Moving an Organization towards Best Practice In today's business environment where change is constant, technology is cheap and skill

shortages are commonplace, people are the key differentiator between those businesses that succeed and those that don't. It is little wonder then that the training and development function in an organization plays a pivotal role in moving an organization forward. But how should the training department go about its business of providing the best service possible to the rest of the organization? The Business Performance Pty Ltd model for best practice training management recognizes the systems nature of organizations and takes an evolutionary approach to achieving best practice. What this means is that the training and development function is co-dependent on the other functions within an organization for its effectiveness and, because of this co-dependence, it cannot achieve world-class performance all at once.

Some of the internal systems on which the training and development function codepend are:

workforce planning performance management rewards and recognition strategic planning

So, for example, if the strategic planning system in an organization is weak, the training function will find it difficult to identify and deliver training programs of high strategic significance. The co-dependence is illustrated by the fact that the organization's ability to plan strategically can be improved through delivering training in strategic planning to senior managers. Core Mission and Processes

In working with and reflecting on training best practice, we have identified four core processes within an effective training function. These four processes each serve to contribute to the achievement of the training function's core mission. We summarize this mission as: Deliver people capability required to achieve organizational objectives. The four core processes that serve to achieve this mission are: 1. Training Administration 2. Program Development and Delivery 3. Training Strategy and Planning 4. Performance Consulting An Evolutionary Approach to Best Practice Our evolutionary approach then describes how an organization may progressively develop these four core processes in a structured and planned way that:

makes best use of an organization's resources, and takes account of the maturity level of other internal systems.

This phased maturity model approach links the four levels in the model with each of the four core processes mentioned earlier. Level 1 Visibility Level 2 Standards Level 3 Planning Level 4 Performance focuses training administration on focuses program development and on delivery focuses training strategy and on planning focuses performance consulting on

From Theory to Best Practice The link to actual organizational practice is then achieved through describing for each of the four levels a Focus, a corresponding Primary Objective, Key Practices and suggested Key Performance Indicators. The Primary Objective of each phase

specifies the intended organizational outcome of efforts at that level. Each objective says what it is the organization will get by achieving the given level of maturity. The Key Practices section then goes on to list what it is the organization needs to put in place to achieve that level of maturity. The intention here is to provide guidance on what processes and capabilities are required for operating at that level without being too prescriptive. The range of Key Performance Indicators can be used to either gauge the impact of project efforts to achieve a certain maturity level or to monitor the ongoing effectiveness of the training system. This phased approach helps to make sense of the core processes and provides guidance on which activities to concentrate for maximum impact on the road to training best practice. The idea here is that improvement efforts at each level lay the infrastructure and embed the organizational practices necessary for achievement of the next maturity level. How will an organization look as it progressively implements efforts to improve the value of training and development activities? Organizations at the primary level, Level 1 Visibility, concentrate on getting the basic administrative processes defined and practiced rigorously. At Level 2 Standards, there is a focus on improving the quality of the training product developed and finally delivered. Skill gaps are identified before training begins and designers and trainers are professionally equipped to ensure that participants have learned the desired skills following the training. At Level 3 Planning, more emphasis is placed on mobilizing training to hit areas of greatest organizational need. Training is used more effectively as an organizational tool for achieving strategic objectives and less as discretionary expenditure in response to ad hoc requests. Operating at Level 4 Performance leverages off the disciplines, systems and practices put in place during the previous three stages to achieve real organizational benefits from training. The focus is unswervingly on measurable performance improvement at the level of the organization, teams and individuals. At this level, attention to training activities and inputs is only maintained in so far as they serve the achievement of organizational outcomes. You will be interested in

Begin assessing your training unit against the Key Practices at each maturity level with our complete benchmarking and reporting package. Included in the pack is everything you need to conduct an evaluation, including assessment and reporting guide, customizable assessment form and analysis and reporting sheets. Training Management Maturity Model Employee Training in Today's Workplace Organizations continue to grapple with a constantly changing marketplace and internal restructures. In this mix, training managers and practitioners are being increasingly expected to deliver more with less. They are expected to produce real organizational benefits from their employee training programs within shorter time frames and often with smaller training budgets. How are they meeting this challenge? In an effort to leverage technology, larger organizations are adopting ever more comprehensive enterprise-wide Learning Management Systems (LMS) to deliver, track and report training programs and expenditure. Small- to medium-sized organizations on more limited budgets are also finding ways to identify, track and report employee skills. Many of these smaller organizations as well as single business units are turning to our nimble training tracking software to help them meet a tight training budget. The bold predictions that face-to-face classroom training will largely disappear with the rise and rise of e-learning has proved to be largely a chimera. Webinars and other collaborative electronic tools are seeing increased use as the costs of travel and accommodation continue to rise. This development is a bonus for organizations watching their training spend. However, even here, the role of the trainer/facilitator remains center stage. The job of trainer is assured for some time to come. Training Programs and Project Management Also having an impact on the training industry is the increased attention being paid to the discipline of project management. "Projects" with unlimited budgets and never-ending timelines trying to satisfy fuzzy organizational objectives are becoming tolerated less and less in today's business world. Hence, the demand for project management training has seen a dramatic rise in the last ten years. With this we have also seen an increased interest in project management tools and methodologies. How we manage training projects has also matured. As discretionary budgets have continued to shrink, rolling out expensive employee training programs to satisfy ad hoc requests from department managers with no clear organizational rationale is no longer a viable option. More training projects are now being run using an Instructional Systems Design (ISD) model.

