Forgot to make a New Year’s Resolution? Don’t worry, here’s some that you can definitely do!

Here we are again. It’s the first week of the year, back to work we go. 2015 is now behind us, and now we all wonder how we can make the most of this New Year right from the start.

A new year means new challenges. A new year means new projects. And a new year generally brings new resolutions. Hang on… You don’t have one?

Not to worry, we’ll save you some embarrassment. Here are the Top 50 in full. Who says you can’t pick a New Year’s Resolution off the shelf?

But seriously, here are three ready-made ideas to help you start 2016 successfully, and give you a taste of what to look forward to at stand E13 and our seminar at the Learning Technologies in London’s Olympia from 3-4 February!

Resolution 1. Ditch those old standardised solutions and embrace lean, mean personalised learning machines

In the late 1880s, Taylorism was born. Manufacturers applying the “one best way” to their process segmented tasks to achieve large-scale manufacturing efficiency, resulting in standardised goods.

The approach however is totally out-of-date. Personalisation has defeated standardisation in our daily lives. Let’s transfer this thinking to your organisation’s learning management system. Let’s consider offering your learners a personalised experience. Understand who they are, what their goals and aspirations are.

Your learners are capable digital consumers. They expect the training journey they’ve embarked on to be personalised to who they are, and who they want to be, in order to make a change in their jobs and in their organisation.

So from now on, make sure the “one best way” is a banned concept from your learning approach!

Resolution 2. Introduce a date night with your learners to find out what they have to offer

Easier said than done, I hear you say. But I assure you that this is within every organisation’s reach. Does your organisation’s learning platform invite your learners to take ownership over the content that’s made available to them, to implement new behaviours and drive increased organisational performance?

The learner should not be treated as a passive mass to be trained, but rather as a potential agent of change within your organisation.

In order to do so, they must be given appropriate tools to gain ownership over their learning and feel empowered.

Change the dynamic in the trainer/trainee relationship if you want to be the witness of continuous performance in your organisation!

Resolution 3. Quit mandatory training – it’s bad for you!

Ask yourself this question: are the learners in my organisation accessing the training tools that are available to them because they have to, or are they returning to them voluntarily? If the answer to the first question is yes – or no to the second one, then there’s something wrong. You’re addicted to mandatory training.

But you want learners to be proactive towards their training, don’t you?

Learning urgently needs to be designed in a way that invites your learners to engage with it, and get them returning to it because they want to, not because they feel that they have to.

So for this New Year, focus on your LMS and how, if well-designed, can result in an inviting and empowering environment for your learners who are the main drivers of your organisation’s performance.

To get concrete examples on how our learning technology solutions can drive sustainable performance, don’t miss my colleagues Toby and Alastair’s seminar, “Exploding the myth of ‘one best way’ and using playlists to deliver personalised learning that improves performance” during the Learning Technologies show on 3-4 February this year!

Also, make sure you pop by stand E13 to get more tips on how to improve performance in your organisation. Get in touch now to book a meeting!