These are some thought-starter questions and by no means an exhaustive list...part of an exercise in my attempt to collate my scattered bits of writing...
I have found the questions below useful to ask when analyzing an organization's readiness/need for e-learning. I have jotted them down as they occurred to me and are in no ways very refined. These will need several iterations to reach some measure of perfection...
The Pre-Training/Consultation/Training Needs Analysis checklist could be something like this:
1. What is the nature of the business the organization is in?
2. What is the strength of the organization?
3. Is the organization globally spread?
4. Is there a stated training need, i.e., has clear areas of performance gaps been identified by the LoB manager/training department?
5. How is this “improvement in performance” perceived to impact the organization’s bottom line?
6. Can this training requirement be fulfilled by e-learning alone? If not, what could be the other possible solutions?
7. What is the organization’s current mode of training and how “successful” has it been? What is the gap that is being sought to be fulfilled.
If e-learning is a viable option, then it is important to find out:
1. Has the organization experienced e-learning before?
2. Will employees get sufficient support from the organization to take the courses?
3. Does the top management believe in or is willing to open up to the e-learning approach?
If there are no defined training needs but a general feeling from the top management that some improvements are required, the situation becomes tougher. This is when IDs have to become consultants and solution architects. This would require a deep dive into the processes, current training scenarios, the pain points that need to be bridged.
What makes analyzing difficult is the complicated issue of measuring ROI. It is not really possible to do a one-on-one mapping of a training program—be it e-learning, ILT, blended, etc.—with the performance. I’ll keep that as a new topic of discussion…
The learning solution must be effective enough within a constrained budget and time-line. We all know what we could do if we had more time, if the client opened his wallet a bit more, and all other ideal situations. However, our consultancy and design thinking skills comes to the forefront when we can deliver effective programs within the defined constraints.
This is where, as consultants, we have to blend project planning with solution thinking. I believe such challenges force us to think creatively and out of the box to come up with better time and cost effective solutions.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. What are some of the specific challenges you have faced? How did you overcome them? What were some of the creative measures adopted? What key questions are missing from the list?
Why do many organizations fail to enthuse their learners about their e-learning drive? What are some of the possible reasons for a low adoption rate? Is it only the e-learning design or lack thereof?
What organizations treading the path of e-learning or introducing anything new need to understand is that:
~The implementation is only the beginning
~The culture of the organization should actively support and drive post-implementation adoption ~Users/learners should perceive themselves as being appreciated and recognized for adapting to a new method
Applying these to the adoption of e-learning in an organization:
Mistakes that many organizations tend to make that get in the way of user adoption are:
1. Managers responsible for team productivity and performance define the learning objectives and ask a vendor to create an e-learning course failing to take the opinion of end users (what the managers perceive as difficulties may not be the real/root cause for productivity or quality failures)
2. Insist on "jazz" which if not aligned/required for the end learning can distract and confuse users (Refer to: Could animations hurt learning? from http://blog.cathy-moore.com/2009/06/could-animations-hurt-learning/)
3. Feel that transferring a ppt into flash is all about e-learning (putting "lipstick on a pig" effect takes place...Refer to: How to avoid putting lipstick on a pig from http://blog.cathy-moore.com/2008/02/how-to-avoid-putting-lipstick-o...)
4. Think of the implementation of an e-learning program as the end of their responsibility, a task to be ticked off on their list for that quarter (the course is out there, learners will go through and performance will improve)
5. Unwillingness to go the whole way and invest in a course that can be made truly effective; the incentive for an e-learning course, from an org's perspective, is often to cut down on training cost and the hassles of coordination rather than learning efficiency
All of these points lead to the creation of a training program and an atmosphere that is not conducive to adoption.
Mistakes that most vendors make that get in the way of user adoption are:
1. Accepting the brief from an organization's representatives and creating a course that they want but not necessarily what they need
2. Failing to do a thorough "Learning Needs Assessment" and thus barking up the wrong tree
3. Failing to carry out UAT because "implementation is not our problem; it's up to the organization to do what they want with the course"
4. Thinking that "jazz" can make up for sound instructional strategies and design
5. Not bothering to help the organization with suggestions on adoption (often, for an organization walking the path of e-learning may be a new measure with no set path to tread; a vendor/consultant/learning solutions designer, in such cases, need to suggest means of inspiring and driving user adoption...
Look out for some thoughts on helping organizations drive adoption in the next post...
This was written almost a year ago...but re-posting it here...
I just finished reading Telling Ain't Training by Harold J. Stolovitch and Erica J. Keeps. I am going to quote them liberally in my response here. This book, incidentally, is a must read for all trainers, HR professionals and anyone remotely interested in understanding the nature of learning and in making a difference through training and instruction.
