Train the Business to do Business with L&D
If we want the business to know how to work with us, we need to be clear on what that looks like.
Have you felt frustrated when a stakeholder comes to you asking for a specific training solution in a shortened timeline? It might be something like, "Can you create a 90-minute classroom training (or 30-minute e-learning or 4 hour boot camp) training by next week?"
I've been there.
Not only did I question whether these solutions would solve the stakeholder's problem, but I kept thinking that they "just didn't understand" the time and resources it took to create the robust, well-designed learning experience as requested. It was as if the stakeholders thought L&D snapped our fingers or waved a magic wand and - boom! - a fantastically inspiring and effective class appeared.
One day, as I was sharing these frustrations with my boss in a one-on-one, she simply responded with, "We need to train the business how to do business with us."
As I took a beat to digest what she said, my brain started to shift direction. I realized my frustration had blinded me into a corner. I was playing victim with those words, “They don’t understand!” running through my brain. I really should have been asking, “Are they aware there are different, more effective ways to administer a learning solution? Have I ever told them? Have I demonstrated that we can do more than take and deliver on requests? Have I been clear on the time and resources it takes to create a robust solution?”
I was holding stakeholders to an expectation that they didn't know existed, and blaming them for my frustrations, without considering their perspective. They didn’t know any different. After all, they weren't spending time thinking about what it took to create an effective learning solution, that was my job! They were focused on their own operational challenges.
Training the business with an "external" playbook
It was time to begin training the business to do business with us, but to do that, we first needed to get clear on telling our own story. It was time to build an "external" playbook. one that outlined what our stakeholder could expect when working with the L&D team.
The items in our external playbook included the following:
#1. Intake process. We outlined a clear process that asked for the minimal information needed to determine our next steps. We made it easy for stakeholders to participate by aligning it to existing company processes.
#2. Key definitions. We defined terms related to learning projects that weren't already commonly accepted. Items like SME, job aid, LMS, and learning outcomes made the list. But we were also careful not to overcomplicate and make stakeholders learn new words for terms they already used like shadowing, training, etc. We used their language whenever possible. They didn't need to become experts in L&D terminology, the outcomes are more important than the words.
#3. Typical projects, timelines, and results. This was a list of the type of projects we did and how long each might take to complete. We also included measures indicating typical results. For example, when revamping onboarding using our proven method, we were typically able to reduce time to production by 50%.
#4. Project roles and responsibilities. This section outlined the roles and responsibilities in each project. It clarified expectations up front for those involved in an L&D project. Roles included L&D team members, stakeholders, executive sponsors, SMEs, and any additional support roles like IT or legal.
Talking points > long document
Our external playbook wasn't something that we handed out to stakeholders; our organizational culture wasn't one where people read long documents. But, once we had this information clarified, we used it in a few different ways:
Informally: In conversation with stakeholders who were requesting projects. Our own clear definitions helped L&D team members to be more confident and articulate in our work.
One pagers: We created a few simple "one pagers" that could be shared with key information like the type of projects we typically did, how long they took to complete, their cost, and the time commitment requested from stakeholders and SMEs.
Project charters: We included key definitions as well as outlined roles and responsibilities in project charter documents and reviewed them verbally during project kick-off meetings.
Adoption over time
The information in our external playbook provided clarity and consistency for the L&D team, when working with stakeholders. But, just like learning a new skill, it took a while for it to be fully adopted across the company. Training the business to do business with us was a process that evolved over time.
What about you? Do you have clear expectations for stakeholders when it comes to working with your L&D team? Have you communicated and reinforced them in conversations and projects? Simply put, have you taken the time to train the business to do business with L&D?
