Defining a training intervention for a specific project

[Martyn Bullard]

I was in a discussion with our 'project management office' in how we define and agree what training intervention to use for any specific project.

As a head of IS learning, I am involved at the initiation stage of the project. Currently, this will typically be discussing the nature of the project / product with the project manager. At this point we make a decision based on experience as to whether we should provide a physical training intervention and / or elearning, documentation etc.

My question is - are there any heuristics / processes we could go through to make better decisions?

any thoughts from anyone would be greatly appreciate

Martyn Bullard

[steve case]

Yes there is specific processes.. but it all starts with looking at thw desired outcomes.. and an analysis of how people learn and master the job now.. likely you will find it is a combination of formal (ILT and/or eLearning and/or webinars) and informal learning.. You might get some help from the following..
http://www.learningcontentnetwork.com/title.aspx?pid=695675537 done by a friend of mine..

steve

[Martyn Bullard]

thanks Steve

steve case said:

Yes there is specific processes.. but it all starts with looking at thw desired outcomes.. and an analysis of how people learn and master the job now.. likely you will find it is a combination of formal (ILT and/or eLearning and/or webinars) and informal learning.. You might get some help from the following..
http://www.learningcontentnetwork.com/title.aspx?pid=695675537 done by a friend of mine..

steve

[Adolph Victor Escobedo]

I agree with Steve regarding the importance of mapping the delivery method to support the learning objectives of the training session. In addition I would encourage becoming aware of the audience you will be facilitating. When it comes to the delivery method I find the maturity of the audience with respect to the content, and the level of objectives will truly drive the method of delivery.

Understanding the three (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor) types of learning objectives, one can clearly appreciate there are specific delivery methods for specific objectives. What should never be forgotten is the audience, which demands a blended approach in order to truly support the overall initiative.

•Define objectives for training, and metrics proposed to measure outcomes
•Identify your audience and ideal delivery method based on audience and objectives
•Partner with SME to develop content, and assessment tools

R/
Adolph Escobedo, CCT

http://escoa6079.livejournal.com/; http://www.naymz.com/search/adolph/escobedo/2432513
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/adolph-escobedo/3/91b/624

[Stephen Frenkel]

I agree with Steve - it depends on the desired outcomes. I think it also depends on the nature of the skill(s) you're looking to bring to your team. My process suggestion would be to work backwards from the defined result you're looking for. For some initiatives, elearning will suffice. For others, you'll find physical training will get you the desired results.

Two important points to keep in mind -

1) There does not need to be an "either or" choice. Many training programs can be implemented as a "blended" approach. This can help keep costs down while providing necessary interaction, practice, reinforcement and continued long-term engagement (often necessary for behavior change).

2) While a balance MUST be met between budget and meeting your objectives, embarking on a training intervention "half way" without seeing it through may result in significant downsides for your company - from increased expenses (without a return), to opportunity cost (for pulling your people out of the field for training that didn't have impact), to a negative internal reputation for your department (for participants as well as senior leadership in charge of your budget).

I hope this helps.

Stephen Frenkel

[Allison Rossett]

Why would it be elearning OR face to face intervention? Why not a blend that extends support into the work?

There is much you can do to make a better decision about what to roll out. It all starts with an analysis that does not have to look like paralysis.

Just a few things you need to determine by inquiring of key sources:

What would excellent use look like? As Steve Case said, look to the outcomes.
What must they know by heart? What can they refer to as they need it? Will customers watch as they do this? Is fluency critical? All this affects decisions about memory vs support.
Are managers keen on the new system?
Are employees keen on it? Do they know why the organization is moving in this direction?
What do they already know that is relevant? Do all know it? Confident about it?
Is leadership clear about how they want to position the new system? about why they are doing this?
Are incentives in place to encourage use?

That's just some of it. Hope it's helpful. For more, please see the brand new edition of my book, First Things Fast: A Handbook of Performance Analysis.

Best to you.

Allison

[Jolynn Kuehr MSN RN-BC]

Don't forget to consider your time frame. We frequently must provide a quick return in the healthcare environment and hit large numbers of people in a short time frame, which may direct you toward e-learning. Whenever possible, follow-up up a quick hit with some other "blended" options to reinforce those few concepts learning initially and cover various learning styles. As Steve mentioned, when you start by assessing your desired outcomes, it will typcially drive you to a blended approach and one that will stretch out over a longer period of time. You can usually find some quick hits that will start the ball rolling.

