Bridge the Gap Between Virtual Training and Organizational Impact

The challenge for all training is to ensure the conversion of the training subject into positive impact for the organization. Whatever the methodology used, it’s not good enough to just have a good process that people enjoy, although that helps. It’s not good enough to have content that is understood, although that’s a benefit. What needs to happen is that the learning is translated to application and that application produces results for the organization.

Engaging Remotely

According to Paul DePalma, CEO of ADEPT Leadership, their main challenge has been that they engage their clients in productivity, management, and leadership training. Results achieved in these areas are all about actions and behaviors, not just knowledge and understanding. You can know the concepts of prioritization, but how do you do it when you’re busy? You can have insights into how to manage difficult people, but when a problem arises, what choices do you make and what actions do you take to handle the situation? 

Beyond the challenge of providing opportunities to look at existing habits and change actions, add the environment in which most of the content delivery has gone virtual. Now you have a challenge for not only engaging people effectively during sessions but helping them apply and practice the concepts in their work environment. It’s critical to enable them to flex their management and leadership muscles about the session content post session, allowing them to create more productive habits than they previously had. 

‍

Insights to Application

In the past, when ADEPT Leadership engaged participants between sessions, they used a learning management platform that was a digital repository for the items they learned, and the work assignments they needed to complete. It seemed very academic, wasn’t easy to navigate, and felt like a burden to participants who were already busy and didn’t need to spend time on “homework”. ADEPT Leadership were looking for a way to keep the practice time as interesting and lively as the sessions, to make it significantly more user friendly, and even a little fun. That’s when they found myQuest.

Now, ADEPT Leadership’s in between session work assignments are delivered in “levels” that relate to each session's content. Participants can enter, see a summary video of that level, then are required to engage in several “missions” that get them working on the subject. As they work on the subject, they are asked to complete exercises and write their responses and thoughts within the mission. 

To increase engagement further, learners are encouraged to participate in a community forum of participants who are going through the process with them. They can share pictures of themselves, comment on what others are talking about, and support each other with ideas and best practices. And to add a little fun, they get points for completing missions, and badges for completing the levels they need to.

myQuest allows ADEPT Leadership to put all the materials they would normally handout right in the platform. In that way, participants receive the information and materials when they want them to, at a pace and timing inside each level. In that way, they are never overwhelmed with the amount of information they need to review, or assignments (missions) they need to complete. In previous experience, ADEPT Leadership learned that although practice is critical, it can’t be too much for working professionals because they simply won’t engage at all if they feel it’s too much. myQuest helps ADEPT Leadership deliver it incrementally and effectively. 

Using myQuest also allows ADEPT Leadership to interact with participants during their practice period. A coaching function allows their facilitators to “look in” at the work participants are completing. They can interact with each participant individually to share encouraging feedback or ask provocative questions to ensure that they stay engaged in the process and remain on track. 

An Experience, Not a Repository

When ADEPT Leadership had the old learning management system, participants appreciated the idea of doing practice, but it was a barrier to them really engaging in the process. Now, with the myQuest Learning Experience Platform, participants are more fully engaged, are active in the practice portion, and have fun doing it.