Please Rate This Blog a Five
by Rob Zell:
After a recent purchase at a chain pharmacy, the associate showed me on my receipt the number I could call to take a quick service survey. She ended by saying, “…and we would appreciate if you gave us fives.” You have probably heard this before at a retailer that you frequent. If you’re like me, you probably get a trifle annoyed by the statement. One day I’m going to have the fortitude to respond by asking, “How would you rate your service?” or maybe, “What exactly was five-worthy about our transaction?” Again, if you’re like me, you nod and smile and go about your business. If an organization wants to earn fives on their service, then every interaction has to start with the end in mind.
As learning professionals we often ask the organization to rate our training programs. We also look for fives on our post-class surveys. We ask participants to rate the materials, the facilitator, the content and the environment. The Kirkpatrick Model is the reference model for measuring training effectiveness. Basic information about the environment and experience is Level 1. When we measure knowledge transfer and retention we are evaluating Level 2 effectiveness. How often the learner actually uses the content on the job is Level 3. Finally, the Return on Investment (ROI) or impact to true business metrics, is Level 4.
Your training organization is likely using this system to measure its performance. To really deliver on high-impact learning is to score well at every level: positive learner experience, knowledge acquisition, skill practice and ROI. In order to achieve this lofty goal, it is critical to start with end in mind.
- Identify the desired performance. Stay focused on the skills and knowledge that achieve the desired performance and remove the extra that only confuses the issue. We often hear, “But they really should know…” Make sure they need to know it to do the job, not just because it’s a fashionable topic.
- Be a performance consultant. Ask the hard questions. Is there a performance gap because people don’t know the expectations? Are there obstacles in the way? When they perform the way they are supposed to, are there negative consequences? If they use a non-approved short cut are they rewarded somehow (is the job easier, do they get paid more, are they recognized by their boss)? For a great resource try this book by Robert Mager.
- Make sure learning solutions fit the situation. Some interventions can be solved with a simple job aid while others require full classroom experiences. Make sure that the solution fits the issue at hand and considers both the desired performance and the learner’s experience consuming the training. You can read more about my thoughts on this in a blog I posted last year.
If you want your people to earn fives for their performance, and who doesn’t, make sure they know what they are supposed to do and have a clear path to get the job done. If the associate at that pharmacy had known exactly what great service looked like and had delivered on it, I might call or go online and give them a five. Instead, I am tempted to respond that the employee did exactly what was expected: she informed me of the survey and asked for a five, rather than making my experience great.
What do you think? How can you make sure your people and your organization earn fives on their metrics? Let us know and please, rate this blog a five.
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