To SCORM or not to SCORM

On a previous post (‘e’ for Experience), I stated that there are different ways to bring knowledge to users, like interactive modules, videos, infographics, etc., and that they should be used in conjunction and not as isolated products, in order to improve the learning experience on the users.

Let’s say you have to put together a product for a client, a video, an interactive module or an infographic. After days, nights and weeks of graphic design, architecture, programming, testing and fixing, you have the final files to deliver to your client, but then you start wondering if the outcome of the software you used to create and publish the product, will accommodate to the client’s platform.

Well, in the e-learning field there is a question you have to ask yourself (and the client) at the beginning of each project: is it going to be deployed to a LMS and does it have to be marked as “completed” after the user has gone through it? If the answer is yes, have a list of available SCORM wrappers at hand. Remember that, most of the time, you can deploy different types of files to a LMS, but they won’t necessarily have to be marked complete after the user has viewed them.

From my experience, authoring tools such as Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate and Trivantis Lectora, can provide you with the functionality to make your product SCORM-compliant, not just because you can actually create interactions and basic animations with them but because you can import a wide variety of files that you may have produced for your client and “wrap” them with the SCORM API. This process of importing videos, images and interactions created in other authoring tools, can be as easy as clicking on a button and selecting the file.

In addition to the aforementioned authoring tools, there are also stand-alone SCORM wrappers that you can use for your projects, usually developed using JavaScript or Action Script 3(like this one: http://pipwerks.com/tag/scorm-wrapper/). Yes, you may have to work alongside a programmer but it’s worth the time, because at the end of the day, you will have your engaging product compatible with the LMS of your choice, but don’t let SCORM limit your creativity when developing an e-learning product.

The Top 4 Things You Can do to Ensure Success as a Contract Trainer

At a recent Canadian Society of Training and Development (CSTD) event, I got talking to a learning consultant who had recently been downsized from a large fortune 500 company. She was wondering if she should continue to apply to corporate jobs or if she should try her luck at being a contract trainer.

I mentioned that I had had the privilege of working with several very successful freelancers both when I was the Manager of Training at Rogers, American Express and on occasion, in response to a client request in my current position at Pathways Training and eLearning.   She asked me for advice on what I believed successful contract trainers do differently then others. Here are my thoughts on what the most successful contract trainers do that differentiate themselves from other less successful consultants.

The life of a freelancer appeals to many people.  After all there are no worries about corporate politics, bad bosses and for the most part you can set your own hours.  Although, many people think that once they have gotten the sale and have been awarded the job, that the hardest part is behind them, this is in fact not the case.

In my experience the difference between the highly successfully freelancers (the one who are always in high-demand and who are booked months in advance) and the ones that aren’t come down to the following four things:

• Attention to detail.
• Delivering what the customer wants.
• Don’t take feedback personally.
• Good customer service (easy to work with and timely responses).

Let’s look at each one of these in a bit more depth.

#1 Attention to Detail.

If a client is hiring you, odds are it is because they need a training document, curriculum or eLearning storyboard that is more creative, interactive and can be produced faster than what can be produced in-house.   Successful freelancers know that if they are going to get repeat business, the document must be error free. Successful freelancers review their documents several times to ensure it is as perfect as they can possibly make it, before sending it to a client for review. (In my opinion, there is nothing worse then hiring a freelancer only to discover you could have done a better job yourself).

#2 Delivering What the Customer Wants

This point seems self-explanatory, deliver what the customer wants and they will be happy. Although, this seems like a no-brainer, I have been amazed at how difficult this can be for some freelancers.

The most successful independent instructional designers ask lots of questions at the beginning of a project to ensure they understand what the clients wants and do not deliver what they think the client wants instead.

#3 Don’t Take Feedback Personally

Many freelancers find it difficult to accept feedback when a client has red-lined their work. In most cases, the client is trying to accommodate internal feedback and it is less about your product and more about getting to an excellent finable deliverable. I have seen many a free-lancer loose repeat business because they have argued with a client about why they developed the curriculum in a certain way they failed to realize that the feedback is not about them and is more about the quality of the end product (remember – don’t get your back up it’s not always about you)!

