PM Insight and Go1 recently hosted a webinar together, diving into the intricacies and impacts of masterfully curated content.  The expert discussion covered how L&D professionals can optimise their online content libraries to boost upskilling and reskilling opportunities, giving employees renewed enthusiasm for learning. 

Joined by Lori Niles-Hoffman from Niles-Nolen, Paul Neville, a Master Practitioner of Strengthscope and Naomi Hepworth, Sales Manager at Go1 the session was expertly mediated by Jennifer Jackson, contributing editor of PM Insights. 

[On Demand] How to master the art of L&D content curation

The panelists opened the discussion by defining what people mean when they speak of ‘content curation’. As an expert in the field, Lori jumps in to compare L&D content curation to creating an 80’s mixtape - What will trigger the most emotion? What am I going to get the most out of? We need to be selective and strategic about what we include, much like we do for our favorite music. She points out that content curation is not something new and has been practiced for a very long time, it’s just that now, we’re in an exciting time where digital transformation is allowing us to curate at scale. 

Jennifer turns to the audience with a poll question ‘when it comes to content curation, which of the following best describes your function?’ The answers come through in the following breakdown; 

Learners have access to content libraries (eg; linkedin learning) - 23%

We create pathways or collections of courses and resources  - 74% 

We use an AI tool to manage curation - 3%

The group are not surprised by the outcome of the poll and are pleased to see that most people are curating courses and resources - they also point out that the 3% figure is representative of where people are as a business and that they suspect that number will grow as we increasingly strive to use technology across L&D functions. 

Jennifer then asks each of the panelists what common mistakes L&D leaders make when it comes to content curation. Naomi thinks it’s letting ourselves get overwhelmed by the wealth of content available and forgetting to focus on what it is we actually want to achieve. She also makes a pertinent point about making sure content is up to date, that it is validated and accurate. Paul finds time pressure to be a big hurdle. He points out that courses need to be curated for every level so that time can be saved if someone doesn’t need to cover each section of a course. Lori supports both their comments and concludes that less is more, when it comes to the content we’re consuming and the time we dedicated to it. She also stresses that all curation strategies need to align with business and personal goals in order to be truly successful. Paul provides the audience with food for thought by asking them to think about their philosophy - is their business trying to fix problems or looking to grow? He encourages them to embrace positive psychology, rather than defaulting to the deficit model. 

The next poll question to the audience asks ‘in your L&D functions, which of the following data type do you use most?’ to which the breakdown appeared as follows; 

Dynamic data like search terms or hashtags - 4% 

HR & business performance data (ie; sales, audit scores) - 20% 

Naomi is adamant that data is king as it gives us an indication for a want and need with valuable context - she warns that completion rates can be as high as they are because they are mandatory - these stats may not always tell the full story. Lori is also a true advocate of leveraging data to better develop learning strategies and suggests listeners broaden their horizons as much as possible to find new nuggets of information across eclectic data sets. The panelists discuss the different types of content, from in person, to digital and social formats - they talk about how to navigate copyright issues though they are confident that these can be easily resolved since sharing content far and wide has become normalised. 

As the session comes to a close, the panelists turn to the public again to allow time for questions - once answered, Jennifer asks her guests to shortly state what their main takeaways from the session would be - to which they each answered: ‘Goal setting and considering business objectives’, according to Naomi, ‘Fluid and adaptable pathway curation’ according to Lori and finally, ‘dialogue’ for Paul. 

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

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Elevating the effectiveness of a content offering with masterful curation has never been more critical. Recently recorded, this panelled webinar expertly discusses this topic.

Mastering the art of L&D content curation

Elevating the effectiveness of a content offering with masterful curation has never been more critical. Recently recorded, this panelled webinar expertly discusses this topic. 

Live from Learning Technologies 2022, Craig Hamill, Customer Success Manager, Go1 moderated a panel with Laura Overton & Shannon Tipton Co-Founders of Emerging Stronger and Rosemary Hoskins, Global Capability Lead, AstraZeneca to discuss ways to help businesses support their current workforce for jobs that are yet to be created. 

Soft skills necessary for jobs of the future

The discussion begun with the panelist determining which soft skills are needed to succeed in future jobs, both from the lens of the employee and the employer. They concluded that agility, curiosity, collaboration, and communication were key to succeeding in almost any role, regardless of the level or technical skill required to complete it. 

Specifically, they called out curiosity, and mentioned that in order to move forward, people need to have a curious mindset and approach risks head on — not letting the outcome of the risks stop them from exploring their curiosity. They used the example of certain deployments of new technologies such as robots operating in the fast food sector. Though there are great benefits to having this futuristic tech involved, there is also the risk they will take out curiosity for those working around them. 

