Why Do We Do It This Way?
The value of eLearning is that a participant can engage in learning on her own time, at her own pace, and without cost associated with sending her to a face-to-face course. The downside of eLearning is that it really doesn’t work if your goal is to actually learn something. There are several great thought-leaders who have for years been clamoring for a better way. They have done the research, developed the ideas, and pursued communicating the message to the masses (or, at least the HR buyers).
Four of them developed a really cool concept. They call it THE ELEARNING MANIFESTO. Michael Allen, Julie Dirksen, Clark Quinn, and Will Thalheimer got together and identified a guiding set of principles and have been spreading the word. We believe that the Thiagi 4-Door™ ELearning Approach has always adhered to these principles and when we went about designing Performance Selling we made sure that each of the criterion in the Manifesto matched what we built. The criteria for a better eLearning program are listed below. Thanks, Michael, Julie, Clark, and Will. Here’s how we aligned to the Manifesto.
Performance
Focused
Performance Selling provides a foundation for participants to be more effective at sales. The course has participants demonstrate proficiency in each of the selling stages (Analysis, Exploration, Solving, Proposing, Closing, and Follow-Up) and all of the process steps within those stages. Practice, feedback, and repetition occur using a high-fidelity simulation, and the final performance test is on the job.
Meaningful to Learners
We spent the last two years honing the scenarios, characters, and situations in the simulation to completely reflect real-life for our participants. These are the problems and challenges learners face on the job. The skills and tools provided have also been validated by learners as useful, practical, and simple.
Engagement Driven
Participants drive their own learning. The entire program is learner-led. Each video asks for a response. Each assignment engages the participants’ brains. Learners feel that the characters and problems in the simulation reflect their own personal experience and completely immerse themselves. As long as participants complete the missions, they can skip any part of the course they want. The missions are designed to validate that learning and skill development have occurred (or that at least skills were already within the participant).
Authentic Contexts
As mentioned, the problems, scenarios, situations, and characters came from field experience and observations. Learners report that even though the course does not specifically use their company’s name, the context could very well be their own organization.
Realistic Decisions
Once we determined that the context was realistic, we designed the Missions to reflect what a successful account manager would face and have to decide. Since learners relate so heavily to their own work contexts, the types of decisions they need to make are both individualized and specific to their own work realities.
Individualized Challenges
Each mission deliverable is unique. Participants upload their own responses to the Missions and receive customized, specific feedback from the facilitator in the form of a video response. They then continue completing the tasks based on their previous work.
Spaced Practice
The program has seven Missions with 2-4 tasks in each, and one Final Mission (the performance test). Participants work at their own pace over that month. Because the facilitator provides unique and custom feedback about their performance, they get to retry, iteratively build on what they learned, and apply lessons over and over.
Real-World Impact
The Final Mission is to go out and sell. If they succeed, they pass the course. If they fail, we will help them pick up the pieces.