PARTNER for Training Success: READY objectives, design, and delivery
So you have come to the realization that a training and development initiative is required. After stepping back to look at the big Picture, and then following that with an Analysis of the situation, it is time to prepare the most appropriate intervention; it is time to Ready your resources.
The third step in the PARTNER* model is READY objectives, design, and delivery.
Program Objectives
If you have successfully completed the first two stages of the PARTNER model, you should have the information necessary to develop key objectives for your training program. In fact, the objectives should be revealing themselves to you. You should be looking for answers to the following questions:
- What is the purpose of your program?
- How will you measure success?
- Have you considered which organizational metrics must be considered or improved for your program to be considered a success?
- What LROI (learning return on investment) issues need to be considered?
- How will you verify your program objectives?
- Who needs to give the program objectives the stamp of approval?
Design Methodology
The design process must work hand-in-hand with the delivery mechanism (see next heading). And like the process behind determining program objectives, there are a number of questions that you will want to answers for, either by seeking them out or coming to them on your own:
- Do you want to design a template that will be used to brand your program and provide consistency of application?
- Have you considered how your program will be evaluated and measured by learners?
- What feedback mechanisms and follow-up plans will be built into the design?
- Who will you be involving in the design process, (i.e. subject matter experts, trainers, curriculum designers, learners)?
Delivery Mechanisms
The methods of delivering training programs can be as varied as your imagination will allow. However, there are common approaches that have stood the test of time and continue to be used because they have a solid track record. Like any approach though, the time and effort put in up front will pay dividends. Consider the following approaches:
Resources and Infrastructure – Answering this question up front could well determine which approach or approaches you will be using and which ones you will not. This should hearken back to the research you did in the Picture step of the PARTNER model. Know what you are working with (and without) before inadvertently painting yourself into a corner.
External or Internal – An important consideration will be whether you are going to delivery your program using internal resources or if there will be more value for the learner and organization by using an external mechanism. And what would those be? They could include accredited post-secondary institutions offering continuing education programs or customized contract training solutions; they could also include national or multi-national corporate training companies that specialize in offering in-class or onsite training from a standard catalogue of easily customized content.
Coaching / Mentoring – This approach is more focused on working with individual learners. The individual filling the role of coach or mentor should have some type of certification in providing one-on-one coaching or mentoring. Mind you, the degree to which this may be required will be driven by the scope of your program.
Classroom – The traditional method of training and development, classroom delivery is the picture that comes to mind most frequently when people are asked to describe a learning process. And it still has an important role to play in the world of corporate learning and training. The classroom model can make sense when you have a large group of learners who are all required to learn the same content, or when you want to capitalize on external subject matter experts coming in to deliver customized content.
On the Job – When needing to transfer the unwritten, unspoken, and hidden storehouse of knowledge that resides within organizations (frequently referred to as tacit knowledge), on-the-job experiential training approaches should probably be considered.
E-learning – Referred to as e-learning, online learning, or computer based learning (you get the picture), this exciting and recent development in content delivery is being considered by more and more organizations as costs continue to come down. If you are considering e-learning delivery as an option, you will want to go back to the Picture step again to ensure that you have the infrastructure required to make it happen. This may need to be one of those “internal or external” resource discussions.
Blended – This is where training and development really begins to shine. And this is where both the needs of the learner and the organization can truly be met. When e-learning first hit the scene, many organizational leaders, interested in addressing escalating training costs and in using technology to train employees, took the implied e-learning promise to be that training efficiencies realized through using the new technology will go straight to the bottom line while revenue growth resulting from training will go straight to the top line. The pendulum has swung back. Combining e-learning with other forms of more traditional learning like classroom, has proven a winner and is bringing those training wins to the organization.
* The PARTNER model (Picture, Analysis, Ready, Train, Nurture, Evaluate, and Revisit) looks at each step in the development, design, delivery, and follow-up process and breaks it down into a simple to follow template.
This is post 4 of the PARTNER Model … view the others by following these links:
- PARTNER for Training Success
- Look at the big PICTURE
- ANALYSIS of Needs, Wants, and Identifying Gaps
- READY objectives, design, and delivery approach
- TRAIN delivery, context, and learner needs
Let E-learners Have a Role in Choosing their E-learning Courses
Malcolm Knowles, one of the recognized founders of modern adult learning theory, states that adults must believe that their learning will have a personal benefit. Organizations typically have set goals and objectives that are at the forefront of all business planning. These two fundamentals do not need to be mutually exclusive. Within the context of the organization’s objectives, learners should have input into the process of determining what e-learning courses they will take. They can be determined through a process of consultation between organizational learning leaders and e-learners themselves.
