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Category: Evaluation

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What is it?

A methodology for improving the performance of individuals and organizations. Human performance improvement (HPI) looks for performance gaps, analyzes root causes, and helps you create a plan that produces sustainable performance improvements.

Why is it important?

HPI is a systematic process that improves your ability to identify and address the root causes of performance issues. It helps you build effective partnerships and allocate resources to create lasting solutions to performance problems. The HPI process is multidimensional, addressing issues such as learning gaps, organizational culture, leadership issues, rewards and recognition, and other barriers to desired performance.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

In today’s highly interconnected, fast-changing organizational environment, addressing pressing challenges and opportunities requires a multi-faceted approach. Enter human performance improvement, a process that enables you to better understand root causes and deploy a systems approach to create end-to-end solutions that produce sustainable performance improvement.

Overview of the process:

  • Clarify priorities: Define how the problem or opportunity fits into your strategic mission, what the desired outcomes are, what success should look like, and how to create alignment with strategic priorities.
  • Conduct a root-cause analysis: Address the question of what the current performance problem is, what factors created it, and what an effective desired outcome looks like.
  • Define key roles, stakeholders, and actions to build commitment: Lasting change comes from a coalition of stakeholders. Identify clients, sponsors, and key stakeholders, and determine their level of commitment to change.
  • Create a project plan: Identify timelines, trade-offs, action steps, key resources and dependencies, potential risks and mitigation. Define shared responsibilities, expectations and clarity regarding how success will be measured.
  • Implement defined solution(s): Keep stakeholders informed, identify key trade-offs, and be clear about what, why, how, and when each player contributes to change.
  • Measure outcomes: Based upon agreed-to success criteria from the first step, capture data to tell the story of results achieved. Define what is needed to sustain success.
  • Conduct an after-action review: Capture learnings from the initiative and use them to improve in the future.

Engaging in a human performance improvement project can solve organizational problems more effectively, build traction, and create productive win/win relationships.

References

About Marjorie Derven

Photo of Marjorie Derven

Marjorie Derven is a change management consultant with RGP, a global consulting firm that enables rapid business outcomes by bringing together the right people to create transformative change. Marjorie has worked with many of the world’s best companies to align people practices with strategic imperatives. She has served on NY HR Strategy & People, ATD, and the OD Practitioner boards and as a senior fellow at The Conference Board. Marjorie is a frequent presenter at global conferences and has authored dozens of articles.

Term: Human Performance Improvement

Email: marjoriederven@gmail.com

Website: rgp.com

Twitter: @mderven

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marjoriederven/

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What is it?

Information, solicited or unsolicited, that provides an opinion on how a person has performed something.

Why is it important?

We are a work in progress. Each of us is at a unique point in our personal and professional journey, and we all have things that we can improve. Feedback is an important source of input to help us improve. Ask: How am I doing? What might I do better? Depending on self-awareness level, feedback is an excellent way to start on a journey of self-improvement.

Feedback is a gift. Sometimes it is criticism. It is still valuable information from which to operate. Ask: Is this a belief I want them to have? If not, seek ways to change that belief. Don’t filter feedback. Ask questions to clarify.

And always say thank you.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Every solid business professional acknowledges the importance of feedback. It should be something that you seek out for personal and professional growth. It is also something that a good business professional is willing to proactively share with others in an effort to help them learn and grow.

Providing good feedback should be a pleasure! As a practice, you might want to mark your calendar every week for some time to send positive feedback and thank you notes. Regularly sharing good feedback and appreciation will build trust and respect with your colleagues and staff.

Providing constructive feedback should be done tactfully and with care. It’s important that the recipient of the constructive feedback understand your motive. If someone trusts you and believes you care about their success, they are more likely to receive and use the feedback. If they question your motive, they may not appreciate the feedback, and in some cases, might get defensive. As best you can, make it safe, and ensure they understand your intention. Like all things, practice makes perfect. The more you share feedback, the better you’ll get.

The most successful business professionals are adept at both giving and soliciting feedback. It’s worth the time and effort!

References

About Theresa Hummel-Krallinger

Photo of Theresa Hummel-Krallinger

Theresa is an award-winning comedian, having won two Emmys for her work on the PBS talk show, “Counter Culture.” She is a well-respected training professional and performance consultant.  Known for her lively and interactive presentation style, she is a frequently requested speaker on leadership, career management, organizational culture and workplace communications. She has been a featured speaker at numerous regional and international conferences. 

