Learning and Development

 

What is learning and development?

Learning and development is a systematic process to enhance an employee’s skills, knowledge, and competency, resulting in better performance in a work setting. Specifically, learning is concerned with the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Development is the broadening and deepening of knowledge in line with one’s development goals.

The goal of learning and development is to develop or change the behavior of individuals or groups for the better, sharing knowledge and insights that enable them to do their work better, or cultivate attitudes that help them perform better (Lievens, 2011). 

Learning, training, and development are often used interchangeably. However, there are subtle differences between these concepts

Learning - The acquisition of knowledge, skills, or attitudes through experience, study, or teaching. Training, development, and education all involve learning.

Training - Training is aimed at teaching immediately applicable knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be used in a specific job. Training may focus on delivering better performance in the current role or to overcome future changes. 

Development - Development is aimed at the long term. It revolves around the broadening or deepening of knowledge. This has to fit within one’s personal development goals and the (future) goals of the organization. Development usually happens voluntarily.

Education - Education is a more formal way to broaden one’s knowledge. Education is often non-specific and applicable for a long time and is especially relevant when a person has little experience in a certain area.

Why is Learning and Development Import?

Learning and development is essential for staff, leadership, and customers. It helps employees develop their skills and expertise to advance their careers and open new opportunities.

Businesses can build the workforce they need, improve performance, and increase profitability.

Finally, customers have a better experience interacting with well-trained, knowledgeable staff who know how to help them and can make insightful suggestions.

Key points in Learning and Development

• Develop the workforce they need
• Improve performance
• Increase profitability
• Boost employee satisfaction and retention
• Attract top talent to the organization

Learning and development strategies

According to Dave Ulrich, the most important thing HR can give an employer is a company that wins in the marketplace. The question is, what are the learning and development strategies that help to do this?

Based on this model, we identify four phases required to create an effective learning and development process.

1. An analysis of training needs (starting situation)
2. Specification of learning objectives
3. Design of training content and method
4. Monitoring and evaluation

An effective learning and development strategy relies on a process in which one continually moves through these four phases. 

Analysis of training needs

The first step is an analysis of the starting situations and prior knowledge to identify training needs. We don’t want employees to learn for the sake of learning. Otherwise, we would be happy to send them on a pottery course. Instead, we want employees to acquire new knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are relevant for their (future) function. This way learning is a way to create new business capabilities.

The learning value chain is a model that maps the value chain to the learning industry through Donald Kirkpatrick’s four levels of evaluation, adding level 5, ROI. Each level of the chain has its own metrics, rules, and outcomes. The training value chain describes the actions you take to add value to your training and to make the value of your training more quantifiable. The ML value chain consists of six major steps: Problem definition, Data collection, Data storage, Data preparation, Algorithm programming, and Application development

What Is the Kirkpatrick Model?

The Kirkpatrick Model is an internationally recognized tool for evaluating and analyzing the results of educational, training and learning programs. It consists of four levels of evaluation: Reaction, Learning, Behavior, and Results. Each successive level of the model represents a more precise measure of the effectiveness of a training program.

Donald Kirkpatrick, former Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, first published his model in 1959. He updated it in 1975, and again in 1993, when he published his best-known work, "Evaluating Training Programs"

Each successive level of the model represents a more precise measure of the effectiveness of a training program. It was developed further by Donald and his son, James; and then by James and his wife, Wendy Kayser Kirkpatrick.

In 2016, James and Wendy revised and clarified the original theory, and introduced the "New World Kirkpatrick Model" in their book, "Four Levels of Training Evaluation" One of the main additions is an emphasis on the importance of making training relevant to people's everyday jobs.

Let's look at each level in greater detail, and explore how to apply it.

Kirkpatrick's Level 1: Reaction

You want people to feel that training is valuable. Measuring how engaged they were, how actively they contributed, and how they reacted to the training helps you to understand how well they received it.

It also enables you to make improvements to future programs, by identifying important topics that might have been missing.