The panelists highlight their biggest pain points when it comes to technology usage and determined engagement, time, funding, and access as common challenges across the board. They find it is very hard to democratise and make technology accessible to every employee so they can acquire new skills, and while it’s great to have technology, what truly matters is how one applies it so employees can optimise their experience.

The panelists also agree that, while having a variety of learning opportunities can serve as a benefit for every type of learner, too much of it can overload teams. They recommend choosing quality over quantity when it comes to learning content. It matters more to have content that has impact and reaches the right audiences with real purpose. 

Jumping to other topics, the panelist also recognise that the current workforce doesn’t value line managers as much as they should. They highlight how line managers are essential to the growth of the workforce - it is through their influence, guidance and encouragement that employees will acquire their skills of communications, adaptability, and flexibility. Line managers take on the role of both the cheerleader and mentor to their reports in order to make sure they are getting ahead and achieving their true potential.

The webinar closes out with practical recommendations for the audience, highlighting the importance of having a holistic view to L&D and business growth, allowing employees to have a breadth of experiences across a variety of sectors to make them future proof and inspired. Next, they advise that employers shouldn’t be paralysed by the fact that they don’t know what will happen in the future. Teams should stay true to the human core of the business but also play around with and embrace new learning tools available within their business, even if they don’t quite grasp them just yet. Much like in the early days of the internet, where companies were shy yet curious to master such groundbreaking new technology. 

Throughout Learning Technologies 2022, we ran six panel sessions over two days with an amazing lineup of specialist guest speakers of L&D analysts, researchers, and practitioners. Keen to catch up on all the fun? We've put together a wrap up of the event, including session recordings.

Live from Learning Technologies 2022, our expert panellists dove into understanding new jobs of the future, and supportive ways to prepare our current employees for the unknown.

Preparing employees for the unknown jobs of the future

Live from Learning Technologies 2022, our expert panellists dove into understanding new jobs of the future, and supportive ways to prepare our current employees for the unknown. 

Preparing employees for the unknown jobs of the future 

Written by guest blogger Laura Overton, award-winning L&D Analyst and co-founder of Emerging Stronger. Laura is an experienced international speaker, author and facilitator with a passion for exploring, challenging and sharing. She believes that the role of learning leaders in the changing workplace is to unlock the potential of business and people.

The spaces where we work have changed forever. Workers are no longer constrained to a single location. We work in the office, in coffee shops, with clients, at home, in the back yard, at the factory or shop floor. Increasingly, the ideal workspace has become a mix of all of the above — whatever suits the job at hand.

The glue that keeps us connected across all these spaces is enterprise collaboration and, more importantly, the technology that enables this collaboration. Recently, Gartner revealed that 80% of workers used team collaboration tools such as Slack in 2021, up 44% from 2019.

These tools create environments that allow us to stay connected, keep sharing, and keep projects on track across the wide range of spaces where work occurs.

Collaborative environments create fertile ground for learning

The same tools also have the potential to allow us to keep learning: from mistakes, from trial and error, from solving challenges and creating ideas, and from each other. As such, these collaboration tools have become fertile ground for learning.

According to the Mindtools for Business Learner Intelligence study released in May 2022, 7 out of 10 workers think community environments such as Slack and MS Teams are either useful or essential for addressing work-related challenges. 

What’s more, 85% of workers learn by turning to colleagues for support, while 86% learn by collaborating with team members. Given this, staff have found ways to make learning flourish in online collaborative environments.

And it’s working. For the first time in the 8-year history of Mindtools’ study, more workers prefer online learning (41%) than face to face learning (34%). These findings represent a massive sea change and one that L&D leaders should keep in mind.

If enterprise collaboration systems are already creating fertile ground for staff to learn, and staff are increasingly comfortable embracing digital technologies, are L&D teams ready to dig in?

In my view, the role of L&D is clear. We use our expertise to help individuals, teams, and organisations be equipped and ready — for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities.

Historically, the spaces in which we operated restricted our ability to achieve these objectives. When L&D activity is confined to the classroom and the LMS, our approach to supporting learning is also restricted.

Plus, cultivating one type of learning over and over again in the same spaces can be counterproductive, just as planting the same crop in the same soil can stunt growth.

We’ve shifted our old models of face-to-face learning delivery into virtual learning, thereby increasing our skills in using MS Teams or Zoom to deliver virtual classrooms. However, by keeping everything else the same, we still struggle with attention spans and Zoom fatigue.

