Yo. This could have been an email.

Antsy. Agitated. Annoyed.

This is what it feels like to spend hours in an over-heated room, shifting on an uncomfortable chair, while suffering through trainings or meetings that could have been an email...or a video...or a PDF...or a worksheet...or, well, you get it. And these feelings are typically exacerbated by the piles of work waiting back in the office, the inane questions being asked by co-workers, and the fact that 90% of the presented material is already known in the first place.

But why? WHY must we all crowd into the same room to learn the same material that we learned the year before? Is it for compliance? Is it just because "that's the way it's always been done"? Is it because administrators and managers have completely forgotten what it's like to be on that end of a training? Whatever the reason (of which there are many), the reality of the situation is the same: of all the things your employees need to know and learn, it is unlikely that they ALL need to learn the SAME material at the SAME time and at the SAME rate.

Having been an educator and trainer myself, I get it...I do...I know that sometimes it's easier to get everyone in one place at one time to dump a chunk of "need to know" info on everyone all at once so you know the message is heard and they can't claim "oh...I didn't know that".

So what are we to do? How can you, as a manager or trainer, strike that balance of sharing new knowledge and information with everyone in a way that is appropriate and considerate to everyone's time. Here are a few options:

• EMAIL IT WITH READ-RECEIPT- for lower-level chunks of information. This isn't for time-sensitive, high-priority info...it's for those on-going bits of knowledge that can benefit the learner as time goes on. Turn on Read-Receipt if you are concerned the emails are not being read and you need to have a compliance component to the information.

• EMAIL TO WHOM IT CONCERNS- does EVERYONE need this information? If not, take a few extra moments and consider who needs to know what. Then send that info out ONLY to those that need it. Otherwise, you risk overwhelming people's inboxes, and their short-term memory, increasing the chance that the email (and future emails) will not be taken seriously. Make it a habit to only send information to those that need it, when they need it.

• MAKE A VIDEO- Instead of making everyone sit in a stuffy room listening to your announcement, record your message in a video and send it out everyone. This way, they can watch it in their own time, and even better, review the contents at a later date if they have questions. *Hint...these videos can become part of the next two tips listed below.

• JOB AIDES: trainings and information can be helpful in person, but Job-Aides such as infographics, templates, video tutorials, etc., can be helpful all day long.

  • Example: Instead of squeezing everyone into the same space to demonstrate a new procedure, email everyone a YES-NO Flowchart accompanied by a short explainer video. Then provide office hours where employees can ask clarifying questions about the chart and how it pertains to their individual situations.

• AI BOTS- Consider this as a type of job aide. If you have a lot of information that you need employees to know, i.e. employee handbooks, procedural information, software applications, etc., you can train an AI BOT with all that information and give employees access to that bot. Have them save the link on their desktop. Then, throughout their day, if they have a question on a new tool or expectation, they can ask the bot what to do and it can answer it for them based on the information you've already provided.

  • Example: if an employee wants to know what to do if they messed up their time sheet, they can ask the bot, "How do I fix a timesheet after it has been submitted?" The bot will help answer their question- even if the answer is just, "Sorry, you cannot change a time sheet after it has been submitted. You must speak to your supervisor."

• E-LEARNING- If you really just have too much information to fit into an email or alternative sources, consider e-learning as a way to share new knowledge and get your employees engaged with the content. E-learning platforms are a great way to provide information, get learners to practice and demonstrate the skills, and can help you track who knows what. It also allows groups of learners to go at their own pace, re-access information, and learn at a time that fits into their schedule so projects and other expectations don't fall behind.

  • **WINK WINK - NUDGE NUDGE - I can help with that!