Using such a model guarantees that the learning objectives of the training program tie in with a real organizational need. It also raises an organization's confidence that the training program will be of high quality and satisfy the needs of all major stakeholders. Training Tools and Resources for Effective Training Budget constraints and increased business competition have also led to a recent emphasis on the payback on training expenditure. Poor training needs analysis (TNA) and change management practices in the past have led to an extravagant wastage of training budgets, with experts estimating that only some 10 to 20 percent of training dollars spent results in actual benefits to the organization. Donald Kirkpatrick's traditional four-level model remains as the most used model for evaluating the effectiveness of training. This, however, has been supplemented by Jack Phillips with a new fifth level, Return on Investment (ROI). Practitioners not wanting to go down the ROI path have chosen instead to focus on Return on Expectations (ROE). How much are you using the new performance consulting approach in improving the effectiveness of your training programs? With this approach, poor employee and systems performance is diagnosed using accurate and effective performance diagnostic tools before any action is taken. Using a systems view, all workplace factors influencing employee performance are considered. The upshot is that training may not be the appropriate solution to a performance shortfall in every case. The eventual solution may be multifaceted, highlighting process deficiencies, irrelevant or inadequate rewards and recognition, ineffective goal setting, and so on. Using this approach, training is no longer a nave, single-point solution, but is perhaps just one component of the final package. Many managers, however, are yet to give up their knee-jerk reactions to problem solving, grabbing the first solution that enters their mind. A resource that has proved helpful here for both managers and training practitioners is our toolkit, From Training to Enhanced Workplace Performance. Training Systems Best Practice Is your training management system becoming more effective and efficient in delivering organizational capability? Many training professionals have continued to move their organizations towards training best practice. Some do not know where to start. Excellent human resource best practice models have been available for some time. Two prominent examples are the U.S. People Capability Maturity Model and the British Investors in People. Whereas these excellent models take a broad sweep

over the people activities of an organization, our own Training Management Maturity Model focuses exclusively on the capability of the learning function. No doubt, training systems will continue to evolve as we learn more about how people learn and as technology continues to develop in leaps and bounds. The next ten years are destined to be even more exciting than the last. You will be interested in

Benchmark your current training management system against best-practice with our complete assessment and reporting package. Use our unique four-phased approach to evaluate your current capability and create a roadmap for improvement. Training Management Maturity Model

Let our training administration software keep you and your managers up to date easily. Track and report on your training programs, participants and expenditures with our automated click'n'go reports. Download the free trial version today. Training Tracker Instructional Systems Design (ISD) Designing and rolling out a successful training program involves a variety of people co-ordinating their efforts to achieve the desired outcome. Clients and end users of the program may be interviewed to determine the real training requirements. Instructional designers will design and develop the program. Administrators will organize the training schedules and venue logistics. If the program incorporates elearning components, information technology professionals will be involved at a number of points. Ensuring that each piece of work is performed at the right time, using the right amount of resources and to the right standard is no small feat. Add to this the only to be expected changes to requirements, unanticipated issues threatening the success of the project and the usual mix of politics and personalities and you can see why many programs fail to deliver the anticipated organizational benefits.

Experience with both successful and failed programs indicate that the chances of success improve significantly if this complex undertaking is treated as a project, using recognized project management principles and methods. Each discipline has its own set of accepted project phases. For example, software development follows a Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) with five phases; Analyze, Design, Build, Test and Implement. For training program development, a phased systems approach is often referred to as the Instructional Systems Design (ISD) model. The benefits in using a structured phased approach is that the end product is more likely to meet the genuine needs of the client and other stakeholder groups. This approach also helps to ensure that no development activity is started before a necessary pre-activity is completed. For example, development of participant materials is not begun before the program design is completed. In this way, rework is minimized, saving costs and much frustration. The ADDIE Model The most popular rendering of the specific phases using the ISD approach is the ADDIE model. ADDIE represents the five phases of the project, being Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate. The Business Performance Pty Ltd set of training project templates is based on these five phases. Each phase is characterized by a set of activities and a project output in the form of a tangible deliverable. The deliverable for one phase is the input for the next. Each phase also culminates in a review, which forms a go/no-go point for deciding whether to proceed to the next phase. The five phases of the ADDIE model are preceded by a project initiation and planning phase. This initial phase determines the costs associated with undertaking the project and the expected organizational benefits resulting from it. This forms the overarching rationale for proceeding with the project. A project definition that outlines basic project parameters such as objectives, scope, milestones and resource requirements is then drawn up to hand over to the Project Manager. To complete this phase, the Project Manager develops the project plan that is then used to guide and manage the project. Leading in to the five phases of the ADDIE model, the outputs and activities associated with each phase may be summarized as follows: Analyze

Clarify organizational and training program objectives. Agree the scope of the training program. Articulate training administration requirements.

