Yesterday, an associate and I delivered a team-building program to some 80+ managers, executives and the leadership team of the Singapore office of a global leader in the digital document managing technology and services industry.
On the ride back from Jewel Box @ Mt Faber to the office, we got into one of our regular philosophical discussions about learning and development and this time we gravitated to the topic of training efficacy.
The conversation reminded me about Kirkpatrick’s Levels of Learning Evaluation.
Donald Kirkpatrick is Professor Emeritus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US and also a past president of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). He is best known for his highly influential model for training evaluation, consisting the four levels of learning evaluation that essentially measure:
1. Reaction of the participant - what they thought and felt about the training
2. Learning - the resulting increase in knowledge or capability
3. Behaviour - extent of behaviour and capability improvement and implementation/application
4. Results - the effects on the business or environment resulting from the trainee's performance
Kirkpatrick's ideas were first published in 1959, in a series of articles in the US Training and Development Journal but are best known from his book entitled, "Evaluating Training Programs", published in 1975.
Most people would be very familiar with level 1 ie the post training questionnaire. Even Level 2, with some form of assessment to test understanding or competency by way of a written, verbal or practical test is also not unusual. This could also take the form of a pre & post training evaluation by the participant (self) or the participant’s supervisor or both.
But it is levels 3 and 4 that most organizations or rather HR/L&D/OD professionals find harder to evaluate and subsequently justify for training dollar investments. For individual contributors, it might be easier, but in today’s complex and matrix organizations, where results arise from project or team collaborations, it would seem that more difficult for organizations to evaluate a particular training or even a series of interventions to the overall business results.
Hence, it is no surprise that a further addition to Kirkpatrick's model has been suggested by Jack J Phillips in the form of a fifth level - Return on Investment (ROI) level, which is essentially about comparing the results (ie fourth level of the standard model) to the overall costs of training.
Only when organizations really invest in the resources to adequately evaluate training at all the 4 or even 5 levels, the question of training efficacy and return on training investment will continue to be a blot that will not go away in the landscape of learning & development.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Teachable Moments
In the educating of the young/children, you will oft hear of the term “teachable moments”.
Some have even gone a step further to say that one of the most important skills to nurture as a parent or educator, is the ability to recognize and capitalize on these teachable moments in everyday life, which can happen almost anywhere.
And many of these are important lessons pertaining to values, morals and ethics.
My wife just blogged about such a moment with our son this week arising from an episode from his badminton training session last week - about staying focused and not giving up until the game is over.
What is the relevance of this to adults, working life, corporations and businesses you ask?
In my trainings, I always endeavour to facilitate learning for my participants as I take them on a journey of discovery and awareness - whatever the topic, be it team development, conflict management or leadership.
This is done by encouraging the recounting and sharing of their own workplace experiences, as these occasions present countless teachable moments - those that arise from failures or successes, customer praises or criticisms.
The question is - Are leaders, managers and supervisors seizing on these opportunities to model the desired behaviours they want to see within the organisation?
Are they using these moments to coach and mentor to motivate high performers or help the under-achievers?
Are they leveraging on them to recognise talent as well as help develop and retain said talent?
Parents naturally want the best for their children.
Hopefully we also want the best for our staff and subordinates and by seizing on these “corporate teachable moments”, it will translate to a more engaged and motivated workforce that consistently performs and achieves the desired objectives of the organisation.
Use that “teachable moment” the next time it presents itself.
Some have even gone a step further to say that one of the most important skills to nurture as a parent or educator, is the ability to recognize and capitalize on these teachable moments in everyday life, which can happen almost anywhere.
And many of these are important lessons pertaining to values, morals and ethics.
My wife just blogged about such a moment with our son this week arising from an episode from his badminton training session last week - about staying focused and not giving up until the game is over.
What is the relevance of this to adults, working life, corporations and businesses you ask?
In my trainings, I always endeavour to facilitate learning for my participants as I take them on a journey of discovery and awareness - whatever the topic, be it team development, conflict management or leadership.
This is done by encouraging the recounting and sharing of their own workplace experiences, as these occasions present countless teachable moments - those that arise from failures or successes, customer praises or criticisms.
The question is - Are leaders, managers and supervisors seizing on these opportunities to model the desired behaviours they want to see within the organisation?
Are they using these moments to coach and mentor to motivate high performers or help the under-achievers?
