The demand for qualified people is estimated to be twice the supply over the next 20 years. In my state of South Carolina, the Chamber of Commerce projects that Between 2010 and 2030, total SC employment demand (based on U.S. projections) will increase by approximately 16.3% while the traditional labor pool available to fill these jobs will only grow by approximately 7.0%.
The well researched and documented retiring workforce and shortage of qualified “technical” people is a primary driver of this gap. Several factors contribute to the lack of available qualified people. One is the gap between the education people are seeking and the needs of the workplace.
Since you are not likely to find qualified candidates who have the educational background, practical skills, specialized knowledge or work experience you seek, you will have to hire people based on character attributes and equip them with necessary education, skills, and knowledge.
This approach is consistent with Jim Collins advice in Good to Great – first who, then what. You should focus on getting the right people, then the role they will play. Their “seat on the bus” as Collins says.
The dimensions you should consider include character, work ethic, intelligence, responsibility, and passion for learning. Pay special attention to the passion for learning. In the Living Company Arie de Geus suggests that “The organization’s ability to learn faster (and possible better) than the competition becomes its most sustainable competitive advantage.”
Once you find the right people, you need to maximize their learning abilities and make the most of the expertise they have already developed. This can be achieved with a well defined learning process.
Learning is a Process
John Alexander, President of the Center for Creative Leadership says that “Learning is a process and not an event.” The learning process has three phases:
Phase 1 (before training) is when the prior knowledge and experience of the participant is aligned with his or her manager’s expectations. Phase 1 clearly defines what is expected of the participant.
Phase 2 (training) is the class or learning event. It should be driven by active, measurable learning objectives. The learning objectives are designed to advance desired business results. Often this is the only phase that is actually executed. The measure of learning is how many of these activities have taken place – not the results.
Focused attention on all three phases of learning drives results.
Phase 3 (after training) is the follow through and application. The participant applies the new skills and knowledge as encouraged and supported by management and/or coaches. This is when the real learning takes place.
Let’s peel back the onion, take a deeper dive, get a closure look at some ideas you can apply in each phase.
Phase 1
Learning is change. Learning takes place when behaviors are changed to achieve a desired result.
All successful change initiatives involve management engagement and support. This requires a partnership between managers and participants – a contract. Management must have a clear idea of the business value to be gained in training, otherwise maintaining focus and support will be difficult.
One approach to engaging management support is to use a Learning Impact Map (LIM). A LIM is a contract document that facilitates management support and alignment of expectations. It identifies if the chosen training can achieve desired results by linking desired behaviors with organizational performance and overall business goals. Using a LIM will prepare participants to learn and change their behavior based on their training goals and objectives. Achievement of these goals should be the measure of success for any learning initiative.
Email bwilder@LCE.com for an example of what a Learning Impact Map looks like and directions on how to apply it.
Phase 2
Malcolm Knowles, author of The Adult Learner, pointed out some of the differentiators that make teaching adults different from teaching children. For example, adults need to know why they need to learn. They’re more self-directed. Adults bring much more knowledge and experience to educational settings than children do. So they require more experiential learning environments and more individualization.
Attention should be paid to at least these four specific attributes of effective adult learning interventions:
Relevance – People want to know that the skills and knowledge being taught applies to them
Prior knowledge – People bring a “mental model” that may enhance the group learning experience through anecdotes of their experience. On the other hand, a participant may arrive with preconceived notions that conflict with what is being taught. Skilled facilitators know how to leverage the former and mitigate the latter.
Active Training – People have short attention spans. There are many learning styles. Good circulation and oxygen engagement and retention. Passive lecture deliver should be limited to a third of the classroom time.
Self directed – People often know what they don’t know and want to focus the learning on these deficits. Engaging participants in setting learning objectives produces higher engagement in crafting solutions. Participant teaching is valuable here. Pleasantly, you will find that teaching raises retention as well.
Learning retention is also influenced by repetition. When exposed to an idea or process once, people will remember no more than 20%. When a participant is exposed to the key content six times, with intervals, the retention can reach 90%. Introducing intervals, or breaks, is important. Sustained practice over time, called distributed practice, is the key to retention.
You may have heard “what I hear, I forget; what I see, I remember; and what I do, I understand.” Applying knowledge and skills in the classroom builds retention.
Retention is raised further when the knowledge and skills are applied on the job, in the real world. In fact many argue, and I agree, that this is where the “real” learning takes place.
To summarize, in phase two always seek Active Training. This means learning by doing – not just passively listening. It includes group discussion, presentations, simulations and case studies.
Phase 3
The greatest barrier to learning transfer is lack of reinforcement on the job. All research on why training programs fail to achieve the desired results includes this as a top factor.
The best tool for overcoming this barrier is the contract – the Learning Impact Map. This is what the participant agreed to deliver with their new skills and knowledge. This is expressed as specific activities and results.
At the conclusion of Phase 2 each participant creates a personal action plan. This is often the Learning Impact Map.
Now it is important for management to follow up. Mentor/coaches start to work with participants to apply what they have learned. This can be a cumbersome administrative burden. Fortunately there are tools that automate some of the process and document the results.
The Life Cycle Institute uses a tool created by Fort Hill to implement a Follow Through program. Follow Through is a web-based follow-through management system specifically designed to accelerate learning transfer and improvement following training and development initiatives. The system has five key components:
1. A simple, fast, and intuitive interface that participants use to report progress on their objectives, plan next steps, and request guidance from a coach or manager
2. An automated system that reminds participants to follow-up on their development objectives
3. A competency-specific, just-in-time guidance system that offers relevant content to aid action planning and continued development
4. A shared learning function that supports a community of practice and encourages peer-to-peer learning and coaching
5. A LeaderView™ dashboard that allows program leaders and other authorized personnel to review the progress of the group and individuals, quickly analyze activity, and provide individual coaching or other appropriate intervention
A tool such as this also creates the documentation required to justify the investment and support continuous improvement.
The only way to prove that the resources have been well spent is to document the results.
Results are produced by rigorously applying Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA). Continuous improvement is an infinite process of planning improvements, implementing them, measuring impact and acting on results.
Email bwilder@LCE.com if you would like more information about the Follow Though process or the Fort Hill Company too that the Life Cycle Institute uses.
Training delivers maximum results when a class inspires retention, a Learning Impact Map is documented and a follow through plan is in place. Bringing these elements together changes behavior to achieve personal and organizational goals.
Overcome the shortage of qualified people by recruiting people who fit. Recruit people with the work ethic, intelligence, responsibility, and passion for learning you desire.
Then teach them to be “qualified” with a three phase learning process.
Invest in developing your talent. It could be your best competitive advantage.