We’ve tried to encourage ‘self-directed learning’ by pumping online content into the digital spaces where people are working so that knowledge is available at the point of need. However, learners often struggle to separate the wheat from the chaff, giving up when they become overwhelmed with choices.

Some teams have focussed on ‘social learning’, using enterprise collaboration platforms to establish specific communities of practice and encourage user-generated content to help teams help each other. Yet, once again, we run into the problem of struggling to maintain interest or momentum.

While these approaches are valid for cultivating learning in collaborative environments, they only represent one facet of the learning process. Learning is complex and can’t be constrained to a single model, technology, or approach.

So, how do we dig into the opportunities that collaborative learning environments provide?

Instead of asking what communities can do to support learning, let's go back to first principles to explore what’s important for learning to flourish.

Connie Malamed has curated 10 definitions of what learning is. One that resonates with me is that learning is the process of “Acquiring knowledge and skills and having them readily available from memory so you can make sense of future problems and opportunities.” The process of learning is tough and takes time!

Learning isn’t just about access to knowledge, it’s the slow journey of shifting from novice to expert, from knowing about something to practising it and ultimately mastering it.

Typically, our L&D interventions start with supporting new knowledge. We focus on courses and content because our physical spaces and time boundaries have constrained our interventions to the very start of the learning process, leaving the rest to chance.

Online collaborative environments create new opportunities to support the full flow of learning —  from knowledge acquisition to practice, mastery, and new habits.

They also create places to enable individuals, teams, and organisations to learn from each other through communities of practice. 

At Emerging Stronger, we see new workspaces as the terrain in which deep learning can take root. But, to cultivate learning in those spaces, we need to get back to the basics of understanding how learning grows.

In the next article in this series, Michelle Ockers will explore the biggest myths that stunt learning growth, as well as how to lean into learning science to harness everything that collaborative workspaces have to offer.

This article is Part 1 in a series of blogs written by the Emerging Stronger team, each exploring the theme of workplace communities. Be sure to take a look at the other articles in the series, including:

Part 2: Applying learning science to workplace communities by Michelle Ockers

Part 3: Enabling L&D to develop and nurture learning that delivers a rich harvest by Shannon Tipton

Want a step-by-step guide to cultivating learning in workplace communities? Download our latest toolkit from Emerging Stronger for insights on:

Sowing the right seeds to stimulate learning

Award-winning L&D analyst Laura Overton explores how enterprise collaboration systems are creating fertile ground for staff to learn. And how L&D teams can be ready to dig in and best cultivate these learning spaces.

Cultivating learning in workplace communities

Award-winning L&D Analyst Laura Overton explores how enterprise collaboration systems are creating fertile ground for staff to learn. And how L&D teams can be ready to dig in and best cultivate these learning spaces. 

Live from Learning Technologies 2022, Ollie Browning, VP of Sales EMEA at Go1; Marc Zao Sanders, Founder and CEO of Filtered.com; Lori Niles-Hofmann, Senior Learning EdTech Transformation Strategist; and Rosemary Hoskins, Global Capability Leader at AstraZeneca, gathered to discuss and debate how businesses can close current skill gaps and be prepared for the future. 

The first question posed on the stage set the tone for an energetic debate, '‘what did we get right and what did we get wrong when it came to skills and upskilling people?’ 

Marc is the first to reply stating that he believes that L&D as an industry expertly tackled the digital transformation of upskilling, especially with the pandemic. What should have originally been a two year evolution, was condensed into a couple of months. L&D professionals were able to help employees transition with remote working and online collaborations seamlessly, facilitating the work from home process at speed. However, Marc also points out that as the pandemic pushed forward mental health started to decline amongst employees, L&D leaders faced more obstacles than expected which is not to be dismissed. In the case of AstraZeneca specifically, Rosemary felt her L&D team excelled at identifying skills their team might need in the future and is proud to share this with the audience. 

Next the panel discussed the following question, ‘should organisations be offering more beyond giving employees the opportunity to learn and grow?’ 

The group concludes that developing skills ultimately comes down to thinking about culture. It was recently found that employees voted that ‘opportunities to learn and grow’, ‘a sense of belonging’, ‘organisational values’, ‘support for well-being’, and ‘collaboration’ were the five key factors that created a great workforce. Rosemary specifically emphasises on the importance of ‘opportunities to learn and grow’ as well as ‘collaboration’ among employees. She believes L&D platforms are crucial, but feels it’s important employees understand a learning culture goes beyond just a curated content library. Rosemary claims that one of the main ways people learn comes from actually doing the work or interacting with fellow employees and learning from them, rather than just theory. Marc and Ollie further support Rosemary’s point and are in agreement that online learning content is not a standalone solution. The pair note that curated learning content is more beneficial for employees when it's combined with peer engagement. Not only does the added level of networking help personalise and make the content unique, but it also further helps an organisation understand the skills and needs relevant for their business. 

