Training Program Pilot Testing

"Do you always tell customers NOT to do things?" That’s what a 7taps client asked me — laughing 😄 — after I convinced them to scale down their 4,000-person #microlearning rollout to just 20 people. Yes. Yes, I do. Here’s why you should think smaller and start with rapid, scrappy pilots: 1. Small = more freedom, faster results. One of my favorite examples: a customer started with one sales team of 15 people. They tested three different approaches to product training in six weeks. Found what worked. Then scaled it to 200 people. Then almost 500. Each step built on validated success, not hope. 🥷 That’s actually a strategy I took from my marketing background: be patient early, then scale aggressively. Test, prove, expand. It’s not about going slow — it’s about going far. 2. Speed of learning beats speed of rollout. Every time. I’ve watched teams get more actionable insights from a 2-week pilot with 20 people than from 6 months of company-wide analytics. When you start small, people tell you exactly what works and what doesn’t. No sugar-coating. No formal feedback loops. Just raw, honest reactions. 3. Pilots convert the biggest skeptics. Recently, I watched a senior instructional designer completely flip on microlearning. She saw her own content getting 95% completion rates instead of the usual 60%. Same content! Just restructured and delivered differently. ❗️Rolling out a huge program when your L&D team isn’t fully convinced is like pushing a boulder uphill. I’ve seen gorgeous microlearning initiatives quietly die because one or two people on the team didn’t believe in the format. They reverted to old habits, added unnecessary complexity, and eventually proved themselves right — that “it doesn’t work here.” Sometimes the best way to change minds is to create space for small experiments. Let the results speak for themselves! ~~~ P.S. Thinking about a microlearning pilot? We just made a HUGE upgrade to the 7taps Microlearning Forever-Free Plan. Now, you can run a full experiment — no per-learner fees, enterprise-grade security, and all the essentials for creating behavior-changing content. Test, tweak, and see the impact — risk-free. 🚀

You might not be ready for a cognitive training program. We’ve deployed cognitive performance systems with USAF pilots and professional sports teams. I've also watched programs collapse within six months of launch. The technology works. The science is solid. But most organizations skip the hardest part: changing behavior and culture. Here are the two biggest mistakes I see: 1. "We bought the platform. Now people will use it." Technology adoption requires behavior change, not budget approval. Your athletes or operators won't suddenly start training their brains because new equipment arrived. You need champions, scheduled protocols, and accountability built into existing workflows. Without structure, even highly motivated teams rarely succeed. 2. "We can measure success by usage rates." Logins don't equal improvement. The real question: Is cognitive capacity actually increasing? Is performance improving under pressure? If you're not tracking baseline metrics and real-world performance outcomes, you have no reliable way to know if the program is working. What actually works: Start with a pilot group of 8-10 high performers. Establish baselines. Implement a structured 8-week protocol. Assign someone to monitor progress and technique. Document what works. Then scale. Cognitive training isn't just buying technology. It's a performance system that requires coaching, measurement, and intentional culture change. The organizations that succeed have a long-term plan and move incrementally. They demonstrate the impact of the model before rolling it out to the entire organization. P.S. We built NeuroTrainer for high-stakes environments like tactical units and professional sports. If you're planning to introduce cognitive training, I'm happy to share what we've learned: noah@neurotrainer.com #CognitivePerformance #HumanPerformance #MentalPerformance #PerformanceSystems #TacticalAthlete

Last week, I worked with an organization facing a challenge I see all the time: getting new sales hires to succeed quickly. In sales, if people don’t see wins in their first 90 days, they feel dejected. For this client, the real question was: how fast could their new hires be ready to face clients, close deals, and support client needs? They needed a program that worked not just for new salespeople but also for new sales leaders. That’s where we at Global Leader Group stepped in with our five-step process. 1️⃣ Diagnostic We started by understanding what was really needed. That meant running surveys, focus groups, and conversations to dig into the skills, knowledge, mindsets, and processes essential for success. From this, we built a capability framework to define exactly what we’d be training toward. Before designing anything, we always follow a four-step approach: ✅Define the business outcomes and results we’re aiming for. ✅Identify the key behaviors needed to achieve those results. ✅Map the skills required to build those behaviors. ✅Only then do we start designing the learning program. 2️⃣ Design sprints Next, we designed the program in bite-sized, multi-modal formats that were practical and easy to apply in real-world scenarios, entirely based on our diagnosis. 3️⃣ Pilot We then created and piloted the learning experience to test what works in practice. 4️⃣ Refine and roll out Based on the pilot, we next will refine, polish, and scale the program. This ensures it fits the organization’s needs, solves real problems, and supports their people in the best way possible. 5️⃣ Review and assess Finally, we will need to measure whether the program will actually meet both the learning and performance needs. We built both their sales and sales leader programs, trained their facilitators and learning designers, and will now help them roll out regionally. We introduced new learning methods, like podcasts, short videos, and behavioral nudges, to keep people applying what they’d learned beyond just a two-day session. It was about embedding learning into daily habits so that performance improved in a sustained way. 📌If your organization is also looking to accelerate the success of new hires or build a program that truly sticks, reach out to us. We’d love to explore how we can help your teams ramp up faster and perform better.

