You’ve been called upon...

“My department needs training.”

“I have an employee who is struggling.”

“I don’t think the training we have is good enough.”

As a learning and development (L&D) professional, you have most likely heard these types of comments from a manager at some point in your career. If not, give it time. Managers are often tasked with being instant problem-solvers. They must be able to quickly act and resolve issues on their team, as their employees’ performance is often considered a direct reflection of their ability. This means that managers will turn to you for guidance. In many instances, they may approach the situation with a request for training (e.g., materials, facilitation). Or, they may think that the solution can be solved with training that already exists somewhere on the learning management system or a collaboration site.

It may even be in your nature to quickly act upon this request by pointing them to existing training or building them an amazing training module. However, doing so may do more harm than good. Let’s look at how we can use a front-end analysis to pave the way for a successful endeavor.

Where to begin

Before you jump to providing a solution, we will want to take a step back and perform a root cause analysis of the situation. Using a tried-and-true method, such as Joe Harless' Front-End Analysis and 13 Smart Questions, you should be able to successfully identify the issue(s). This model will help you by determining first and foremost if there is indeed a performance gap to solve. From there you will determine current behavior versus what future behavior should look like, what might be impacting the performance gap (see also Gilbert's Behavioral Engineering Model (BEM)), and what solutions might best close the performance gap. Remember, if you don’t identify the correct problem, then it will be difficult to suggest a viable solution. If we offer training as the only solution, then we can’t be surprised when the issue doesn’t get resolved. When this happens, our work gets assessed as being ineffective and can devalue an L&D department.

Asking the tough questions

Your initial conversations with the manager about performance may not be the easiest. After all, you will be asking questions that pertain to the manager-employee dynamic, their observations of the employee’s work, the data that supports their findings, and what resources are in place (Gilbert’s BEM) to assist the employee in their role. To the manager, these questions can seem like you may be judging them on their ability to do their job when it’s us merely wanting to identify the root cause. To successfully accomplish this, be transparent with management. Let them know that you would like to conduct a root cause analysis that will help you all identify the right issue and the most applicable solution(s). Otherwise, you may catch the manager off-guard, which could make them defensive and less likely to be open and upfront about the problem.

Here are in-depth sample questions, based on the 13 Smart Questions, that you might ask the manager, employee, customer, etc., as you do your research:

• Is the employee’s work suffering?
• Has there been a complaint (by a coworker or customer)?
• Are there any benchmarks and measurements that demonstrate a problem?
• Is this employee doing something on the job that they should not be doing?
• What should the employee do in the future?
• What shouldn’t the employee do in the future?
• Has the employee’s quality of work declined?
• Has the employee performed their work correctly in the past but is no longer doing so?
• How will we measure a change in performance?
• Are there benchmarks in place?
• Is there a change in behavior that is expected? If so, how can that be observed or measured?
• If benchmarks are in place, where does the employee’s performance currently stand in comparison to those expectations?
• What is the expected performance of the employee? Are we expecting the employee to meet or exceed those benchmarks?
• Has the employee received feedback about their behavior?
• Is the employee aware of the expectations of their performance?
• Are performance expectations documented and shared with employees?
• Are there organizational, departmental, and individual goals?
• Does the employee have the resources needed to do their job?
• Do the resources meet the needs of the employee?
• Based on the role, is the employee being compensated adequately?
• Does the employee receive any type of incentive for a job well done?
• Are there career development opportunities?
• Does the employee understand that there are consequences to poor performance? If so, what constitutes poor performance, and what are the consequences?
• Does the employee have the resources needed for their job (e.g., properly functioning office equipment, access to knowledge/coaching, understanding of processes)?
• Do the job duties match the employee’s skillset?
• Is the employee motivated to do well (recognition, career paths, development goals)?

As you can infer, these types of questions may be difficult for managers. They may not have all the answers. They may even feel as if they are the problem, especially if the questions and their intent are unclear. Instead, frame your analysis in such a way that lets them know that the information uncovered may help them be better managers for the rest of their staff and allow them to implement proactive solutions that could prevent future performance issues.

Open communication

Communication is key to a successful front-end analysis. No matter how you obtain the data (e.g., surveys, group interviews, individual interviews, discussions with managers, etc.), the key will be to have an open dialogue with those involved. Ensure all parties understand why this data is being obtained and how it may help positively impact them and/or their team. You may also find that you will be in a situation where you will need to coach the manager into deeper analysis themselves, especially as it pertains to having one-on-one meetings with employees to gauge their concerns and uncover their needs. Gathering this level of data may take some time and involve follow-up, especially if you need to clarify feedback. Be thorough and avoid making quick assumptions. Let the data guide you because you will want to rely upon it as you make a case for the best short-term and long-term solution(s).

Offering solutions that fix the problem

The data you gather will be extremely important as you determine the best solution(s) to close the performance gap. Although we are L&D professionals, learning may not always be the best option or even an option that will help. Having answers to the 13 Smart Questions and being able to paint a complete picture for management will help them understand the best course of action, especially if it requires additional resources or funding. If possible, sort your solutions according to those that can be implemented quickly versus those which will take some time. Those short-term fixes may help reduce the performance gap and provide quick wins. They may not be able to resolve the issue completely, but they can be used as a basis for showing improvements while work is being done on the long-range solutions.

Examples of short-term and long-term solutions that one might encounter:

Keep your data clean and present it to management in a way that is easy for them to understand. Use graphs, pie charts, tables, etc., that effectively highlight your findings. Whenever possible, correlate this information into numbers that clearly show the impact. For example, demonstrate how much money could be saved or revenue earned. Even reference credible third-party research to support your findings. Provide suggested timelines and how improvements may be observed. Keep the presentation of the data short, sweet, and concise.

Is this justified?

The simple answer is Yes and No. It will be based upon your organization, your role, and the expectations of your L&D group as to whether a front-end analysis is needed. For example, if you support the buildout of online training material for a software company and you have a new product rolling out at the end of the year, then training modules may be a requirement. This would eliminate the need for a proper front-end analysis. You may also be in situations in which you receive instructional design or training requests that are expected to be completed on time and on budget. For example, you may be an instructional designer assigned to create web-based training on a new software application. The expectation may be that this training must be available prior to the launch of the new application so the analysis would shift from being one that is front-end to that is more centered around the analysis of technical, task, instructional, and/or audience data.

If you are in a situation in which a front-end task analysis is needed, then know that the work involved is justified. This ensures that we aren’t wasting time (and money) on creating, conducting, and consuming training for training’s sake. As mentioned before, if training is not the correct solution, then we also face the risk of losing credibility. So, the next time a manager comes to you with a concern about an employee, feel confident in your understanding of front-end analysis. Rely upon an industry-trusted framework, such as Joe Harless' Front-End Analysis and 13 Smart Questions. Doing so will ensure you have an evidence-based approach that will yield positive results.

Front-End Analysis Questions Job Aid

Overview: Use this job aid to assist you with the types of questions you may want to ask during your front-end analysis. This job aid is not designed to provide you with the exact questions to ask, as these will be specific to each situation. However, use the questions and explanations in this document as a guide to better understand how to conduct your analysis and which questions would be best to ask to identify the issue.

August 30, 2021

Join or login to save this to your library

Contributor

Jeffrey Bartley

Global Training Program Manager, Itron

Share

Category

Learning Solutions

Topics

Elearning Design Strategies, Instructional Design