The rest of the sessions leant on poll questions, which each panelist and the audience took turn in answering: 

In one word, how would you describe your upskilling strategy? 

To Ollie, upskilling strategies are ‘unscalable’. Rosemary supports this and says that upskilling strategies are ever evolving and dependent on the future, which, though we might want to think otherwise, is often very uncertain. Marc feels that ‘data’ is an important word to keep in mind. He feels data is crucial in helping a company make the right decisions and is a great medium to help convince and strengthen arguments. 

What is your relationship with talent like?

Ollie notes that most organisations are not typically aligned with talent which is something that needs to be worked on. It’s been proven that when they communicate with their organisations, employees feel more fulfilled and successful in their roles and, they can help leaders better understand what their people actually need. 

Why do employees stay longer at organisations with internal mobilisation?

It’s been found that employees at organisations with internal mobility stay almost twice as long. For this reason, Rosemary suggests companies look at the long term and hire based on career not role. This is because employees feel more fulfilled when they are able to take the skills they learned and grow within their company, rather than staying stagnant in the same position. Marc believes for there to be efficient skills and internal mobility, an organisation needs to have an understanding of the skills already in place. Businesses need to know where employees currently excel and the hidden skills they could offer. 

What does a good content curation strategy look like?

A good content strategy stems from a personalised skills framework, says the group. Organisations need to rely on data and employees to help them determine which skills are relevant and beneficial to the industry they are in. Not only does this give organisations an advantage by creating long term skills, but it also helps them determine where they are lacking. A skills framework helps determine which content is accessible and which meets the needs of the workforce. 

Throughout Learning Technologies 2022, we ran six panel sessions over two days with an amazing lineup of specialist guest speakers of L&D analysts, researchers, and practitioners. Keen to catch up on all the fun? We've put together a wrap up of the event, including a recording of Ollie and David's session.

From the expert panel at Learning Technologies, we discover how a relevant, scalable and future-proofed learning strategy impacts the sustainability of an organisation.

Closing current and future skills gaps

From the expert panel at Learning Technologies, we discover how a relevant, scalable and future-proofed learning strategy impacts the sustainability of an organisation. 

This podcast is part of the Go1 Love of Learning campaign, where we focus each month on a specific theme. For the month of May, we’re shining a light on topics such as mindfulness, wellbeing, stress awareness and management and psychological awareness. 

Welcome to episode 34 of the Learning with Go1 podcast! In this episode, our host Craig Hamill is joined by Gemma Glover, L&D Manager of iAM Learning, to discuss the importance of mental health awareness in the workplace and how iAM Learning is supporting learners in this space.  

We know that upskilling, training and development can support creating a mentally healthy workplace. So, what can we do today to make a difference tomorrow?  

“One takeaway we both share is that talking about mental health should not be only talked about during mental health awareness week but should make people reflect on whether we as individuals and organisations are doing enough. It is so important to check in on our friends, family and colleagues. I firmly believe that we can do more as organisations and particularly for our children who have so many pressures in life. It is ok not to be ok; %#@$ I’ve been there!!” 

Without further ado, let’s dive into some of our fave highlights below. 

iAM Learning is an off-the-shelf eLearning provider of characterful content driven through the power of animation, characters and stories. Using the art of storytelling, they bring their content to life to engage learners and provide memorable learning experiences. In the video below Gemma introduces iAM Learning and what they’re all about. 

About iAM Learning

Coping mechanisms are the strategies people often use to help maintain their emotional wellbeing. In the video below Gemma talk us through one of her personal strategies for staying mentally healthy. She highlights the power of purpose and doing something that boosts self-esteem and self-worth.  

Having a purpose

Making a conscious effort for wellbeing 

How many times have you said, ‘this week has gone really quickly', and then when you’ve gone to reflect on what you achieved you realised you’ve done nothing for yourself? It can be easy to get stuck in a cycle of work, family, friends, work, etc; but it doesn’t have to be that way. 

In the video below, Gemma and Craig talk about the idea of making a conscious effort with yourself. This can look like scheduling things in your calendar (like going for a run or reading a book) to ensure that you are still making time for yourself and achieving a work-life balance that's best for you. 