Purpose of Training:
1. To create a change
2. To make certain behaviors automatic
3. To enable the trainee/learner to apply as is to real-world situations
4. To enable learners to produce learned behavior with fewer errors, greater speed and under more demanding conditions
5. To focus ONLY on what is the performance outcome desired
Just being able to follow training guidelines and perform perfectly is not a necessary condition for survival; hence, the need for instruction.
Purpose of Instruction:
1. To help learners generalize beyond the specifics of what is taught
2. To apply learned behavior to similar but maybe not the exact same situation
3. To enable learners to act thoughtfully
4. To facilitate adaption of learning to each new situation
Purpose of Education:
This cannot be taught. This is an act the learner performs when s/he becomes capable--through experience, reflection, assessment--of pulling together all the strands and forming highly generalized patterns. This is directly linked to a learner's value system and outlook on life.
I am in the process of transferring my currently scattered bits and pieces of writing from all over the web to my blog. Have been meaning to do so for a long time but somehow never got around to it...
While not directly linked to training, it talks about Happiness being the prime factor that leads an individual's engagement with anything--be it business or learning. Creating this happiness as an experience should then be the primary goal if we are to hook learners or customers.
Slide 81 talks about the pillars of Happiness. These can be attributes of training programs as well and such training programs would be the ones most likely to lead to a change in behavior.
Can we create the experience of Flow? ...Refer to slide 129.
Classic question we typically ask as a part of the learner analysis exercise:
1. Who are the learners?
2. What are their demographics and psychographics?
What should we ask instead:
1. What do the learners have to do to be successful?
2. What will improve their status in their organization?
3. What will this training make people better at?
4. What are the learners passionate about?
One way to motivate learners and impact the bottom line of an organization through training is to show how each individual can succeed.
I am copying a discussion we have been having on LinkedIn as a part of the Training&Development group. I started this discussion to understand the roles (tacit and explicit) that a learning consultant plays. The discussion that evolved has been one of the most insightful for me and I thought it should be shared with those who may not at present be a part of the T&D group on LinkedIn. Moreover, I would urge all learning folks to join this group—just to keep learning and evolving…and to contribute to these discussions so that we can all learn together.
Here’s to continuous, lifelong learning! Collective Learning rocks!!!
What does a Learning Consultant do? What are some of the primary and secondary functions that a business expects from a learning consultant?
I am interested in finding out if there are any defined set of tasks that a learning consultant would do to enable organizational learning. I understand that the need differs from organization to organization. But there would still be some baseline tasks that a consultant would do in this respect.
Some the primary task that any learning consultant should do is
1) understand and list the goals of the buisness (specifically yearly goals).
2) Understand the parameters of performance analysis......(KPI's ,SLA's, Customer sats , error rates etc)
3) Identify Gaps in the performance ...if there are any....... how further the buisness units are from reaching buisness goals.
4) analyze these goals or gaps and see what are the learning interventions that could be used to help buisness units reach goals or fill the gaps.
5) then design and develop these training interventions( training programs both CBT and ILT, coaching opportunities, awareness programs etc)
These are the first things that any learning consultant should complete.
Never build a training program that dont have a ROI. And when I say ROI it should not be how many people were trained and what their training scores were.
True ROI is when you can let people know how the training has brought about marked change in performance . So goes back to linking it to KPI'S and SLA's.
It depends on the need of the organization. Among others, a learning consultant may need to analyze performance issues, conduct training needs analyses, create a course catalog, create technical/managerial learning paths, select tools, select vendors (courseware, technology, processes etc.), select custom-built courseware, provide post-training support, measure learning effectiveness, create mentoring/coaching frameworks, create frameworks that enable community-driven learning, and create and sustain Communities of Practice.
Are you talking about an in-house learning consultant? I wonder if it's helpful to 'chunk up' the responsibilities into 3 core areas, and then see what is really important? The 3 areas could be:-
1. Learning design - including needs analysis, designing learning in line with adult learning principles, structuring learning events for different delivery channels.
2. Learning delivery - including facilitation / presentation of learning events, engaging learners, making best use of different media.
3. Management of Learning - which includes programme / project management, learning evaluation, stakeholder management, supplier management.
The one element that is least likely to be outsourced is the management of learning. But I think most of the joy comes from the design and delivery, so the more an in-house L&D consultant can master and retain these elements, the more rewarding I think they'll find the job.
Learning Consultants, especially outside consultants, generally provide one or more of the following services:
1) Identify the problem that learning is meant to solve. Talk to stakeholders and SMEs, gather and assemble data and report back the findings. Develop a high-level scope.
