Learning & Development

Being a Human Resources professional, I have played the role of Learning & Development manager in various organisations for multiple times. And the L&D certification course from Aon HR Learning Center has helped me to enhance, retool, reskill, reassess & redefine my L&D strategies. It helped me to be more effective & efficient in achieving organisation's objectives. Happy to share my learning here on LinkedIn.

Any concept in Learning & Development starts with the understanding of The Adult Learning Theory - Andragogy - of Malcolm Knowles. In 1980,?Knowles?made 4?(+1) assumptions?about the?characteristics of?adult learners?(andragogy).

The Adult Learning Theory - Andragogy :

1. Self Concept - being a self-directed human being.
2. Adult Learner Experience
3. Readiness to learn
4. Orientation to Learning - immediacy of application & problem centeredness.
5. Motivation to Learn - As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal (Knowles?1984:12).

L&D Success Factors : The external business environment, the organisation and the L&D need to align to each other in order to implement the change in the organisation. The external environment is VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex & Ambiguous). The Organisation need to be Adaptive, Agile & Future Ready. And the L&D enablers are Effective Partnership, Business Alignment & L&D Domain expertise. The top priority for L&D is to improve the alignment to the commercial goals of the organisation. Which will lead to the outcome as - Designing & Selecting learning interventions that are clearly targeted to meet business goal & active support from line leaders to encourage L&D activities.

L&D and Business Alignment : Great companies know that only People can drive business success. People are the missing link. The reality is that nothing has ever been created without People.No product has ever been developed, no customer has ever been served, no business strategy has ever been implemented without people.In the end it always comes down to one thing, having capable & committed people who understand the task and what needs to be done. I learnt an excellent alignment model called the IBR model (Improving Business Results through People). Following this model, the key HR outcomes are : 1. A steady supply of the right talent; 2. Continuous capability growth; 3. High performance for employees.

L&D - effective Business partnership : L&D professionals need to partner with the management to help business move forward. L&D practitioners should possess strong consulting skills in addition to their traditional domain skills & knowledge base.

L&D Consulting Skills : L&D professionals can use the following steps to transform into credible activists in their organisations.

L&D professional also need to understand Performance : Performance occurs due to multiple factors. There are factors which are External to the Performer & also internal to the performer. External (Environmental) factors can be intangibles like job design, policies & procedures, authority, access to right people,appropriate workload, clear jobs, feedback, interesting & meaningful work, positive reinforcement etc. It can also be the tangible factors like job aids, noise,light,temperature,physical layout etc.

Internal factors can be Skill/Knowledge gaps (training, on the job training, self study) and Inherent Capability gaps (Intelligence, emotional ability, internal motivation etc). While doing performance gap analysis, we need to understand & find the root cause -

1. Performance discrepancy - Mismatch between 'what should be' and 'what is being done'.
2. Skill discrepancy - What keeps someone from doing their job in right way, in spite of possessing the knowledge & skills.
3. Skill Deficiency - A genuine deficiency in knowledge that prevents one from doing their job.
4. Fuzzy - Vague, indistinct, difficult to perceive.

The performance consulting framework of Robert Mager was a good learning for me.

(1) Description of Expected Performance : The task or observable action

(2) Conditions of performance : The environment in which it is to be done

(3) Criteria for performance : The standard of acceptable performance

L&D domain expertise : It's a must have for all L&D professional.

Understanding Adult Learning Principles, Conducting Training Needs analysis, Utilizing an Instructional Design approach, Designing learning initiatives , Creating content and materials, Implementing learning initiatives, Facilitating learning initiatives, Evaluating learning initiatives. L&D professionals armed with these tools, can deliver the learning initiatives that their business needs in order to move forward in the right direction. I dived deeper into the instructional design process (ADDIE & SAM) & Training Need Analysis process.

L&D Program Design & Development :

In the overall program design and development, there are 3 key phases:

• Preparation: Understanding learning environment, Training Needs, etc.
• Design: Storyboarding and Developing learning elements
• Implementation: Bringing the designed content alive for learne

An ideal learning program must deliver to the 3Hs :

Storyboarding : A storyboard is a graphic organizer that plans a narrative. Storyboards are a powerful way to visually present information; the linear direction is perfect for storytelling, explaining a process, and showing the passage of time.

The Learning Tool Construct : There can be interactive learning tools like group discussions & role plays or demonstrative learning tools like video, facilitator demo. Analytical learning tools like Case studies & practical learning tools like skill practice & application exercise. The tools that we will use will depend on the learning objectives we are trying to achieve.The learning objectives can be focusing, reflecting, thinking,experiencing, applying, summarising.

L&D Program Implementation : In the context of L&D, implementation plays a key role in how participants experience learning initiatives. Implementation can be the difference between success and failure of a particular initiative. As an L&D professional, you might have identified the appropriate learning needs, garnered buy - in from your stakeholders and designed cutting edge learning content. However, if it is not implemented well in terms of the timelines, logistics, facilitation, etc. the learner’s experience can be severely impacted which in turn impacts the learning itself. In this part, we dived deeper into program facilitation & evaluation. Learning the facilitation approach (PARTS - Participation, Application, Reward, Transfer, Seses). The course ended with Program Evaluation both before the program (Formative Evaluation) & After the program (Summative Evaluation).

We also dived deeper into four models of training evaluation:

1. The Kirkpatrick Model
2. The Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) Model
3. The Input, Process, Output (IPO) Model
4. The Training Validation Systems (TVS) Model

It was a wonderful learning experience for me with Aon HR Learning Center. I could score well in the final assessment & got certified as Distinguished Learning & Development Professional.