Technology has been revolutionizing the way that training is designed, developed and delivered across industries. With new technologies and new ways of working emerging at a breakneck pace, it falls to learning and development (L&D) to make sure that learners at all levels of the organization have the skills and resources they need to be effective in their roles. It’s a lot to ask of one business function — especially one that is often comprised of a small team — and nowhere is this challenge more apparent than in the food service industry.

With over 35,000 Chick-fil-A restaurant team members and over 3,000 restaurants spanning the United States, Canada, Singapore and the U.K., Chick-fil-A is faced with a unique and complex set of challenges in delivering the resources that their learners need.

Lauren LePage is the Learning Strategy Lead on Chick-fil-A’s learning strategy and transformation team, supporting Chick-fil-A, Inc. staff as part of the company’s field consulting team. The field consulting team is responsible for training around 400 learners who consult to Chick-fil-A operators on various topics. LePage’s team covers any and all training that consultants might need in order to do their job well in the field.

LePage’s team is passionate about defining the company’s learning culture. One of the defining aspects of their approach is to personalize learning for individual roles by letting learners pick and choose courses based on where they are in their development. The goal is to meet learners where they are based on individuals’ tenure and experience, then let learners pick what’s best for them. After all, learners often understand their needs better than anyone else. To that end, LePage’s team has deployed asynchronous, online learning that is available on demand. With shorter and more easily accessible learning modules and resources, Chick-fil-A consultants can self-identify a skills gap, seek out the knowledge they need and quickly review the available resources without having to wait for a formal training event.

While personalized, choose-your-own-training pathways are certainly effective, it’s also more important than ever to ensure that everyone stays on the same page. That’s why, once a quarter, all learners come together for a day of collaborative learning sessions. After LePage’s team launched this initiative, other departments within Chick-fil-A followed suit. The in-person learning days have proved greatly beneficial for learners and the greater organization alike. They have increased collaboration not just in the learning sphere but also in employees’ approach to tackling real-life business scenarios.

Part of the reason that these learning events are so successful is that they offer learners direct access to subject matter experts (SMEs), which saves time and money that might have been spent developing learning content and debating over modalities. “Learners were able to speak directly with SMEs, ask their questions and immediately apply what they learned,” says LePage.

Of course, this approach took some adjustments: “My team’s focus had to shift from traditional learning design methods to spending more time with SMEs, coaching them on how to deliver effective learning sessions.”

This, LePage says, was a much better use of time, instead of “trying to create content that was difficult to keep up to date and for our learners to find time to engage with.” With the time saved by fostering direct connections between learners and SMEs, LePage’s team is freed up to focus on higher level administrative decision-making.

Like many L&D teams, the primary challenge LePage’s team faces is their limited capacity. With learning and communication spread across multiple channels, learners quickly become overwhelmed when presented with new training. “Because people are getting bombarded with communications every day,” says LePage, “it’s difficult to have the time and ‘white space’ to learn something new, which is why we were passionate about getting everyone one day a quarter to focus on just that — learning.” By adjusting their approach and acknowledging the struggles their learners were facing, LePage’s team was able to meet their learners’ actual needs, even as they evolved to meet changing business demands.

While directly linking training to business outcomes is complicated, learner survey results look promising: “We have a 96% survey result on learners committed to incorporating what they’ve learned to their role,” says LePage.

“I think we’re on the brink of a lot of technology transforming learning in so many ways,” says LePage. “I think technology will do a lot for content creation specifically and allow for better on-the-job learning with augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), etc.”

One specific area of advancement LePage is looking forward to is in the field of AI-assisted translation. With learner needs spanning multiple languages, requiring fast and intuitive translation and localization, Chick-fil-A’s various learning functions will greatly benefit from these advancements.

With business and learner needs changing almost on a daily basis, it’s hard to predict how the future of learning design will look, other than the fact that it will have to be agile.

LePage sees the future of learning at Chick-fil-A as less obtrusive, more collaborative and occurring within the flow of work. “We will use technology for quick access to content,” says LePage, “and it will show up more in the moment or at the time of need. So, I think our focus in learning will be more about connection and collaboration.”

One aspect of this is a more experiential approach to learning: “As an L&D function,” says LePage, “our contributions will transition to create memorable learning experiences — with experiences being the key word here.” By using AR and VR to deliver content on a day-to-day basis, the team hopes to provide learning that looks and feels like the real world, as well as functioning as more of an extension of the learner’s job activity, rather than providing reading or video modules that take the learner out of the flow of work entirely.

This type of tech-assisted learning also has the potential to be more collaborative than traditional methods, by allowing teams to see and interact with the same virtual situations. Soft skills, LePage says, such as “coaching, consulting, mentoring and leadership,” are likely to benefit from AR/VR-assisted, situation-based learning: With these tools, public-facing learners can practice speaking and interacting in a safe and comfortable environment, where they will feel free to make mistakes and can practice uncomfortable conversations.

While the future of L&D is uncertain and ever-changing, LePage is looking forward to the ways that she and her team will be able to meet these challenges for Chick-fil-A. By embracing new technologies like AR and VR and organizing recurring learning events, LePage and her team are striving to meet the evolving needs of their global workforce.