Learning Design is a tool which finds the most cost effective and time efficient route to work relevant learning.
Background
Successful organisations recognise that, in order to retain competitive advantage, employees must continually develop appropriate skills and knowledge. The particular skill-set required varies from role to role and from person to person. The question of how to respond to this is a difficult one, and likely to be expensive, particularly if the response follows the traditional route of focusing solely on formal learning interventions.
Learning Design supports the design and planning of learning solutions that satisfy both individual needs and strategic business requirements. The tool enables capability gaps in relation to an organisational context to be derived, and considers the array of alternative and relevant learning options available to address these gaps. It provides a framework of evaluation criteria so that the most appropriate solution can be defined, and then built into individual Learning Plans geared to improving functional capability and enhancing competitive edge. A key feature is the open dialogue fostered between learning providers, company managers and learners.
What outcome can be expected?
The tool will enable managers to make efficient, cost effective choices about learning and development. It will provide detailed individual Learning Plans, agreed by participants, and geared to improving functional capability and the enhancement of competitive edge.
Elements
There are four main elements:
- Capabilities Matrix – indicates the actual and ideal capability levels (in terms of knowledge, skills and behaviours) for key role deliverables
- Individual Capability Radar Charts – portrays actual and ideal capability levels in a graphical manner
- Learning Options Mindmap – displays alternative learning options for development of specific generic capabilities
- Learning Design Analysis and Implementation Handbook – describes the deployment process
When should you use it?
Organisations should use this tool when they are planning to meet the increasing demands of the global market and require effective, functionally specific learning provision designed to enhance innovative capability.
How does it work?
There are five distinct stages in the Learning Design process, to enable the user to systematically map the learning needs of each individual employee, arrive at a number of alternative solutions to address those needs, and decide on the most appropriate response for both the individual and for the company. A trained facilitator (usually a Learning Provider) will work with company managers and learners through a short series of facilitated workshops, which will result in:
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decomposition of roles into capabilities (knowledge, skills and behaviours, ideal and current)
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systematic mapping (using Radar Charts) of the learning needs of individual employees,
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a number of alternative solutions to address those needs,
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decisions on the most appropriate response for both the individual and for the company, and,
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a detailed learning and development plan.
