Rui Hu and Rachel Watts from Georgia Tech delivered this ATD 2018 presentation. Because this is a problem that I have often experienced, I was interested in how they solved it. When I stepped into the presentation, I was unaware that they also came from a higher education institution. According to their presentation, they increase workshop participation by 20% using a three-pronged approach.
Their three-prong approach includes
- Innovative technologies
- Relationship building
- Data analysis
The audience they are focusing on comprises 44% of the institution. It is primarily faculty and staff.
Innovative Technologies
The team from Georgia Tech was initially listing all the courses they were offering in a spreadsheet and putting it on the web. They then moved to an online course catalog created with InDesign and Flipboard. The course catalog includes videos of the different programs they offer and links to registration. Because of how much work goes into building the course catalog, they actually have to plan their training dates and events 12 months in advance.
During this time, they also upgraded their web presence and created a podcast to help share information.
Relationship Building Relationship Building
They did not comment too much on this approach, only that they work with supervisors, department chairs, and deans to emphasize the support they need for these programs.
Data Analysis
This is one area where the presentation could stand some work. The information was absolutely fascinating and led to some great conversation, but how they presented it was not necessarily strong. This is an issue that I’ve seen in higher ed repeatedly.
They collected data and analyzed it from many perspectives. They collected data on participants based on role, gender, full-time vs. part-time status, length of employment, and whether they took orientation.
They use R to do the analysis, which is a free program for data analysis.
One thing I thought was quite clever was that they use a chatbot to promote their course. They use Learnbot, which is powered by Watson. One of the powerful things about a chatbot is you can later review the chat history to determine other programming needs.
Another program they’re exploring is called MentorcliQ, used for online mentoring. They are also sponsoring viewing sessions for Leadercast. They will watch a session as a group and discuss what they have learned.
Additional Reading