Term: Feedback

Email: tkrallinger@highfiveperformance.com

Website: highfiveperformance.com/

Twitter: @theresahk

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tkrallinger/

Facebook: facebook.com/theresahkcomedy

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What is it?

The methodology by which we validate the results of a given learning strategy.

Why is it important?

There’s no greater challenge for those that have the great responsibility and privilege to support organizational performance than to show the effectiveness of their efforts. More often than not, learning and development (L&D) teams are very efficient at developing solutions but not so much at evaluating them. Evaluation is critical to demonstrating whether your learning efforts are worth their cost.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Business professionals need to justify educational programs. In addition to measuring learner performance, evaluations can form an important tool for making a business case for your learning programs.

You can use evaluations in two roles. Formative evaluations (is it working?) take place while content is being designed or delivered. They can take many forms, including surveys and tests. They determine whether things are going well. Summative evaluations are an after-action report on the learning content (did it work?).

In 1959, Donald Kirkpatrick created the four levels of training evaluation, with the aim of guiding the evaluation of educational courses (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006, p.21). The four levels are Reaction, Learning, Behavior, and Results. Here is a summary of the levels:

  • Level One, Reaction: The learner’s reaction to the experience. Kirkpatrick called this a measure of customer satisfaction.
  • Level Two, Learning: Change in attitude, knowledge, or skill.
  • Level Three, Behavior: Observable changes in learner behavior. For example, people are trained to use a new piece of machinery; supervisor attests to proficiency on the job.
  • Level Four, Results: Achievement of the initial objectives. For example, did sales increase? Were accidents reduced? Has employee turnover changed for the better?

Evaluation results are only as good as the objectives they refer to. Without a proper analysis of needs, most efforts will suffer from GIGO (Garbage-In, Garbage-Out) problems. Regardless of the model and scope of the evaluation, it is good to use both formative and summative approaches.

References

About Alexander Salas

Photo of Alexander Salas

Alexander Salas is an award-winning instructional designer with over 15 years of experience specializing in the blend of learning technologies and gamification for performance outcomes. Since 2007, Alex has worked in every facet of corporate learning and performance enablement for Fortune 100 enterprises such as Philips Healthcare, Centene Corporation and Dell Technologies. When he’s not creating amazing learning experiences, you can find Alex giving back to the industry at large with articles, workshops, conferences, and podcasting.

Term: Evaluation

Email: asalas@stylelearn.com

Website: stylelearn.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stylelearn/

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What is it?

The degree to which a learner pays attention to the content and interactions, reacts to and participates in the activities, and responds to the instructor, other learners, and technology throughout a learning experience.

Why is it important?

Engagement traditionally is one of the first indicators of whether learning has a chance to be effective. Engagement does not need to be connected to liking something or disliking it, though disliking something may lead to disengagement. It’s important to understand how engagement is connected to retention and application, how it differs among learners, and how to build it into learning programs in ways that appeal to a variety of learners.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Ask a learning and development professional what’s most important in a training initiative and their first response is likely to be: engagement. The participants need to be engaged, the trainer needs to know how to engage them, and the topic needs to be put together in a way that is compelling.

Research has repeatedly shown that engagement is directly connected to retention(Stephenson 2020)(Korobova 2015). A learner must respond to the training content and then remember it for any training experience to be applied on the job.

Here are 5 simple ways to create engagement and motivate learners:

  1. Create friendly, open, safe, and encouraging learning environments where participants feel comfortable taking chances and at ease communicating with the instructor and one another.
  2. Set clear expectations for the learning goals and objectives. Participants are engaged when they know what they are doing, why they need to do it, how it will be accomplished, and what, exactly, a successful outcome looks like.
  3. Challenge participants to be active with the learning process, to do something with the content being covered, and to find their own ways to apply it in their own environments.
  4. Reward and recognize their efforts. Participants engage when they are seen, heard, and included.
  5. Stay connected with open communication and dialogue, allowing participants the flexibility to adjust how they are learning, work through challenges with assignments, and build camaraderie with the instructor and others along the way.