#4 Good Customer Service – Everyone wants to be treated well and just because you have got the project doesn’t mean that you can stop being responsive to the client’s requests.

Great freelancers know that in order to get repeat business and to win client loyalty, client requests must be addressed quickly and with the same type of attention to detail that tells the client that their business is important to you.

If you follow these four steps, you will have set yourself up for a successful career as a contract resource!

On occasion, in response to a client’s requirements or request, Pathways Training and eLearning Inc. will hire contractors to work on-site at a client’s location.  If you think you have what it takes to be a successful contractor, please submit your resume to info@pathwaysinc.ca or apply to the following posting https://www.linkedin.com/jobs2/view/25832847.

Good Politics and Customer Service

In my previous post I commented at length about the harsh realities of today’s organizational politics and the childish interactions that result… but I did say there was hope… or at least I hinted at as much.

Hope comes in the form of internal customer service and the good will it generates – that good will begets good politics.

Much is made – and rightfully so – about the need to effectively service our external clients. But what about our ‘internal’ customers, should they be held to less of a service standard than their (typically) paying counterparts?

When I’m asked to speak on this subject, invariably this question arises: “Should our commitment to internal service, match our commitment to external customer care?”

 The answer: OF COURSE!

Would you talk to your Mother like that?

Customer service requires constant attention to the end-user client. Constant action. Sometimes clients are demanding, too demanding. Sometimes they want too much, need too much, ask too many questions, are slow on the uptake, need help with everything, interrupt your ‘real work’ etc. etc.

But still, even with all of the effort that is required to keep them happy, everyone reading this knows, you never:

• Swear at a customer, or speak disparagingly
• Sigh after they make a request, or ask a question – no matter how annoying it may be
• Forget basic manners, such as: please and thank you
• Attend a planned meeting late, or forget about it altogether

These things are simply ‘no-no’s” in the world of customer service… Correct?

What if that customer is a colleague from Sales, Marketing, Operations, HR or Finance? Do these simple ‘rules’ still apply? If they do, you are well on your way to creating a team that has the internal support to effectively interact with an increasingly complex external customer… if those rules do not apply to your colleagues – why not?

It’s just math.

As far as I’m concerned, without a positive (internal) focus on any group that is tasked with delivering (external) customer excellence, the result will always be a ‘mixed bag’ of client service interactions. Any organization, department or team that fails to care for its internal customer, is counting exclusively on the intrinsic motivation of the individual contributor to drive results.

As a business owner… that is simply terrifying. The math I mean.

• Happy staff = Happy clients.
• Unhappy staff = Customer service pinned to a wish and a prayer.

There are no guarantees in life, but I’ll take my chances with a high functioning, engaged and recognized staff member interacting with my clients, over a disengaged and disgruntled employee that I hope will put the customer’s needs above their own.

It’s just good politics.

The Future of Training – the “Google” Approach to Learning

Where is the future of training headed?  Is it gamification and will we be taking training where it feels like we are playing a video game or is the future in virtual worlds where we will actually have simulations so real, that it feels like we are actually there?

Current eLearning courses are more engaging then they were 5 years ago and videos, animations and well-deigned learning activities are engaging learners more then ever before.  However, where is the future going – is it to virtual worlds or to a gamification approach?  Is this future too radical and are in-house training teams equipped with programmers who are able to make this technology leap – where is the future of training headed and are many organizations ready to make the shift or will they be left behind?

This is a question I asked myself recently when one of our clients approached me and asked me to speak to her team about where the future of training was headed. My client works for a fortune 500 company with a very conservative culture.  Although her organization had been developing eLearning for many years, she was convinced that there was a better way to develop the eLearning than what her organization was currently doing.  Her team produces eLearning courses that are predominantly 30-60 minutes in length, created in Captivate or Storyline and consisting predominantly of click and reveal activities. There was so much her team could do with her eLearning, simply by adding audio, 3D animation and varying the type of eLearning activities used.  It would be so easy for us to pitch that our talented programmers could simply revamp their existing courses and make them more engaging for learners by adding 3D animations, simulations or videos – however I decided to show her where I believe the future of learning is truly heading – to a a micro-learning and “google” approach.