Making a conscious effort

Are you putting yourself first? Are you making consistent time for your own wellbeing, not just when things hit the fan, but every day? Whilst often neglected, Gemma reminds us that we need to invest in ourselves and our own wellbeing before we can help anyone else, referring to the iAM Learning course ‘Being Kind to Yourself’ as a helpful resource. 

Making time for your own wellbeing

If you haven't already, you can listen to the full podcast here to learn more.   

Want to hear more? Browse the full Learning with Go1 podcast library on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify to help expand your knowledge of all things L&D. And hear how other organisations are navigating through this ever-evolving landscape.   

🎧 Welcome to episode 34 of the Learning with Go1 podcast! In this episode, our host is joined by Gemma Glover, L&D Manager of iAM Learning, to shine a light on mental health awareness in the workplace.  

How iAM Learning is supporting mental health awareness in the workplace 

🎧 Welcome to episode 34 of the Learning with Go1 podcast! In this episode, our host is joined by Gemma Glover, L&D Manager of iAM Learning, to shine a light on mental health awareness in the workplace.   

If you’ve spent enough time in the learning and development sphere, you’ve likely come across the acronym SME. Add it to the long list of L&D jargon. SME stands for Subject Matter Expert, used to refer to someone who is an expert or thought leader in their field. While many of us probably like to think we’re experts, those select few who truly earn the title of Subject Matter Expert are incredibly valuable in the L&D world. As such, SMEs are in high demand in 2022. 

At Go1, our thirst for knowledge is never truly quenched, meaning we love SMEs. So, we thought now was the perfect time to explore the ins and outs of subject matter expertise. We’ll start by defining SMEs, before moving on to the key characteristics of SMEs, the significance of SMEs for L&D, and tips on identifying and engaging SMEs in your team.

Ready to become an expert on Subject Matter Experts? Start here. 

In L&D, SME stands for subject matter expert. As the name suggests, an SME is someone with a high level of knowledge and expertise on a certain subject (or subjects). This acronym shouldn’t be confused with the other common definition of SME, meaning small-to-medium enterprise. 

As eLearning Heroes explains, “​​SME is really just a fancy way of describing someone who is an expert in his or her field. It’s the person in an organisation who has the most knowledge or skill in a specific topic.” 

Or, as Indeed puts it, “[SMEs] are professionals who have advanced knowledge in a specific field. As an authority in a particular area or topic, they are uniquely qualified to provide guidance and strategy. SMEs are especially in high demand in workplaces requiring a technical approach to operations and culture.”

Put simply, SMEs can be anyone with a high degree of knowledge in a particular field, from a new hire in accounting to an expert witness in a high-profile court case. You probably have several subject matter experts in your team — perhaps without even realising it! After all, most people have a few specialist subjects. You just need to find their areas of expertise to unlock a well of wisdom. 

As Indeed’s definition alludes to, SMEs are particularly valuable in workplaces that require highly-specialised knowledge. For example, if you need to create a learning module on developing workplace cultures but don’t know the first thing about the subject matter, you would generally turn to an SME. This example applies to almost any learning course where you are unfamiliar with the subject matter, which is why SMEs are in such high demand in L&D. 

Other examples where SMEs might come in handy include: you could be researching a historical novel and turn to an expert to ensure you have the most accurate information. Or, you might open a new jewellery shop and hire a digital marketing SME to help with your SEO. Basically, SMEs are used across industries, from law and human resources to architecture and customer support and everything in between. Any time you need specialised, technical knowledge, an SME is likely to follow.

To summarise, SMEs come in handy in any scenario where you are asked to complete a task but are unfamiliar with the particulars of the subject matter.

Now that we understand what SMEs are, it’s worth analysing the skills that set SMEs apart. Obviously, being an SME is predicated on broad expertise in a particular field. However, we’ve identified four additional traits that make successful SMEs stand out: 

 A love of learning is arguably the most valuable characteristic of any Subject Matter Expert. A thirst for knowledge and continuous, lifelong learning keeps SMEs at the cutting edge in their area of expertise, continually adding to their deep well of knowledge. 

It’s excellent to be a fountain of knowledge in a particular field, but communicating your knowledge to others is equally important. As such, well-developed communication skills are vital for SMEs to share their wisdom with stakeholders. 

Going hand in hand with communication skills, collaboration is also essential for successful SMEs. Examples include guiding team members in their content planning and creation, openly sharing knowledge and experience, and actively participating in course development and other projects. 

As a subject matter expert, you likely have a vast well of knowledge. But parsing that knowledge to share only the most relevant aspects requires adaptability. Therefore, thinking quickly on your feet and adapting your expertise to fit different briefs and situations is essential for successful SMEs. 

