Designing Professional Development Training Programs with the Learner in Mind

Written by Susan Fitzell

How to stop wasting your professional development budget on one-size-fits-all training that doesn’t work.

As increasing numbers of businesses implement programs to attract and retain neurodivergent workers, the time has come to focus on how to support the professional development of those employees. Traditional training programs are often inadequate for neurodivergent individuals, such as autistic employees or those with dyslexia or ADHD. By the way, that’s probably 40% of your current employees!

Large, classroom-based programs (in-person or virtual) that require quick, on-the-spot thinking, presenting responses in front of the group, or featuring long lectures can be counter-productive for over fifty percent of your employees. Webinar-style training often encourages employees to click through while multitasking. Heck! No one can see what they are doing. Admit it; you’ve done it, too! Okay, I’m also guilty of multi-tasking during a boring webinar.

Despite the training challenges, employees must have the opportunity to learn and grow in their place of work. So, how can professional development training programs be designed differently, with the other 40% in mind?

Yes, you can safely assume that 40% of your staff does not learn through traditional methods. I’ve spent my entire career in education. 40% of students need differentiated instruction. Their brain wiring doesn’t change just because they become adults. Most adults figure out how to hide their learning challenges as they move into the workplace.

Designing programs with the knowledge that employees have different learning preferences and brain wiring, is key to helping them get the most out of their training. When they engage and learn because the training meets their learning needs, they can give the most back to their place of work. While no two employees will have the exact learning needs, some best practices make professional development training more accessible to all employees, including your neurodivergent talent.

Include neurodiverse employees in the development of training programs

When designing professional development courses or materials, the goal is for the training to be effective for all employees. How about including neurodiverse employees in the creation process? Their input allows for programs to be developed that do not exclude a portion of the workforce unnecessarily.

Most professional development is planned according to the status quo; how teaching has been done forever! If you looked at a picture of a college classroom taken 100 years ago and compared it to a photo of a college classroom today, you’d likely see no difference; Rows of students facing a teacher who lectures from the front while students take notes. We still overwhelmingly teach to verbal-linguistic learners who read well and have excellent auditory memories. That instructional format does not consider the needs of employees with dyslexia or ADHD, or those who need extra time to process and reflect on the concepts being taught, or hands-on learners. I could go on, but you get the idea.

Provide training in multiple formats

Recent research from Volpone et al. shows that providing professional development training in the form of self-paced tutorials or when appropriate, on-the-job training was preferred by neurodivergent employees over in-class or online courses (2022). Additionally, providing information in multiple ways, such as verbally, through short video clips, microteaching, gamification, hands-on learning, or mentoring accounts for differences in learning preferences and yields better results.

Provide as much information in advance as possible

Providing information about the learning expectations in advance can ease anxiety and allow employees to undertake the training program feeling more in control of the experience. Wille and Sajous-Brady suggest that employers “clearly describe key expectations and instructions in writing,” along with providing task checklists and flowcharts in advance (2018). Frontloading doesn’t benefit neurodivergent employees alone. The introverts on your staff also appreciate having the information ahead of time.

Follow-up support is key

A support network for neurodivergent employees can greatly improve job performance and support their mobility within a company. Providing mentors or coaches can help employees follow through on completing professional development training tasks. An accountability partner can be a game changer when training is in the format of self-paced modules (Volpone et al., 2022).

In addition, providing flexible options for presenting work and showing understanding is essential. Videos, written responses, presentations, and one-on-one discussions are good ways to demonstrate an understanding of training program materials.

I have a friend who worked for a company that instituted an online training program that required him to pass a timed online test to verify that he knew the material. Unfortunately, that format was a setup for him to fail; he had dyslexia! The system tested his reading, not his knowledge of the subject matter. This successful, long-term employee left the company for a job that was more flexible in their training requirements. What a loss for the company, financially (it’s expensive to hire, onboard and train new employees) and in Intellectual Property (IP). Companies face a 37% chance of losing IP when employees quit.

Designing professional development training programs with the neurodivergent employee in mind creates programs that benefit all employees. Well-designed training programs that support different learning preferences by offering multiple training formats, clearly articulated instructions, and clear expectations provided in advance are the gold standard. Add follow-up support and flexible methods for employees to demonstrate understanding to maximize training efficacy.

Taking these steps to improve training benefits all employees. These state-of-the-art instructional models make the workplace more inclusive of all learners.