The recent pandemic has only increased the need for high-quality leadership development programs. Today courageous leadership is needed now more than ever. Your organization’s leaders play a critical role in driving innovation and productivity. They also have a significant impact on your business’s abilities to navigate change.
In a recent study about the future of leadership development conducted by the Harvard Business Review, 50% of senior leaders shared that their talent development process was not equipping new leaders with necessary skills (1). There are several unique challenges L&D professionals face when creating leadership development programs today. Infopro Learning has more than 20 years of experience creating highly effective leadership training programs. We recently created a mobile leadership development program for a non-profit organization to help them scale the program, increase engagement and boost completion rates.
Solution Overview
This client was a non-profit organization that dedicated its efforts towards helping at-risk populations of youth. They provided more than 25 different training programs to help participants learn in-demand job skills that would improve their employability. The training programs were designed to help youth start their careers in IT, healthcare, skilled trades, and customer service.
The customer service management training had grown in popularity, but the organization was facing some challenges that were making it difficult to scale the program. They needed a cost-effective learning solution that would help them provide leadership training courses to a larger audience. They also needed a way to track learner data and a way to help learners who were facing personal challenges to continue participating in the program.
Infopro Learning designed cost-effective learning solutions that allowed the organization to track learner data and increased the accessibility of the program helping learners who were juggling personal challenges. We achieved this by using three key features in the program’s design.
Feature 1: Developing a Blended Strategy
The original program required a time commitment of 40 hours a week of in-person instruction. This was a challenge for learners who were juggling multiple commitments and family-related matters. We used a blended learning strategy to develop an eLearning program that would provide learners with more flexibility in their schedules.
The new mobile program was designed using multiple engaging learning formats, including videos, simulations, games, and assessments. Each piece of content was designed to focus on a single leadership skill or topic. Multiple formats were used throughout the leadership courses to engage participants with varying learning styles.
Feature 2: Integrating Social Learning for Engagement
The former program included in-person group activities to help participants learn about topics such as different leadership styles. Learning in a group or in a collaborative environment can significantly improve learner engagement. A recent study found learners who engaged in social learning participated in 30 times more training than those who didn’t (2). Infopro Learning integrated virtual instructor-led sessions, online journals, peer-based activities, and enabled chat features to encourage social learning.
Feature 3: Using Scenario-Based Simulations
Learners who have opportunities to practice new skills beforehand are more likely to use those skills on the job. Scenario-based simulations were used to help participants practice the skills they learned. This both increased knowledge retention and helped learners build confidence. Life-like simulations help further facilitate the learning process by providing additional context to the concepts and how they can be applied in the workplace.
Solution Results
The updated leadership program provided several measurable business benefits. The cost of the training program was reduced by $1,000 per learner, making it possible to scale the program and reach more participants. More than half of the training content was able to be used for other training programs reducing long-term content costs.
Completion rates raised to an astounding %100, and all participants were able to find employment within two weeks of program completion. The new mobile program was able to reduce the amount of time needed for training as well as provide learners with a more flexible schedule. The program was reduced from 40 hours a week to just over 20 hours. Learn more about the program details and read the case study Leadership Development Program for Diverse Audiences.
