Creating a Training Program and Learning Culture in Your Organization

Transcription

1 Creating a Training Program and Learning Culture in Your Organization

2 Common Roadblocks: 1. No manager support/accountability Use it or lose it We often forget this building block for all training and development efforts. Employees who can t incorporate what they ve learned, it evaporates very quickly. If supervisors are held accountable for training reinforcement as part of their on-going performance, the organization could become more successful. 2. Budget: This is a fact, but it s also a crutch. Companies want to have the best and brightest, but when the first economic squeeze hits, training and development budgets get chopped quickly. To change this look at these dollars as investments vs. expenses! Time and staffing - If training and development are not valued, then there will always be a lack of time, funding and staffing. There needs to be more of an argument in this area than ROI. There has been to sustainability, value and behavioral shifts which show tangible results. Perceived value is another common roadblock HR gets mired in the CFO mindset to develop a massive ROI model in order to justify our value to the organization. However, it s also a key factor for our employees who attend our efforts. If they don t see that they can use what is taught, then that is a much more critical loss of value than any financial issues will ever generate. 3. The culture of senior leadership: If you don t have people leading the company who encourage, foster and believe in training and development of their employees, then there is no bigger wall to break through. This can influence the budget argument. It also shows if a company chooses to be limited and static vs. positioning itself to function strategically. 4. Unengaged and unmotivated employees: Training and development needs to have context and relevance. If employees don t see themselves in what you re delivering then your efforts are for naught.

3 Keys to Program Success Business Fit Learning Solutions are tightly aligned to business initiatives. Adoption Effective communication to target audiences Provide easy access to resources technology and tools Business Value Measurement strategy that delivers return on expectations and return on investment STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION Cultural awareness Change management Goals and success criteria Program management Additional Notes:

4 Cultural Awareness Cultural considerations that can impact the success of your training program: Executive level support or mandate Corporate mission or value statements Emerging business realities Business demands Management level support for training Physical work environment Organizational communication styles and information flow Relationships and organizational influence Existing learning culture 5 Elements of a Learning Culture A learning culture has five key elements. The first is holistic thinking where employees understand how the parts of the organization interact and operate together. The second element is integrated and varied learning opportunities, designed to achieve a common goal. The third element is a capacity for continuous change and improvement. The fourth element is a focus on collaboration learning and solving problems with others. Finally, the fifth element is personal commitment from all employees. (Source: E-Learning Course, Fundamentals of Organizational Learning)

5 Change Management Communicate the business and individual benefits of the program Communicate to reduce fear Careful planning Clear links between training and job roles/performance Presenting Change to Employees Source: "Management Model for Change: Presenting Change to Employees" by Karen Lawson in 2008 Pfeiffer Annual: Consulting (2008). PREPARE Gather as much background information as you can. Think about how different people will react to and be affected by the change. Empathize try to put yourself in your employees' shoes. Plan how you are going to introduce the change that is, exactly what you are going to say. Anticipate their questions and plan your responses. DELIVER YOUR MESSAGE Explain the change's purpose. Give background information. Explain the reason or reasons for the change as fully as you can. Tie the change to the "big picture," explaining how it relates to solving an organizational or departmental problem or some other kind of improvement. Explain the change's impact. Communicate honestly how the change will affect the people involved. Be enthusiastic and positive, but deal openly with the negative aspects. Provide information. Supply details about the change, including what they can expect and what is expected of them. Stress the personal benefits and potential opportunities for them. Assure them that they will receive training and support as appropriate to the situation. Handle concerns.

6 Solicit questions and concerns. Listen and respond openly, taking whatever time is necessary to fully give them opportunities to express their feelings. Involve employees in the change. Ask people for help and commitment in making the change work. Actively seek their input and suggestions, and ask them about any problems they may have or anticipate. Use group problem solving to overcome problems and address related issues. Ask for their ideas on how to implement the change. FOLLOW UP Check in with people periodically to find out how they are handling the change. Continue to offer support and serve as a sounding board when needed. Recognize and reward those who support the change through their efforts, advice, and input. Additional Notes:

7 Goals and Success Criteria Determine the audience Determine content and link to program objectives Define criteria for measurement S.M.A.R.T. Goals S M A R T Program Focus Program focused criteria should take a broad view of the program design and objectives. Remember, as you develop these measurements and criteria, to follow SMART. Percentage of employees take at least one course within the first year of program Replace percentage of Instructor Led Training (ILT) with e-learning Employees use e-learning to meet an average percentage of their annual training requirement Employees use e-learning courses to meet specific skill gaps in their Personal Development Plans and demonstrate a test score of percentage Learner Focus Learner focused criteria ought to be much more specific, and sometimes these measures can be based upon learner feedback, impressions and ideas. Positive feedback on content with a specific approval rating Extent the learner has manager encouragement to use of the knowledge and/or skills presented by modeling the skills or providing you coaching and/or feedback? Demonstrate how participants will apply what they learned to their job

8 Program Evaluation When determining how you will evaluate the success of the program, it is important that you have at least one method of evaluation that allows you to measure each of your success criteria. Common sources of data for measuring against success criteria include: Usage reports available from the Learning Management System (LMS) Results from learner evaluation forms that can be compiled, averaged, and charted Improvement in scores between pre-test and test that can provide evidence of training effectiveness Measurement gives us an indication of where we have been and where we need to go next. Measurement is important it aids you in demonstrating the value of e-learning, monitoring the effectiveness of training programs and ensuring specific return on the training investment. As you re evaluating your program, consider the following questions: Did you meet your business objectives? Did you meet your budget? Did you have management buy-in? Did this impact your business? If so, how? If not, why not? Did you track utilization? Did your cultural variables shift or change? If so, how does this impact your e-learning strategy? Have you identified additional training gaps that can be addressed with an expanded e-learning initiative? Potential business impact of e-learning: Reduced the learning duration for each learner from 8 hours to 2.5 hours Increased learner retention and/or exceeded the knowledge gained from the current program Eliminated travel Reduced the number of days the sales force was out of the field Gained additional time for training in advanced topics Improved the bottom line through related efficiencies

9 Managing Your Program Deployment and launch Marketing and communications Measurement and review Deployment and Launch Planning Additional Resources - User guides - Tips and best practices Marketing and Communications Build: design your strategy and remember to reflect the culture of your organization. Consider your business. Address cultural variables within launch, initial activities, and ongoing efforts. Act: tell your story, send your message and set the foundation for ongoing success. Work from the top down. Highlevel communication is key - it sets the example for the ranks. Identify available corporate resources. Communicate who, what, when, where, and why. Review: evaluate your efforts to understand the changing work environment, share information, keep users energized, and determine if you met your objectives.