You are convinced that blended learning could be the future of further training in your company – but first, you need to convince your superiors. Depending on the type and corporate culture, introducing a new idea or software can be a significant hurdle. In this article, our sales experts provide you with concrete tips on how to prepare for conversations with bosses and decision-makers – and how to excite them for blended learning!
The goal with new ideas: Find solutions!
For anyone dealing with topics around learning, personal development, or further training, two tasks are central:
Finding solutions to problems.
Optimizing existing processes.
Often, this means breaking away from old methods or at least adapting them to a new form.
In such a project, there comes a time when the hardest step arrives: convincing the decision-makers of the new method, who must agree to the change. Especially in large companies with traditional hierarchies, a personal decision is rarely a guarantee for approval. Whether time, energy, and money are invested in a change is seldom the decision of a single person.
You have already recognized the many advantages of blended learning for your company and are now facing this next step? Then we will give you some tips directly from our sales team: My colleague Hans-Martin is in contact with HR professionals, decision-makers, and business leaders almost daily. He knows from experience which arguments and methods will truly help you not to convince your boss but to excite them for blended learning and a platform!
Tip 1: Know your boss!
The person who makes the decision can be your team leader, your superior, or the company head. It depends entirely on the company. It is essential that you identify what type your decision-maker is, and which arguments will best convince him:
Hans-Martin has come to recognize three fundamental types of decision-makers over the years:
Type 1: The Cost-Focused Boss
For this type of decision-maker, costs are particularly prominent. You need to convince him that there are financial advantages to investing money in this new measure. Emphasize primarily the long-term savings potential and come to the conversation with a detailed cost breakdown for the blended learning platform.
3 good arguments for the cost-focused decision-maker:
"With blended learning, fewer in-person appointments are necessary. Thus, we save travel costs and daily rates for an external trainer!"
"As participants can learn flexibly online, we have fewer additional costs due to absenteeism for the training sessions."
"Developing a proprietary online solution is expensive and very time-consuming. Using an existing software saves costs for development and for the long-term necessary IT maintenance!"
Type 2: The Benefit-Focused Boss
The benefits of the change are at the forefront for this type. Emphasize the advantages of blended learning for all parties involved: for the participants as well as for the company. It is also crucial to prepare for questions about the long-term benefits – keyword sustainability.
3 good arguments for the benefit-focused decision-maker:
"Blended learning offers especially flexibility for everyone! Participants can learn where and how they want. This way, everyone learns at their own pace, and all achieve the learning goal."
"Trainers and participants can work together on training progress, even if no on-site contact is possible."
"With blended learning, flexible preparation and long-term follow-up are possible. Thus, the sustainability of the measures is significantly higher! This saves the company time and costs that would otherwise incur due to ineffective measures."
Type 3: The Innovation-Focused Boss
For the innovation-focused decision-maker, modernization and the image of the company are central. The satisfaction of employees is also important for this type. However, they are often fundamentally enthusiastic about online methods.
3 good arguments for the innovation-focused decision-maker:
"Digitalization is an important issue for companies, and we must not fall behind. An online platform for further training supports our digital development."
"Learning with a user-friendly blended learning software and varied learning content is fun! This way, employees are ultimately more satisfied and motivated."
"With blended learning, employees can learn where and when they want – and at their own pace. This means less stress for employees and trainers."
Tip 2: Present your concept!
Most decision-makers don’t want to hear a rough idea or a spontaneous thought but a concrete concept. Before meeting with your boss, consider how you would answer these questions to clarify your idea:
CONTENT: Which of our previous training contents can be well represented online and are suitable for blended learning?
Tip for your answer: Blended learning works for almost all topics. The only limitation: if the topic is highly practical (such as a language course or knitting), at least a 70% practical component should be planned.
TRAINER: Does the trainer who is supposed to work with blended learning have experience with such platforms – and is he motivated to engage with it?
Tip for your answer: The trainer is motivated when the platform is easy to use and enjoyable for him as well.
PARTICIPANTS: Are the employees motivated and do they have sufficient knowledge and opportunities to work with an online platform?
Tip for your answer: Here, too, the choice of software is crucial. If the platform is enjoyable from the user’s perspective and is nearly self-explanatory, you have won this point!
COMPANY: What should be considered regarding costs, preparation time, contract duration, and data protection?
Tip for your answer: We have compiled comprehensive information on data protection and e-learning in companies for you in our blog.
Ultimately, you should convey a clear picture of your blended learning concept to your decision-maker. Prepare for potential follow-up questions and objections. Also, always keep in mind that your counterpart may have never heard of blended learning and might have concerns about transferring important processes like training and employee data to the internet or to an external provider.
Tip 3: Practice over Theory!
You have already dealt with the theory of blended learning before making the decision for yourself and your company. However, for your boss, practice is just as important as theory – on the contrary!
To not only convince your decision-maker theoretically but to excite him practically about your idea (and the software), it is best to offer the boss the chance to try blended learning out for himself: a demo or even a course that you completely prepared with some relevant training content.
A demo course takes more time to prepare than a purely theoretical concept. However, this allows the decision-maker to experience the innovation from the participants' perspective. Clarity, intuitive use, and fun in learning are arguments that can be wonderfully conveyed in practice – and generate positive emotions.
The cherry on top: Additionally, offer your decision-maker practical material on the topic of blended learning. For example, the rocketpack: our card game with 40 methods for blended learning. Or our rocket day: the video workshop as perfect preparation for filming your own high-quality teaching videos.
Theory + Practice = Enthusiasm!
You know what your superior or boss truly values. And you have theoretically well thought out your concept. Then you are well prepared for the decisive conversation! In practice, the free admin demo will help you.
For the theory, we have compiled 7 arguments for blended learning in your company that can excite all types of bosses. Download them as a free PDF and convince your colleagues and superiors!