The Internet is now the number one place people go to access information and the average time Canadian’s spent online has shot up to nearly 75 hours a month, or about 2.5 hours a day (source – Globe and Mail “Video and mobile use doubles Canadians’ time spent online, research says” November 12, 2014).

Recent research also tells us this, in an eight-hour workday, millennials spend approximately 1.8 hours on social media sites (source – Millennial Generation Research, 2012 – US Chamber of Commerce). Why then would a millennial want to sit through 6-week new hire orientation program or long classroom based courses when they prefer to access information on-line?

The new generation in the workforce is demanding instant access to information – and why shouldn’t they – this is all they have known their entire life.  Whether it is public information or behind a company’s firewall – employees of today and the future want information now, when they need it – which is why I believe the training industry will be forced to a “google” approach to learning.

Just like the google interface, a learning portal will be used to access all of a company’s training information.  Learning will no longer be a long drawn out event and instead a learning portal will house all of a company’s corporate training. When you do a search, bite sized training information will appear in order of relevance based on key words in the search field.  Gone are the days of 50 page participant guides or long eLearning course. Short infographics, videos or eLearning simulations, will appear that will take only minutes to read or take.  Everything from videos, job aids, to on the job training will be accessed in bite-sized chunks that can be read and easily understood before being applied on the job.

Our talented Pathways programmers have created a mock up of where I believe the future of learning is headed – to a google approach where eLearning and training will no longer be restricted to classroom events or eLearning modules tied to a Learning Management System (LMS) but to a place where learning will be just in-time and available in bite sized chunks – just when an employees needs it!

Welcome to the future of learning!

Leadership is Fear

Take a moment to reflect back.

Reflect on those moments in time where you were most uncomfortable, most afraid of unknown situations in your life. What did you do? How did you handle them? Were you paralyzed with fear, unable to move past insecurities and doubt? Or were you able to fight through the situation and learn from the experience?

We all have had feelings of uncertainty at times. Moments where we hold ourselves back from speaking up at work for something we believe in or trusting our gut instincts to make the right choices within our personal lives.

We all feel fear.

That is why it is so important to face fear. Look at it straight in the eye and overcome any obstacles it may present. If you want to be that leader, you must take those opportunities others are fearful of.

There are a few things to consider…

Understand who you are.

When it comes to tasks, take some time to think about which competencies are your strengths and where you would like to improve. Are you a “results-only” driven individual who could not care about soft skills? Or are you a “people-person” striving to build growth in your professional environment? Are you action-oriented or extremely lazy? Do you tend to be the first one to discuss change or prefer that someone else take on the responsibility? Or do you have a mix of everything? Recognizing your abilities will help you understand what you are fearful of and provide a clearer picture on the type of leader you want to become.

Understand why you are this way.

You’ve acknowledged that you’re a pretty easygoing individual, who doesn’t know what to do in life but does want to make a million bucks eventually by getting that amazing job without actually attaining the skills needed to qualify.  Maybe you think the complete opposite.

Our past experiences and learning have a huge impact on the way we perceive ourselves. Which of those experiences have shaped your thought process and guided you over the years? What has prevented you from overcoming obstacles? Feeling afraid before starting a task is ok and sometimes necessary. Use that feeling as motivation and constantly remind yourself of the positive development you are about to achieve. The ability to self-reflect is critical to your learning when overcoming any fears.

Understand Leadership is a journey.

The continued practice of self-reflection – understanding yourself – will help focus your thoughts in an analytical manner, giving you the ability to personally and professionally develop. Remember, we all feel fear, so it’s important not to ignore its impact. However, don’t give fear so much value! Great leaders acknowledge fear. They understand its importance in their continued journey for success. Most importantly, leaders live fear and are not terrified of tackling opportunities they are most afraid of.

