really passionate about their subject and had lots of excellent practical experience. The problem was the method of delivery....their courses were designed by the team leader as whole days of powerpoint. So I planned to revamp their stuff with blended learning.....separating out the boring stuff and turned that into (sort-of fun) e-Learning that the delegates would access a week before the classroom. That engaged the delegates in advance....and got the bulk of the theory out of the way.
Then I scrapped all the powerpoint for the classroom session and turned it into a facilitation day/workshop. I led the first one myself with one of the trainers as an observer. I didn't use the official materials (powerpoint) all day, and we spent the time discussing examples, anecdotes, having practical workshops etc. to practice and embed the theory the delegates had learned in isolation in advance. We all had a great time, with lots of fun stories etc., unconstrained by the stuffy & linear learning of the existing course design. The delegate feedback was really positive.....
We then tried it together on the next course, and after a few hours of not having to rely on powerpoint, he really got into it...and came out with the most brilliant stories etc. from his past that really helped the delegates loads. Once the fear of change had passed, he was hooked on the new method!
So that was one guy won over, which was the catalyst........didn't have to try too hard to win over the others after that, as that then came from within the team over the next few months.
But that sort of blended learning approach only works well if the trainer is both passonate, experienced in their subject and able to talk with, not to their audience.......if they are the sort that stand there with their back to the audience reading out their powerpoint bullet points - they'll fall flat on their face!
Hope there's something in there that strikes a chord!
On my current team and many others in the past, the management likes to purchase elearning software for everyone on the team and make them "e-learning developers." It's downright insulting! Why am I paying for these student loans for my degrees if anyone who purchases the software can become an "e-learning developer?" My current struggle is managers who are trying to act as "instructional designers" and have absolutely no learning background whatsoever. It's almost embarrassing...they are just a "go between" who end up stalling the project and all that gets produced are "voice over PowerPoints."
Elizabeth, I second your opinion. Somethings should be left up to the professionals such as you,I, and the rest of the fine professionals that I have met here in this forum. There is a lot involved in the creation of an effective e-learning course and it may look easy to put all of the components together but it's actually a lot more complicated than that. Unless you have the background in education, instructional design and multimedia, trying to create an effective e-learning course would be, in my scholarly opinion, a huge waste of money, time and resources. Granted there are some naturals out there, but those would be the only exception. Anyway that's my take on that.
Oh. My. God!!!!!
Elizabeth - you have just struck the nail on the head!!!! That is so true.. I just wish we all had the collective kahoona's to say it out loud!!!
What we need is a way of explaining this in a politically correct, polite and effective manner....
In business, whether we llike it or not, "training" is not high on the business agenda.
It's like great close-up magicians who perform in restaurants/weddings etc. - as the saying goes, "Remember, you're only one step up from a rose-seller".
Many people in training think training is just another part of HR, is an end in itself, and have (as said) absolutely no idea of how to tie "the business" to "the people" via the gloriously vast area that is "training".
Many are too scared to try and measure their efficacy.
Many think that PowerPoint is a state-of-the-art training medium.
Many have absolutely no clue at all, however, because the business has no idea what training does, is is actually there for - they are left alone to perpetuate mediocrity (...a lot like the magic industry in fact...).
Our role, (should we wish to take it - to paraphrase Mission Impossible) is to actually stick our heads above the parapet, to show how it CAN be done, and explain why it SHOULD be done in this way.
Strangely enough - if he DO have the "...collective kahoona's to say it out loud..." (LOVE that phrase Ant!), then people do listen. It's all about selling what we do, what we are, why we can make people/businesses perform better in some way, and having a coplete personal clarity of purpose.
Most of what Elizabeth so eloquently put is a complete failure (IMHO) in a large % of "training departments" - they have no real clue how they fit into the bigger picture, and then spend hours of soul-searching why business always cuts them first when times are hard.
Go figure!
Bruce
This is exactly what happened to me when I arrived the company.
Articulate Studio '09 was bought at my request and then someone installed the other copy in his computer. Some weeks later he had produced the same course I was building, and he chose that one instead of mine to be published in the LMS. This guy has no training background. Then, another one downloaded the 30-days-free-version to "try", and both were sure that they were doing the same as me. It's curious because their "courses" didn't have any instructional design, nor voice over, weren't engaging...
Luckily, these guys have stopped trying to do what I do and they do again their jobs...
I think that maaaaaany companies exist, like Bruce puts it, to "perpetuate mediocrity". And I wonder, how's possible that the're still there? Why haven't they gone bankrupt yet?
So, this is our hope, talented people here are prepared to compete in the market and get their goals. You're my heroes!
Belén
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