Are they leveraging on them to recognise talent as well as help develop and retain said talent?
Parents naturally want the best for their children.
Hopefully we also want the best for our staff and subordinates and by seizing on these “corporate teachable moments”, it will translate to a more engaged and motivated workforce that consistently performs and achieves the desired objectives of the organisation.
Use that “teachable moment” the next time it presents itself.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
"Fitting" In
I was involved in a Recruitment & Selection training program last week and in line with my focus on group facilitation, quite a lively discussion arose regarding finding someone who would fit the job and also the organisation.
Now then shouldn’t a person who is right for the job naturally be also right for the organisation you ask?
This concept of “fit” is not new and is the main crux of the hiring process i.e. finding the right person that is right for the job but also right for the organisation.
Industrial or organizational psychologists have defined “fit” in 2 distinct ways:-
Person-Job Fit (or P-J Fit).
Person-Job Fit involves what we can refer to as the “hard” aspects about a candidate’s suitability for the tasks that are required for successful performance of a specific job.
These “hard” aspects of P-J Fit include things such as a candidate’s level of knowledge (K) and level of specific skills (S) about the specific subject matter, and could also include their cognitive abilities i.e. tests for literacy, numeracy, intelligence, verbal reasoning etc.
For example in hiring a secretary, an assessment to his/her ability to do short-hand and type at more than 45 words per minute, could be a necessary requisite.
In many cases, P-J Fit also includes “softer” aspects such as the examination of an applicant’s personality traits or work preference or attitude (A) with respect to the job requirements ie tests relating to values, relational style, leadership style etc.
This is by far the easiest part of the recruitment and selection process, evidenced by the numerous assessment tools available to “test” a candidate’s suitability.
Person-Organization Fit (or P-O Fit).
For the second type of fit known as Person-Organization Fit, it would be fair to say that it is much less common for this kind of fit to be properly measured during the hiring process using a valid assessment tool.
Instead, this type of fit is typically based on anecdotal evidence and based a lot on the “gut feel” of the Hiring Manager (HM) or Human Resource (HR), usually after a face-to-face interview.
“I have a good feeling (or vibe) from this candidate”. “I’m more comfortable with that candidate”. Do these sound familiar?
But how many times have we also found out the hard way that the new recruit is just not performing to expectations, usually not from the job competency standpoint, but from the way he/she relates to the rest of their colleagues, in terms of the values that are not in synch with the organization’s, or does not seem as motivated to succeed etc.
The simplest way to look at it is that the candidate does not seem to fit the “culture” of the organization. How oft have we heard about the famed US or Korean or SME “work-cultures”?
So it is important to not only understand what our company’s organization culture is like ie is it formal vs informal, task or people-oriented, results or process-oriented, team orientation, orientation towards learning and development etc but also how well a potential candidate can ‘fit” and eventually thrive in those sorts of environments.
So, in addition to getting the “P-J” fit right, organizations would do well to spend a bit more effort and resources to get the “P-O” fit as it would yield both tangible outcomes like reduced turnover and lower costs of hiring but also in other intangible ways like a more happy, committed and productive staff.
Now then shouldn’t a person who is right for the job naturally be also right for the organisation you ask?
This concept of “fit” is not new and is the main crux of the hiring process i.e. finding the right person that is right for the job but also right for the organisation.
Industrial or organizational psychologists have defined “fit” in 2 distinct ways:-
Person-Job Fit (or P-J Fit).
Person-Job Fit involves what we can refer to as the “hard” aspects about a candidate’s suitability for the tasks that are required for successful performance of a specific job.
These “hard” aspects of P-J Fit include things such as a candidate’s level of knowledge (K) and level of specific skills (S) about the specific subject matter, and could also include their cognitive abilities i.e. tests for literacy, numeracy, intelligence, verbal reasoning etc.
For example in hiring a secretary, an assessment to his/her ability to do short-hand and type at more than 45 words per minute, could be a necessary requisite.
In many cases, P-J Fit also includes “softer” aspects such as the examination of an applicant’s personality traits or work preference or attitude (A) with respect to the job requirements ie tests relating to values, relational style, leadership style etc.
This is by far the easiest part of the recruitment and selection process, evidenced by the numerous assessment tools available to “test” a candidate’s suitability.
Person-Organization Fit (or P-O Fit).
For the second type of fit known as Person-Organization Fit, it would be fair to say that it is much less common for this kind of fit to be properly measured during the hiring process using a valid assessment tool.