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela.

__________________________________________________________________________

Shakeel Malik has over 9 years of experience as a training leader within customer service, client experience, sales, technology and support initiatives. Within his role at Pathways, he manages client relationships, leads training projects and provides strategic leadership direction.  Shakeel’s past projects have included fostering leadership development, building strategic competencies, improving employee morale and developing evaluation tools within Adult Education.  He is also a volunteer Commissioner of a Basketball League, where he leads and facilitates all league operations including marketing, finance, sponsorship, digital technology and training sessions.

He holds certificates in Adult Education from Brock University and Dispute Resolution from York University, and is currently a candidate for a Bachelor of Education in Adult Education.

High School & Organizational Politics…

High School probably seems like an odd place to begin writing about leadership; truthfully, it is. It’s also an honest place, because social politics and its unwritten rules thwarted many from sitting at the “cool” table during those formative teenage years.

I attest, the impact of those rules move well beyond high school and right into the workplace.

This is a difficult thing to rationalize, because we tend to think that we leave childish social dogma behind us when we “progress” through life.

We don’t.

The rules of social success – or more specifically the politics of success – exist in country clubs, neighbourhoods, the PTA, sports teams and even in our own families.

As they say, politics is perception.

To be clear, the players from your high school memories might have changed, but the positions within that hierarchy are firmly entrenched. So the quarterback of the football team, or the beautiful head cheerleader may no longer occupy their roles atop the social pyramid, but that informally engineered roadmap to success remains.

Consider for a moment that handsome professional in your office, well spoken, well dressed and by (most everyone’s assessment) an average performer. So why does the leadership team seem to believe this person is a star? Why? Because he looks and behaves like they do, or at least like they think they do. He fits.

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes stars – really are stars, but like all things political, too often it is based on criteria that cannot be measured through work product – just perception.

Perhaps the reason your colleague is perceived to be a greater star than his work might otherwise indicate, is a reflection of his adherence to some unwritten rules.

1. Well-groomed
2. Well-spoken
3. Engaging

Oh yeah… and being handsome doesn’t hurt either.

Perhaps you are thinking, “if this is how you get ahead, or fit with the leaders in a company, I don’t want any part of it…”

Just to be fair, these rules also apply to organizations that take great pride in being diverse and non-judgemental. The kind of place where people are supposed to rise because of their contributions to the greater good, not because of who they golf with, or (heaven-forbid), how they look.

Like I said before, the players might not be typical (no quarterback or cheerleader) but the game remains. Every organization has unwritten rules to follow, norms to adhere to and value judgements placed upon those inside. The only difference (perhaps) is that in your organization the former high school ‘nerd’ now makes the rules, instead of the ‘jock’. But anyway you slice it, it’s still a high school cafeteria.

So, is there such a thing as “good politics”? Yes. But that’s for another time.

Bad politics is the type most of us think about, the sort of interactions that are defined by deception, rumour, gossip, innuendo etc. Now consider your participation within your high school – ahem – I mean workplace…

Have you ever engaged in an ‘off-the-record’ chat with a colleague about another? Perhaps, remained in a gossip circle around the lunchroom, or boardroom table while speaking ill of a co-worker or two? When the mean stuff started, did you bring it abruptly to an end, or get up and leave? Perhaps you are thinking, yeah – but it’s okay, I only talk about the ditzy administrator on the second floor that dresses like a @!$@$…

Starting to sound familiar – starting to sound like high school? Maybe that “ditzy” gal is your organization’s cheerleader… but then I suppose she’s had it coming for a while, right?

See you soon…

‘e’ for Experience

After several years working in the field of e-learning, I have come to the conclusion that talking about e-learning and defining it to other people, may seem easy at first but it can also get quite complicated and people can be confused by the stream of definitions we can give in one minute.