Most training programs measure activity. Few measure impact. That’s why enablement often gets seen as a cost center instead of a growth driver. The best teams flip the script by making ROI visible. Here’s how: 1. Define the Before State Don’t start training without a baseline. Capture pain points like: - Onboarding time today - Support ticket volume - Adoption baseline 2. Tie Training to Metrics Completion rates don’t tell the story. Outcomes do. - Sales onboarding → ramp time - Customer training → ticket deflection - Partner enablement → deal registration speed 3. Instrument the Rollout A pilot isn’t just about testing content. It’s about testing impact. Track both usage (who, how often, where) and downstream outcomes (errors, escalations, adoption). 4. Report Business Wins Executives don’t care that “100 people took it.” They care that: - Onboarding time dropped from 30 days to 18 - Support tickets fell by 22% - Pipeline velocity increased after enablement Training pays for itself when you can prove it reduces friction and accelerates value. Measure activity, and you’ll always look like overhead. Measure outcomes, and you’ll be a growth driver.

🔎 Ever heard of a Pilot Study? A pilot study is like a “practice run” for a research or evaluation project. It’s a smaller, simpler version of a bigger study conducted first to test if everything works well from the questions asked to how data is collected and handled. 👉 Why do a pilot study before the big one? ▶️ It helps identify and fix problems early, so the main study runs more smoothly. ▶️It checks if tools like surveys or interviews are clear and easy to understand. ▶️It shows if the research or evaluation plan is realistic in terms of time, costs, and resources. ▶️It helps the team get familiar with the process and make better decisions. It saves time and money by avoiding costly mistakes in the larger study. 💡 Why it matters in Research & M&E Pilot studies make sure your data tools actually measure what they should. This means more reliable results — and stronger evidence for program and policy decisions. Examples in action: 🔹 A health evaluation team piloting a survey in a community before scaling it up to assess a nutrition program’s impact helps catch confusing questions early. 🔹Evaluators testing data collection methods with a small group of teachers prior to a larger education evaluation ensure interviews capture the right information. 🔹Piloting data tools in an M&E project for a water and sanitation program helps confirm that indicators are measurable and meaningful. ✅ Doing a pilot study means being better prepared. It makes research and evaluation projects stronger, more efficient, and more likely to produce trustworthy results. Whether you are in research, M&E, or program management, understanding the value of a pilot study is key to success. #Research #PilotStudy #MonitoringAndEvaluation #EvidenceBased #DataCollection #ProgramEvaluation

HOW TO DESIGN A SMALL PILOT PROGRAM AS AN NGO Many organisations have ideas for projects but are not sure whether the idea will actually work in the community. One practical step is to start with a small pilot program. A pilot simply means testing your idea on a small scale before expanding it. It helps you see what works, what needs adjustment, and what results are realistic. Here are a few things to keep in mind when designing a pilot: 1. Be clear about the problem you want to solve: Describe the problem in simple terms. Who is affected? What exactly is happening? Avoid trying to solve too many problems at once. 2. Keep the scope small: A pilot is not meant to reach everyone. It can focus on one community, one school, or a small group of beneficiaries. Starting small makes it easier to manage and learn. 3. Decide what activities you will carry out: What exactly will you do during the pilot? For example, training sessions, awareness visits, mentorship meetings, or service delivery. 4. Define what success will look like: Before the pilot starts, decide how you will know if it worked. This could be the number of people reached, feedback from participants, or a specific change you want to see. 5. Document what happens: Keep records of attendance, feedback, pictures where appropriate, and lessons learned. This information will help you improve the program and also show evidence when seeking funding. Many strong programs started as small pilots. Testing an idea first can save time, resources, and help organisations build programs that are more effective. Starting small does not mean thinking small. It means building carefully.

📚 My learnings on how to enhance engagement in L&D Initiatives! When I recently launched a pilot training program for an organization, I found it incredibly beneficial to present the program as a pilot. ✨ This approach ensured that employees felt actively involved in both the process and the creation of the program. It wasn’t just about delivering content; it was about fostering a sense of collaboration and buy-in from the start. 1️⃣ One key strategy was to consistently gather feedback after each session. By sending out feedback forms and addressing concerns in real-time during the next session, I showed participants that their voices were heard and valued. This not only improved the content and delivery but also significantly boosted engagement. Creating a feedback loop in your L&D initiatives can be a game-changer. 🤝 Encouraging two-way communication and making adjustments based on employee input can help them feel more invested in their development journey. It’s about creating a learning environment where employees are partners in the process, not just participants. What are your thoughts on involving employees in shaping L&D programs? Share your experiences and insights! #EmployeeEngagement #LearningAndDevelopment #FeedbackLoop #HRCommunity #LeadershipDevelopment