Instead, this type of fit is typically based on anecdotal evidence and based a lot on the “gut feel” of the Hiring Manager (HM) or Human Resource (HR), usually after a face-to-face interview.
“I have a good feeling (or vibe) from this candidate”. “I’m more comfortable with that candidate”. Do these sound familiar?
But how many times have we also found out the hard way that the new recruit is just not performing to expectations, usually not from the job competency standpoint, but from the way he/she relates to the rest of their colleagues, in terms of the values that are not in synch with the organization’s, or does not seem as motivated to succeed etc.
The simplest way to look at it is that the candidate does not seem to fit the “culture” of the organization. How oft have we heard about the famed US or Korean or SME “work-cultures”?
So it is important to not only understand what our company’s organization culture is like ie is it formal vs informal, task or people-oriented, results or process-oriented, team orientation, orientation towards learning and development etc but also how well a potential candidate can ‘fit” and eventually thrive in those sorts of environments.
So, in addition to getting the “P-J” fit right, organizations would do well to spend a bit more effort and resources to get the “P-O” fit as it would yield both tangible outcomes like reduced turnover and lower costs of hiring but also in other intangible ways like a more happy, committed and productive staff.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
An Interesting Read......
I was doing some research recently and came across this book which I think is quite good as (which the inside cover also pitches) it "demystifies the essential concepts that any entrepreneur, manager or student of business must grasp".
It's concise, bite-sized and easy to digest and is really good for an introductory overview.
Some the 50 management ideas include:-
1) Adhocracy
2) Balanced Scorecard
4) Blue Ocean Strategy
13) Costs of Complexity
17) The 80:20 Principle
18) Empowerment
20) Experience Curve
21) The Five Forces of Competition
28) Lean Manufacturing
30) The Long Tail
43) Systems Thinking
45) Tipping Point
49) Web2.0
50) What business are you really in?
If you would like to find out more, here are the details
50 Management Ideas You Really Need to Know (Hardcover)
by Edward Russell-Walling (Author)
Publisher: Quercus Publishing Plc (3 April 2008)
ISBN-10: 1847240097
ISBN-13: 978-1847240095
Edward Russell-Walling is a writer and editor, specializing in business, finance and economic affairs. He had contributed to a wide range of publications, including The Times, New Statesman and the Financial Times, and he has edited numerous magazines.
Happy Reading!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Achieving Learning in Training
I just came out of conducting a 3-day training early this week.
I was appreciative of the enthusiastic response by participants during the course, especially their effort and great work, as evidenced by their very productive and colourful flipchart outputs. And I was most gratified by the positive rating for my facilitation.
The whole event reminded me of Gagné’s “Nine Events of Instruction”.
Gagné’s most major and best known contribution to the theory of instruction was his model of "Nine Events of Instruction".
1. Gain attention
2. Inform learners of objectives
3. Stimulate recall of prior learning
4. Present the content
5. Provide "learning guidance"
6. Elicit performance (practice)
7. Provide feedback
8. Assess performance
9. Enhance retention and transfer to the job
If any trainer is able to apply these 9 events into the delivery of their program - whether it is on how to operate a stamping machine, to how to communicate better or on performance management, I am pretty certain participants will be responsive, learning would have taken place and the trainer will be “rewarded” with an appreciative rating.
I was appreciative of the enthusiastic response by participants during the course, especially their effort and great work, as evidenced by their very productive and colourful flipchart outputs. And I was most gratified by the positive rating for my facilitation.
The whole event reminded me of Gagné’s “Nine Events of Instruction”.
Robert Mills Gagné (1916-2002) was an American educational psychologist best known for his "Conditions of Learning". Gagné pioneered the science of instruction during WWII for the air force's pilot training. Later he went on to develop a series of studies and works that helped codify what is now considered to be 'good instruction.' He also was involved in applying concepts of instructional theory to the design of computer based training and multimedia based learning.
Source: Wikipedia
Source: Wikipedia
Gagné’s most major and best known contribution to the theory of instruction was his model of "Nine Events of Instruction".
