How Online Training Can Make Your Corporate Learners More Adaptable To Change
Some changes may work in our favor, while others make us second-guess our goals and rethink our decisions. Simply put, change can come in a variety of different forms, but being adaptable is the key to getting through it in one piece. Your employees must be able to stay focused, productive, and determined in order to succeed. You can help them to achieve this by facilitating adaptability in your online training course. Here are 7 ways to transform your corporate learners into forward-thinking, empowered professionals who embrace change.
1. Encourage Corporate Learners To Question Their Assumptions And Beliefs
In order to be adaptable we must learn how to break down the barriers that are holding us in place. Our corporate learners have habits, belief systems, and assumptions that may be preventing them from adapting to the situation. Sometimes all it takes is asking them a thought-provoking question to set the gears in motion and encourage them to analyze and reflect on their current cognitions. Asking them to question their underlying beliefs or why they reacted in a certain way prompts them to explore their motives, which brings them one step closer to increasing their flexibility.
2. Include Online Group Activities To Highlight Differing Viewpoints
Everyone has their own opinions, ideas, and perspectives. Unfortunately, some corporate learners may lose sight of this fact and get stuck in their own mental processes. Online group activities offer them the chance to share their insights, provide eLearning feedback, and look at concepts and ideas from a different viewpoint. Ask each group to develop online training material, such as an online presentation that pertains to a specific task or topic. Give them a list of online training resources, like video conferencing and Project Management platforms that they can use to collaborate online. The goal is to encourage them to respect and value the beliefs of others, which allows them to see that there is always more than one way to approach a problem.
3. Facilitate Creative Thinking Skills
Creativity is one of the most important elements of adaptability. It gives corporate learners the ability to look at ideas, concepts, and challenges from all angles, then come up with innovative solutions to the problem. Facilitate creative thinking skills in your online training program by integrating visual brainstorming online training activities, such as mind maps, sketches, and charts. Your eLearning authoring tool can help you create interactive online training content of that type. Case studies can also foster creativity by creating an emotional connection with the corporate learner and allowing them to put themselves into the shoes of the online training characters. For example, they might reflect upon how they would handle the situation or what they would do differently.
4. Stress The Importance Of Failure
Being adaptable is all about learning from mistakes and overcoming failures. When changes occur your corporate learners must be able to turn every bump in the road into an opportunity to grow and discover their strengths. Mistake-driven online training can help them gain valuable experience and knowledge that they will use in the future, especially when life throws them a proverbial curve ball. One of the most effective ways to emphasize the importance of failure is to create real-life simulations. Corporate learners are given the chance to see the repercussions of their choices and actions in a supportive online training environment, instead of having to deal with a steep learning curve on the job. They also have the power to come up with new online training solutions and strategies that they can apply in the workplace.
5. Use Branching Scenarios To Explore All Of The Outcomes
Branching scenarios allow corporate learners to explore all of the possible outcomes and improve their adaptability. This is primarily due to the fact that branching scenarios mimic real-world situations and challenges. Thus, corporate learners can test out new approaches, identify areas of improvement, and determine which skills need to be developed. In essence, they can build a tool kit to handle any situation that comes their way. When disaster strikes in the workplace, they can call upon the information and experience they gained through the branching scenario.
6. Include Online Self-Assessments That Focus On Performance Gaps
Self-assessments help employees track their progress, identify strengths and weaknesses, and develop a personalized online training strategy based on their needs. If an online self-assessment reveals that they need to focus on a specific skill set or task, they can find the online resources they require to fill the gap. The more knowledge and self-awareness they have, the more adaptable corporate learners will become. Likewise, if they are kept in the dark about their proficiency and have no means of testing their mettle, they will probably stick with their unproductive habits. To help your employees fill performance gaps, provide them with an online training library of interactive online training videos each of which can function as a step-by-step guide to their daily operations. All these online training videos can be uploaded to your Learning Management System, for easier tracking and reporting.
7. Develop An Empowering Online Training Culture
Corporate learners who believe that they can handle anything, even a major life change, are more likely to live up to their own expectations. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, in some respects. For this reason, it's essential to create an online training culture that empowers and inspires your corporate learners. Invite them to join an online forum where they can receive extra support and stress the benefits of ongoing online training. Let them know that their efforts are being acknowledged and appreciated. Give them personalized praise when praise is due and offer them all of the online tools and resources they need to achieve their potential.
Keep in mind that planning and preparation skills are essential, but equipping your employees with adaptability should be a top priority. It allows them to take on challenges that come their way and stay calm when uncertainty strikes. Use these 7 tips to enhance their flexibility and get them ready for the changes they’ll face in and out of the workplace.
Your Learning Management System can be a great help in this endeavor. Make sure that the LMS you choose can also support responsive eLearning course design, so that your employees can have access to the online training resources from their mobile devices, and get the help they need 24/7. A free trial will convince you that your LMS can actually help you create the online training course you really need.
