Establishing the Value of Training: Part One - ADDIE

by Mark Snow

HRD Performance Technology Group

Everyone knows that there is value in training... even the beancounter looking down his nose at you will grudgingly say that training is worthwhile... perhaps through gritted teeth.

The challenge Mr. BeanCounter has laid out for you in 2010 is simple. Prove it. Just like a salesperson has to prove it by closing a deal. Just like manufacturing has to prove it by actually creating a physical product.

So lets shove a bit of ol' fashioned medicine down his throat - Let's prove it. Over the next few blog posts we'll begin to establish why training has value... if it (gulp) does indeed add to the bottom line. Let's get to work.

Instructional Design (or ISD) is classified as "the practice of maximizing the effectiveness, efficiency, and appeal of instruction and other learning experiences"... Sounds good. No bean counter in his right mind would argue with that - but we need more concrete for our foundation. What does it all MEAN??

ADDIE is a simple formula, and one that people in the training industry pay plenty of lip service to, and then spend their time trying to circumvent some aspect or another. The acronym breaks down like this:

Analyze -

What's the problem?

Is Training the answer?

Who needs to be trained in order to fix the problem?

Design -

What are the objectives of the learning?

What is the course/learning structure?

What is the proper medium for the learning?

Develop -

Draft your materials

Pilot test with a target audience

Revise and finalize

Implement -

Conduct the training or implement learning objects

Complete follow up activities

Chart the process of determining learning and impact

Evaluate -

Which "level" of evaluation is appropriate?

How are the training needs analysis and evaluation linked?

How is an effective evaluation for the course/learning conducted?

By involving your bean counting and non-bean-counting stakeholders throughout the ADDIE process you'll have a much better sense, and argument, for:

1)Why the training should happen in the first place.

2) What impact it has on the organization

3) The what/when/why/where/how of measuring the overall effectiveness of your efforts.

Put into form, and slid under the nose of Mr. BeanCounter, a properly ADDIE structured course gives you some solid footing and metrics to work from.

Now let's skip ahead a bit to Phase Two and start thinking about how to answer the two crucial questions that link the beginning (training needs analysis) and the ending (evaluation of results) so that you can show - on paper - the seedling beginnings of ROI.

A thorough needs analysis answers the question

"What good will training do?"

Of course, the question seems simple - but the answer is not likely to be quick or easy to discover. You'll need to work a bit to get to the heart of the needed correction.

A thorough evaluation answers the question

"What good did training do?"

You need to consider environmental factors, stratify where you can, and determine to the best of your abilities (and your Bean Counter's signature) what has changed.

OK - Now Listen Up...

A truly effective evaluation simple CANNOT be conducted if you haven't done a proper training needs analysis. You can't even hope to determine what was accomplished with a learning event without first defining specifically what it was designed to accomplish. Your training needs analysis provides a numerical baseline of what your eventual judgement should be measured against.

Stay tuned for the next blog post, "When ADDIE Meets Kirkpatrick"...

Three Things the Market is Telling Independent Consultants... Are YOU Listening?

By Mark Snow

Despite economy-based perceptions to the contrary, demand for your services is growing. In organizations between 500 and 1,000 employees, our research shows that the time spent on management & leadership training will nearly double in 2010 – and at the same time training staffs in organizations of that size are shrinking.

That’s right. More training, less internal employees to do it. So that sound you hear is opportunity knocking… That’s the good news.

The bad news? You just can’t charge for it the way you used to. Here’s why;

1) Because Google knows the answers too.
Time to face it, folks. Information doesn’t carry the dollar value it used to. The Encyclopedia Britannica model of selling information is dead and gone. No answer is too hard to find anymore as long as you have an internet connection or cell signal. You need to bring more to the table if you want to get paid – at all.

2) Because they aren’t lying about their purse strings
Companies and budgets have been cut back, and are being watched like never before. It’s not that anyone begrudges you the living you want to make – but the universal switch to pay-for-results has begun. You can hop on, or get left out at sea without a raft. Consultants unwilling to be flexible about their pricing model won’t have to worry about it for long.


3) Because the other gal is hungry too
We, as consultants, all have our unique qualities and qualifications. But at the end of the day the only thing that matters is your client’s pain and your ability to solve it. Between now and the end of 2012 your competition will have doubled. Retirees, laid-offs, and jobless college graduates will turn to working independently – chewing on the corners of your established relationships, and racing you for new ones. If you shy away from competition you may want to consider posting your resume.

Consultants willing to provide extra value, show pricing flexibility, and position themselves ahead of the field are going to come out of our financial doldrums stronger than ever. That’s what our marketplace has announced to you. Are you listening?

Mark Snow is the President of the Performance Technology Group at HRD Press - A multi-national publishing house located in Amherst, MA.