1. Gain attention
2. Inform learners of objectives
3. Stimulate recall of prior learning
4. Present the content
5. Provide "learning guidance"
6. Elicit performance (practice)
7. Provide feedback
8. Assess performance
9. Enhance retention and transfer to the job
If any trainer is able to apply these 9 events into the delivery of their program - whether it is on how to operate a stamping machine, to how to communicate better or on performance management, I am pretty certain participants will be responsive, learning would have taken place and the trainer will be “rewarded” with an appreciative rating.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
What's Your Learning Profile?
I was back behind the classroom desk this past week as part of an industry certification course.
I “survived” the 04 days, fortunately by the fact that the topic allowed the training to be very hands-on and participative and an enlightened trainer that decided to leverage on that. Versus just the atypical lecture and information dump so typical of many certification-type courses.
If you hadn’t already guessed by my profession and approach & methodology to facilitation and training, I am a very hands-on, participatory type of person. I seem to learn and assimilate best in those sorts of experiential training environments and I have observed that many working adults seem to be that way.
Many would be familiar with the Dunn & Dunn's VAK model, with it’s origins from Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), which asserts that for most circumstances and most people, their mental processing is dominated by three main sensory based modes:
visual (V- learning by seeing)
auditory (A - learning by hearing)
kinesthetic (K- learning by doing)
But I personally prefer Honey & Mumford’s (1982) typology of experiential learning styles.
Activitists (Do)
involve themselves fully in new experiences
enjoy the here and now
open minded, enthusiastic, flexible
act first, consider consequences later
seek to centre activity around themselves
==> Enjoy learning through games, competitive teamwork tasks and role plays.
Reflectors (Review)
prefer to step back and observe
cautious, take a back seat, can be perceived to be indecisive
likes to collect and analyze data about experience and events, slow to reach conclusions
use information from past, present and immediate observations to maintain a big picture perspective.
==> Prefer learning activities based on observation/investigation which gives leeway to ponder upon.
Theorists (Conclude)
Think through problems in a logical step-by-step manner, value rationality and objectivity
can assimilate disparate facts into coherent theories
disciplined, aiming to fit things into rational order
keen on basic assumptions, principles, theories, models and systems thinking
==> Prefers activities that explore the inter-relationship between ideas and principles.
Pragmatists (Plan)
Keen to put ideas, theories and techniques into practice
Search new ideas and experiment
Act quickly and confidently on ideas, gets straight to the point
Are impatient with endless discussion
==> Prefers learning activities that resembles direct work experience.
Knowing your learning style can accelerate your learning as you undertake activities that best fit your preferred style.
I “survived” the 04 days, fortunately by the fact that the topic allowed the training to be very hands-on and participative and an enlightened trainer that decided to leverage on that. Versus just the atypical lecture and information dump so typical of many certification-type courses.
If you hadn’t already guessed by my profession and approach & methodology to facilitation and training, I am a very hands-on, participatory type of person. I seem to learn and assimilate best in those sorts of experiential training environments and I have observed that many working adults seem to be that way.
Many would be familiar with the Dunn & Dunn's VAK model, with it’s origins from Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), which asserts that for most circumstances and most people, their mental processing is dominated by three main sensory based modes:
visual (V- learning by seeing)
auditory (A - learning by hearing)
kinesthetic (K- learning by doing)
But I personally prefer Honey & Mumford’s (1982) typology of experiential learning styles.
Activitists (Do)
involve themselves fully in new experiences
enjoy the here and now
open minded, enthusiastic, flexible
act first, consider consequences later
seek to centre activity around themselves
==> Enjoy learning through games, competitive teamwork tasks and role plays.
Reflectors (Review)
prefer to step back and observe
cautious, take a back seat, can be perceived to be indecisive
likes to collect and analyze data about experience and events, slow to reach conclusions
use information from past, present and immediate observations to maintain a big picture perspective.
==> Prefer learning activities based on observation/investigation which gives leeway to ponder upon.
Theorists (Conclude)
Think through problems in a logical step-by-step manner, value rationality and objectivity
can assimilate disparate facts into coherent theories
disciplined, aiming to fit things into rational order
keen on basic assumptions, principles, theories, models and systems thinking
==> Prefers activities that explore the inter-relationship between ideas and principles.
Pragmatists (Plan)
Keen to put ideas, theories and techniques into practice
Search new ideas and experiment
Act quickly and confidently on ideas, gets straight to the point
Are impatient with endless discussion
==> Prefers learning activities that resembles direct work experience.
Knowing your learning style can accelerate your learning as you undertake activities that best fit your preferred style.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Future Now
My wife was invited to SIM’s 2008 Annual Management Lecture last August to hear the keynote address by their distinguished speaker Dr James Canton.
