How to Gain Buy-In From Your Boss When Pitching an L&D Upgrade

Does the future of the workforce look bleak to you? Are you stuck between a boss who thinks TikTok is for silly dances and the upcoming Generation Z who you fear is only interested in doing silly TikTok dances?

Pioneering change in your organization is hard. But being the one faced with the change might be even harder! The thing to remember is that stakeholders always want what's best for the future of their organization. Your job is to paint a picture that helps them see that your innovative approach IS what's best for the future of your organization.

The good news is that the popularity of TikTok is hard to deny, the science behind its addictive nature is compelling, and the research shows that the next generation of the workforce wants to see their culture reflected in the way learning opportunities are presented. Whether TikTok itself stays or goes hardly matters at this point. The power of short-form video as a learning tool is here to stay.

The one thing you DON'T want to do is rush into your boss's office with a half-baked plan and expectations that are sure to be dashed. In this case, the old adage is true: slow and steady wins the race. Remember, you're not looking for a band-aid. You want to implement a strategy that will change the course of learning, and that takes time.

Here are 5 steps to get you moving in the right direction and ultimately gain buy-in from your boss:

Step 1: Know Your Audience

• Do your homework to be able to answer these questions about your audience: What motivates them? What are their pain points? Why would they be interested in trying more?

  1. Listen and pay attention to what is happening in your organization. For example, are you struggling to get younger members to join your organization? Well, that's one entry point to trying a new, innovative strategy like TikTok-style videos.

  2. Anticipate specific concerns. Is your organization open to creating video content, but has put this on the back burner because of time and budget concerns? TikTok has the answer for low-budget, big-impact solutions!

  3. Tailor your presentation to your stakeholder so that they immediately feel confident in your ability to create content that speaks to a specific audience.

Step 2: Find a Champion

• Find the right key player(s) who will support your effort and understands the why.

  1. Ultimately, you'll want organization leaders to visibly support your change efforts, but finding an "on-the-ground" champion who has relationships with L&D colleagues and really understands how this new strategy will affect the day-to-day will go a long way in gaining widespread support.

  2. The goal is that once you get the official green light, this champion can help support your new strategy by creating a TikTok-style video to explain the benefits, empowering other employees to become content creators, or holding office hours to work out the kinks.

Step 3: Do Your Own Market Research

• When was the last time you surveyed your employees to learn more about what they want out of learning? It's probably been a while, if ever!

  1. Lobby for the development of a survey to help create better L&D solutions overall, and ask for feedback specifically about short-form videos.

  2. Be creative with your questions. Don't just ask about learning at work or learning for compliance. Ask questions about how they learn outside of work. What types of topics do they choose to learn about on their own? What do they wish they had more time to do?

Step 4: Show, Don't Tell

• People are visual learners! Use the information you collected in your market research to make a video that will act as proof of concept.

  1. Don't stress about gathering all the right equipment first or setting up a studio space to make it "professional." The success of TikTok-style videos lies in their ability to gain the trust of the viewer by bringing them behind the scenes for a raw and vulnerable "aha moment."

Step 5: Anticipate Resistance

• No one likes change. No one likes to try something new without knowing if it will work. No one likes being an early adopter. It's easier to just talk smack about the higher-ups! But nothing worth fighting for is EVER easy.

  1. If you expect resistance, a little turbulence won't deter you. Arm yourself with thorough research, strong examples, and the confidence that even if your boss doesn't get on board right away, the tides will eventually turn and you'll be at the forefront when they do.

Let Anchored Training take these next steps with you.

Are you ready to bring the future of L&D to your organization but need more support to nail the implementation? Check out some of our newest workshops and leadership retreats for Learning and Development Departments or contact Anchored Training today to discuss the Learning Blueprint and how it can help you create the transformative L&D department you’ve always wanted.