6 Tips for Building a Company-Wide Content Plan

Determining the similarities and differences among audiences can save you money by uncovering departments with similar goals for learning. There might be shared resources that multiple audiences can use. For example:

• Can a customer-facing program also be used for onboarding or sales?
• Do the audiences need to receive the training in the same way? Mobile, desktop, classroom, observation/checklists-on the job, etc.

Not all content is the same. Some curricula should be prioritized due to learning objectives and timelines. Some curriculum is customized and will have longer development times. In order to determine what curriculum is most important, there are a few questions you should ask yourself.

• Which training has the highest priority for the business?
• Which training is essential for employee enablement and retention?
• Which training is tied to professional development for succession?

Some employees and customers will only consume learning during specific times and locations. Manufacturing and roles that don’t have a lot of desk time will need consideration for learning times and location. Learning may need to be created as audio, video, eLearning, classroom, reading and 1:1 learning depending on the role and the needs of the learners.

• What is the best way to reach your customers with the training? Mobile, Desktop, Classroom?
• Which internal audiences are best served with ILT (group) vs self-paced learning vs 1:1 coaching?
• What is needed for follow-up and continued learning per audience?

Once all the content is organized throughout the company – per department and per audience, business outcomes can be aligned, and budgets assigned. Content creation options should be matched to timelines, approach, type of content, and budget. Some options for content creation include:

• Purchase from a third party
• Create new materials internally or with a partner vendor
• Modify/Update existing content

Measuring learning content against the objectives and overall knowledge transfer allows for a continuous cycle of improvement. ROI with learning is hard to quantify but if your key performance indicators are focused and organized, you can build in the measurement and effectiveness from the beginning.

• Does the learning make a difference for the Learner?
• Can they apply what they learned?
• Has the learning helped to further the overall business outcomes?