Learning and development (L&D) programs are a critical part of the happiness of your employees. Unfortunately, many businesses implement an L&D program once and then forget about it. Great learning and development programs, which invest in workers and help them shine, are created through constant feedback and iteration.
The Talent Transformation Global Impact Report found that while 80% of enterprise companies thought their L&D programs were successful, only 55% of employees agreed. This massive disconnect means that businesses that want to radically transform talent within their workforce, they need to make a bigger effort to talk to their workers and assess their L&D programs.
To get started on the journey of gathering feedback, start with the following questions.
1. How interactive and engaging have you found the L&D programs to be?
For many people, it can be very difficult to absorb new information when it isn’t presented in a way that can hold their attention. Sometimes, the interactiveness is due to the teacher, but more often than not, it’s the course structure itself. The most fascinating topic can fall flat if the coursework doesn’t pull the learner in and encourage them to play around with the concepts.
By asking your employees to rate how interactive and engaging your L&D programs are, you’ll be able to get a quantifiable view of how well your workers are learning in these classes. If the numbers are low, consider adding more real-world projects or changing up the instructor.
2. In an ideal work week, how much time do you wish you could spend on L&D?
It could be that your L&D programs aren’t as successful as you want them to be because workers don’t have enough time to become immersed in the coursework. If taking classes is something workers only can do once or twice a month, everything they pick up during the course might not have time to stick.
By asking your employees how much they wish they could do L&D, you’ll be able to see if your business fosters a culture of learning and encourages employees to spend time on L&D. If the wished hours spent on learning are much higher than your company currently allotts, consider increasing the L&D hours.
3. Were you able to apply feedback given to you throughout your coursework?
If a class is all focused on lecture material, it can be difficult for many of the students to actually learn the concepts and take away key findings. Even if there are projects and quizzes included, they only go so far if they are graded and given feedback. When instructors can provide feedback to students that they can then incorporate and iterate on, the lessons can stick much better.
By asking your employees if they were able to apply feedback, you’ll be able to see which instructors and what materials are being fully absorbed by your workers.
4. How has the current learning and development helped you in your current role?
When creating a L&D program, the hope is that employees are able to take what they’ve learned and apply it to their daily jobs. Sometimes, people find extremely creative ways to apply what they’ve learned that helps them accomplish a task in a new way, be more productive, or create something new. You might be surprised at the answers you get.
By asking your employees how they’ve applied their learnings to their jobs, you’ll be able to see how much they’ve absorbed the information they’ve been taught. It might reveal the value of encouraging more workers to take L&D programs, or it might show you that the L&D programs you have in place need to have more overlap with real-world projects your employees work on.
5. Is there any education we currently do not offer that you wish we did?
It’s tempting to offer most of the coursework in your L&D programs for areas you see your company going in. For instance, if cybersecurity is a weak point, you might make more courses available or make it required learning. However, it’s always a good idea to see what areas your workers are interested in learning about.
By asking your employees what they wish to learn, you will get a better idea of the gaps in classes your L&D programs cover. Offering coursework that your employees are interested in will help them be more engaged with their jobs. Plus, you might be surprised at how your workers can incorporate their learnings into their current work.
Partner with Udacity for Talent Transformation
Providing top notch L&D programs doesn’t have to be difficult. The key thing is to find a partner with expertise in L&D strategies to help you. From forming curriculums to asking employees the right questions, Udacity has the right experience for making your talent transformation successful. Check out Udacity for Enterprise today to get started.
