850/644-4592
A Decade of Perceptions and Lessons Learned in Performing Instructional Design and Performance Consulting in the Business Sector
-Christopher E. Iansiti
Reflecting on the years since earning a Master’s Degree in December, 1994, there are numerous insights, lessons learned and perceptions that I would like to share. The intention of this article is twofold: To inform our current students of the potential pitfalls, challenges and opportunities they may encounter in providing ISD services to businesses, and to illuminate areas that our alumni may also be experiencing due to the changes that we face in our profession. The goal: Take one lesson learned and apply it effectively in your own setting.
I have structured this article around three key categories:
- Customer / Client Focus
- Change and Communication Planning
- Integration, Application, Accountability for Learning & Results (Sustainability)
Customer / Client Focus
Every semester I have the opportunity to have a dialogue with students enrolled in Dr. Reiser’s course, “Trends and Issues in ISD.” At every opportunity, I emphasize the need for any new ISD professional to focus on the customer of the instructional technology project.
How does a customer-focus manifest itself in our business? A customer-focused instructional designer avoids using “our” terminology, (e.g., needs assessments, front-end analysis, training design documents, evaluation) with customers who do not have a clue what we are talking about. I have chosen to use terms such as the following with end-user clients (Vice Presidents of Sales, Presidents, subject users): Job skills to address, blueprint for the training, overall impact for training.
We should learn from the experience and reputation of many Human Resource and Training Departments, which have received a lot of criticism over the years for forcing their own structure, forms, terminology and rules on the businesses they support. This tendency has resulted in many corporate HR and Training organizations having poor reputations and an appearance of “turf guarding” for their own survival. It is no wonder that line / field organizations tend to roll their eyes when HR or Training is involved.
For this reason, I have chosen to deal with line or field-type clients rather than HR or Training organizations. I do not want to be “typed” into the box of HR or Training. Instead, I choose to demonstrate a commitment to business results through training and performance solutions.
In every consulting project in which I have participated, the client has been more concerned with delivering the right skills to their people at the right time. I have never heard a client say: “We need to make sure we have statistical sampling for this assessment,” or “What gradient scale are you going to use for evaluation?”
LESSON LEARNED: Apply ISD knowledge, skills, concepts and theories, but speak the customer’s language. There is no need to alienate yourself before the project has even started!
Consider the following question: What title do you give yourself? Do you call yourself an Instructional Designer, a Performance Consultant, a Human Performance Technologist? Any of these may be appropriate. I choose my title, if any, based on client-specific factors, such as project requirements and the client’s previous experience with education. I prefer a bold statement / title like: “The person who ensures that your people are provided the right skill-based training at the right time so that your group hits the mark with your product rollout, sales goals, etc. The clients I have served are not caught up with titles, but rather “What will this person do for me or my organization?”
LESSON LEARNED: Do not get caught up in yourself or your title. Do your best job for the client, no matter what they call you.
Change and Communication Planning
I fondly recall that Dr. Kaufman’s license plate read, “PLAN!” I would like to add to that, “PLAN FOR CHANGE!” Regardless of the performance solution you implement, you are instigating a shift, change or transition. A plan for change is necessary. The larger the project, the more you will need to address this. Know and be prepared for the normal reactions to change (personal, team and organizational). A good practice is to create and provide the client with a one-page document that lists common questions and answers to frequently-asked questions regarding the project, change initiative, etc.
LESSON LEARNED: Regardless of how awesome the training is, if there has not been appropriate communication (including the rationale for the training, how it will better serve the end-user, what will be stopped, started or continued, etc.), the solution will not achieve maximum results. Plan and prepare people for change.
Integration, Application, Accountability for Learning & Results (Sustainability)
Picture this: 1994 and I am a fresh consultant at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). I am ready to take on the world and consult with large organizations on curriculum planning, needs assessments and instructional design. What I knew was training development. One of the things I lacked was how the organization would sustain what I created. What I know now is that almost MORE mindshare is required on the answer to the following questions:
- Who will reinforce, further equip and coach the skills that are taught in the educational intervention? Unfortunately, the following happens all too often: The learner successfully completes the course, and returns to his / her work assignment. The learner’s manager is not aware of the new skills or work processes that are to be applied back on the job.