What is the significance of SMEs for L&D? 

Now that we’ve defined what it takes to be an SME, it’s worth asking, what is the significance of SMEs for L&D? SMEs are essential to create accurate, engaging L&D content. Given the breadth of topics L&D professionals have to cover, it is almost impossible to be an expert in everything. Enter, SMEs. 

As Training Industry explains, “since we don’t have the ability to read minds, enabling us to learn quickly from experts, we must settle for subject matter experts (SMEs), who can help us understand what employees need to learn to reach the desired outcomes and how to sequence that training effectively.” 

Picture this: you have to create three learning modules; one on compliance training in the construction industry, one on upskilling a remote team, and one on mental health and wellbeing. While you might have a basic understanding of each of these topics, it is unlikely that you are an expert in all three. So, you turn to Subject Matter Experts in each area and lean on their knowledge to ensure the content you create is accurate, in-depth, and engaging. As eLearning Industry puts it, the primary role of an SME is to be “the main source of knowledge. They’re the person everyone on the team turns to for clarification and insider expertise.” 

Or, as Dashe & Thompson say, “leveraging subject matter experts is one of the best ways you can ensure the information you are providing to learners is accurate, effective, and impactful.”

As a result, SMEs are the lifeblood of L&D teams. They’re the ones who hold the expertise that we need to disseminate and impart to our learners. Without SMEs, many L&D teams would be grasping at straws, unable to fulfil specialised content requests. 

How to identify and engage SMEs in your team

Often, organisations engage external Subject Matter Experts and thought-leaders for projects. However, as mentioned, you probably also have SMEs in your team, sometimes without even knowing it. Identifying and engaging these ‘hidden talent’ SMEs can be the key to taking your L&D team to the next level. For instance, you might discover your HR leader is also an SEO expert, or someone in accounting is familiar with compliance regulations in a specific sector, thanks to a previous job. 

There are many ways to identify SMEs in your team. Although, it can often be as simple as striking up a conversation, finding the subjects people are most passionate about, and letting them talk. You'll probably learn something new.

From there, it is a matter of engaging your SMEs and translating their knowledge into high-quality learning content. There are several ways to approach this process. A few tips include:

Set goals from the outset and offer your SME a clear structure (establish expectations and deadlines, decide on ways to track progress etc.) 

Communicate the key learning objectives of your training program

Develop an ongoing relationship with your SME 

Open a clear line of communication and ask lots of questions 

Avoid L&D jargon and acronyms your SME may be unfamiliar with  

Offer your SME the right level of support — remember, they might be a Subject Matter Expert, but that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily an expert at creating learning content 

Give examples of high-quality L&D modules to shape their expectations and understanding of what you’re looking for

Value your SME’s time and show appreciation for their expertise

Finally, above all else, practice your active listening skills to ensure you’re not missing any crucial pearls of wisdom. According to eLearning industry, active listening is your best friend when working with SMEs. As they explain, “reflect on what they are telling you and ask them specific questions about their material: Why did they choose these particular images?  What are the design elements in their presentations that they like the most? How do they feel about converting their case studies into engaging, fascinating, interactive eLearning experiences? Show interest in your Subject Matter Experts’ work and make sure that it is clear you respect where they are coming from.” 

In other words, SMEs are indispensable to a successful L&D program, so be sure to treat them as such. Next time you need to create a piece of learning content, remember the manifold benefits of engaging an SME.

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

At Go1, our thirst for knowledge is never truly quenched, meaning we love SMEs. So, we thought now was the perfect time to explore the ins and outs of subject matter expertise.

What is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for L&D?

At Go1, our thirst for knowledge is never truly quenched, meaning we love SMEs. So, we thought now was the perfect time to explore the ins and outs of subject matter expertise. 

At the heart of it, learning and development is really all about building skills for our organisations and the people who work in them.  

So how can L&D professionals best connect and engage with the business to build future skills? 

In this webinar, Organisational Learning Strategist Michelle Ockers is joined by Go1’s Katie Graczer to unpack the challenge of building skills for an unknown future. 

As Michelle says at the beginning of the webinar: 

“There’s a conundrum of needing to build skills, when we’re not exactly sure what we’re building skills for, or what type of skills are going to be needed into the future. But we can tackle this with evidence-informed approaches. We can draw on what’s worked; what’s demonstrated to work in skill-building, in order to respond and scale in a way that is actually going to be effective and build impact – even though we may not know what the future holds for roles in our organisation.” 