2) Develop a plan for solving the problem, based on company culture, existing materials, resources, budget, stakeholder and SME involvement, vendor solutions and a host of other variables. Obtain stakeholder signoff for the plan, making revisions as necessary, ensure you have shared agreement to what constitutes a successful engagement, and that everyone agrees on how success will be measured. Lock down and establish the scope, resources, timeframe, deliverables and success metrics, as well as a plan for maintaining the program (if needed) after the project concludes.
Note that any impediments to learning success that are beyond the scope of a training project should be flagged and identified during this part of the engagement. Also, stakeholder agreement and buy-in is critical to success.
3) Implement the plan. This is where instructional design, course development and training activities come into play. This also might include buying and implementing an off-the-shelf solution, setting up coaching activities or something as simple as creating a job aid. During this time period, the methods for assessing the learning activities should be developed and put into place.
4) Evaluate the plan. Collect evaluations, assessments, conduct interviews or complete any other activities designed around measuring program success. Gather and compile this information for reporting purposes. If the project scope permits, make any changes to the process and materials based on this feedback.
5) Project close-out. Provide any agreed-upon reporting, conduct a "lessons learned" as requested, transition the program into maintenance mode, and close out the project.
Those are the high-level steps - specific skills one might need depends on the project and business needs. Hope this helps!
The inputs have been really insightful. I am glad that the distinction between inside consultant and an external consultant came up. This had been an area of confusion with me.
Jane's point on Management of Learning, I have learned from experience, is crucial. Managing stakeholders is a key to success. I have learned that it is important to set the right expectations. Sometimes, this perception managment becomes the success factor. As consultants, we have to keep the client's business interest at the center and ensure that they understand this. This calls for appropriate communication, an understanding of business, as well as the solution being offered.
Lynne pointed out: "Note that any impediments to learning success that are beyond the scope of a training project should be flagged and identified during this part of the engagement. Also, stakeholder agreement and buy-in is critical to success."
This, I have discovered, is another very important criterion for the success of a training project.
Creative Learning Developer, E-Learning Specialist, Multimedia Content Designer and Developer
thank you for this insightful discussion. I am Learing consultant based at the client currently; and the feedback received in this discussion has been of tremendous HELP to me.
It has already been stated that all organisations will have different needs so we need to answer that question - What does ( or should ) a learning consultant do? - slightly differently.
Well, the operative word here is ' consultant' , someone who is not an employee of the organisation. What is the value that s/he, and s/he alone, can bring to the table in the domain of learning?
I have realized that consultants are uniquely positioned to give an unbiased, objective opinion. All employees have an axe to grind, even the most honest ones. So, their opinion will always be biased or at least influenced by the existing environment. The consultant too has an axe to grind in that he wants a longer engagement with the client. But that can be controlled reasonably with smart engagement terms.
Use a consultant to tell the king that he is naked. This is a useful contribution in any field but invaluable in the field of learning.
There is one more exclusive characteristic of a consultant. Since he has been dealing with only that subject for a long time, he is more of an expert. Use him as an SME and supplement it with the contextual knowledge of the insider employee.
Alok
09821677859
Regarding what a learning consultant does, I recommend reading the Chief Learning Officer magazines articles about various organizational roles around learning. You can get it for free and it's substantive in my opinion. (I'm not affiliated with the magazine, at all.
(By the way, a consultant can be an employee, an internal consultant of the organization. I even seem to remember a survey about 5 years ago that indicated that the Fortune 1000 uses more internal consultants than external consultants. I don't know if that's true for mid-sized companies.)
Principal Consultant - Talent Transformation at Wipro Technologies
For anyone that is aspiring to be a Learning Consultant, I would very much suggest to go through series of articles (12 parts) by Paul Kearns titled "From Trainer to Learning Consultant". You can go to his website to get these: http://www.paulkearns.co.uk/articles.htm#downloading .
I have found it to be very useful information and also something which can be practiced in your own organization.
@Mohan: Thank you for sharing the link. It couldn't have come at a more opportune time for me.
The discussion here has been immensely helful in not only providing me with different perspectives but also in clarifying the different roles and responsibilities of a learning consultant.
@Alok Asthana: The following comment captures the role of a consultant and added clarity to my thoughts. Well, the operative word here is ' consultant' , someone who is not an employee of the organisation. What is the value that s/he, and s/he alone, can bring to the table in the domain of learning?
@Carter McNamara: I completely agree with you that CLO is a very good online magazine. I follow it regularly for industry insights and knowledge and to understand how workplace learning happens...
I have started a new discussion to understand the following:
Are there any specific tool kits or templates that Learning Consultants should have? What are some of the specific, tangible outputs expected from a learning consultant by a business organization?
The process is not linear (as indicated in the diagram). It is iterative and parallel. The diagram just depicts the various tasks/steps of the entire process. These were the key points the client needed to understand to get a feel of what happens behind the scene in elearning development. Read the post for a more detailed explanation.
