Collaborative LMS platforms offer a unique opportunity for organisations to blend coaching and personalised learning into everyday workflows. Team managers are best placed to serve as coaches; to guide their team members through tailored learning experiences that enhance both performance and productivity. By integrating coaching directly into the learning activities and performance development plans, organisations can create a continuous learning environment that’s collaborative, dynamic, and aligned with business goals.
Here is a Step-by-Step Guide that I have found useful when helping clients to create coaching experiences in our collaborative LMS, WorkPlan Learning.
- Define the Learning and Coaching Objectives Start by establishing clear learning and coaching goals that align with both team objectives and individual performance development plans. These learning and coaching goals should be specific to the skills and behaviours needed to improve job performance and support career growth. Some quick steps to defining objectives: Assess current performance and development needs; Align learning and coaching objectives with team objectives; Set specific, measurable, and achievable goals; Create a timeline for achievement.
- Design Coaching-Integrated Learning Paths Structure your learning activities to include dedicated coaching checkpoints in addition to traditional e-learning or videos. These coaching checkpoints could be interactive assignments or activities where team members engage with each other for feedback and guidance, making the learning experience more personalised and impactful.
- Automate Coaching Sessions Utilise the LMS’s scheduling and tracking features to set up regular coaching interactions that coincide with the completion of key learning modules. This ensures coaching is embedded throughout the team members learning journey, rather than being a separate or occasional activity.
- Leverage Collaborative Tools for Ongoing Feedback Encourage team managers to use the collaborative features of the LMS, such as discussion forums, or real-time feedback tools. These collaboration and feedback activities facilitate constant communication between team members and their coaches, enabling quick adjustments to learning paths based on individual progress and performance development.
- Monitor Progress and Performance Alignment Use the LMS’s tracking and analytics tools to monitor how team members are progressing through their learning activities. Managers can use this data to adjust coaching approaches, provide additional resources, or even customise learning paths to better suit the team member’s evolving needs.
- Align Coaching to Career Development Plans A key element of creating coaching learning experiences is ensuring that the learning is about long-term career development, in addition to the immediate performance improvement. Use the LMS to help employees understand how their current learning will support future career goals, which in turn boosts their engagement and motivation.
By following these steps, designing and implementing coaching within a collaborative LMS can become more efficient and impactful. Team managers are essential to the process, while learning professionals add value through effective support.
Contact us for more information.
Phone: 1300 726 708
Email: contact@workplan.com.au