6 Course Meal vs. A La Carte Menu – in other words Push vs. Pull
Sue Orchanian
GUIDE
Have you ever been invited to a 6-course meal where the menu was already decided for you? At first this sounds wonderful. No decisions need to be made for the hors d’oeuvres, soup, appetizer, salad, main course, and dessert you are served. But wait!!! You don’t like pea soup, and your salad has beets in it which you hate, and you are allergic to seafood. What to do???
Having the choice of an a la carte menu might not seem as luxurious; however, you can pick and choose whatever you want. No worries about ordering something you know you don’t like! A big sigh of relief that you won’t be getting something you are allergic to. Want to try a dish you never had before? You can be creative and try different things to see what you like.
You may be wondering; how does this apply to my learning program?
The difference between Push vs. Pull
Pushing content is when someone such as an administrator or a manager is requiring an employee to take the content. Just like the 6-course meal mentioned above, the employee does not have a choice as to what content to take. Whether interested in the subject or not, it must be taken!
Pulling content is when an employee has the luxury to find whatever content they are interested in and access that content. It might be to enhance their job role knowledge, prepare for a new position, or just have interest in the subject matter. Just like ordering from an a la carte menu, the employee can decide what they want to try and explore new options to enhance their palate.
Which do you think has the best chance of increasing adoption of your Learning Program? Pushing content will get you the immediate usage, for required content, but it is forced. Pulling content creates lifelong learners as they are exploring and discovering content in the moment of need and in the moment of “choice”.
If you are used to pushing content to your learners, here is a suggestion that you might want to try. Pick a month where you do not have anything official to push out. Then craft a communication and tell users that they have the option of choosing one of the courses you are recommending but make the courses fun! For example, here are some courses that might be included in your library that you can recommend:
Once learners see how learning can be fun, they may decide to find content on their own, thereby increasing your adoption!
The following month, put out a scavenger hunt to help your users navigate the site. This will help them get familiar with the layout and find all the wonderful assets available to them.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Please comment and let me know if this resonated with you and if you would recommend it to others.
Having the choice of an a la carte menu might not seem as luxurious; however, you can pick and choose whatever you want. No worries about ordering something you know you don’t like! A big sigh of relief that you won’t be getting something you are allergic to. Want to try a dish you never had before? You can be creative and try different things to see what you like.
You may be wondering; how does this apply to my learning program?
The difference between Push vs. Pull
Pushing content is when someone such as an administrator or a manager is requiring an employee to take the content. Just like the 6-course meal mentioned above, the employee does not have a choice as to what content to take. Whether interested in the subject or not, it must be taken!
Pulling content is when an employee has the luxury to find whatever content they are interested in and access that content. It might be to enhance their job role knowledge, prepare for a new position, or just have interest in the subject matter. Just like ordering from an a la carte menu, the employee can decide what they want to try and explore new options to enhance their palate.
Which do you think has the best chance of increasing adoption of your Learning Program? Pushing content will get you the immediate usage, for required content, but it is forced. Pulling content creates lifelong learners as they are exploring and discovering content in the moment of need and in the moment of “choice”.
If you are used to pushing content to your learners, here is a suggestion that you might want to try. Pick a month where you do not have anything official to push out. Then craft a communication and tell users that they have the option of choosing one of the courses you are recommending but make the courses fun! For example, here are some courses that might be included in your library that you can recommend:
- Using the iPad Camera and Photo Tools
- Dropbox: Organizing Files
- Facebook: Group Tools
Once learners see how learning can be fun, they may decide to find content on their own, thereby increasing your adoption!
The following month, put out a scavenger hunt to help your users navigate the site. This will help them get familiar with the layout and find all the wonderful assets available to them.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Please comment and let me know if this resonated with you and if you would recommend it to others.
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