Preamble
Projects are how we change the world and introduce new knowledge into our organizations (when they are done well that is - also sometime how we remove obsolete knowledge and processes).
~From a comment on the post, Defining KM, by Dave Snowden
Though the post is on Knowledge Management--and a tiny gem of a post it is--it was this comment that drew my attention because of a recently completed project. While I can't say this project changed the world, but it definitely changed me (because of all I learned and learning is change) and added a world of altogether different perspectives.
I have tried to capture some of my key learning in this post. But before I fast forward to the learning, here's a brief overview and background to set what I learned in context. I have erred on the side of caution and have not named the client.
How it all started
The client (an IT organization functioning in the telecom industry) has a global presence with footprints in all the continents, and the major countries within each.
They have very very well-defined training programs with certifications in place.
It is mandatory for all technicians in the organization to take the training/be certified before they are allowed to venture on to client sites.
The training is purely class-room based with instructors (who have been conducting ILT there for close to 25 years) leading/guiding/facilitating the sessions
Management (the C-suite folks), realizing the cost and the administration overheads of flying people from all over the globe to attend training wanted to move to e-learning
Wisely, they wanted to begin small by rolling out e-learning for a new version of an old application (the assumption was that the information would not be too new for the learners)
The application for which training had to be designed was still in Beta and was expected to change significantly over the next few months. (This proved to be one of the major challenges during the actual development phase of the project.)
They wanted to experience what switching from class-room training to elearning meant
I went as the Consultant to do the initial requirements gathering and scope analysis.
What ensued-Part 1
I had gone mentally prepared to gather the training requirements and also assess the overall scope of the project. About a week into my visit on-site, I realized the following:
The C-suite folks wanted e-learning. They had a some notion of what it entailed having observed other organization. The management below that had no clue what "moving to e-learning" meant.
I could not do requirement gathering or scope analysis without educating the client on e-learning, its various phases, the implications, the role of SMEs, trainers, learners, etc.
I had to get the buy-in from the people I would be interacting with daily to develop and design the course and convince them that e-learning wasn't so evil.
What ensued-Part 2
I kept aside all thought of scope analysis and content gathering.
I spent the next few weeks focusing on preparing and giving presentations with the hope of explaining e-learning to folks with hell of a lot more experience in the corporate world than I have.
I got used to answering skeptical questions. (I also got used to fending off our program manager and relationship manager on the side, who for very obvious reasons, wanted to pin down the project scope and start the work.)
One e-learning consultant in another state told me his “secret”. When he gets a brand new client, he does not work on a fixed, project fee basis, he always works on an hourly basis. When a new client is new to e-learning, he finds he’s also a coach as well as an ID and a developer, and the coaching takes up more of his time.
It is important to keep this pointer in mind if you are introducing elearning. It saves the client and the project team some anxiety about time and cost.
The outcome
As I spent almost a month explaining the various concepts and terminology related to e-learning, the differences and similarities between e-learning and ILT, the advantages of each, I could see the mindset changing palpably.
This was brought home to me most forcefully when I heard the following conversation between one of the ILT trainers (a very senior person) and an SME (who has been in that org for close to 15 years): Trainer: "Oh, we need your input on the CDD because you have to verify if the performance objectives noted against each topic maps to what that topic is supposed to cover." SME:CDD? Eh?? Trainer: Oh...Course Design Document (with a smile at me). It is this interesting excel sheet with colorful tabs that Sahana will present in today's workshop. We have to fill out the questions in each of those sheets. Keep a day free for that activity or you'll have her parked outside your cabin door with a printout...
It was then that I knew I had made a dent, a difference, brought about a small change. After that, the presentations and workshops became interactive with questions pouring in. These were no longer skeptical ones but questions with a genuine desire to understand the various stages of e-learning development. Some of the most FAQ were:
What do you mean by gathering content?
What are the various things you do before we can see an elearning module?
What is a storyboard?
How long does it take to review a storyboard? Will you show us how to review one?
How do you "fit" the content into a storyboard?
What do you mean by a module and its objectives?
Our learners are new to elearning? How will they adapt to the navigation?
Can you explain the different UI features and the functions in the prototype you showed us?
Can you build a feature where they can ask questions if they get stuck?
How will they be assessed?
If we want them to go the main document for reference, can we add the document to the module?
Post this phase, the regular activities of gathering content, analyzing it, creating micro-design documents and writing storyboards started.
Fast forward
Moving ahead to the review of the storyboard phase. This was when I truly felt the impact of having introduced elearning as a concept to the client first. The trainers and SMEs not only felt involved, but they were also convinced of the value of the tasks they were performing. This made a huge difference to the way they reviewed, to our interactions, and to the experience of the entire development phase.
Yes, this project did make a difference. A huge difference to me!