- What additional tools are necessary for the learners’ managers to support the training? (Coaching guides, overviews, conference calls for learning debriefs, etc.)
- How can we get involvement from the target learners and then showcase their involvement as a way to gain buy-in and acceptance early in the training?
- Who will facilitate this learning? Do they have the skills necessarily to effectively deliver the materials? You can develop the best materials in the world, but a poor facilitator can severely diminish your results. Remember these equations:
Great training + Poor instructor = Average to poor overall course
Great training + Great instructor = Profound course
To further support the assertion that organizational support and integration are important, I have created a model called the “Model for Organizational Effectiveness & Sustainment.”
Model for Organizational Effectiveness & Sustainment |
||
| a |  |
b |
| c | d | |
a. The current culture is addressed and integrated into the performance solution. What is the context for performance improvement? What are the desired goals? How is education received? The latest concepts, tools and applications will be researched, recommended and incorporated into the training process.
b. The latest concepts, tools and applications will be researched, recommended and incorporated into the training process.
c. Recommendations are targeted at methods to increase overall success and implementation in the organization. We look at the following factors to ensure transfer of learning is attained: action learning projects, future coaching and development, mentoring, senior management support, communication, etc.
d. Education that is meaningful, relevant and motivating will produce results in the organization. Training with impact is created by using models and theories based in Instructional Systems Design, Motivational Theory, Change Management, Presentation and Facilitation, Educational Psychology and Web-based / eLearning Application Theory
Any successful project includes the following four categories:
- Organizational Culture and Context: This deals with goals, how learning has been delivered in the past and the general climate for change and learning.
- Best Practices: These include concepts, applications or processes that can be adopted or modified and used in the solution. They can be external or internal to the organization. Note: It is not uncommon for clients to be interested in new ideas, but more focused on running the business today than incorporating new ideas or processes.
- Educational Expertise: This deals with everything that we have learned (or are currently learning), and ranges from instructional design to educational psychology. Any positive response to an intervention is grounded in foundational theories that we apply to the situation.
- Integrate and Support: This relates directly to the earlier point regarding how the organization will integrate the solution and support the learning for sustained results. Note: The word “sustainment” is becoming more common in project discussions. The desire for sustainment is the result of organizations continuing to provide their employees with new processes, forms and structures without the support mechanisms in place to enable full effectiveness. There are numerous examples of projects in which long-term sustainment should have been a key focus of the intervention / solution.
LESSON LEARNED: Manage all of the circumstances that surround your solution, including: Reinforcement, follow-up, management support, instructor / delivery vehicle, learning environment, etc.
I leave you with some factors that I consider to be important to the success of any student or alumni of our program.
When I graduated from the program, I possessed a lot of knowledge, tools and concepts for supporting instructional design in the private sector. I had “content” knowledge, but not “how to” knowledge. Since then, I have been building my skills in “contextual” factors. Let me give you an example: You can have excellent instructional design knowledge and expertise; but, if you do not know how to deal with people effectively, you will not be successful.
Following is a table of contextual distinctions that are required of any masterful instructional designer:
Contextual Distinctions: Content vs. Context |
|
Content (What) |
Context (How) |
| Project dialogue with ISD terminology |
|
 |
|
| “Selling” a client on the need / reasons for a course or program |
|
|
|
| Constraints, parameters and linear processes to create and evaluate instruction. |
|
|
|
Thank you for reading this article. I wish you the best as you create outstanding learning solutions for your clients!
Bio: Christopher Iansiti of Iansiti Performance Group, Inc. (www.iansiti.com) has 10 years experience in both internal and external consulting roles in large organizations. Christopher holds a graduate degree in Instructional Systems Design from Florida State University, along with a Bachelor’s in Finance from the College of Business at Florida State University. Chris also has a 3-year certificate from the Mastery of Coaching program offered by the Center for Leadership Design. Previous roles include: Andersen Consulting (Accenture), BellSouth Telecommunications, Delphi Performance Consulting (as Principal). Clients include: Synovus, BellSouth, IPS-Sendero, Coca Cola Co. and Boeing. To contact Chris: 1149 Brookhaven North Circle |