if you build it, will they come? - how to increase learning adoption

If You Build It, Will They Come?How to Increase Learning AdoptionB.J. SCHONE

TECHKNOWLEDGE 2015

SESSION W401

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About Me 2

How should we define adoption?

Adoption is when a majority of your intended

audience participates in a learning event that

you have implemented.

Learning event:

An online course, instructor-led class, a job aid, or

any other learning program.

Anything to add?

3

Adoption Horror StoriesAKA: Why I wanted to present this session

I have spent hours and days designing

courses that nobody ends up using.

I have been told to build training by my

boss, an executive, an HR partner, etc.,

“We need training. Just build it.”

One employee screws up, so now

everyone gets training. Yay!

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Adoption Horror StoriesAKA: Why I wanted to present this session

Employees are too busy for training,

they have too many other priorities.

Employees think they already know the

material, so they don’t want to attend.

Training has a bad reputation, so

employees avoid it like the plague.

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How about you?Share some horror stories of your own…

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Does adoption equal success?

YES! NO!

Wait.Adoption should be one of several KPIs.

Sort of.

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Does adoption equal success?

You….do have KPIs, don’t you?

Figure out how you want to

measure adoption and then

stick with it.

This is the easy stuff to measure!

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Defining and measuring adoption

Combine data from LMS reports, Google Analytics, your intranet, etc.

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Let’s get started!

User adoption research

Understand (and influence!) your

organization’s stance on L&D

Know your audience. Seriously.

Conduct a learning needs survey

Communication and Marketing

WIIFM

If you don’t believe in it, don’t

launch it

Look out for warning signs

Understand the basics of

change management

Focus on usability

Utilize ambassadors

The reputation of your learning

department

Learn to influence stakeholders

Learn (Steal) from the Best

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User Adoption Research

’

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User Adoption Research

Knowledge Persuasion Decision Implementation Confirmation

Five stages of the adoption process:

Heavily influenced by:

• Perceived usefulness

• Perceived ease-of-use

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User Adoption Research

Technology Acceptance Model

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_adoption_lifecycle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_acceptance_model

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Understand (and influence!) your

organization’s stance on L&D

What is the organizational view of training?

Do your executives support training initiatives?

Understand the environment well, so you know

what/who/how to influence.

What motivates employees at your organization?

What gets a positive reaction?

- How? Examples?

- Examples?

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Know your audience. Seriously.

This is one of the primary rules of

instructional design, right?

Spend a ton of time with your

learners on the job, learn about

them, their job, etc.

Spend several days with them.

Ask as many questions as you can

without driving them crazy.

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Know your audience. Seriously.

For every training project, think to yourself:

Do users want it?

Do users need it?

If you were them, would you take it?

You will have issues with adoption is you answer “No” to 1 or 2 of these questions.

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Know your audience. Seriously.

Use employee personas to make

your training more personal.

Consider “Steve,” who works as an

entry-level software developer:

What does Steve need to do his

job better?

Where does Steve see his career

in 2-3 years?

How will he realistically get there?

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Conduct a learning needs survey

Send out a survey to understand wants, needs, and preferences:

What training would help you do your job better?

What training would help you develop your career?

When do you prefer to take training? On what device(s)?

Be careful with “learning styles.”

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Conduct a learning needs survey

Design the survey well: Keep it short and focused.

Send out the survey once or twice a year to get fresh data.

Collect basic data about each user: role, tenure, business unit,

geographic location, etc., to help you use the results appropriately.

Consider incentivizing for participation, running a contest, etc.

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Be careful with that part…

Communication and Marketing

Ads on your

company

intranet

Videos /

blog posts

from the

CEO

Targeted

emails from

executives

Signage in

lobby,

kitchen,

bathroom

Lunch with

the CEO

Contests /

Prizes /

Rewards

Leader boards

Recognize

successful

employees

Do you have a Corporate Communications team? Partner with them!

(Make sure to schedule projects around company events and busy times of the year.)

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Communication and Marketing

Don’t forget the…

WIIFM

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If you don’t believe in it, don’t launch it

Have you ever been half-

hearted about a project?

Recognize this early and

do a reset. Trust your gut.

Talk with your client and

be honest. How can you

get back on track?

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Look out for warning signs

Carefully think through

every step of every

training project.

Always run through a

mental checklist of

things that could affect

user adoption.

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Understand the basics of change management

Prepare learners to avoid “Why do we have to take this?!”

Kurt Lewin’s Model Of Change

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Focus on usability

Do you conduct formal UX / UI reviews?

Do you hold focus groups?

Do you listen to your users?

Do you take action based on feedback?

What barriers can you remove?

How many clicks can you reduce?

Do you need to use the LMS for everything?

Can you get content to your users faster?

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Utilize ambassadors

Designate certain employees to be ambassadors (power users)

Create a feedback loop to continually get their input

Use them represent and promote learning programs

Have them run focus groups with end users

(Fair warning, they may not be the best teachers)

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User Adoption Research

’

Ambassadors

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What is the reputation of your learning department?

How do you know?

Do you need to ‘reset’ your reputation?

Consider re-branding, overhauling content, introducing

new programs, new marketing campaigns, launching a

corporate university, etc.

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Learn to influence stakeholders

Be direct. Educate them on what works well – and what doesn’t.

Make your case with data and user testimonials.

Gain credibility by learning how their business operates. Understand their

wants and needs, goals, etc.

After large projects, conduct a post-mortem to figure out what can be improved for next time. Be transparent with this information, don’t hide it.

Share successes together: When a training event hits the mark, make sure

it gets recognized and celebrated.

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Learn (Steal) from the Best

v v v

~500 million

iPhones sold

5.9% acceptance rate ~10 million cars

sold in 2014

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Learn (Steal) from the Best

Products are simple, easy to use

Great customer experience, every touch point is

easy, fast, and effective

Only makes a product if they can make it better

than everyone else

Forward-thinking, they are often ahead of the

industry by 1 – 2 years

v

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Learn (Steal) from the Best

Super-high quality

Reputation: If you attend, you will be successful

Methodically built and improved year after year

For those who want to be the best

v

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Learn (Steal) from the Best

Great value for the price

Consistency and quality, which leads to very high

customer loyalty

Continuous improvement (kaizen) mindset

“Relentless pursuit of perfection”

v

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Be the Best

Products are simple, easy to use

Great customer experience, every touch point is

easy, fast, and effective

Only makes a product if they can make it better

than everyone else

Forward-thinking, they are often ahead of the

industry by 1 – 2 years

vYour

Team

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Be the Best

Super-high quality

Reputation: If you attend, you will be successful

Methodically built and improved year after year

For those who want to be the best

vYour

Team

35

Be the Best

Great value for the price

Consistency and quality, which leads to very high

customer loyalty

Continuous improvement (kaizen) mindset

“Relentless pursuit of perfection”

vYour

Team

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Let’s end on a happy note.Share some of your success stories!

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What we covered…

User adoption research

Understand (and influence!) your

organization’s stance on L&D

Know your audience. Seriously.

Conduct a learning needs survey

Communication and Marketing

WIIFM

If you don’t believe in it, don’t

launch it

Look out for warning signs

Understand the basics of

change management

Focus on usability

Utilize ambassadors

The reputation of your learning

department

Learn to influence stakeholders

Learn (Steal) from the Best

38

Q&A

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Thank you!

B.J. Schone

bjschone@gmail.com

@bjschone

If You Build It, Will They Come?How to Increase Learning Adoption

TECHKNOWLEDGE 2015

40