[Yolanda Franklin]

Hi Allison,
Funny, when I read Martyn's post, I immediately thought about your book! I just read your First Things Fast: A Handbook of Performance Analysis for one of my classes and it is a great resource. I also believe that more targeted questions need to be asked to determine the types of interventions that can be offered.


Allison Rossett said:

Why would it be elearning OR face to face intervention? Why not a blend that extends support into the work?

There is much you can do to make a better decision about what to roll out. It all starts with an analysis that does not have to look like paralysis.

Just a few things you need to determine by inquiring of key sources:

What would excellent use look like? As Steve Case said, look to the outcomes.
What must they know by heart? What can they refer to as they need it? Will customers watch as they do this? Is fluency critical? All this affects decisions about memory vs support.
Are managers keen on the new system?
Are employees keen on it? Do they know why the organization is moving in this direction?
What do they already know that is relevant? Do all know it? Confident about it?
Is leadership clear about how they want to position the new system? about why they are doing this?
Are incentives in place to encourage use?

That's just some of it. Hope it's helpful. For more, please see the brand new edition of my book, First Things Fast: A Handbook of Performance Analysis.

Best to you.

Allison

[Allison Rossett]

Yolanda Franklin said:

Hi Allison,
Funny, when I read Martyn's post, I immediately thought about your book! I just read your First Things Fast: A Handbook of Performance Analysis for one of my classes and it is a great resource. I also believe that more targeted questions need to be asked to determine the types of interventions that can be offered.


Allison Rossett said:

Why would it be elearning OR face to face intervention? Why not a blend that extends support into the work?

There is much you can do to make a better decision about what to roll out. It all starts with an analysis that does not have to look like paralysis.

Just a few things you need to determine by inquiring of key sources:

What would excellent use look like? As Steve Case said, look to the outcomes.
What must they know by heart? What can they refer to as they need it? Will customers watch as they do this? Is fluency critical? All this affects decisions about memory vs support.
Are managers keen on the new system?
Are employees keen on it? Do they know why the organization is moving in this direction?
What do they already know that is relevant? Do all know it? Confident about it?
Is leadership clear about how they want to position the new system? about why they are doing this?
Are incentives in place to encourage use?

That's just some of it. Hope it's helpful. For more, please see the brand new edition of my book, First Things Fast: A Handbook of Performance Analysis.

Best to you.

Allison

[Yolanda Franklin]

Hi Allison,
Funny, when I read Martyn's post, I immediately thought about your book! I just read your First Things Fast: A Handbook of Performance Analysis for one of my classes and it is a great resource. I also believe that more targeted questions need to be asked to determine the types of interventions that can be offered.

Allison Rossett said:

Why would it be elearning OR face to face intervention? Why not a blend that extends support into the work?

There is much you can do to make a better decision about what to roll out. It all starts with an analysis that does not have to look like paralysis.

Just a few things you need to determine by inquiring of key sources:

What would excellent use look like? As Steve Case said, look to the outcomes.
What must they know by heart? What can they refer to as they need it? Will customers watch as they do this? Is fluency critical? All this affects decisions about memory vs support.
Are managers keen on the new system?
Are employees keen on it? Do they know why the organization is moving in this direction?
What do they already know that is relevant? Do all know it? Confident about it?
Is leadership clear about how they want to position the new system? about why they are doing this?
Are incentives in place to encourage use?

That's just some of it. Hope it's helpful. For more, please see the brand new edition of my book, First Things Fast: A Handbook of Performance Analysis.

Best to you.

Allison

[Allison Rossett]

Thanks, Yolanda. Appreciate that.

Allison

[Scott Masarik]

Hi Martyn,

Your best bet is to start with a needs analysis. This will help you to identify your training objectives, but also the appropriate medium, budget, measurement strategy, design/development/deployment/project resources and timeframes.

With this in mind, you can go into your meeting with the evidence to make your business case to management.

ASTD has a great book that walks you through the needs analysis process: Rapid Needs Analysis - Product SKU: 110124 ISBN: 978-1-56286-297-8

[Martyn Bullard]

thanks Scott, I'll take a look

best regards
Martyn

Scott Masarik said:

Hi Martyn,

Your best bet is to start with a needs analysis. This will help you to identify your training objectives, but also the appropriate medium, budget, measurement strategy, design/development/deployment/project resources and timeframes.

With this in mind, you can go into your meeting with the evidence to make your business case to management.

ASTD has a great book that walks you through the needs analysis process: Rapid Needs Analysis - Product SKU: 110124 ISBN: 978-1-56286-297-8