Leveraging Learning And Change Management To Drive A Successful IT Transformation

Training for a large scale IT transformation can feel overwhelming. There are multiple modes of delivery, online, offline, face-to-face, print, e-learning, video and more. The audience groups may be hugely disparate in job function, location, timezone and so on.

How then can we ensure that we deliver effective training in such a complex environment?

By mapping the learner throughout their journey and selecting the most effective touchpoints at each phase.

Let’s break it down using the well-known ADKAR model, with a little addendum.

Awareness

Ask yourself: How can I capture the attention and spark interest in my audience?

This often overlooked step is critical in ensuring your learners start their journey on the right foot.

Map out the channels you can leverage to drive awareness including email, print and digital signage, word of mouth, showcases, internal websites. Then look how each audience group can be reached via these channels.

Desire/Relevance

Let’s explain to our audiences why your IT transformation is relevant for them and for the organisation. Let’s get clever with utilising our various communication channels to motivate our learners.

List the various ways that you can inspire and engage. Internal social media groups are a fantastic way to build an online community. Create an elevator pitch to outline the benefits of your training. Communicate regularly with positive messages that drive home the “what’s in it for me?”

If you’ve done these first steps right you should have a large cohort of eager beavers ready to jump in and learn.

Knowledge

Ask yourself: how can my learner have a better experience?

What mode of training will be most effective given my business and timeline constraints? Do I use a mixture of eLearning and face-to-face? Can I simplify parts of the content to be a quick article or infographic? If it’s a system or tool can I provide a training environment or simulation that accurately mirrors their real experiences?

Ability/Reinforcement

Remember: learning only occurs if the learner can actually achieve the competency that you are aiming to embed.

It is therefore critical to ensure that your assessment activities truly reflect the tasks that your learner is required to complete.

Also critical and often forgotten is ongoing support. During and after a large IT system implementation I ran “talk to us” sessions where users could dial in and ask questions. Callers in large organisation are often extremely grateful to have someone to talk to directly. Furthermore you can leverage these inbound questions to identify knowledge gaps and frequently asked questions, which will enable you to identify new opportunities to drive learning and behaviour.

Advocacy

We should aim to boost advocacy across all levels.

Ensure the leadership team are supportive in providing the influence and financial backing required to achieve endorsement, visibility and engagement.

Get the core project team to spread their passion and enthusiasm.

Gather a select group of influential and motivated champions who act as an interface between the learning team and the audience.

And finally… the ultimate advocacy should come for the learners themselves as they share their positive experiences with their peers.