Confession: Four years ago, I wrote a nine-thousand-word whistleblowers policy. I was quite pleased with it. But I doubt anyone ever read it. This weekend, I rewrote it in 300 words and supported it with a 150-word statement for inclusion in a contractor onboarding manual. I also designed a short mobile microlearning lesson for inclusion in a contractor onboarding course. Now I’m even more pleased with it, and I suspect its readers will be as well ... or that, at least, it will have readers!
Let's face it, bloated HR policies can become an obstacle rather than an aid to understanding and compliance. While your lawyers, HR, or compliance professionals are valued for their expertise, using them as the primary authors of your workplace induction manuals might not be the best approach.
Why? Because what they craft is often a masterclass in legal nuance and precision, perfect for fellow professionals but sometimes overwhelming in the context of onboarding your new hires. Their in-depth knowledge and meticulous approach often results in information overload and policy fatigue.
Enter the Learning Designer. A Learning Designer curates information, structures it logically, and presents it in a way that aids comprehension and retention. In a sense, they are your translation service, taking complex policy languages and turning them into digestible, user-friendly content. They can design the assessment methods too!
You can still let your HR, legal, and compliance teams demonstrate their true worth as Subject Matter Experts, providing crucial input while your Learning Designer identifies learning needs and preferences and crafts an induction manual that is accessible, engaging, and most importantly, understood by all.
Comprehension is the key to compliance. But it takes teamwork. Let's make the smart switch today.
Epilogue: I’m still pretty pleased with the nine-thousand-word template; but I’m turning that into a technical manual that can support the WPOs who have to implement the policy.
ACW