As Michelle explains, the Emerging Stronger team believe there are five principles that L&D leaders can apply, to best connect and engage with the business to build future skills: 

Each of these five principles is explored in depth throughout the session. To get you started, we’ve captured some of the key takeaways from the conversation here.  

When managers within the business aren’t equipped with the skills to have crucial conversations around topics such as cultural awareness or diversity, L&D teams can be left to pick up the slack. This highlights the importance of connecting and engaging people with high quality resources and content. 

From her experience talking with L&D leaders, Katie highlights some of the biggest challenges L&D and HR teams face today. 

The challenges of L&D right now

When it comes to scaling up future-fit skills, technology plays a crucial role in the growth of L&D.  

In the video below, Michelle stresses the importance of viewing technology as an enabler rather than a saviour of learning. She explains that when we look at technology’s role through a different lens, it can only be a hindrance if not planned or used properly. 

Is technology a help or hindrance?

With more organisations adapting to a new way of working, the focus is now more about analysing the new environment and changing the way current skills are applied - rather than simply learning new skills.  

Here, Michelle explains that it’s all about context and changing the perspective.  

Changing the way skills are applied

Keen to learn more about how you can get ahead of the curve with skill-building in your organisation? 

All five principles are highlighted and explored in detail throughout the session - watch the full webinar and get started in applying them to your role and organisation.  

You can also download a free eBook, created by the Emerging Stronger team, to learn more about these five important principles derived from high-performing L&D teams. 

What’s driving the skills agenda? And how can L&D get ahead of the curve? 

For L&D teams, proving business value has often been a tricky proposition. You know the work you do is valuable. Your learners know the work you do is valuable. However, measuring and reporting on that value is often a different story. While the work that L&D teams do is critical, it can often be subjective and difficult to quantify in terms that business executives respond to, leading to significant disconnects between L&D teams and the rest of the organisation. 

One potential reason for these disconnects is that L&D teams have been taking the wrong approach to measuring business value. As learning technologies become more sophisticated and empowering learners becomes increasingly essential, many experts argue that L&D teams should focus less on measuring return on investment (ROI) and more on measuring return on expectation (ROE). 

We’ll dig deeper into this debate by asking if L&D teams should measure ROE more than ROI. We’ll start by explaining the terms ROE and ROI in an L&D context, before moving on to the advantages of measuring ROE over ROI for L&D teams. 

In an L&D context, ROE stands for return on expectations. Return on expectations should not be confused with the other common meaning of ROE, return on equity. 

According to Learning Pool, “d​efining return-on-expectation is a process where learning professionals ask questions to clarify and refine the expectations of the key business stakeholders, so that they are satisfying these expectations whilst realistically achieving results in training. It’s about converting often generic expectations into observable, measurable success outcomes that the overall business values.”

Similarly, Training Zone explains that ROE is valuable by “ensuring that training objectives are strategically relevant to the organisation in the first place, clearly defining the expectations of the outcomes of the training, and then evaluating against both the training objectives and the agreed expectations.” 

Therefore, ROE is all about reducing the disconnect between what business leaders expect and what L&D teams deliver, thereby increasing the strategic relevance of L&D teams’ key deliverables. ROE means taking a more comprehensive approach to measuring L&D’s impact by aligning programme evaluation with organisational goals. As LinkedIn explains, measuring ROE “allows us to move away from a purely financial lens and instead evaluate a programme’s success more holistically.” 

Largely, the idea of ROE centres around the Kirkpatrick Model. First coined in the late 1950s by Dr Donald Kirkpatrick, the Kirkpatrick model is used in L&D circles worldwide to analyse ROE and measure the effectiveness of training programs. 

While the model has undergone some minor tweaks over the years, the basic four-step program remains the cornerstone of measuring ROE for L&D teams. These are: 

1. Reaction: Measure learners’ reaction to the training material to gain insights into the quality of the learning material and whether it is the right fit for a specific learner. Ask yourself, did learners enjoy the training? To what degree did learners apply themselves to the material? 

2. Learning: Next, you need to measure how much information learners absorbed and retained so you can evaluate this against individual learning objectives. Ask yourself, did learning transfer occur successfully?​​ Did participants gain the intended knowledge and skills from the training materials? 

3. Behaviour: This level is all about measuring the impact of your training. In other words, has the training actually influenced learner behaviour? Ask yourself, are learners applying the information they learned on the job?

4. Results: Finally, you can measure the broader impact of your training. By this stage, you should have a firm grasp of the ROE of your training program. Ask yourself, did the training improve learner performance and achieve the desired organisational outcomes? If not, what lessons can I take to improve next time?

