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
PARTNER for Training Success: Look at the Big PICTURE
The first undertaking in the PARTNER* model is to take a look at the big PICTURE … the context; the overarching objectives; the who’s who in the company, trainer, learner triumvirate. Take a step back and critically look at:
History – Where has the organization come from? Understanding where it has been, how it has grown, and the challenges that it has faced and overcome will help you to develop an appreciation for the culture that exists today.
Mission; Vision; Values. – Are the mission, vision, and values congruent with where the organization has been, where it is, and where it wants to go? As a developer of training, being clear about the organization’s raison d’être will be a key component of any program. Integrating the organization’s mission, vision, and values into your training initiatives, whether internal or external, is important.
Culture – How would you characterize the organization’s culture? Having and demonstrating a learning culture means that organizational leaders walk the talk, clearly value their people, and demonstrate this through investing in them. If appropriate, and positive, the company’s cultural milieu should be integral to every training initiative developed internally (and should be customized into any external or off-the-shelf initiatives brought inside).
Leadership – Do you see a culture where the leaders not only talk high principles but also live them? Do you see people who make noises about their teams needing certain skill sets and leadership philosophies not drinking from the same cup? In short, do you see an organization that walks the talk? As much as those of us in the learning world want to say that it’s all about the learner, we can never forget that the learner will seldom get what they need without the support of the organization’s leaders.
Org-chart – Reviewing the org-chart will help you to identify the structure and resources available, and if necessary, to note any constraints that you may be working with. Determine where learning and development as an organizational activity fits. Is it a stand alone department that has a seat at the organizational leadership team table or is it a sub-group that reports to HR or IT? Clearly the answer to this question will necessarily color learning and development goals and objectives.
Stakeholders – Who are the stakeholders? Is the organization a not-for-profit, a sole proprietorship, a limited partnership, or a publically traded company? Is there an employee ownership component? Is there a union? What role do all of the different stakeholders play? What influence do they have on the day to day operations of the organization? Does the C-level team within the organization consider the shareholders a key component of the structure and consider the delivering of profit to shareholders as trumping all else? Yes, lots of questions. Knowing the answers will help you ensure that the needs of the learners and the stakeholders are addressed.
Metrics – If the organization operates in an environment that has very focused metrics and runs a by-the-numbers shop, be sure to investigate just what that means. Are costs and margins razor thin as a result of the industry that the organization is involved in? Does this result in tight controls and little flexibility? Or are the key metrics viewed in a more holistic manner, meaning that they are an important part of the whole, but not the only factor considered when training initiatives are advanced?
Budget – How much will be available in money and other resources? Through the process of investigating some of the issues mentioned above, it will become apparent as to what type of monetary and resource constraints you will be working with. Up front you should know if you will be operating on a shoestring budget, a negotiable as required budget, or the best of all possible worlds, an unlimited budget. Knowing these broad parameters at the beginning of any program development is important, because going in on a wing and a prayer will likely lead to failure and frustration. The sooner you can hone in on a number, the better you will be able to sell those to whom you report on the program itself. There should be little room for ambiguity here.
Are there other areas or issues that should be examined as part of the big PICTURE? Let me know.
* 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 2 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
KISS your PARTNER
Ok, I’ll admit that it’s a little cheesy for a title to a posting, but it really does say something very fundamental: when implementing a training program of any sort, a model like PARTNER is meant to keep the process simple and easy to manage. So Keep it Simple, Silly (I don’t really want to call anyone stupid, so I’ve substituted the more politically acceptable term Silly).
Experiencing success in the application of a training program is wonderful, but can that success be easily duplicated? Is the program easily transferrable? Can other learners benefit from the hard work that went into designing the program, and can other trainers benefit from being able to easily deliver on that work? PARTNER isn’t a magic bullet, it’s simply a process to help ensure that the development, delivery, follow-up, and evaluation of a training program has a good chance of success by applying a simple, easy to follow process to create programs that are easily duplicated and easily transferrable.
Training gone bad
Misaligned learning objectives are frequently one of the key factors in company learning programs not being successful. Questions to ask include, “were the objectives miscommunicated?”, “was the wrong ‘course’ delivered?”, “did the learners tell you what they felt they needed?” And the list should go on. Frequently what the learner and what the facilitator, (or organization) intend to have happen are two different things. This can easily be the case if the needs of the learner are overlooked because someone in the organization felt that “what they need to learn is …”, and off they go to ensure that their vision of what’s required is what is indeed delivered.
Is there a way around this common problem? Of course there is. Listen to and match up the needs of learners with the needs of the organization. Ensure that there is congruence and a genuine desire on the part of both the organization and the learner to accomplish a clearly defined objective. Ok, I hear you asking, just how are you supposed to do that? Well, that discussion and many like it will be the focus of the PARTNER program. Shall we continue?
