Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2021 - 26

of your workforce. This could be as
simple as human resources information
and engagement data from technology
platforms
to
understand
where
employees spend time or struggle.
Aside from a detailed current-state
map emphasizing focus areas, another
output of this phase is often several
learner personas to better understand
the worker and create a human-centric
experience. Personas allow you to
create a learner profile - including
demographic information as well as
offering a deep dive into what learners
see, hear, feel, do and think. From
there, you can identify pain points and
learner needs.

FUTURE-STATE ANALYSIS

Collaborative design thinking
workshops are one of the best
ways to envision the future.

and develop them further during
collaborative reimagining workshops
with appropriate stakeholders. Ideally,
you also bring in employees directly
affected by the upcoming changes.

During this phase, the emphasis is
on the desired state you would like
to achieve in your focus areas. It's a
continuation of the current-state map,
and you start to envision the future.
Continuing with the previous example,
in a perfect world, what would your
performance consulting function look
like? And how would that affect the
overall learner experience?

It is crucial at this stage to bring in all
stakeholders again, and present your
findings and recommendations from
the current- and future-state phases.
Getting feedback at this stage will help
with planning.

The output from this stage is a currentto-future-state map detailing gaps
identified and high-level ideas of how to
close these gaps for your focus areas.
These high-level ideas will be developed
further later.

With the transformation blueprint in
hand, select and prioritize various
projects that you have identified to
help your transformation efforts. This
phase is highly collaborative, and you
will achieve your goals through a set of
working meetings and guided consulting
conversations to drive decisions within
your organization. At all times, you need
to ensure that any decision-making is
based on your organization's overall
objectives for transformation.

Collaborative
design
thinking
workshops are one of the best ways
to envision the future. Start with your
learner personas, and define the
problem you want to solve for them.
This is derived from the current-state
map and is further defined with problem
statements. These statements build
the foundation for ideating possible
solutions to help close gaps.

TRANSFORMATION
BLUEPRINT
This stage is all about summarizing your
findings and making recommendations
to produce a blueprint for executing
transformation. Take high-level ideas
from the current-to-future-state map,

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TRANSFORMATION
PLANNING

Every transformation initiative is only
as good as its change management
and communication plan. Disruption is
high when it comes to transformational
projects. Employees will see and
feel changes every day, and they
might worry about losing their jobs
or being reallocated. A thorough
change management effort will help
alleviate some of this anxiety. Go back
to the learners you have leveraged
throughout this process. Make them
your advocates, and have them help
you communicate changes.

TRANSFORMATION
EXECUTION
The last step in the framework is
to execute your plan. This includes
everything from building out training
programs to instituting new processes,
tools, templates and portals. It often
includes a content strategy to identify
what content can be bought, borrowed,
bent or built. And, of course, it goes
together with change management
and communication plans to enable a
smooth rollout.

TURN TALENT YOU
HAVE INTO TALENT
YOU NEED
Transformation analysis and planning can
take up to 120 days or more depending on
how many areas of focus you select. The
execution can take even longer based on
what changes you are trying to bring to
your workforce. Nevertheless, the effort
and investment can be worth it if it means
you can continue building a connected
organization. The workforce of the
future is more than just people you hire
off the street because they might have
a skill you need. It is the future of your
organization - the deep understanding of
your organization and what it represents.
Most importantly, it is the right employees
that can help you achieve your overall
strategic goals and objectives.
Bianca Baumann is the director of
learning experience design at GP
Strategies. Email Bianca.
Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2021

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