large image
View previous webinars and recordings on applying a variety of RSVP Design Activities! JUST CLICK HERE
Loading...

Connection in a disconnected world: why learning experiences matter more than ever

Connection in a disconnected world: why learning experiences matter more than ever

I was in conversation with a long-time friend of RSVP Design last week, discussing the present state of workplace training; we'll be heading out to Washington DC for the ATD Exhibition this week and I was wondering what I might expect. Part of her response really stuck with me and I've thought about it a number of times since:

"We've never had a more interconnected world, yet we've never struggled so much for real connection. The quantity is astounding, the quality is disturbing."

 

As a learning-design professional my automatic reaction is to start looking at possible solutions - what can we do to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of interpersonal connection in modern organisations? I'm not sure I have many answers yet, but the ones I can suggest have one thing at their heart - structured learning experiences which motivate those involved to want to find connection with their colleagues.

 

In a world where interpersonal connection is no longer an essential component of working life it's easy to forget that human beings have evolved as gregarious members of communities where connection is what kept us alive. We are genetically coded to seek out other parts of that community in order to work towards mutual success. The whole history of organisation and organisations demonstrates how this attribute has been leveraged for common advantage. Yet in the past few years we have increasingly become reliant on remote working, remote communication and technological systems that remove the need for the perceived inefficiencies of face to face interaction; and that's fine....to a point. Yet the fact is there are still some workplace interpersonal exchanges that go beyond the transactional, and they need people to bring with them the best of their humanity.

 

A couple of years ago I was witness to a bereaved daughter settling the financial affairs of her dead father. This involved calling the specialist 'bereavement phone line' for a number of financial organisations, insurance companies etc. I was deeply moved and impressed by the care, compassion and delicacy demonstrated by the true professionals on the other end of those calls, yet afterwards I reflected on the impressions that these calls left on me and realised it was largely the contrast between them and the routine transactional calls we're all required to make to get things done. What I was reacting to was the sheer humanity of a fellow human being investing their work with warmth and care, and realising how unusual this experience has become in my exchanges with corporate life.

 

So (back to solution-finding again) how can we motivate people to want to bring their best-selves to the workplace? For me as a professional it's a challenge that has become more difficult in recent times, but I mentioned above one approach that I know has proven effectiveness in achieving this motivation: structured experiential learning activities that are designed and selected to achieve that goal.

 

As ever the experiential learning process starts with a very clear definition of learning objectives - what is it you're looking to achieve in your decision to offer your people these activities. What do you want them to do that they're not doing now? Giving some time to getting an accurate definition of the behavioural change you want to see is essential in both evaluating your success and avoiding encouraging the outcomes you don't want.

 

Once you have clear objectives you can select appropriate activities to enable you to realise the type of learning environment and outcomes you are seeking. If your primary objective is about encouraging people to better connect in the workplace (and your objectives should specify whether this is specifically with colleagues, customers, suppliers etc) then it's worth taking the time to determine as best you can what will motivate participants to want to better connect. It's accessing this motivation within your activities that will allow conversations to develop about how it might be encouraged in the workplace.

 

If part of your concern is that people don't seem to have the opportunities (or are not making the opportunities) for quality workplace interaction then your experiential learning activities should give every opportunity for this to happen - too much 'facilitator time' means not enough 'participant time'. This is not a taught experience so let the participants get engaged in the activity without too much interruption from the front.

 

A quality review / debrief is essential to draw out and define the available learning. This should be structured to address your learning outcomes and should not avoid the emotional interplay that featured during the activity - what were people feeling? Why did they feel this way? How did others affect these feelings? Facilitated well this isn't intrusive or somehow tacky - it's getting at the interpersonal dimension of human relations and that's where motivation to change largely resides.

 

Finally the conversation needs to encompass the translation of this learning back into the workplace - could it work there? What would make this happen? Who needs to do what and when to see it happen? And remember, the people who need to approve the necessary changes may not be in the room, so part of the action may need to be about approaching them to start the ball rolling.

 

As I've said this is just my take on possible solutions, and it's the one I'll be espousing multiple times at ATD next week. I'm prepared to engage in that conversation as many times as necessary because I've seen it work in so many organisations, in so many geographies and in so many cultures, and I know that it works.       

 

Related Articles
  1. How to build trust: The Trust Equation in practice How to build trust: The Trust Equation in practice
  2. 5 Reasons Creative Writing Is One Of The Best Forms Of Experiential Learning 5 Reasons Creative Writing Is One Of The Best Forms Of Experiential Learning
  3. Developing Curiosity and Agility at arms-length? Developing Curiosity and Agility at arms-length?
  4. Gamification, Experiential Learning and the Challenge of Virtual Learning Gamification, Experiential Learning and the Challenge of Virtual Learning
You may also like