Learning and development: A crystal ball on the future

Ricky Robinson, MD of Learning Resources, looks at the changes in the learning and development market.

For those of us who enjoy bookstores and browsing the aisles in vain search of serendipity, listening to talk by the new generation of buying the third Harry Potter book through Amazon.com from their car by Internet cellphone gives us an uneasy touch of the jitters. Yet if Isaac Isamov was right that "No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be," these are the sorts of issues that will need to be addressed, not withstanding any sense of unease, in any consideration of learning and development through a futuristic crystal ball.

In 1970 it took 108 men five days to unload a ship full of timber. Today Tom Peters informs us it takes 8 men one day to do the same job. And he warns further that there`s no reason the same trend won`t happen in Human Resources or Learning & Development.

More than anything else, it is the change that occurs in organisations that will drive the changes that take place in Learning & Development.

If we consider just in this last decade in the western world the millions of jobs that have disappeared in manufacturing, agriculture, mining and construction and in the same period that have appeared in financial services, health and education, hospitality and technology related services, one thing stands out: Service is a booming industry.

Parallel with the service boom is increased consumer expectation. Not too long ago we were happy to stand in long queues, wait 6 weeks for out- of- stock books, and be grateful if a new telephone line was installed in less than 4 months. In the wake of technological advance the intelligent machine has taken the over the work of millions in the traditional industries worldwide; instant gratification has become an expectation norm. But rather than the expected marginalisation of human effort, industry relies increasingly on people- well skilled knowledgeable, well trained people.

As business processes become more and more automated, the balance of learning requirements will continue the long - term shift away from providing manufacturing skills to those required by the service driven economy. This means that the attitudinal and behavioural components of learning requirements will grow, along with the need to understand, engage and manage the automated systems that people will use. Creativity in all forms will also grow in significance, from creative business practises to solution innovation, with a trend towards improved collection and dissemination of best practice throughout an organisation.

So if other organisations can replicate products and services, but not the intellectual capital within an organisation, and therefore Human Capital is to be the competitive edge of the future, the function of HR Departments will surely be to maximise the use and potential of people resources. In doing so the function will need to change from a ` necessary evil `, in the perception of some, that administers pay and leave, looks after IR, recruits and provides ad hoc training programs on a menu basis, to one that is the key strategic function in the business. The divide between HR and line management will blur with both people and business skills increasingly required from both sides.

It may seem perfectly obvious to state that the role of any Learning & Development function in the new world of work should be to enhance workplace performance in support of business goals. But consider contemporary research: people apply on the job 25 percent or less of what they have learned in a training program!

The difference between old and new approaches to Learning & Development can be highlighted in what is measured: If outcomes focus merely on skill and knowledge, then it is appropriate to measure whether skill & knowledge advanced to required levels as a result of our intervention. In the 4 levels of evaluation, first enunciated by Donald Kirkpatrick, 1 this would be at levels 1 (Reaction - the so-called `smile factor`) and 2 (Learning cognitive uptake). If, however, our outcome is to enhance human performance in support of business goals, we need to measure further: we would need to measure level 3 (Performance change) and 4(Operational impact- Return On Investment).

The shift from training to performance improvement is compellingly made by Dana Robinson in her book `Performance Consulting: Moving Beyond Training `.2 Even if the term ` Performance Consulting ` turns out to be faddish, the argument is well made and will, in my view, stand the time test.

A summary of the shift is outlined in the table below:

• Training

• Performance consulting

• Focuses on what people need to learn; enhanced skill and knowledge is the output

• Relies on a single solution (Learning); all questions and suggestions are biased to this solution

• Can, and frequently does, operate independently of a partnership with clients

• Front-end assessment is optional

• Measurement is undertaken to affirm that skills and knowledge have been enhanced

• Focuses on what people need to do; enhanced on-the-job performance is the output.

• Relies on multiple solutions, of which learning may be one; a performance consultant is bias free of solution

• Work is done in partnership with a client, t he individual(s) who owns the business goals that are supported

Front-end assessment is mandatory

Measurement is undertaken to affirm that performance has improved and business goals have been attained

Because there is no way to achieve impact upon human & business performance without information, assessment will be integral to the performance consulting process. As opposed to the traditional training needs analysis, the performance assessment comprises 6 possible types:

• process models - the re-engineering of a work process which is flawed

• performance models - the description of what someone must do more, better or differently to achieve the specific outcomes required.

• competency models - the list of skills, knowledge and attributes required to perform

• gap analysis- a description of current performance as compared to desired performance

• cause analysis- identifying the root causes for lack of performance

• learning needs analysis- identifying the gaps in skill and knowledge which are present.

A final note on the changes required of HR and training professionals: compare the competencies required of the new professional with those of the old:

• Analytical skill

• Business knowledge

• Change management skill

• Project management

• Communication skills, especially questioning

• Systems thinking

Food for thought!

Rudyard Kipling said of the weather, "Everyone discusses it, but no-one does anything about it." This used to be true of assessment and performance and training measurement. It will surely change.

Within the context of a shift to performance, assessment and measurement, how will learning be most effectively delivered?

As we plunge deeper into the world of portals, internet and bandwidth, and as the techies tell us about Internet Protocol Virtual Private Networks (private internets with guaranteed performance), wide area network technology line ATM and DSL, Application Service Providers and Voice on Internet Protocol (which will gradually replace conventional telephony), some key questions will need to be answered. Things like: "Will this enhance value to the Customer?". "Is it linked to the strategic needs of the business?" "Is the learning both engaging and personalised?"

