There is a myth involved…perpetuated by a long-held belief that training drives performance. In truth, training only drives potential; performance does not manifest until business results are generated by the workforce in a different area of the ecosystem called the Point-of-Work.
I am deeply buried in HR right now and steeped in the HR discipline, but I am, however…a Performance Ninja. I know who pays the rent. I know I am part of a cost center…an expense…and I know if I’m not contributing to solutions that generate revenue for the organization I have no room to bitch when the next down-sizing happens and I am once again hurled through the window of opportunity.
You’ll see it on their faces, and they’ll look up at you with questioning eyes and ask, “You mean this is not a training issue?”…and then you’ll dance like only a performance consultant can dance…right before spiking the folder full of verbatim interview responses like a wide receiver slamming a touchdown pass in the end zone.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m seeing the use of 70:20:10 being used as a design framework that promotes that we pack the “70” and the “20” into the “10”. Now before anyone blows a gasket, I will admit that this practice greatly enhances the “10”, no question about it. But here’s the thing…it’s still freaking Training.
A colleague of mine described adopting a Performance Paradigm where Performance Support is fully integrated as “the project that never dies” and that’s not a bad thing, because if the paradigm dies, so do the performance benefits…and those benefits are tied directly to tangible, measurable business results.
Is there a difference between your onboarding process and the process of waterboarding? One uses water…and the other holds the new hire down and administers enough information at a continuous pace so they get the overwhelming sensation of drowning. Which one do you put your new hires through?
Many organizations are locked into long-held beliefs that training is the default solution to overcoming performance challenges. While training can certainly contribute to closing performance gaps, sadly, the only outcome that can be consistently proven is the creation of potential. Is potential enough?
Consider the point of work as the new classroom if you like, but recognizing the application of assets at the point of work represents new kinds of assets…a.k.a. Performance Support [PS]. Courses no longer fit. When your hair is on fire there is no time to log into the LMS and take a course on fire safety. You need immediate access to an intentionally designed asset that is task-specific and often role-centric…and business relevant…and effective at the point of work…and accessible at the moment of need. That ain’t training!