References

About Kassy LaBorie

Photo of Kassy LaBorie

Kassy LaBorie is the principal consultant at Kassy LaBorie Consulting. She is a professional speaker, author, and facilitator who specializes in virtual engagement using web conferencing technology to connect around the globe. She’s known for believing that being online is certainly equal to, and in some cases, better than, being in-person! She has authored Interact and Engage! 75+ Activities for Virtual Training, Meetings, and Webinars, and Producing Virtual Training, Meetings, and Webinars with ATD Press.

Term: Engagement

Email: kassy.laborie@gmail.com

Website: kassyconsulting.com/

Twitter: @KassyConsulting

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kassylaborie/

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What is it?

A way to demonstrate and communicate an achievement to a wide variety of online platforms.

Why is it important?

Being able to communicate effectively what you know and are able to do to others is an essential component of being an effective learner and successful in your career.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Successful learners do more than accumulate knowledge and skills. It is also important to communicate effectively what you know and are able to do. On the surface, a digital badge typically consists of a brief title and an image representing an activity. When you click on the badge you access the details of the activity, including who issued the badge, what was done to earn the badge, and sometimes a link to evidence demonstrating the skill or knowledge signified by the badge.

A digital badge is more specific than a resume or CV (which is only a summary of your experience and credentials) or an academic transcript (which typically lists only courses and grades).

Digital badges are commonly issued to recognize achievement in formal educational settings as well as in continuing education, training, and professional development. A digital badge is easily shared via online platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter and can also be embedded in a web page or e-portfolio.

As you accumulate badges, you acquire a visual representation and summary of your knowledge and skills, making it easier to identify strengths and gaps in your education and professional development activities.

Digital badges also help gamify an experience when grouped together to demonstrate an increasing level of mastery. Digital badges can be stacked into something more comprehensive that is sometimes labeled a micro-credential.

References

About Chris Price

Photo of Chris Price

Chris Price is the academic programs manager for the SUNY Center for Professional Development (CPD). At the CPD, Chris designs and implements professional development programs for faculty and staff both in and outside SUNY. Prior to his position with CPD, Chris was director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at The College at Brockport, SUNY, for 12 years. He received his PhD in political science from the University at Albany in 2004.

Term: Digital Badges

Email: chris.price@suny.edu

Twitter: @chrisprice117

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chrisprice117

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What is it?

A validation of competence, as compared against a set of standards and rigor, by a third-party certifying organization. Certification is like licensing, but licenses are legally required for certain jobs. Certifications are voluntary.

Why is it important?

The knowledge, skill, and attitudes assessed for a certification come from a competency model, which is a framework of interrelated knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values derived through a rigorous research and validation process.

Certification plays two roles in the work of professionals. It may be required as a work assignment, or a person may choose to seek certification. Certifications exist in many fields. See the notes for several in the learning field(CPTD)(CPT)(CTT+).

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Business professionals might encounter certification in their work. They might also be responsible for launching or managing a certification program and need an awareness of how to create and manage these programs.

Establishing a certification program includes the development of:

  • A competency model
  • A certification exam
  • Assessment criteria for demonstrating competence
  • Training to ensure that assessors act consistently
  • Requirements for maintaining the certification
  • A code of ethics to which professionals who receive certification must adhere
  • Training to prepare people for certification

If you are seeking certification, whether for yourself or members of your staff, make sure that the certification is a useful credential—​rather than a certificate that is inappropriately marketed—​and that hiring managers recognize the certification.

Business professionals might also need to assess or validate a certification provided on a job applicant’s resume to determine whether the certification validates the competence claimed by the applicant.

Certification is often confused with certificates. A certificate recognizes the successful completion of the requirements of an educational program. However, those who receive certificates are not certified. Certification typically requires a test of knowledge, ensuring familiarity with the body of knowledge of the field and its application in common work situations. Candidates must also demonstrate competence at doing the work, as assessed by a review of completed work or a demonstration of skills to a panel of assessors. Certification may also require real work experience, meaning a minimum specified number of years working in the field.

Most certifications require maintenance or re-certification through the completion of continuing education and other requirements to stay current in the field.

References

About Saul Carliner

Photo of Saul Carliner

Saul Carliner, PhD, CTDP, is a Professor of Educational Technology at Concordia University in Montreal. Also an industry consultant, he specializes in the design of instructional and informational materials for the workplace, managing groups who produce those materials, and related issues of policy and professionalism. His books include the best-selling Training Design Basics, award-winning Informal Learning Basics, and the recent An Overview of Training and Development: Why Training Matters and Career Anxiety: Guidance Through Tough Times. He is President of the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education, a Fellow and past board member of the Institute for Performance and Learning, and a Fellow and past international president of the Society for Technical Communication.

