5 Tips for Human-First Learning and Development in the Workplace: An Expert Roundup 

Let’s talk about what really drives better business outcomes: learning experiences that put people first. A common theme emerges from the experts we interview each month, and that’s the importance of human-first learning and development tactics—both in digital and in-person training. We’ve rounded up our five favorite expert tips from the Wise Tales podcast to help you make your employees feel comfortable, energized and excited to learn and grow in their roles.  

1. Brittany McCulley of Wisetail on Clearly Communicating the ‘Why’ 

Everything starts with communication. Without it, you run the risk of misunderstandings and breakdowns in connection. Clear communication, especially of expectations, can:  

• Reduce stress from ambiguity around responsibilities 
• Improve understanding of how individual responsibilities align with company objectives 
• Create clearer benchmarks for performance to inform reviews and feedback 
• Increase confidence and reduce harmful misunderstandings 

Brittany McCulley, an account manager at Wisetail, warns of the consequences of poor communication: 

“I think we've all seen that quote floating around LinkedIn, that is, unspoken expectations are premeditated resentments. If you aren't setting expectations and being very clear, you're really setting yourself up for failure. You might be frustrated with your employees because they're not meeting these metrics, but you didn't tell them about them, so it's hard to get there.” 

Are you clearly explaining the who, the what, and most importantly, the why to your employees?

Setting clear expectations starts from day one training. Provide a timeline for training completion and explain how the training relates to job performance. As employees set up their tasks for the day, explain the goals you’re trying to accomplish and how their role impacts those goals. This will make your feedback or performance reviews make sense. Make this clear in-person, but also make these goals clear and transparent on your digital learning platform.  

2. Jim Bitticks of Dave’s Hot Chicken on Meeting Learners Where They Learn Best 

Every generation learns differently, but people are consistently turning to video and bite-sized content to consume just about everything. This is especially true for Millennials, Gen Z and younger generations entering the workforce. When you meet your employees in the mediums they love most, you have a much better shot at engaging them and making information stick.  

Jim Bitticks, president and CEO of Dave's Hot Chicken, has four kids who love to watch short videos before going to bed. He sees this shift happening every day: 

"The idea that we don't have cable anymore because you watch all the content on your phone—that's just the way it is, but that's where the changes happen. So, by moving everything to a video format—besides just the initial training that you do, additional supplemental training that we're bringing in on a quarterly basis or how we train our first level managers...Doing all of those things around video is really the medium that I think communicates best with most of the people that are working in our restaurants today.” 

Personalize your learning experiences for different generations. For example, ask or research where your employees typically consume information. Is it TikTok? YouTube? Can current training materials be made digital or turned into engaging micro-learning moments that employees can reference in the flow of work? 

3. Jay Hartwig of Fox Restaurant Concepts on Saying Your Praise Out Loud 

Employees are more likely to leave a job if they feel unappreciated. Furthermore, employee engagement, productivity, and performance are 14% higher in organizations with recognition programs than those without. 

How often do you explicitly recognize a job well done or the consistent efforts of a hard-working employee? Jay Hartwig, Director of People Retention at Fox Restaurant Concepts, stresses the importance of explicit recognition: 

"One of the things I learned early in my career is, for one thing, say things out loud, you know. I always challenge our leaders, do you have that best line cook, best server that you can't live without, and you see them on the roster, and you're so grateful because you know it's going to be a great day, and they always emphatically say ‘yes’? And then I ask them, have you told them that they are that person? And generally people will say, ‘Oh yeah, they know, I've told them, they know.’ But I'm like, no, have you sat them down and said, ‘Do you know that you are my number one rock star grill cook? And that I am so excited when I see your name on the roster?’" 

A culture of explicit recognition and feedback keeps employees motivated and excited to keep coming back. And when leaders lead by example, you implement a culture of recognition that’s encouraged at every level. It could be as simple as what Jay states above. It could also be a more formal system of recognition or a social learning tool.  

The following tactics can be implemented in in-person and digital training programs to create that human-first learning experience:  

• A weekly "Spotlight Moment" in team meetings for team wins
• A digital kudos channel for quick appreciation messages  
• A monthly "impact award" with small prizes 

4. Jason Berkowitz of Arrow Up Training on Making Authentic, Relatable Content 

Jason Berkowitz, CEO and founder of Arrow Up Training, sees today’s most successful businesses rejecting the old top-down approach to training. Employees no longer want to watch a training video of a CEO using corporate speak to discuss the company. They want to see their peers—people who look like them—who share their challenges and their stories. They want authenticity.  

Here’s what Jason had to say:  

"What I love that I'm seeing is [companies]...bringing their employees into the mix of helping them build this. They're grabbing the cooks who are making the tacos and having them show you how to make the taco. They're grabbing the employees that are talking about ‘how do you handle a guest coming in’ and talking about how they handled an upset guest that was coming in and they dealt with it.”  

Involve your employees in creating training content to make it more relatable. Crowdsourcing your training content like Jason does can be both an efficient way to quickly update content, and a way to make training memorable and personal. Remember to use language that resonates with your audience. Make your content conversational and easy to understand. In other words, make it authentic.  

Start implementing ideas today that can make an impact tomorrow.  

• Ask team members to share real case studies and stories of how they solved challenging situations rather than using generic examples. 
• Collect common questions or challenges from new hires and have veterans provide solutions in a digital forum. 
• Host lunch-and-learn sessions where team members teach skills to their colleagues. 
• Have employees document their workflows and create quick reference guides for others. 

Rachael Nordby of Intertek on Calling on the Quieter Voices 

Rachael Nordby, Senior Global Digital Innovation Manager at Intertek, emphasizes the importance of diversity of thought in building training programs. She discussed how avoiding old patterns helps in developing training initiatives at Intertek:

“A potentially bad habit we'd fallen into is tapping on the same resources over and over again for these kinds of initiatives...What that can lead to is blind spots that we're not aware of...So, something that I think was particularly good for this project, I think for all kinds of projects where you're developing training, learning, is how do you reach all the minds, all the experiences and perspectives across your organization to make sure that you're closing your blind spots or including a variety of perspectives in your training or whatever kind of initiative it is?”  

Rachael heeds an important warning for businesses that turn only to the voices that have been successful or active in the past. Whether you’re reaching out to your L&D team or you’re reaching out to your employees for training feedback, create channels where new voices can be heard. You never know what you’ll discover.  

Create Human-First Learning Experiences with Individuals in Mind

When we embrace a human-first approach to learning, we transform training from a checkbox exercise into a meaningful journey of growth. By leading with empathy and recognizing that every learner brings their own experiences, challenges, and aspirations to the table, we create programs that truly resonate and stick. 

For more expert insights and tips on learning, development and operations, subscribe to our podcast, Wise Tales.