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In Real Life: Stop Overcomplicating Workplace Learning
Overcomplicatingworkplace learning—we do it a lot. And by “we,” I mean everyone in thisprofession. You’ve done it. I’ve done it—plenty.
One example jumped tomind from 2011. I built an eLearning module about a new company policy thatreally, really should have been a PDF job aid. Why did I build a 20-minuteinteractive course that took four weeks to develop? Because that’s what I didat the time. That’s where I placed my value. My peers thought the graphics andaudio were fancy. But in real life, an employee could have learned just as much(maybe more) in considerably less time by reading my narration script forthemselves.
When we do this, wemake our jobs harder on ourselves. We also make the jobs of those we’re tryingto support harder. When the course is our default tactic, it’s very easy tooverthink a problem and force a complicated, predetermined solution. We’re notpurposefully doing anything wrong. We’re trying our best to help people. Wejust develop our own special brand of L&D tunnel vision.
These are points thatI make when I explore themes like microlearning and personalization. This is also thetheme of a recent GoodPractice Podcast—weneed to stop overcomplicating learning. The entire podcast is linked at the endof this column and is worth a listen (the podcast is 30 minutes long). I’mgoing to summarize the key points here, along with my own thoughts. Regulars Ross Dickie and Owen Ferguson, along with theirguest Steph Clarke, explore the ways wemake everything more difficult. Steph nails it when she says, “We have atendency to sometimes overcomplicate and create these beautiful programs andexperiences which take two years to put into place … we go all around the world… and by the time we eventually roll them out, the people we have designed themfor probably don’t work there anymore.”
How do we makeworkplace learning simpler—for ourselves and the people we support?
Talk less about learning
I don’t help peoplelearn; I help them solve problems. Learning is a part of that process. If wemake the mistake of focusing on learning as the goal, we are more likely to addunnecessary complexity to our work. Similarly, we don’t need executives andstakeholders to prioritize learning to justify our place in the organization.Rather, the focus should be on the role our employees play in executing companystrategy and our targeted ability to enable them. This value proposition betteraligns with an organization’s existing priorities and gives L&D moreflexibility to match solutions to business needs.
Simplify the basics
Owen makes a solidpoint during the podcast when he compares learning to dietary science. Food issuper complicated, but most people still understand the basics of what’s goodand bad for them. How? Very smart people provided a simple framework a longtime ago that could be easily followed without a full understanding of thesubject. If you want to know more, you can do research or speak with adietician. But the basics are there for you to apply.
This is how we shouldconvey the complexities of learning. For example, stakeholders shouldn’t needto read in-depth journal articles about learning science. However, we do needthem to understand basic ideas like spaced repetition and retrieval practice sothey can be integrated into our strategies without debate. Use simple, familiarterms when explaining these concepts so people can easily internalize theinformation and recognize the value. For example, I liken question-basedlearning to flash cards to establish quick familiarity.
Break the course mentality
A full-blown course isalmost never the right solution. Owen shares the familiar story of providing acourse on Microsoft Excel when all the employee really needs is a tutorial onone specific function. This is a perfect example of the difference betweenneed-to-know and nice-to-know information. This distinction is at the heart ofour overcomplication problem. It’s on us to ask challenging questions and helpstakeholders recognize this distinction so we can get away from bloated, click-Next-to-continue courses and expand outtoolkits to include more right-fit solutions. Is something need-to-know? Then acourse—or at least something more structured—may be a good option.Nice-to-know? Job aid!
Do the least
Ross poses thequestion regarding employee expectations, especially when it comes to media: Do people require the same quality ofcontent they consume every day when it comes to training? Steph replies withthe need to focus on utility over form. Amen! Consider how many “unprofessional”YouTube videos and job aids have helped you solve problems. Will a resource getthe job done, and does the employee recognize this value? Then there’s noreason to make something big, shiny, and expensive. One of the best pieces ofguidance I ever received in this industry came from ClarkQuinn when he told me, “Do the least amount of workpossible to solve the problem.” Exactly!
Work within reality
This is anotherlynchpin for simplifying workplace learning. Everything we do has to workwithin the reality of the people we’re trying to help. It doesn’t matter whatindustry or roles you support. People are busy; they have limited time andattention. They’re held accountable for specific things. Anything that gets inthe way of this reality better have clear value or it will be quickly shovedaside. The bulk of our solutions should fit into the average employee’s day.If you support a logistics operation, you need to design for the warehousefloor. If you’re in retail, you need to keep associates front of house. Yourtraining program may be masterfully crafted, but it won’t matter if people can’tfit it into their workday.
Apply a decision-making framework
Consistency is animportant part of simplicity when it comes to our work. L&D has a tendencyto make employees re-learn how to learn from program to program and topic totopic. For example, your company may release a new product tomorrow, and youprovide instructor-led training with the subject matter expert. Then anotherproduct gets released in six months, but this time the training is providedthrough an interactive eLearning simulation with limited question/answerability. Same problem, same desired behaviors. Completely different solutions.
A modern L&D team establishesconsistent channels and processes for connecting people who needwith people who know. This simplifies the employee experience and enables morerapid, measurable solutions. I created the modern learning ecosystem (MLE) frameworkto help guide L&D pros through a decision-making process using the fullrange of potential support tactics—from job aids to structured coursework.Whether it’s this framework or one of your own design, applying a consistentmethodology to your solutioning will lessen complexity and keep your focuswhere it should be: on the problem and the people who need your help.
Keeping things uncomplicated
“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get yourthinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once youget there, you can move mountains.”
—Steve Jobs
“Learningis infinitely complex, and much simpler than we make it.”
—JD Dillon
People arecomplicated. Performance is complicated. Behavior is complicated. But L&Dsupport should not be. If you’re looking for ways to simplify your efforts,listen to GoodPractice #103. Share it withyour peers. It is a solid 30 minutes of insightful conversation, and everyL&D pro should definitely listen to it. And maybe forward along thisarticle, too! Avoid overcomplicating workplace learning!
