This article and the associated Sponsor Guide PDF prepare Sponsors for their role during a course, including what is expected of them, why their role is essential to the success of any course or program, how to find courses in the platform, and how to use platform features to help learners get the most out of the experience.
The role of a Sponsor
Sponsors are a critical part of any course or program. They are leaders from the organization who drive learning results by creating conditions and shaping an environment that fosters transparency, safety and open dialogue.
As a Sponsor, it is recommended that you participate in discussions in the platform throughout the course to answer questions, guide topics, and even ask questions of the cohort to stimulate quality reflection and group discussion. Your involvement:
- Fosters an inclusive and impactful experience for all learners
- Drives engagement and collaboration at the individual and group level
- Provides a local face and voice to the initiative
- Connects content and activities to the learners’ job duties, supporting application of the material
It is recommended that Sponsors spend approximately 15-30 minutes per day participating in the Discussion activities in the platform. This can be done in several short sessions and includes responding to posts from learners and asking questions to deepen the discussion. You can use the @ mention feature to add other cohort members to the conversation. Learn how to view course discussions, including new posts, popular posts, and popular posters using the course discussions widget.
When a course includes a kickoff and/or capstone live event, it is recommended that the Sponsor joins the events, though they are facilitated by the Moderator. During the kickoff, the Sponsor can briefly set expectations for the course and also relay the importance of the course to the company’s objectives. During the capstone, the Sponsor can respond to learners’ comments and provide the leadership perspective.
As Sponsor, making yourself visible throughout the learning journey drives learner engagement and encourages increased dialogue, which are both valuable to the adoption of the learning. Your participation will truly drive success in the course.
The Moderator
Each cohort will have a Moderator. The Moderator will identify opportunities where a Sponsor’s input would be valuable and will use the @ mention feature to add you to the conversation. You will receive a direct link to the comments in an email notification.
Logging in
You’ll receive a confirmation email from the system to log in, set up a password, and go to the course.
Locating the course
Your courses can be found from the home page after logging in by clicking Courses in the header, choosing Supporting, choosing Current Courses for a live course, and clicking on the course name.
If you have successfully logged in and do not see your course listed in your Courses dropdown menu, please reach out to your Customer Success representative or the course admin from your organization who will contact our Customer Success team.
Learn more about navigating to a course as an admin.
@ mention feature
As you may recognize from social media platforms, the @ mention feature allows you to include other people in a conversation where you think they may add impact and insight. This is a valuable tool to encourage dialogue because it provides email notifications and direct links to a particular discussion.
To tag someone in your post, type “@” followed by their name. As you type, you will see other users displayed and can click on the user(s) you wish to tag. You must click on the user(s); typing their name(s) does not tag them.
Important: This feature is cohort-specific, so it only populates with other learners and Sponsors within each cohort.
Learner Questions
Learners may ask you about information in the course for more clarity and understanding. Please respond to them promptly and use your best judgment as a leader. Feel free to redirect them to someone more appropriate based on their specific question or let them know that you will investigate and get back to them.