Term: Certification

Email: saulcarliner@hotmail.com

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What is it?

An assortment of methods and tools used to measure the acquisition of knowledge and skills one has acquired during a course of study.

Why is it important?

Assessments are one way to determine what someone has learned at a particular point during a course. For example, end-of-course or section testing can assess a learner’s progress, which can then be compared with expected outcomes. Results are not always meant to be final, but they can be guideposts to help learners know where they might need help.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

As the science of assessment changes, so does the definition of assessment and testing. Technology and the pace of information transfer are both critical factors that have an impact on the science and practice of assessment. Technology advances in performance support tools have given you a more granular view into the learning experience. In addition, data and learning analytics reveal factors about the performance of an individual that couldn’t be measured before.

Business professionals can take advantage of these advances to better understand how effective their training is. Of course, business professionals need to remember that assessments are only as good as the data from which they were created. The old maxim, garbage in garbage out, applies here.

Because assessments are often linked to ROI in corporate settings or funding initiatives in educational ones, they can be highly political. The elephant in the room is that testing or assessment data is often manipulated to show better results than actually exist.

Accepting this reality is a practical place to start any methodology related to assessment. What is essential to assessment is accurate data collection and honest reporting of the data and conclusions. If the data you collect is relevant to the learning outcomes, then the data will be accurate.

At the end of the day, the most important piece of assessment is data accuracy. What good does it do to record data if it is not accurate? You must begin by being very careful about what you measure, why you measure it, and what its relationship is to your learners’ performance.

References

About Myra Travin

Photo of Myra Travin

Myra Travin is an accomplished educational program manager and learning solutions designer, known for implementing innovative programs in global IT, leadership, change management, and performance. As a respected industry leader, Myra speaks at top conferences such as SXSW, SciTS, and ATD, and has been published in Training Magazine and major US newspapers. Her passion for creating impactful learning experiences inspires others to embrace learning innovation and drive meaningful change.

Term: Assessment

Email: myratravin48@gmail.com

Website: myratravin.me

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/myratravin

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What is it?

The process whereby a third-party authority acknowledges or affirms that academic, business, or industry quality standards have been met by an organization.

Why is it important?

Accreditation sets an organization apart because it proves that the organization has been assessed against the accrediting body’s defined standards in a professional or academic area and been found to meet those standards. Accreditation is important because it may be required in order for a company to operate in certain areas. For example, academic accreditation is required for a college or university to offer degree programs.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Accreditation is an indicator of the quality and effectiveness of the services or products an organization provides. Some industries, such as education, healthcare, information technology, travel, engineering, fire and security, and public health, require industry accreditation. Business professionals can use accreditation as part of evaluating potential business partners or vendors.

Regulations for required accreditation in particular industries may vary by country or nation and in some cases by state. Accreditation is specific to a particular institution and indicates that the institution (hospital, college, school, etc.) or a particular program (specialty accreditation) within the institution meets the accrediting body’s standards. Accreditation by a third-party accreditor indicates that the provider meets certain standards essential to providing services in that industry or practice.

Related to accreditation, but different from it, are certification and licensure. Some industries require individuals to be certified (to have completed a recognized program of study, such as some IT certifications) or licensed (to have passed state or national standards to be able to practice in areas such as law and medicine). Certificates are usually earned by individuals. Licensure can apply to an individual or to an institution.

These regulatory requirements aim to ensure that consistent quality standards for care or service are provided to customers of that particular industry or service. Each business needs to understand and comply with the requirements for accreditation for their industry and the requirements for certification and licensure for their employees.

References

About Karan Powell

Photo of Karan Powell

Karan Powell, PhD, is president of KHP Consulting, providing organization transformation consulting and coaching services to higher education and business. Dr. Powell is president (retired) of American Public University System, having 35+ years in higher education as faculty, administrator, and executive. Dr. Powell was instrumental in earning and maintaining regional and multiple specialty accreditations during her tenure at APUS and has 15+ years of service on the peer review corps of an institutional accreditor.

Term: Accreditation

Email: dr_kmhp@outlook.com