In previous blogs, I have discussed the critical importance of having skilled and experienced staff at all levels of an organization, including management. Yet many organizations struggle to centralize development plans in order to maximize performance results. Given the constraints of time out of the office, budget and the existence of multiple learning preferences, many organizations are turning to self-paced e-learning modules.
While e-learning can be valuable, it alone will rarely enable the development of needed skills, particularly when individuals work in a team environment. To address this issue, organizations need to develop training and developmental approaches that optimize workforce performance through various means that synergistically support each other. Such an approach is the essence of blended learning.
A Case Study
Over the past year, we have supported a major health care organization in the professional development of its software development team. The organization was using a leading e-learning library of content to help new team members reach a basic level of proficiency. However, as I have often seen when technical staff use self-paced modules, completion and retention rates were low. This organization needed to accelerate the learning curve for new team members.
Over a couple of weeks, we worked with the client to develop an approach designed to improve the completion rates and effectiveness of self-paced technical training by integrating it with customized instructor-led practical labs. This approach enables learners to gain foundational information using self-paced learning and then practice what they’ve learned before they move to more advanced learning. It also allows the organization to use self-paced e-learning libraries for cost efficiency and build an ongoing, integrated approach to ensure that the result is improved performance. This initiative evolved into three programs, delivered on site:
- After completing self-paced e-learning courses, learners participate in a two-day lab event including four courses with hands-on exercises and minimal lecture content. After the event, learners are given a self-directed assignment and coaching.
- In a 14-week integrated program, learners complete three to five hours of self-paced training each week, along with half-day hands-on labs with coaching on corresponding topics.
- Under development is a capstone project for learners who have completed their curricula. We will work with the project team to implement relevant disciplines, processes and artifacts in learners’ day-to-day environments.
Lessons Learned
We created a sense of urgency by holding pre-scheduled events that required learners to complete self-paced learning ahead of time. However, many attendees in the first lab events were unprepared, either because they had not completed the self-paced modules or because they did not learn what they needed to from them. This problem required on-the-spot instructor-led training to bring everyone to the same level, ensuring all learners found the labs valuable.
On the other hand, the lab environment prevented attendees from wasting time and frustration installing and configuring their own development environments. Most attendees knew they needed more than online training to gain relevant skills, so they recognized the benefits of the blended learning approach.
The client has been pleased with the results to date and plans to run this program for future cadres of new developers. I am encouraged to see how creative learning solutions can evolve when we think outside the box and aren’t blinded by thinking, “This is how we’ve always done it.” Particularly in technical areas like software development, systems administration and many cybersecurity disciplines, self-paced e-learning can be beneficial. However, augmenting such an approach with hands-on labs and a subject matter expert to provide guidance and coaching can rapidly enable learners to master certain technical disciplines.