Determine strategies for transferring learned skills to the workplace. Detail project risks, opportunities and assumptions. Investigate constraints in implementing the program, including technological, budget, timing and duration. List training vendor/trainer selection criteria. Determine the target participants, program entry requirements, participant characteristics and special needs. Determine extent of training participant knowledge/skill assessment required. Determine the tasks currently performed by target participants and level of performance required following the training. Estimate program design, development, implementation and evaluation costs, effort required and schedule.

Deliverables: Training Needs Analysis Design

Translate the program objectives into terminal and enabling learning objectives. Quantify program development, implementation and evaluation costs and effort required. Determine program structure and sequence. Determine program duration and pace. Decide program format and mode of delivery. Specify type of participant assessments and assessment conditions. Determine program evaluation methodology, data collection methods, timing and reporting formats. Articulate transfer of learning methods and workplace support. Define implementation and training administration requirements.

Deliverables: High-level Design

Develop

Develop communication packs for program stakeholders. Develop session plans, trainer guides, learner guides and trainer and participant resources. Develop trainer and on-the-job aids. Develop coaching/mentoring guides and resources. Develop technology infrastructure and software. Develop participant assessments. Develop project and program evaluation instruments. Conduct pilot program to test that program meets client requirements. Review implementation and evaluation costs, effort required and schedule.

Deliverables: Communication packs Session plans, trainer guides, learner guides and resources Trainer and on-the-job aids Participant assessment instruments Program evaluation instruments Project evaluation instruments Implement

Rollout program communications to stakeholders. Produce program materials and aids. Install technology infrastructure and services. Set up administrative databases and systems. Install on-the-job aids. Prepare coaches/mentors. Book venue, accommodation and travel arrangements.

Set up venue and accommodation. Schedule participants. Conduct training sessions. Implement training transfer strategies. Conduct participant assessments. Collect participant feedback.

Deliverables: Completed participant assessments Completed attendance forms Completed participant feedback forms Evaluate

Collect training program evaluation data. Collect project evaluation data. Review training program performance (number of employees trained, percent participants passed, participant satisfaction). Review project performance (cost, schedule, scope, stakeholder satisfaction, project team satisfaction). Report program and project performance results.

Deliverables: Program Evaluation Report Project Evaluation Report The activities and deliverables listed above are indicative only. Each organization and each project will have its own specific requirements, so you will need to customize the list above to suit your own project's particular circumstances. Note also that a number of project variables are more clearly articulated and calculated as the project progresses through each phase. These variables included cost, schedule, requirements and risks, and as each of these is made more fully known, a go/no-go decision must be made at the end of each phase.

The defining project parameters remain fixed. These are project objectives, scope, deliverables and approach. When these vary throughout the project, it is a sign that insufficient effort was put in to defining the project at the outset and is an indication the proposed benefits may not eventuate. The phases of the ADDIE model are also iterative in that the learnings resulting from the Evaluation phase are fed back in to the next project. In this way, each successive project may improve in its delivery of expected organizational benefits. Training Project Management Phases The diagram below summarizes the project stages, showing for each phase the objective, activity focus and deliverables. Figure 1 ADDIE Model Project Phases Activity Focus Objective Deliverables

Plan

Determine project Project benefits and costs feasibility and plan accurately determined and project execution project plan complete

Business Case Project Definition Project Plan Training Needs Analysis

Training needs and other Analyze stakeholder Analyze requirements accurately requirements defined Design Produce high-level training program design Design satisfies requirements identified in needs analysis Pilot program and implementation plan meet design requirements and accepted by client Participants successfully complete program

High-level Design Program materials/resource s (list) Evaluation instruments (list) Completed participant assessments Completed attendance forms Completed participant

Develop program materials, Develop infrastructure and schedule Implem Prepare program, ent schedule and train participants

Figure 1 ADDIE Model Project Phases Activity Focus Objective Deliverables feedback forms Review and report Evaluat project and e program effectiveness You will be interested in Evaluations accurately determine strengths and opportunities for improvement

Program Evaluation Report Project Evaluation Report

Now that you are familiar with the ADDIE Model for progressing training projects, use our popular template pack to organize your project around the six phases. Complete with 14 customizable training project templates and bonus project measuring and reporting tool. Training Projects Template Pack