Now I’m not suggesting that e-learners should have carte-blanche when it comes to making e-learning course selections, but rather that learners should be actively involved in the process of negotiating what courses to take, outside of those required as a matter of principle or prerequisite. Learners should be involved in the process of designing their curriculum to know that their learning will have personal benefit (for more on this perspective, see the December 24, 2009 entry: Let the Learner Play a Role in your Program Design).
The outcome of this process will be determined through those consultations and could take the form of roundtable discussions, surveys, one-on-one interviews, or a combination of two or all three approaches. The more that the organization embraces and respects the learner’s needs, the more success any corporate learning initiative will have.
This is post 7 of 7 of the E-learning Success Model … view the others by following these links:
- A Model for E-learning Success
- Understand the E-learner
- Onsite E-learning Champions
- In-Class Orientation for E-learners
- Support from the E-learner’s Manager
- Provided time to E-learners during Work Hours
- Let E-learners Have a Role in Choosing their E-learning Courses
Provided time to E-learners during Work Hours
An effort needs to be made by any organization that is going to introduce e-learning to ensure that a strategy exists allowing online e-learners to take courses during working hours and that the organization’s leaders and managers support learner’s efforts. This should include more than a tacit approval to take e-learning courses during working hours; it should include individual learning plans that take into account scheduling challenges and time demands.
Perhaps all e-learning orientation programs should contain a module on e-learning time management. Considering the six levels being discussed in this model, an e-learning time management module could easily be introduced during the in-class orientation program and promoted internally.
This is post 6 of 7 of the E-learning Success Model … view the others by following these links:
- A Model for E-learning Success
- Understand the E-learner
- Onsite E-learning Champions
- In-Class Orientation for E-learners
- Support from the E-learner’s Manager
- Provided time to E-learners during Work Hours
- Let E-learners Have a Role in Choosing their E-learning Courses
Support from the E-learner’s Manager
Recently, an impartial study conducted at a given multi-national organization revealed that employees enrolled in e-learning felt little support from management for accessing e-learning during working hours. In fact, the implied message was that e-learning, while being provided by the organization as a way to develop professional skills so employees could be better at what they do, should be completed on the employees own time (at home, on lunch hour, etc.). It was clear that learners were discouraged before they even began the e-learning process; the organization is interested in supporting employee learning by investing in an e-learning program, yet the message that learners receive seems to be inconsistent with that objective. Trust mechanisms have to be built into the online learning experience. A learner should have the confidence that his/her manager supports and encourages e-learning efforts.
Managers, with the support of the organization, need to be willing to let their people learn. Working with their teams, time can be structured into the schedule to allow for their employees involved in e-learning initiatives to take a regularly allotted time to devote to e-learning. An example could be every Tuesday from 11:00 am to Noon … this way, both employee and employer can contribute to e-learning, with the employee choosing to invest some of his/her own time over lunch as an add on to the one hour prior to lunch. A simple activity plan with built in check points will ensure that a schedule like this works and is followed.
The objective is for both managers and employees to see and experience the benefit of providing paid time to develop skills that will assist moving the team and organization forward.
This is post 5 of 7 of the E-learning Success Model … view the others by following these links:
- A Model for E-learning Success
- Understand the E-learner
- Onsite E-learning Champions
- In-Class Orientation for E-learners
- Support from the E-learner’s Manager
- Provided time to E-learners during Work Hours
- Let E-learners Have a Role in Choosing their E-learning Courses
An In-Class Orientation for E-learners? Really?
One of the key challenges to overcome when implementing an e-learning curriculum is what is known as the “if you build it they will come” philosophy (remember the 1989 movie Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner?). Just because your organization has invested in an e-learning option, doesn’t mean that it will succeed. A few posters here and there, perhaps a brief online tutorial, will not automatically make it a resounding success; learning, whether in-school or in-corporation, is about connecting with the learner.
An in-class orientation, where possible, should be the preferred method of preparing new e-learners for success. While it may seem counter-intuitive to roll out online e-learning by first having an in-class orientation workshop, such an undertaking will allow for e-learners of similar backgrounds (i.e., familiarity and comfort with computers and the online world) to work with the organization’s e-learning Champion to approach e-learning positively and with a plan for success. If the organization has administered a survey or undertaken one-on-one interviews with prospective e-learners, and if an e-learning Champion or Champions have been identified, the in-class orientation should be an integral step in preparing for organizational and learner success.
