March 2006

Inside this issue:

1. More Than Training?

2. Tip of the Month – Blended Learning

3. Survey Results – Classroom vs. E-Learning

4. Final Thoughts.

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1. More Than Training?

Recently the term human capital has re-surfaced in training and performance literature. We say re-surfaced because it was in 1978 that Thomas Gilbert noted: “the purpose of performance engineering is to increase human capital, which can be defined as the product of time and opportunity.”* Also not new, unfortunately, are training (and other) interventions that fail to deliver on Gilbert’s stated goal for performance engineering, namely, to “convert human potential into human capital by proceeding in an orderly and sensible manner”**. Perhaps you’ve been involved in a few ‘less than successful’ interventions?

We agree with Gilbert that achieving competence demands that we proceed in an orderly and sensible manner. Orderly, sensible, achievement of competent performance requires us to answer the following:

- What is the Required Performance? This can be easy (“we have valid SOP’s or Competency profiles, or this is what X wants, etc.), or hard (“No one seems to know”)— but it can’t be avoided.

- What is the Actual Performance? Again, easy (“the reject rate is 35% over our standard, customer complaints are overrunning our help desk, etc.), or hard (“No one seems to know)—but it can’t be avoided.

- What elements of performance need to be addressed to address the gap between what’s required and what’s actually happening?

- Eight elements affect performance: skill and knowledge, capacity, attitude, standards, measurement, feedback, conditions, and incentive/motivation.

The job of the performance consultant is to follow an orderly and sensible set of procedures to gather the data that will inform sound performance solutions. Click on these links for more information on Clarifying Problem Causes and Solution Strategies.

At FKA we explore these procedures in our Performance Consulting and Training Needs Analysis workshops.

* Human Competence, Engineering Worth Performance, by Thomas F. Gilbert, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1978, p. 11.
** Ibid, pg. 12

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2. Tip of the Month – Blended Learning

Our discussions in recent months focused on classroom vs e-learning training. (See survey results below.) But, for the infinite number of training delivery problems exists an equal or greater number of training delivery methods/solutions. A mix of options and technologies may be the perfect solution. Where to start? Consider this list of decision factors: Blended Learning Decision Factors

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3. Survey Results - Classroom vs. E-Learning

Last month we asked you how training is delivered in your organization. The results support and uncover some interesting trends:

63% - do 80% or more training in the classroom
59% - do 20% or less training via e-learning
67% - use classroom training for its effectiveness
57% - use e-learning for its accessibility
The training group is split 50/50 on classroom and learning
Managers have a 2:1 preference for e-learning
Learners have a 2:1 for classroom training
75% - say classroom will remain the same or increase next year
65% - say e-learning will increase next year.

Observations you made about classroom and e-learning?

Classroom: like the instructor guidance; it’s what the employees like; not enough resources for e-learning; and, the content changes too much or the material is complex.

E-Learning: perceived effectiveness; reusable; less time spent in training; reduces costs; can train geographically dispersed learners; faster to get large groups trained; and, it’s mandated.

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4. Final Thoughts

A manager comes to your office looking for a training class to fix a performance problem. After all, you’re the fixer of problems, aren’t you? But you’ve worked with this group before, and the last training class didn’t create any positive impact on the group’s work performance. You don’t want to get drawn into another training project with limited effectiveness. After all the CEO just sent that memo about training ROI.

The true learning leader must look beyond training as the only solution. Could there be other factors at work affecting performance? Adjust your training cap and look at the problem in terms of capacity, attitude, standards, measurement, feedback, conditions, and incentive or motivation. You might be surprised at the solutions you’ll discover.

Michael Nolan, President, FKA

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Where’s FKA?

Training Director’s Forum, Palm Springs, CA, June 11-14, 2006. FKA President, Michael Nolan presents Managing the Learning Organization, a special 2-hour clinic, June 13 th. http://www.trainingdirectorsforum.com for details.

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Recommended Resource:

No time for a workshop, or just need to brush up on you classroom delivery skills? Use FKA’s Trainer Certification Coach. This robust CD-based learning tool combines real classroom video with an interactive interface showcasing the skills and competencies of excellent instructors. View two different styles of lesson, as well as pre and post training activities! A self- assessment guide is also included. Regular price $199, special Learning Exchange price of $49.95 (plus shipping and handling). Click to order today!

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Become a member! Join other savvy learning and performance professionals in the know and become an FKA Member. Membership is f r e e, and it gives you access to the special members area of the FKA website. This area is loaded with tips, tricks, articles, forums and more. Become a member today!

http://www.fka.com/linktracker.asp?name=members

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Attention meeting planners: looking for dynamic speakers for your upcoming company event? Consider an FKA expert. We can speak on a wide variety of training, learning and performance topics in an interactive and learner- centered format. Call us at 1-800-352-5585 or 613-829-3412.

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If you like these tips, please forward them on to your colleagues, clients and friends. Don’t forget to become an FKA Member for access to lots more great training, learning and performance information:

http://www.fka.com

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Copyright 2006 Friesen, Kaye and Associates. All rights reserved.

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