Designing Coaching Applications For Enterprise Impression
Design of training programs
Design your training programs for measurable business impact starting with the end. This process can begin by:
- Proactive planning with your company
- Proactive review of your company
- Be reactive to your company
Proactively plan with your company
There are regular times each year when a company publishes its plan for the next year. Use a tool called a line of sight document, also known as an impact map. In this tool, enter the strategic business goals in the first column, enter the metrics of how the goals are measured in the next column, and enter the performance (the observable behaviors) that will take place in the next column, To achieve these goals, list metrics and then, in the last column, list the competencies (knowledge / skills / attitudes) required to carry out these behaviors.
You can then ensure that you have available learning resources for anyone with gaps in these competencies. If not, go through the supplier selection process if you need to purchase new learning solutions or the ADDIE / SAM processes if you need to build them in-house.
Proactively review your company
Year-round, you can review features with your company to uncover and meet additional training needs.
Start in the analysis phase of ADDIE. However, if you get it right, your analysis needs to be more robust and comprehensive than usual. You need to use your broader organizational development skills (also known as performance consulting) for the analysis. Start with a gap analysis. In each business function, identify the current and desired business metrics. Often there is a loophole. Collect these metrics too – you will want to use them again later.
Proceed with a root cause analysis. This can be as simple as asking everyone involved in the poor performance (and not just an individual leader) the five reasons; B: Why does this performance not correspond to the desired level? Why is the answer you just gave me happening? Why is this happening? And so on. The causes are usually the wrong goal and / or the wrong standard, insufficient time or resources (e.g. processes, software, etc.), wrong or insufficient motivation or gaps in the competencies of the employees (knowledge / skills / attitudes) . In this last cause, training becomes the solution. Proceed with the full analysis process, create a line of sight document, and then go through the purchase / creation process for any learning solutions as needed. Know that almost all of the holes have multiple causes, so make sure they are all fixed.
Be reactive to your company
Sometimes business needs arise outside of your planning and review process; strategic goals, metrics, or behavior may have changed. This will create an ad hoc company request for your services. Proceed with the full analysis process, create a line of sight document and then the purchase / creation process for any learning solutions as needed.
Measure / evaluate
Regardless of whether you are planning, reviewing, or responding to your business, you need to measure / evaluate all learning solutions at some level. For each learning event, you should measure who is attending, how effective the course and each presenter are, and how much has been learned. For most courses, approximately three months after the learning event, you should measure the application of the new knowledge / skills in the workplace. And then, six months after the learning event, for the most expensive and / or most visible courses, measure the business metrics / impact and also get an overall ROI of effort. There are best practices that guide all of this.
Important: Once measured, compare the new business metrics with those originally identified at the beginning of the process – in the line of sight document or in the analysis. Determine if you got the metrics you wanted and closed the gap. If not, you can use the various measurements you took throughout the process to go back and see where the “weak link” is and fix it.
Other important factors
There are other important factors required to develop programs for measurable business impact:
- Other than training solutions for performance
- Fully learning transfer model
- Change management best practices
- Keeping up with best practices
Other than training solutions for performance
As mentioned earlier, performance gaps usually have multiple causes that require multiple solutions. Exercise is the solution to only about 20% of the performance impact. You also need to know and provide the solutions (or others who have knowledge and provide them) that affect the remaining 80% of performance. As already mentioned, these additional solutions are also provided in the practice of “organizational development”. Such solutions include the right goal, the right standard, enough time, the right motivations and the necessary resources (e.g. processes, software, etc.) – and other solutions that support these fundamentals in the company, in the department, in the team and in detail concern level.
Fully learning transfer model
80% of one-time learning events don’t fully improve performance to the desired level – and the 20% that are successful only get performance half way where you want it. You need to overcome this by using the full learning transfer model that uses multiple learning activities.
One way through this model is for the learner and the learner’s leader to meet before the learning event to set expectations, talk about the topic and how the individual and the team are doing now and what is going on for the individual and the learner is included in the team and if there is an improvement. The learner then has preliminary work, e.g. B. Watching a short video and completing a video worksheet to build an understanding of the topic. Sometimes this is an eLearning where the required knowledge is shared / learned. This is followed by the traditional live learning event where knowledge is strengthened, expanded and the skills learned and practiced to master them. After the live learning event, the learner receives 24/7 access to key insights and tools, as well as daily and weekly email reminders of what they have learned. The learner and the learner leader meet again to discuss key findings and planned action points. The learner’s performance is then monitored and recognized / rewarded or coached as required and assessed on the basis of mid-year / annual performance reviews.
Change management best practices
All learning solutions are change initiatives. Therefore, change management best practices should be used. However, most of these best practices are already covered in the full learning transfer model and include the following:
- Key Sponsorship Plan
- Communication plan
- Training plan
- Coaching plan
- Resistance plan
There is another best practice that is typically not included in change management initiatives, but one that is critical to their success. It’s “control”. If you are familiar with Six Sigma and the acronym DMAIC, you will know the crucial importance of the “C” which is “control”. As soon as you have successfully achieved a change in performance, forces are constantly working to change it again – mostly to a performance that is different or less than desired. You need to set up controls to ensure that once the desired change in performance is achieved, it remains consistent.
Keeping pace with best practices
All previous information was determined through best practices. These best practices will continue to change, at least in part. Make sure you are keeping up with best practices to further maximize your effectiveness in designing your training programs for measurable business impact!
Aptara Corp.
Aptara offers comprehensive custom design and development services for learning, including cutting edge technologies such as eLearning, micro-learning, simulations, learning portals, virtual learning transformations and gamification
