Why Shouldn't my HR Employee or my Summer Student Write My Employee Training?
In short, they can, but it won’t necessarily get you the results you want. Let me start with an analogy. When your business was starting out, you probably did a lot of things yourself, like maybe the bookkeeping, the marketing, heck maybe even some of the legal work (with the help of Google!). You probably got the job done, but likely not as well as the pros could have. There’s no doubt that you, or someone on your team, like the HR assistant or summer student, COULD write your training…but you’d be missing out on a lot of the benefits of using a professional. Having said that, if your budget is tight, any training is better than none, so I encourage you to go the in-house route if it’s your only option. I have plenty of tools and support on my website that can help you on your way.
So what does an Instructional Designer (ID) know that your HR assistant or your summer student doesn’t?
An ID knows how to organize content in a way that makes the most sense to your audience. It’s more than just throwing information together; it has to be done in a way that’s easy for your learner to follow. Sometimes people in-house are too close to the content to know if it would really make sense to someone with no background in the topic.
It varies by person, but typically, the ID has formal training in learning theory, and often, a degree in instructional design or education. That means they understand HOW people learn and can develop training that targets people with different learning styles and preferences, which leads to better learning retention. In other words, you’ll get a much better return on investment for your training when it’s developed with learning theory in mind.
The ID will understand your company’s needs and your learner’s needs, and will ensure that your training addresses both. If your learner’s needs aren’t taken into account, you may end up with training that is too basic, or too advanced, to help your audience. Your learner is also way more likely to be engaged in the training (and take something away from it), if they’re interested in the topic and see value in it.
A good ID should always have a sense of your overall goals and objectives in order to make sure that you’re training on the right things. Don’t waste your money investing in training that won’t help accomplish your goals!
You probably know someone who’s really good at a particular job or task, but would be poor at communicating/teaching it to others. Some people are really good at “doing” but not so much at “teaching”. An ID has the training knowledge to talk to your expert and get the info out of their head and into a training program.
I’m assuming that having your HR assistant or student develop training would be more or less a transactional process. You’d ask them to develop training on XYZ, they do it, and it’s done. There’s probably little in the way of value-add. Maybe you’d benefit from a facilitator’s guide, microlearning, a learning management system, or even a strategy to keep the training content current, but you won’t necessarily know that by keeping it in-house.
My point is, an ID does a whole lot more than just copy and paste your content into training. When interviewing someone to develop your training, ask about some of the bullet points above. Make sure they’re going to offer you the value and return on investment that you’re seeking.
If you’d like to discuss how High Tide Learning Studio can help you build strategic employee training, book a chat with one of our Instructional Designers!
HIGH TIDE LEARNING STUDIO
We’re Erin and Peter, a husband and wife team passionate about making your organization successful through employee training and engagement. Join us as we explore new opportunities to improve your workplace.