While there are many advantages to following the Kirkpatrick Model of ROE (more on these later), Training Check summarises the key benefits, explaining, “by progressing through each of the levels, training evaluators can build a ‘chain of evidence’ which links learning directly with organisational performance.” 

For example, by ensuring learners are responsive to the training in step one, you can ensure they take information onboard in step two, which feeds into behaviour change and tangible results in steps three and four. 

By managing expectations every step of the way, you will gain a clearer picture of what your learning program achieved and be able to clearly communicate these outcomes to executives. 

In contrast to ROE, ROI is likely an evaluation model you are already familiar with. ROI stands for return on investment and is one of the most common metrics businesses use to measure success.

As Investopedia puts it, “return on investment (ROI) is a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment or compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. ROI tries to directly measure the amount of return on a particular investment, relative to the investment’s cost. To calculate ROI, the benefit (or return) of an investment is divided by the cost of the investment. The result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio.” 

Nevertheless, many industry leaders posit that it is time for L&D teams to move on from ROI and look toward other metrics. In a recent article, Reworked proposed that ROI is a “dead metric” for L&D teams. Similarly, People Management put forward that calculating ROI for L&D is “like finding a needle in a haystack.” Others have expressed similar sentiments, as many L&D leaders are all too familiar with the challenges of attempting to quantify their work via ROI.

With this in mind, now might be the perfect time to transition from ROI to the greener pastures of ROE. 

For more insights into measuring ROI for L&D teams, check out our article on Improving ROI metrics to showcase L&D’s value.

The advantages of measuring ROE over ROI for L&D

There are significant advantages to measuring ROE over ROI for L&D teams. One of the best arguments for transitioning from ROI to ROE is that many L&D teams already struggle to prove ROI. 

For example, Emerald Works’ 2020 Back to the Future Report found that while 98% of L&D teams think ‘program evaluation’ is a priority, only 38% currently have this capability. Worse, this is trending in the wrong direction, down from 45% of teams in 2018.

Additionally, Emerald Works’ Report finds that just 8% of L&D teams calculate return on investment for their learning programs. That’s right, fewer than 1 in 10 organisations actively calculate the ROI of their learning programs.

Likewise, Chief Learning Officer Magazine’s 2020 State of Learning Report ranked ROI last (24.2%) when L&D leaders were asked which metrics they use to determine the impact of leadership development programs. Employee engagement (48.8%) and retention/attrition of top performers (48.6%) finished first and second, respectively. 

ROI also finished last when L&D leaders were asked about the metrics they report to executives to demonstrate the impact of training programs. In that category, “general training output data” came out on top. As such, it seems that ROI is becoming less and less valuable for L&D teams to measure. 

So, if ROI is on the wane as an L&D metric, what advantages does measuring ROE present? 

In their own words, the Kirkpatricks describe ROE as “the ultimate indicator of value. It is a holistic measurement of all of the benefits (both qualitative and quantitative) realised from a program or initiative brought about through a package of interventions.”

Accordingly, ROE is all about setting and managing clear expectations for the outcomes of learning programs. By measuring ROE, you can increase stakeholder buy-in, as everyone is on the same page about what your learning program aims to achieve. 

As Learning Pool puts it, measuring ROI “means the results you achieve are directly correlated with the results your stakeholders are expecting. And, by defining these goals early on you are able to benchmark better and more clearly understand the true business impact of your training, way beyond just the cost savings.”

Similarly, LinkedIn provides a concrete example of when ROE comes in handy over ROI, using the example of a leadership training program. They explain, “instead of painstakingly drilling down how each module provides financial return, L&D professionals can select metrics that will directly measure their expected outcomes, such as how motivated leaders feel before and after a programme or the direct application of learning content back at work.” 

Put simply, ROE is all about setting clear goals from the outset of an L&D initiative. By managing expectations and ensuring all key stakeholders are on the same page, you can then measure the success of an initiative against these expectations, thereby solving the age-old dilemma of quantifying L&D’s business value. 

In other words, by switching to ROE, you will be reporting on more relevant and measurable metrics, which are agreed upon collaboratively beforehand. Instead of looking at the financial returns of a single training module, you can take a more holistic approach and analyse how that training impacted learner behaviour and what effect that has on broader business outcomes.

Therefore, by focussing less on ROI and more on ROE, L&D leaders can spend more time worrying about whether learners are actually learning. This is perhaps the greatest advantage of measuring ROE over ROI. After all, a love of learning should be at the heart of any successful training program.

For L&D teams, proving business value has often been a tricky proposition. We’ll dig deeper into this debate by asking if L&D teams should measure ROE more than ROI.