It’s easy to get stuck doing what we know. Traditional education is ingrained in us from such a young age. It’s easy to forget that there are other ways of achieving excellent results. At Alchemist, we pride ourselves on finding the other way. But what does that mean in learning & development (L&D)?

Employee Engagement

It can be incredibly frustrating to implement an education programme that doesn’t get your talent fired up. Your learners make excuses not to attend and the ones that do are completely disengaged. This could be down to a whole host of reasons, but generally it’s down to the type of content that is used.

At Alchemist, we build blended learning and development experiences that engage, motivate and inspire your people to achieve sustainable objectives. With the help of expert actor-facilitators and our own team of designers and producers, we craft sessions that utilise technology, immersive simulations and disruptive techniques that really captivate the imagination. This could involve real-world scenario with actors that will stress-test the skills of your team. Or, it could be a virtual reality pathway that raises more awareness in your talent. Innovations like these in L&D mean you can bin the slideshows and host training that your people want to engage with.

Learning Style

We’ve all had to sit through mandatory training that makes you want to fall asleep. Sat in a stuffy room while a monotonous voice talks through a 100-page slideshow, lecturing you about leadership or sales techniques. Or, hunched over your laptop for hours listening to a virtual sessions while you try not to let your phone distract you. These antiquated methods result in low interaction and participation rates. This leaves your development strategy defunct and your stakeholders sceptical about whether or not you need it in the first place.

Making your learning and development more impactful is what we do best. Using a blend that is specific to your organisational DNA, we will always find the other way to keep your participants engaged. With enhanced technological capabilities, we can help you host exciting sessions on a global scale, delivering impact to every corner of your business. Our gamification and leaderboard tools allow your events to become fun for your employees, encouraging them to interact with the resources you provide.

Learning and Development Data

Old-school techniques often don’t provide you with the right data to demonstrate the impact of your training. They tend to monitor attendance and completion rates, or compliance with curriculum, as opposed to quantifiable outcomes that matter to your organisation. They often lack any participant evaluation, particularly at an individual level, which can leave people feeling unsure and a bit lost.

We prefer to look at metrics that actually matter. Alchemist 360 is a comprehensive feedback platform that allows you and your learners understand where they are in their development journey. Our coaching platforms provide continuous feedback and targeted coaching where necessary. We can run an ROI analysis to help you deliver clear data to your stakeholders about the financial value of learning. All of our technology provides easy-to-use data that allows you and your team to have a clear understanding of your participants’ progress. With digital support, you can understand when organisational objectives are achieved and the financial value of a programme.  

Tailor-Made Programmes

Learning and development programmes can become overwhelming when there is too much on offer simultaneously. Not only this, but when these mass offerings are generic, and not specialised to your business, they can see really low engagement rates from your people. They are easy, with the ability to be rolled-out en masse, but with no involvement from leadership they are often irrelevant.

The discovery work that we put in to get a deep understanding of your organisation is what allows us to provide exceptional development opportunities. By asking questions with curiosity and gathering feedback at the initial stages, we can alchemise a truly bespoke programme that feels inclusive to people at all levels and addresses the real-life challenges that your business faces. This personalised approach encourages higher participation and leads to dramatically improved outcomes.

Flexibility and Accessibility

Finally, traditional learning and development curriculums are often very rigid. Only available in the moment, either virtually or face-to-face, they leave no room for people’s busy schedules, personal lives or learning styles. For example, a participant with ADHD might find it really challenging to sit in a seminar for hours on end with few to no breaks and lecture-style delivery.

By making a programme that is flexible and accessible, each employee can engage with it in the best way for them. This eliminates issues like not having enough time to attend or not being able to engage with the style of delivery. Making sessions available virtually and hosting some modules on an app, it promotes neuroinclusion and allows your teams to access content as and when it is convenient for them. By alleviating this pressure, and providing captivating content and further resources at the tap of a button, your people can navigate a development journey at their own pace while still achieving your desired outcomes.

Overall, it’s evident that traditional education-style learning is far less engaging, and therefore less effective, than a more modern development programme. Leveraging technology, games, simulations and virtual reality can transform the way your people experience training. In doing so, you make it a more engaging journey that energises them and secures long-term results for your business, rather than leaving behind a disengaged and bored workforce.

Explore The Other Way With Alchemist

If unconventional and creative learning sounds like your thing, get in touch with us today to start the conversation around what it could mean for your business. With comprehensive discovery and scoping to nail the look and feel of your programme, Alchemist have the tools to help you craft something special.