Content is Crucial: Don’t Make This Mis-Steak

Whether or not a great learning experience is achieved depends on the extent to which the learner is moved to change their behavior. In this post (Part 1 of our Content is Crucial Series) we explore how today's organizations can balance the need for cost-effective and convenient content libraries with the need for quality content that delivers results.

Summertime brings wonderful opportunities to reconnect with kids on break from college and old friends  passing through town while on vacation. A few weeks ago, I found myself with a mix of both.  My kids and some lifelong friends ended up at the house at the same time. While enjoying a long overdue visit, the dinner hour approached and no one felt like cooking. That left us with the question of where to go and eat.

Knowing that most in the group would enjoy a good steak, I floated the idea of going to the local steakhouse. Others in the group suggested that a restaurant with a variety of menu options might be better. In the end, we decided on an all-you-can-eat buffet.

We left nourished and full – but hardly satisfied. The best part of the meal was the ice cream bar. (Although, admittedly, I’m partial to desserts.) Those of us who’d had a hankering for steak were able to have roast beef ─ but it was neither mouth-watering nor memorable. I should have had the chicken.

Going to the buffet wasn’t a disastrous decision, but it left us all feeling a little disappointed. It was special for us all to be together--I wish the meal had been more noteworthy.  Had we gone to the steakhouse, it would have been.

If you’ve eaten at a steakhouse, you’re probably nodding your head. A steakhouse offers prime cuts and its chefs cook your tender steak to sizzling perfection. The side dishes, presentation, and service enhance your experience. Both the meal and the visit are memorable. An all-you can eat buffet doesn’t even come close. It’s quality versus quantity.

It’s the same with a training library. Like an all-you-can-eat buffet, you can have an LMS stocked with hundreds of ordinary programs that superficially cover all sorts of training topics, but there’s a good chance your learners will often be left feeling dissatisfied.   

Many large training libraries simply don't offer premier programs that feature better-quality scripting, acting, instructional design and support materials—all of which enhance the learning experience and retention.

It doesn't have to be "either/or"
Just as individuals can determine when an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant will suffice (and when the dining occasion calls for a visit to the steakhouse), organizations can augment large content libraries with premier, high-impact content when needed.

Having hundreds of programs on your LMS doesn't ensure that you're always going to have the right program.  When the training topic is important—and existing library options are either missing or inadequate—find yourself  a "steakhouse" (i.e. a content provider known for compelling, behavior-changing programs). It can make the difference between training your learners will quickly forget, and memorable training that sticks.

Here are just a few “meaty” Media Partners products known for engaging learners and producing lasting results.

How Was Your Day? Getting Real about Bias, Inclusion, Harassment and Bullying 
(Respectful Workplace)

Give ‘em the Pickle
(Customer Service)

The Abilene Paradox
(Team Communication)

See Part 2 of our Content is Crucial Series - “Furnish” Your LMS Room-by-Room
See Part 3 of our Content is Crucial Series - Award-winning Training - Should You Care?