Performance Matters - Learning and Performance - 28

IDEAS AND TRENDS IN LEARNING & PERFORMANCE
by Zac Ryland & Walter Warrick, PhD
Remote working, whether full-time
or in hybrid format, is here to stay.
While the industry you're working
in may leverage different policies
for remote working, this shift to
remote and hybrid workforces is
bringing many benefits for learning
and performance professionals, as
well as some implications on our
design strategy.
One of the biggest improvements
incorporated into learning design
in recent years is a focus on end
user empathy. Design thinking and
user-centered design methods have
guided our understanding of the end
user's " jobs, pains, and gains, " " needs, "
" jobs-to-be-done, " etc. - all practices that
ensure we know who we're designing
for and why. Yet, we also know that we
aren't done innovating and improving
our techniques. While focus groups,
interviews, and surveys are great, they
are also user-reported data, and as such,
aren't always 100% accurate or without
bias. As we continue to work in a remote
world, we must modify our techniques so
we may observe our audience in the flow
of work, ensuring we can gather objective
data (like observations and direct quotes)
before we begin forming insights,
opportunities, and ideas.
Similarly, remote work has impacted
development processes. According to
our research, the rise in remote work
has actually made it less likely that
audience members were included in
the development process;1
when they
were included, they were more likely to
be reviewing drafts or participating in
usability tests/pilots. The pivot to remote
work has also shifted how we collaborate
with individuals; we tend to swap true
collaboration out in favor of review-related
activities, which are easier to conduct
over a virtual meeting. While valuable
activities for our audience, relying solely
on these tactics can leave us missing
some key inputs, too.
1 TiER1 Performance, 2021 Learning Trends Report.
These two examples are just the tip of
the iceberg. As we deepen our design
and development practices to work in
more agile ways with the business, we'll
need to find new ways to involve our end
users earlier in development, prior to the
waterfall " review " phases many learning
organizations have grown up with, and
certainly before piloting (which usually
represents the penultimate step before
finalizing assets). A question for our
collective consideration-how might we
best do this in a virtual world? These
innovative ideas and trends to watch
may hold the answer for us.
https://tier1performance.com/2021-learning-trends-report/
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