Instructional designers will tell you: The basis of successful training programs is to prioritize the learner experience. Therefore, whatever the type of training, whichever modality you choose, the learner experience should be the central priority.
Learner experience design (LXD) is when the learning program is human-centered and relevant to the experiences of the users or learning audience. LXD is a guiding principle calling for centering the learner’s needs, challenges, and pain points, as well as acknowledging their existing knowledge and experience.
There are three central strategies to prioritize the learner’s experience. These are the common threads to improve learning engagement and retention—both critical to successful skills acquisition.
Three Foundational Best Practices of LXD
1. Make it memorable. The best employee training design incorporates elements to engage learners. There are many ways to do this, even outside collaborative, social learning situations. To engage learners, use real-life scenarios to relate learning to the employee’s role. Add interactive elements through the use of case studies enhanced with rich media, video, and decision-tree scenarios that spark deeper reflection and provide practice at solving problems likely to be experienced on the job. The goal is to build the learning experiences around analyzing and evaluating criteria. Activities that give your learners opportunities to think and reflect are more motivating and will aid with learning retention.2. Make it relevant. Your employees want to participate in training that helps them to succeed. Conversely, who wants to spend time in a training that doesn’t apply to the work they’re trying to accomplish? Understanding that essential motivation, each training experience should be framed to show why it matters for your learners. How will they be using this information to succeed within their roles? What positive impact can they have? Again, you’ll want learning modules to be interactive to help learners make those connections between problems to be solved and the best practices they’ll use.
3. Make it applicable. Has your internal L&D team developed a skills matrix or a performance map? Once you’ve linked skills to performance, you can make clear connections between skills presented in training and experiences employees will have in their roles. Make clear connections in your training modules by showing—not telling—how application will matter on the job. Whenever possible, provide a decision-making framework to help them to make better decisions faster by evaluating contextual clues, weighing them against potential outcomes, and forecasting the consequences of choices.
Sensing some commonalities in the LXD best practices? Essentially, you want learners to feel like the training is custom-made for them.
To customize your training, you must also consider the culture and processes of your organization. Ask yourself how to give your learners the right information in the most useful format in the work flow. Consider what will work best for your learners in the context of their daily duties.
Every training you design and develop should have the learner experience as your guiding principle. Factors to consider in the learner experience include:
- The context and culture of learning within your organization.
- Employee role.
- Skills gaps.
- Problems likely to be encountered.
When you understand your learning audience, you can build training that will motivate and engage—and increase effectiveness and success as a natural result.
