As organizations continue to adapt to the evolving work landscape, the concept of workplace learning has taken on a new dimension. The rise of hybrid and remote work environments has necessitated innovative approaches to employee engagement and skill development. Among these, the “lunch and learn” model has gained prominence as a valuable strategy for fostering learning, collaboration and team cohesion.
Here, 20 Forbes Human Resources Council members share the intricacies of launching a successful lunch and learn program in the context of today’s hybrid work atmosphere.
1. Focus On Micro-Learning
Micro-learning is becoming more and more important. In a hybrid or in-person environment, learning in bite-sized pieces with frequent touch points is more important than ever before. – Christopher Courneen, M S International, Inc. (MSI)
2. Be Inclusive
The speaker should be familiar with how to engage varying populations, regardless if they are on a video call or in person, to ensure they have the tools that can be used by other populations and to ensure that the topic is relevant for both audiences. The key is to engage so that learning actually occurs. – Iman Abbasi, Plume Design, Inc.
3. Connect Employees
I love learning opportunities that also create a sense of community. With so much to be done during the day, training can feel like additional work versus a benefit. By providing short, relevant learning sessions that connect employees to their peer resources, you help them grow their skills and build their professional network that they can continue to reach out to beyond the training. – Denise Triba, Ingenovis Health
4. Deliver Expert Content
Make sure the speaker and content are relevant and expertly delivered. Nothing worse than hyping up a lunch and learn with a full internal campaign and the content falls short. Make sure its ROI is positive for your employee base and then the next one will not only be easier to market but also talked about as a way to take a break and learn something new. – Jessica Wallen, Marten Law
5. Engage Everyone
Create a small group to help structure the format and create ongoing meaningful topics. Don’t make them mandatory, but if done correctly, many of these will attract attendance based on the topics. Rotate ownership so it feels more collaborative and try to provide something for everyone, many people have various backgrounds and can bring broader learning to the lunch and learns. – Heather Smith, Flimp Communications
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6. Account For Business Needs
The power of human interaction and connection must be considered the most potent form of strategic employee communication. If the program is adequately planned and fit for purpose it could promote collaboration, enhance organizational performance, educate staff and improve employee morale. – Dr. Nara Ringrose, Cyclife Aquila Nuclear
7. Incorporate Digital Polls
A great way to engage a hybrid group is with digital polling tools that allow you to build and share presentations. That, combined with content aligned to what people value most, will engage folks on every slide. They sync up via QR code or link and can add emojis, questions, see polls and more. It also allows you to personalize branding, pace and content in real time to drive engagement. – Nicole Fernandes, Blu Ivy Group
8. Be Flexible
Keep it flexible with recorded sessions and resources for self-paced learning. Encourage interaction through virtual tools, where everyone can ask questions, share experiences and give feedback. Ensure the virtual team feels included, creating a collaborative vibe that promotes knowledge sharing and a sense of belonging during training. – Chad MacRae, Tinder
9. Invite Employees To Suggest Topics
Remote or not, if you want employees invested in a brown-bag lunch series, blend their content agenda with yours. Run an informal survey asking people to rank and rate possible topics and add their own. Stack the program accordingly and, when you promote the meetings, make sure attendees see the program bears their fingerprints. Everyone’s more apt to show up for something they helped build. – Graham Glass, CYPHER LEARNING
10. Make Learning Fantastic And Mandatory
Most learning and development leaders hesitate to require learning because operation leaders often resist taking the time. Build buy-in to the time needed by making the content easily accessible to virtual and physical employees, focused on business outcomes, best in class and measurable. If it’s worth having lunch and learning it’s worth making the learning great! – Jess Elmquist, Phenom
11. Create Interactive Programs
Lunch and learn programs are developmental opportunities that help employees connect and become high performers. Creating interactive sessions is key to the success of these programs. We open sessions with an icebreaker and leave room for a Q&A so that everyone can participate. We often send gift cards for a food delivery service so that remote employees can share a meal while they learn. – Leigh Yanocha, Knopman Marks Financial Training
12. Incentivize Creatively And Inclusively
Free food used to be a go-to for office lunch and learns, but with remote employees, not everyone has easy access to at-home food delivery—nor do they necessarily want to go through the hassle of invoicing those orders. Try creative options like entering attendees in raffles for extra PTO days, mental health app subscriptions or concert tickets. – Ursula Mead, InHerSight
13. Treat Training As A Key To Progress
Training and knowledge sharing are key for any organizational progress—this means treating them as such. Schedule them during working hours—make time for training. Combining lunch and training impacts 20% to 30% of the team who strongly oppose the practice—they don’t learn and you lose the efficiency of training. – Nick Frey, Avomind
14. Leverage Virtual Meeting Platforms
Schedule engaging sessions that cover relevant topics that benefit employees personally and professionally. Encourage participation through interactive activities, Q&A sessions and guest speakers. Provide flexibility in accessing sessions to accommodate different work schedules. – Domonique Revere, Ph.D., Adjaye Associates
15. Invite Guest Speakers For New Insights
You can have speakers from a variety of fields such as diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, or those who can offer financial advice, and you can leverage your benefits brokers to provide these programs or look for non-profits who offer similar topics. Survey your employees to see what topics they are interested in. Allow time for people to participate in the event and record it. – Erin ImHof, CertiK
16. Make It Optional And Get Feedback
Having a choice is the name of the game in a successful lunch and learn program within a hybrid or remote atmosphere. Drive attendance by getting feedback from your team about what they want to learn. The presenter should be able to accommodate engagement in both a personal and an online setting. When it comes to food, provide a variety of options as well, perhaps through a food delivery service. – Laura Spawn, Virtual Vocations, Inc.
17. Research Topics
Lunch and learn programs can be challenging to keep current and relevant, so devote time to researching topics and mixing them up to ensure they don’t feel stale. It’s also a good idea to survey your employees to find out which topics are most relevant to them. And, for wellbeing and DEI themes, seek out a speaker with an inspirational story. – Lisa Shuster, iHire
18. Accommodate Different Schedules And Timezones
The interactive element of a lunch and learn is important to professional development, so ideally, team members will attend in groups, even if several times are needed to accommodate everyone. It is also helpful to share a recorded session so remote workers in another time zone or with conflicting meetings can still benefit. – Niki Jorgensen, Insperity
19. Promote As A Social Opportunity
Well ahead, promote the lunch and learn as a social opportunity to gather with co-workers and learn something cool or new over an employer-paid lunch (email $10 e-gift cards in advance to remote employees). Use the session to announce new products with hands-on opportunities to engage or launch a new talent mobility platform for cross-skilling, or showcase a new well-being app proven to enhance balance. – Laci Loew, XpertHR (a division of LexisNexis Risk Solutions)
20. Engage Managers And Employees Alike
Organizations need to deliberately plan a communication strategy to drive buy-in and participation from both managers and employees. This applies to both short lunch and learn programs or multi-day leadership training. Whether the lunch and learn program is in-person, virtual, or a combination of both, it won’t achieve its full potential if the focus is not placed on people and communications. – Jennifer Rozon, McLean & Company
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