Staff Not Ready to Change? This One Practice Creates Buy-In for Staff Development

Have you ever created a training, but realized staff just didn't want to attend? Maybe you facilitated or observed and saw the hesitation, or worse, the resistance from the learners. Sometimes our staff isn't ready to change. So how do we create that buy-in for staff development? Let’s cover that in today’s episode of Learning for Good.

Listen to the episode or scroll down to read the blog post ↓

Key Points:

01:48 How to make learners actually want to learn and implement your new approach

04:07 Combining discussion with practice so learners can benefit from buy-in and skill development

04:50 How you can apply my approach to your work as a nonprofit L&D leader

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Staff Not Ready to Change? How to Create Buy-In for Staff Development

Have you ever created a training, but realized staff just didn't want to attend? Maybe you facilitated (or observed) and saw the hesitation, or worse, the resistance from the learners. 

Sometimes our staff isn't ready to change. They haven't bought into the change. 

So how do we create that buy-in? That’s what I covered in episode 31 of the Learning for Good Podcast.

In this episode, I’m sharing the details of the approach that I used to create buy-in in a virtual instructor-led training for a national nonprofit focused on the early childhood years. 

How Can We Create Buy-In for Staff Development?

So, as I was saying, I was working with a national nonprofit and creating a training that would require learners to review some information that they already knew.

Boring, right?

Except the approach to implementing this information was new. And there were some critical actions that the organization wanted these learners to take. 

For example, the approach was relationship-focused, and it was intentionally inclusive. It prompted the learner to not just do the thing that maybe they had always done but to consider the inequities, the perceptions, the cultural differences, and how their “client” would respond to what the learner needed them to do. 

So how do we take information that might seem like a review, and create buy-in so learners actually want to learn and implement this new approach? 

Simple, discussion. 

I structured the entire course to be discussion-based, no lecture allowed. 

Why Did This Work? 

The discussions were designed to recognize the learners' existing experiences, as they shared how they had done things in the past – what worked, what didn't, and what those challenges were. 

“Discussions were also designed to allow learners to share their expertise with each other. Because again, they had been doing some of this stuff, it was a review in some cases, and they were experienced in their field.” - Heather Burright, Learning for Good

This element of peer learning is so important to creating a feeling of autonomy. 

The discussions were also designed to prompt learners to think about how this approach would be valuable in their work. So they're starting to envision how they might use this new approach on the job. 

And that can actually help people make the change because they can see how it might help them, how it might be beneficial, and how it might fit into what they're already doing. 

Now, I’m sure you’re asking yourself, did those discussions work? 

They did. And let me tell you why and how.

Combining Discussions with Practice

I combined these discussions with practice so that the learners benefited from buy-in, as well as skill development. 

After the first class was piloted, I received excellent feedback and a real-life story of how this impacted a learner on the job. They implemented the new approach and it worked. 

That will only add to the buy-in from other learners as they continue to offer this training. 

But let’s be practical, how can you apply this to your work as a nonprofit L&D leader?

How Can You Apply This to Your Work as a Nonprofit L&D Leader?

You can ask your teams to start designing training to include important discussions. Here are some examples.

DISCUSSION 1: Prompt Them to Reflect on Past Experiences

• Tell me about a time that you experienced a situation like the one that we're discussing now. 

• What went well? 

• What challenged you? 

• What were the barriers you faced?

This allows learners to reflect on what they have seen, what they have heard, what they experienced, what they felt, what they enjoyed, what they liked, and what went well.

DISCUSSION 2: Ask Them to Consider the Value of What They are Learning

Another important question, how could this new approach or skill be valuable to you? 

Again, encourage them to think about the benefits and to put it into the context of their work. And then continue to go deeper.

• Will it save you time to use this new approach? Or to have this new skill? 

• Will it help you build better relationships so that you can do your job better? Easier? Quicker? 

• What would the value be if you implemented this new approach or skill?

DISCUSSION 3: Allow Them to Imagine How They Might Use What They are Learning

And finally, ask them how they envision using this approach or the skill on the job. 

• What does it look like in action? 

• When are they going to use it? 

• How are they going to use it? 

• What resources do they need? 

• What barriers might they face that they need to be thinking about overcoming now? 

• How could you envision using this approach or skill on the job? 

Discussions are part of my people-first approach, they come naturally to me. 

I believe they are essential to creating buy-in from your learners. And that buy-in helps you create the behavior change you want to see in your nonprofit. 

To hear the full episode on the Learning for Good Podcast, scroll all the way up and tune into episode 31.

And if this content was helpful or insightful, leave a review on Apple so I know what resonated with you. Do you know someone else who would benefit from this content? Share it with someone you know in our field. 

The Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective

Do you wish you could connect with other nonprofit learning and development leaders? 

I know what it feels like to want someone to bounce ideas off of and to learn from, someone who really understands you and your work. Imagine if you could have a simple way to meet people in the field, ask questions, and share information. 

That's why I created the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective – so nonprofit L&D, talent management, and DEI leaders can connect with each other quickly and easily in a virtual space. 

When you join this community, you will walk away with a new, diverse, and powerful network – and a sounding board for your staff development needs. 

So if you're ready to exchange ideas and collaborate with your peers, come join the Nonprofit L&D Collective.