I won’t blame you, though, if the first thing that comes to your mind when someone mentions “e-learning”, is an interactive module (whether it is boring or not) with a bunch of click and reveal activities that will teach you about certain topic. Don’t take me wrong, as the intent of this article is not to criticize that form of knowledge delivery. The real motivation of this post is to add a little bit more to the definition of e-learning and help you think of it in a different, more understandable way.

I couldn’t agree more with Bernard Luskin in his article “Think ‘Exciting’: E-Learning and the Big ‘E’” when he says that the “e” of e-learning means more than just “electronic”, and it actually means “exciting, empirical, empathetic, extra, emerging, energetic, exceptional, early, eloquent, everywhere, ephemeral, extended, effortless, epic, evangelistic, eclectic, engaging, extended learning”. But in addition to that, I would include “experience” to the definition of that “e”.

Think of it this way:  when you go to the movies, you don’t just go to watch the movie, but also to enjoy some snacks, a good chat with your companion(s) after the movie, dinner, and even fun interactivities in the previous moments of the movie. The movie itself is just a part of the whole experience that we call “going to the movies”.

The same could be applied, in my opinion, to e-learning. The clicking-through-slides modules are just a part of the e-learning experience and are far from being discontinued, but I think they can be complemented by using other types of systems, like apps on mobile devices, videos on YouTube, webinars, games, etc. In this era of advanced technology, the options for delivering content are numerous, and let’s face it, in the grown up world it’s very difficult to be tied to a chair and go through 100 pages of a module while others are out there enjoying other activities. You want your knowledge and you want it now.

It is our responsibility, as training experts, information architects and developers, to design and deploy different delivery alternatives to knowledge and make them available to you. Why not have a module, and a whiteboard animation, and a mobile app with little games on it? All of it at the same time? This will not only take your e-learning experience to a whole new level, but will also reinforce what you have learned. And best of all, it is accessible to you through different channels (or devices).

I encourage you to seize the chances that technology gives us and transform that “e” for “electronic” to “e” for “experience”, and while you are at it, I invite you to enjoy this whiteboard animation as an appetizer of what can be achieved in terms of delivery options, simple, elegant, and mostly, easy to understand:

This is where the real ‘bloggin’ begins…

I waited for 20 years before finally deciding write about leadership – leadership in the real world that is – not the fictional world too often written about in management textbooks and spoken about over PowerPoint presentations.

I suppose I needed to muster the courage to openly expel my opinions on a soapbox larger than my typical training workshop room, or conference centre hall – and with slightly more character space than my typical Tweets.

So here I am, writing about management and leadership after spending countless hours, days and years living under its rule and espousing its virtues as a manager of people and facilitator of courseware.

Leadership after all, requires conviction in ones values and beliefs, along with the strength of character to live up to them. Most importantly though, leadership (at least in the real world) requires presence; the sort of presence that inspires loyalty, commitment and action, the sort of presence that cannot be taught – but can be learned.

The blogs that I will post moving forward are the manifestation of my feelings, opinions, observations and anecdotal insights into the real world of management; the one that keeps people up at night angry, or if they are lucky, puts them to bed with a smile on their face.

See you soon!

New Website Launch…

Today is the day Pathways incredible team of programmers and designers have been working toward… The NEW Pathways Training and eLearning Inc. website is live!

Approximately 4 months ago we began the creative and technical journey of refreshing our existing website. We wanted to ensure that our clients, colleagues, partners and future-hires were all able to view our extraordinary capabilities and experiences through a one of kind online experience…

I mean we do this ‘stuff’ for a living after all!

Pathways new site comes loaded with a host of creative and functional changes that showcase the core strengths of our organization. Here’s are just a few:

• Paralax navigation
• Custom 3D Pathways video
• Quick-look icon navigation
• Pathways ‘Design House’
• Custom WhiteBoard animation
• Employee welcome message and testimonials…

And… so… much …. more!

Just click here and be amazed http://www.pathwaystrainingandelearning.ca

We hope you stay awhile – enjoy the site and its interactive features… and hey… if you need us… we are just a phone call away.