Canton is CEO and Chairman of the Institute for Global Futures, a think tank he founded in 1990 that advises business and government on future trends. He has worked with Fortune 1000 firms like IBM, BP, Intel, Philips, General Electric, Hewlett Packard, Boeing, FedEx, and Proctor & Gamble on trends in innovation, financial services, healthcare, population, life sciences, energy, security, workforce, climate change, and globalization.
I found his book The Extreme Future: The Top Trends that will Shape the World in the Next 20 Years, to be insightful, clear and relevant.
Points raised relating to the workforce for 2009, updated from this book, makes for good reading and I have reproduced it here for sharing:-
Top Ten Workforce Trends for 2009
1. A global war for Smart Talent will be the top driver of competitive advantage, as educated, skilled and experienced employees will be in demand.
2. The aging of the population in America and Europe will have dramatic effect on society and the economy impacting productivity, knowledge and growth.
3. An increase in women in the U.S. workforce will change the policies, power and positioning of organizations. Women will alter the strategies of boardrooms, industries and markets.
4. A diversity savvy workforce will be required to understand and align with the diversity in the global marketplace. Diversity will be a critical competency for leaders and employees.
5. Finding, training and retaining high-tech skilled employees from a global talent pool will be the greatest challenge for every organization.
6. Incorporating innovation into the organizational DNA will be a key driver of future competitive advantage.
7. Building a sustainable, healthy and green workplace will be an essential capability for retaining talent and attracting the future workforce
8. Preparing employees to meet the challenges of a complex and stressful future, where accelerated change and risks can be managed effectively with high performance agility, will be vitally important.
9. An organization that is committed to employee development, continual education and training, will return to the organization new skills and new competencies.
10. Attracting the next workforce, or preparing the current one, will require a new workforce culture to better understand trans-national teams, online collaboration, globalization and business process transformation.
Source: Institute for Global Futures
James Canton, Ph.D is a senior fellow at the Centre for Research in Innovation at the Kellogg School of Management and is also an advisor to our Economic Development Board (EDB).
He is also the author of Technofutures: How Leading-Edge Innovations Will Transform Business in the 21st Century.
Canton is CEO and Chairman of the Institute for Global Futures, a think tank he founded in 1990 that advises business and government on future trends. He has worked with Fortune 1000 firms like IBM, BP, Intel, Philips, General Electric, Hewlett Packard, Boeing, FedEx, and Proctor & Gamble on trends in innovation, financial services, healthcare, population, life sciences, energy, security, workforce, climate change, and globalization.
I found his book The Extreme Future: The Top Trends that will Shape the World in the Next 20 Years, to be insightful, clear and relevant.
Points raised relating to the workforce for 2009, updated from this book, makes for good reading and I have reproduced it here for sharing:-
Top Ten Workforce Trends for 2009
1. A global war for Smart Talent will be the top driver of competitive advantage, as educated, skilled and experienced employees will be in demand.
2. The aging of the population in America and Europe will have dramatic effect on society and the economy impacting productivity, knowledge and growth.
3. An increase in women in the U.S. workforce will change the policies, power and positioning of organizations. Women will alter the strategies of boardrooms, industries and markets.
4. A diversity savvy workforce will be required to understand and align with the diversity in the global marketplace. Diversity will be a critical competency for leaders and employees.
5. Finding, training and retaining high-tech skilled employees from a global talent pool will be the greatest challenge for every organization.
6. Incorporating innovation into the organizational DNA will be a key driver of future competitive advantage.
7. Building a sustainable, healthy and green workplace will be an essential capability for retaining talent and attracting the future workforce
8. Preparing employees to meet the challenges of a complex and stressful future, where accelerated change and risks can be managed effectively with high performance agility, will be vitally important.
9. An organization that is committed to employee development, continual education and training, will return to the organization new skills and new competencies.
10. Attracting the next workforce, or preparing the current one, will require a new workforce culture to better understand trans-national teams, online collaboration, globalization and business process transformation.
Source: Institute for Global Futures
James Canton, Ph.D is a senior fellow at the Centre for Research in Innovation at the Kellogg School of Management and is also an advisor to our Economic Development Board (EDB).
He is also the author of Technofutures: How Leading-Edge Innovations Will Transform Business in the 21st Century.
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