I just completed an Instructor-led training mandate which went very well but started out having a very poor potential for success. I, along with three of my colleagues, were mandated by one of our partners to deliver the training content to the French community for an important mutual customer. During the Train-the-Trainer session, as we went through the learning materials and the customized application, it became quite clear that a thorough review and user testing had been overlooked for the French version, for both the application and the training materials.
Whether it was due to the language barrier, to time constraints, or perhaps even funding, the four of us soon became very uneasy about the numerous mistakes and inconsistencies we saw between the application and the training materials. After all, we were the ones that would have to face the learners. We knew that such flagrant mistakes simply did not sit well with users. This was a disturbing issue that we felt needed to be given top priority.
We spoke with the client who soon realized the urgency in the matter and agreed to invest the extra effort needed to remedy this situation, despite the fact that it was so dangerously close to deployment. My colleagues and I immediately plunged into reviewing, bug testing and aligning both the application and the learning components to elevate their current state to a more comprehensive one. Our partner and client managed to get most of our recommendations incorporated into the application and materials before it was released to the learners.
In the end, taking these extra (sometimes painful) steps are well worth the effort. The training experience for both the learners and us, the trainers, went much more smoothly. Our efforts helped to minimize user confusion, user frustration and ultimately, user resistance.
Yours in Service,
Kimberly Hains
Director, Learning Solutions
