5 Essential Ingredients for a Successful L&D Program

Imagine you’re in the kitchen getting ready to bake cookies. You have your ingredients, your tools, and your recipe. But what are you baking? Is it chocolate chip? Peanut butter blossoms? Or perhaps the controversial oatmeal raisin? If you asked a colleague or family member to imagine the same scenario, would their cookie be the same as yours, or would it be different?

If they are different, that means a whole set of other ingredients, baking times, and recipes. Even if they are the same, you might prefer yours with slight adjustments to theirs. The same is true for L&D programs, where the cookie is the outcome that you’re trying to achieve. One size rarely fits all, even if your needs are similar. However, there are five elements that are essential to making any training program successful.

The Bakers

These are your stakeholders, the people who will have their hands in the kitchen and care about the outcome of what you create. You’ll need their support and involvement to help make your efforts successful. Take the time to ensure everyone understands what you are trying to achieve so that they can be aligned with you. Your stakeholders also need to know their role, whether that’s procuring ingredients, testing the recipe, or grabbing a whisk and getting their hands dirty.

The Recipe

Successful training programs are mission-focused and built around outcomes. Every aspect should align with the overall objectives you are trying to achieve. You choose what goes into your program based around what will provide the best results, and you follow that plan to keep on-mission.

The Tools

Choosing the right technology for your program is just as important as using the right tools when you’re baking. Technology (LMS, instructional platforms, virtual versus in person) should elevate the learning process, not slow it down or cause confusion.

Timing

Resting, baking, and cooling times are all critical in baking, and the same is true for planning your roll-out. Do you have enough time to build out your program? How long will it take for a learner to complete? Training that takes too long results in burnout, and training done too quickly leaves you with learners that are unprepared.

Quality Control

You would never serve something before trying it yourself, and you should never launch a program before first evaluating it and having a method in place for continuous evaluation to ensure the outcomes align with your objectives. Take time to taste test, and be sure to regularly review your recipe to ensure the outcomes and objectives still align.

The flavor and “add-ins” all depend on your organization’s culture, approach, and objectives, but the core elements above will be found in every successful L&D program. Taking the time to evaluate and incorporate them into your program development will help ensure delicious results.

For a deeper dive, join me at ATD25 International Conference & EXPO for the session, C Is for Cookie: The Recipe for Successful L&D Programs.