Questions to ask trainees include:

• Did you feel that the training was worth your time?
• Did you think that it was successful?
• What were the biggest strengths and weaknesses of the training?
• Did you like the venue and presentation style?
• Did the training session accommodate your personal needs
• Were the training activities engaging?
• What are the three most important things that you learned from this training?
• From what you learned, what do you plan to apply in your job?
• What support might you need to apply what you learned?

Identify how you want to measure people's reactions. Many people use employee satisfaction surveysto do this, but you can also watch trainees' body language during the session, or ask for verbal feedback.

Analyze the feedback, and consider the changes that you could make in response.

Kirkpatrick's Level 2: Learning

Level 2 focuses on measuring what your trainees have and haven't learned. In the New World version of the tool, Level 2 also measures what they think they'll be able to do differently as a result, how confident they are that they can do it, and how motivated they are to make changes.

This demonstrates how training has developed their skills, attitudes and knowledge, as well as their confidence and commitment.

To measure how much your trainees have learned, start by identifying what you want to evaluate. Training sessions should have specific learning objectives so make those your starting point.

You can measure learning in different ways, depending on the objectives. But it's helpful to measure these areas both before and after training.

Before the training begins, test your trainees to determine their knowledge, skill levels and attitudes. Then, when the training is finished, test your trainees a second time to measure what they have learned, or measure their learning with interviews or verbal assessments.

Kirkpatrick's Level 3: Behavior

This level helps you to understand how well people apply their training. It can also reveal where people might need help. But behavior can only change when conditions are favorable.

Imagine that you're assessing your team members after a training session. You can see little change, and you conclude that they learned nothing, and that the training was ineffective.

It's possible, however, that they actually learned a lot, but that the organizational or team culture obstructs behavioral change. Perhaps existing processes mean that there's little scope to apply new thinking, for example.

As a result, your people don't feel confident in applying new knowledge, or see few opportunities to do so. Or, they may not have had enough time to put it into practice.

Be sure to develop processes that encourage, reinforce and reward positive changes in behavior. The New World Kirkpatrick Model calls these processes "required drivers." If a team member uses a new skill effectively, highlight this and praise him or her for it.

Effectively measuring behavior is a longer-term process that should take place over weeks or months following the initial training.

Questions to ask include:

• Did the trainees put any of their learning to use?
• Are trainees able to teach their new knowledge, skills or attitudes to other people?
• Are trainees aware that they've changed their behavior?

One of the best ways to measure behavior is to conduct observations and interviews. Another is to integrate the use of new skills into the tasks that you set your team, so that people have the chance to demonstrate what they know.

Kirkpatrick's Level 4: Results

At this level, you analyze the final results of your training. This includes outcomes that you or your organization have decided are good for business and good for your team members, and which demonstrate a good return on investment (ROI). (Some adapted versions of the model actually have a Level 5, dedicated to working out ROI.)

Level 4 will likely be the most costly and time-consuming. Your biggest challenge will be to identify which outcomes, benefits, or final results are most closely linked to the training, and to come up with an effective way to measure these outcomes in the long term.

Modern trainers often use the Kirkpatrick model backward by first stating the results that they want to see, and then developing the training that is most likely to deliver them. This helps to prioritize the goals of the training and make it more effective.

Here are some outcomes to consider, depending on the objectives of your training:

• Increased employee retention.
• Increased production.
• Higher morale.
• Reduced waste.
• Increased sales.
• Higher quality ratings.
• Increased customer satisfaction.
• Fewer staff complaints.

Make a series of short-term observations and measurements to check that changes in behavior due to training are making a worthwhile difference to your team's performance. The New World Kirkpatrick Model calls these "leading indicators."

Conclusion

It involves using the knowledge and skills acquired through learning to improve one’s potential for future opportunities. In conclusion, learning and development are two critical components of personal and professional growth. While they share similarities, they have distinct differences in their purpose, focus, and outcomes.

References

Kirkpatrick's Model - Analyzing Learning Effectiveness (mindtools.com)

Learning and Development: A Comprehensive Guide - AIHR