Kristina Belyea
August 24, 2022
Do you view training as a “box to check”? Has it become daunting with the scramble to provide data and performance metrics? Has your organization invested in continuous learning and development? In the latest episode of The Learning Journey podcast, Jimmy Christie, the Senior Commercial Training Manager at ACTO, talks about the importance and value of these questions. He shares his experience in Commercial Learning & Development (CL&D) at two large pharmaceutical companies, where he was able to make a positive and measurable impact, and provides advice on how organizations can transform their training culture into a learning culture.
“So, how do we create and push that culture of lifelong learning and shift the mindset of training to learning? One way is to have amazing, engaging apps.”
Here is a teaser of what you’ll find in the podcast:
- Tying learning to performance: Connecting training to commercial performance is one of the most difficult challenges in CL&D. Demonstrating impact and success is necessary when seeking investment in new technology; however, getting these metrics seems nearly impossible. To start working toward developing these metrics, tie a specific learning experience to a targeted behavior change. Consider the goal of increasing sales by improving sales professionals’ ability to close. We begin to effect change and demonstrate the relationship between learning and performance by developing a learning experience related to that behaviour and measuring it pre-and-post-training. With this formula in mind and the right technologies, you can quantify learning’s impact on performance.
- The power of coaching tools: One of the critical elements of learning in the flow of work is coaching. In a hybrid training environment, implementing a virtual coaching tool is imperative. Companies embracing innovative technologies that allow remote and asynchronous coaching, training, and mentoring will have better outcomes. With virtual coaching, we can move away from that singular approach to ongoing real-time conversations, leading to better outcomes and compliance. Virtual coaching platforms allow you to gather metrics from each interaction, which offer rich insight into changes in behavior. This investment also has a financial benefit because it encourages field teams to be better than they were before – improved selling behavior, stronger HCP relationships, and ultimately, better commercial performance.
- Personalized learning experience: With the shift to virtual training, companies must invest in technology to provide a personalized and customized learning experience, but this comes at a significant cost. Is the investment worthwhile? When considering implementing a personalized learning experience, one of the recommendations is to take an adaptive learning approach. Individual learners must access relevant content based on their knowledge, background, and experience. Leaning into Artificial Intelligence (AI) to capture data and engagement will result in the recommendation engine needed for a personalized approach. With this execution, your users will have a better experience overall, higher content engagement, and increased learning retention.
“An hour or two per week, continuous for the next 12 to 24 months. That’s how you start a learning culture. It’s not just training and a ‘one-and-done’ culture.”
Listen to the podcast to start your plan to shift from one-and-done training to continuous learning: The Commercial Training Manager Learning Journey.