Most corporate educationists accept that e-learning is not going to be the next `Wow! It`s going to save the training world " invention. Nor is it going to be a WOEWTT - "What on Earth Were They Thinking?" - fleeting fancy.

The Learning and Development platform of the future will, I believe, be a blend of the traditional and technologically enabled. E-learning will be excellent for giving people the basic knowledge - the background information, facts, figures and theories - to master a subject. The Learning and Development function of the future will put on the organisation`s intranet or into the Open Learning Centre all the knowledge necessary to master a particular skill. Learners will be able to study the material at their own pace prior to a classroom-based event. However, the e-learning material will have to be engaging and personalised, as mentioned above, not merely reconfigured book material or somebody`s digitised classroom notes.

Thus, properly designed and implemented e-learning material will include assessment of the learner`s preferences and a choice of ways of learning the necessary theory. Passive media such as articles and diagrams will be available for the theorists, active media such as interactive videos, games, simulations and so forth available for activists and pragmatists.

Once the theme is in place, for basic skill development, the classroom will remain the best method. But instead of using time to teach fundamentals, the event will begin with everyone well grounded in theory, and so is a far more focused and potent event involving role play, practice, discussion, argument, feedback, demonstration, couching - in other words doing what people do best together and have no hope of doing alone.

After the classroom event, e-learning can again assist the learner towards mastery. We know from the work of American, David Kolb and more recently British pioneers in learning Peter Honey, Alan Mumpord and Hugh Murray that people learn in a continuous cycle. The cycle can start anywhere, but includes doing (role play, simulation a real on the job), reviewing that experience (networking, feedback, discussion), concluding (incorporating the learning from think review into one`s body of knowledge, skills and behaviour), and finally planning (applying the enhanced set of knowledge, skill or behaviour).

In this 14th phase EPSS (Electronic Performance Support System) can be very effective in enhancing the learning cycle and improving mastery. Through delivery in a Learning Centre or via internet or intranet to the desktop, a learner can access the precise information they need at the precise point that they need it - just right, just in time, just enough.

The power of the delivery platform is going to be in the mix, or the blend as the practitioners are starting to call it. Through this healthy blend, learning in the future will have more of a thrill and less of a chill than perhaps in the case today!

An emerging model of learning for the early 21st century suggests that mastery of an interpersonal or leadership skill comes in three distinct parts:

1. The cognitive front end (to de-jargon: what you know). On its own this won`t be enough. You could know as much about tennis as Andre Agassi, but would not compete in knowledge alone. For that you need skill development.

2. Basic learning of the skill.

3. Towards mastery - the development and continual polishing of the skill through practice (role-lay and on-the-job), feedback and coaching.

For time mastery to happen, though, there are a host of other component parts to this elusive `potjie`:

5.1 Environment

True learning mastery will only occur in a receptive environment. A positive culture of self-awareness, self-criticism and openness to critical feedback. An encouragement for learning new things and an understanding that continual learning is an essential part of survival and growth.

3 M recognised this point in adopting the slogan, "If you ain`t getting better, you`re getting worse."

5.2 Humility

6th Century Chinese philosopher Luo-Tzo said it perfectly: "To know yet to think that me does not know is best, Nor to know yet is think that one knows will lend to difficulty."

5.3 Learning from past experience

"Success is a lousy teacher", advises Bill Gates in The Road Ahead. "It seduces smart people into thinking they can`t lose. And it`s an unreliable guide to the future. History is a good teacher, though."

Individuals and companies in search of mastery will thus continually review their success and failures in a way that is open, accessible and systematic.

5.4 Learning from others

Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky`s assertion that "Learning carries within itself certain dangers because out of necessity one has to learn from one`s enemies", could be true in a very competitive environment today. Fortunately, though, there are also other ways of learning from others: benchmarking best practice, mentorships, coaching, feedback from customers, business partners and suppliers, to mention just a few.

5.5 Developing employability

Guarantee of lifelong employment has gone - perhaps forever. In its place is the concept of employability - staying employable is both good for the individual and the employer, and broadens your value right where you are. Employers and individuals will need to look beyond the skills required to do current jobs, and develop skills, knowledge and attitudes needed for the future as well.

5.6 Self-learning

Increasingly, the onus will be placed on the individual to deep his or her skill levels at appropriate levels. The employer may provide tools and resources, but the onus will be on the employee to access these and stay abreast of required skills levels, at their own pace and often in their own time. Whereas it used to be the responsibility of corporate training departments to develop people, now corporations are moving to career self-reliance, and have the technology to facilitate it.

Conclusion

In the boardrooms of the past it was perhaps good enough for the Human Resource Directors or Learning and Development professionals to trot out the ` No train, no gain` paraphrase in order to secure valuable budget allocations. Learning will need to be intimately linked to strategic business drivers, be measured and result in improved on-the job performance, be delivered in a way that maximises the learning experience and minimises time off work by utilising a blend of different platforms, and result in individual and organisational mastery of learning.

Too much to ask of learning and development? Given that the alternative could be extinction, I don`t think so.

References

1. Kirkpatrich, Donald. Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels; Barret Koehler, 1998.

2. Gaines Robinson, D. Performance Consulting, Moving Beyond Training; Barret Koehler, 1996.

3. Kirkpatrick, Donald. Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels; Barret Koehler, 1998.

4. Gaines Robinson, D. Performance Consulting, Moving Beyond Training; Barret Koehler, 1996.

5. Murray, Hugh. Training Journal; October 2000.