Armed with data about who is at what level when it comes to using computers … believe it or not, there are still many people that know how to use the software required for work, and no more … bring people together with similar computer backgrounds for your e-learning in-class orientation. Walk them through the why’s and wherefore’s of the e-learning program, and then help them to actually log-in and complete a short one module e-learning offering. Be patient, answer questions, and be supportive. The objective is to work with users to set goals and objectives that are achievable and will allow all e-learners to feel successful. Success will breed success and excitement; discouragement will breed failure and discontent, resulting in resources being wasted needlessly.
This is post 4 of 7 of the E-learning Success Model … view the others by following these links:
- A Model for E-learning Success
- Understand the E-learner
- Onsite E-learning Champions
- In-Class Orientation for E-learners
- Support from the E-learner’s Manager
- Provided time to E-learners during Work Hours
- Let E-learners Have a Role in Choosing their E-learning Courses
Develop On Site E-learning Champions
Do you remember the first time that you baked a cake (or drove a car, built a deck, installed a piece of software, etc.)? Were you on your own or was there someone there to show you, assist you, help and support you, encourage you? If that example doesn’t resonate with you, think of a time when you were doing something for the first time and you weren’t sure what to do. How about the time you purchased that print server for your home office, invested four hours trying to get it working, another two hours on the phone waiting for a technician, and then after connecting with someone, having it up and running in just ten more minutes. Do you recall your feeling of frustration, and then finally relief when you had someone to turn to?
With E-learning it’s not a whole lot different. If you’ve taken the time to understand who your e-learners are, and if you have identified those individuals that may be a risk as a result of their lack of experience with computers and online environments (lots of people still don’t have Facebook pages), having a go-to person available for them to turn to can make the difference between a frustrating experience that will discourage them from trying again, to a good experience that will have them excited about exploring all the e-learning options available to them.
Even the best designed e-learning programs cannot compensate for a helping hand that is responsive and capable of assisting new learners when needed. Having an in-house E-learning Champion lets learners feel that their company supports their online e-learning efforts and helps to develop the confidence necessary to be successful with e-learning courses in the future.
E-learning Champions can come in all stripes. They can be a dedicated resource or other e-learning users that have volunteered to take the lead and assist others. The important thing is to ensure that some process is in place to support new e-learners. In addition to be being a point of contact for e-learners, E-learning Champion(s) can also make their presence known through the marketing and promotion of e-learning programs to goal-setting with learners and encouraging learner strategies for success.
This is post 3 of 7 of the E-learning Success Model … view the others by following these links:
- A Model for E-learning Success
- Understand the E-learner
- Onsite E-learning Champions
- In-Class Orientation for E-learners
- Support from the E-learner’s Manager
- Provided time to E-learners during Work Hours
- Let E-learners Have a Role in Choosing their E-learning Courses
A Model for E-learning Success
Frequently, discussions about e-learning in corporate training environments attract the attention of executives interested in addressing escalating training costs and in using technology to train employees. The implied E-learning promise is that training efficiencies will go straight to the bottom line while revenue growth resulting from training will go straight to the top line.
While true that training efficiencies can be realized from the use of e-learning in corporate environments, it is also true that there can be significant up-front investments required of organizations wanting to pursue custom E-learning initiatives. The price of failure could be high, and as a result, future training initiatives could be given a rough ride.
If employees do not perceive E-learning as a positive development, a consequence is that they may disengage from the learning process. If the bottom line investment in E-learning initiatives is high, the cost of learner disengagement to an organization has the potential to be significantly higher.
Over the next few blog posts, I am going to explore an E-learning Success Model that can be used by organizations considering E-learning as a component of their overall learning and development strategy.
The six strategies of the model that will be discussed individually are:
- Understand the e-learner
- Have an on site e-learning champion
- Provide an in-class orientation for all e-learners
- Support from the e-learner’s manager
- Time provided to e-learners during working hours
- Learners should play a role in choosing their own e-learning courses
This is post 1 of 7 of the E-learning Success Model … view the others by following these links:
- A Model for E-learning Success
- Understand the E-learner
- Onsite E-learning Champions
- In-Class Orientation for E-learners
- Support from the E-learner’s Manager
- Provided time to E-learners during Work Hours
- Let E-learners Have a Role in Choosing their E-learning Courses
