Overcoming Crisis Situations While Learning
Now that we've been through a global pandemic, I think we can allow for a possible zombie apocalypse. As we've seen over the past two years, the unthinkable is possible. So, what do we do when the prospect of a zombie apocalypse is real? How do we continue to train under these circumstances? We'll dive into some practical steps in this article.
Picture this: it's the zombie apocalypse and your office is under attack! What do you do? Hide in the break room and hope for the best? No way! You need to be prepared. And that means training your employees to survive and keep going...through eLearning! Let's go.
Stay On Track With Communication
Communication is key. In a crisis situation like a zombie apocalypse, it's important to be able to communicate clearly and concisely with your team. That's why every employee needs to have clear guidelines for communicating during emergencies.
Don't rely on a single communication channel. Today, we use tools like Slack, emails, video conferences, and text messages to communicate. As is natural during normal work life, you likely depend on a single channel of communication to a heavy degree. While this is understandable, it's important to have a plan B (and C, and D) in place in case your primary method fails.
Be sure to train your employees to try alternate sources to get in touch. This means making your office address visible. Or even sharing your phone number with a few key employees.
And here's a bonus tip. If you want to keep communications open and train your employees without the hassle of coordinating a live meeting, use a tool like Loom—one that lets you record video messages and share them instantaneously. It's a great way to stay interactive without having to synchronize everyone's schedules.
Create An eLearning Plan
Just like you have a business continuity plan (you do have one, right?), you need an eLearning plan to make sure your team is prepared for a zombie apocalypse. Your eLearning plan should include:
- What tools and resources you need
- How you'll deliver the eLearning content
- What type of content to include
- How often you'll review and update the content
If you don't have an eLearning plan, now is the time to create one. This is something you should work on with multiple people in your organization. Involve your IT team, your HR department, and anyone else who might have a say in how training is delivered. Start with your goals and then consider the tools and budget you have at your disposal. With these constraints, you'll find a practical way to build an eLearning plan.
Build A Central Location For eLearning Content
In my business, we have a "hub" where we store all our education material. It also includes onboarding information, our employee handbook, and describes other important things like our company mission and vision. The "hub" is a simple subdomain that's part of our main website. And that's where we direct our employees when they join the company.
We prefer self-learning and a self-starting attitude at our company. So, we encourage our employees to go through the hub where they have access to:
- Manuals
- Educational content
- Previous webinars and company meetings
- In-house training programs
- Important content related to our workflows, customer policies, and more
However, we also support such self-learning through active communication via chat and other channels. This way, we make sure that even when there's a zombie apocalypse, our employees know where they can go to dig up information. And they can always reach out if they can't find something or don't understand some content.
Offer Access To Multiple eLearning Platforms
While a central hub is great for information that everyone should know, it isn't enough to dive deep into function-specific or role-based training. This is why you need to offer access to multiple eLearning platforms that your team can use to further their skills.
Sounds expensive? It doesn't have to be. You can subscribe to an enterprise package for a comprehensive books, audiobooks, and articles platform like Scribd or Blinkist. Or you could get a corporate license for an online course provider like Udemy.
The key is to offer multiple experiences or means to learn. Not everyone likes live trainings or video content, and not everyone wants to read a whole book when they need a Cliffnotes version. Your employees will find something that works for them that they can access whenever they need to.
Make Sure Your Employees Are Engaged
It's not enough to just create an eLearning plan. You need to make sure your employees are actually engaged with the content. For one thing, it'll let you know if John from accounting is still okay or if he's had a zombie invasion. And for another, it'll help ensure the information is retained and is not just going in one ear and out the other. There are a few ways to keep your employees engaged:
1. Interactive Content
Use content that's interactive and engaging, such as quizzes, polls, and games. This will make the content more enjoyable to consume while also helping employees retain the information.
2. Regular Review And Updates
Make sure you review and update your eLearning content on a regular basis. This will ensure the information is still relevant and up to date.
3. Communication Channels
Communication is key when it comes to engagement. Make sure you have multiple channels where employees can ask questions, give feedback, and get help if they need it.
4. Competitions And Rewards
Competitions can be stimulating and engaging. And the promise of a reward is a great way to encourage employees to consume and engage with your eLearning content. I suggest giving away crossbows as rewards, but you should do what's feasible for you. Having small and friendly competitions between employees can also help increase engagement [1]. And it might build a flexible and prepared mindset that helps everyone during a zombie rampage.
Conclusion
A zombie apocalypse is a great way to test your eLearning plan. One of the best ways to prepare for a crisis is to create a community where employees can ask questions, give feedback, and get help if they need it. You can also keep your employees engaged by using interactive content, competitions, and rewards. By following these tips, you can make sure your employees are prepared for anything—even a zombie apocalypse.
References:
[1] How To Use Push Notification To Boost Customer Engagement