Director of Learning Design and Technology at McDonald’s

Could you discuss the competencies of your role as the director of learning design and technology and how they benefit your company?

I lead a global team responsible for creating a wide range of courses, from leadership skills to how to make fries using various modalities, including in-person and digital formats. Given our global presence, a significant portion of our training is online.

My approach to designing learning experiences is centered on the learner behaviors and outcomes for success, regardless of the medium used. For example, when teaching someone how to make fries, I consider all the behaviors necessary to successfully operate the fry station, including the actions needed to decide when to make more fries and when to wait. Only after identifying the behaviors for success and outcomes do I design the course and consider which technology to use. I prefer to focus on the design of the experience first without thinking about the technology we’ll use because starting with technology can limit your options. For instance, if you pick a technology that is not responsive to various screen sizes, then the design may only be for desktop computers and excludes mobile users.

While many learners do not use their smartphones for corporate learning, there are still many requests for mobile-friendly courses. Therefore, it’s crucial to consider all device types and screen sizes to be fully responsive and inclusive. By putting the learner at the center of the design process, technology is used as an enhancer rather than the driving force.

“When selecting technology, we design the experience first and then identify the most appropriate technology to bring it to life. Sometimes we may need to adjust the design to accommodate specific technologies, but this decision is made consciously, rather than being dictated by limitations of the technology from the start.”

After designing the experience, we then identify the most appropriate technology to bring it to life. Sometimes we may need to adjust the design to accommodate specific technologies, but this decision is made consciously rather than being dictated by limitations. By designing based on behavioral objectives and not technology, we have more flexibility and may surprise ourselves with what we can create.

McDonald’s has a diverse range of restaurants globally, each with varying levels of technology and Internet connectivity. Therefore, any considerations, such as VR or course translations, must be scalable, cost-effective, and easily updated across numerous locations. My team must balance learner preferences, business goals, innovation, and the effort needed to successfully create, roll out, and maintain each course before deciding on the technology used to develop and deliver the experience.

What would you say are some of the challenges that you see in the learning design marketplace today?

One of the challenges in learning design is getting subject matter experts’ time. Building courses is not a subject matter expert’s main job; however, their knowledge and stories are vital in  understanding the situations that make a task or job hard. Subject matter experts’ stories, examples, and feedback are essential to the design process to ensure we are creating a course that is truly representative of what someone would experience and the situations they have to navigate and manage.

Another challenge is that we live in a world where everyone wants things to be as short as possible. We live in a “TikTok-world”, and many are influenced by the short length of its videos. In fact, a few months ago, someone told me 20-minute TEDTalks are too long. To build engaging learning, whether it’s a one-minute video or a 20-minute game, we have to learn from and consider user experiences from different industries and understand why people engage more with certain mediums. For example, why do people like TikTok videos? Why did they like Squid Games? While we hear attention spans are shorter, plenty of people still get hooked on shows and will watch a movie that is two to three hours. So, we need to apply the same human engagement used in marketing, entertainment, social media, and other industries to the learning experiences we build.

As a team, we need to think beyond the learning industry and see how other industries are leveraging technology to understand how they are successful in what they do. In today’s world, our learning experiences need to be more interesting than someone’s phone or email. And, while we are building cool learning experiences, we cannot lose sight of the fundamentals of getting to the behavior change. We can build the coolest learning app, but we’ll have failed if the learner doesn’t leave with how to apply the behaviors for success. The technology we use should support us in meeting our learning goals.

How do you see the future of learning design evolving in the next 12 to 18 months?

We are currently testing many new ideas and exploring emerging technologies internally and will continue to apply those insights to create engaging and effective learning experiences for our workforce.

It’s worth noting that in many companies, employee turnover is a significant challenge. A strong learning culture can be a positive influence in keeping employees engaged and motivated, and can contribute to the overall success of the organization. While it's not the sole reason people stay, having robust learning and development opportunities can play a significant role in retaining employees and promoting positive outcomes for the business.

What would be your piece of advice for budding professionals in the learning design field?

I suggest breaking away from traditional approaches and observing how people around you engage with content. By understanding what drives engagement and success in other areas, you can apply those insights to your designs.

Another important consideration is identifying and defining the specific behaviors that indicate success in the learning process. You can more effectively track progress and ensure learners meet their performance goals by clearly defining these behaviors from the start.

In the learning industry, collaboration is a key to success. It’s essential to find ways to involve all relevant stakeholders while also being realistic about timelines and resources needed to complete the project successfully. A good learning experience, one that can improve an individual and company’s performance, requires time to create; it takes more than a month, especially when you want to get feedback from learners and all the interested stakeholders.

When it comes to technology, it’s important to avoid leading with a specific tool or platform, but rather use technology to enhance the learning experience. To do so, it’s essential to consider the user experience from the outset and avoid creating interfaces or designs that require extensive instructions or manuals that learners likely won’t read. By prioritizing user experience and ensuring that technology is used to support and elevate the learning experience, we can create more effective and engaging learning solutions.