• Context Analysis – identify current business needs in relation to the future or desired state of performance.
• Audience Analysis – identify the traits and characteristics of the target audience for training. What is their current level of knowledge and skill?
• Job-Task Analysis – understand the steps and procedures behind the work your target audience does.
• Content Analysis – review the documents and information used on the job.
• Training Sustainability Analysis – determine if the requested training is in fact due to a lack of knowledge, skills or abilities in the target audience. If it is not, training is not necessarily the answer to the performance problem in the workplace.
• Cost-Benefit Analysis – determine if the cost and effort behind the production of training will be profitable.

To conduct these different forms of analysis, use one or more of the following techniques:

• Observation
• Surveys and questionnaires
• Interviews of subject matter experts and top performers
• Focus groups
• Knowledge or skill tests
• Records and reports
• Samples of actual work

Once you have a solid training analysis completed, you will have all the data you need to begin the instructional design of your training modules and programs provided it is confirmed that training is needed to improve workplace performance.

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Harold Jarche discusses how we should re-think the way people learn in the workplace in his post Network Learning: Working Smarter. I like the term “Network Learning” because it demonstrates how learning is no longer a one to one interaction between instructor or subject mater expert and learner (employee). Mr. Jarche’s post is far too in-depth to analyze here, but I highly recommend it and you should take the time to learn how he sees learning in today’s business climate, how learners filter information to find what they are looking for and how they link with communities to find information and validate their findings.

We’re moving away from the more formal context of learning such as classes, online courses and self-study courses, and moving more toward informal learning events where the learner seeks information in context to their situation. Even in formalized learning environments powered by technology, such as a learning management system (LMS), it is the desire of the learners to break away from the structured environment and connect with other learners. Twitter has been one social media platform that has enabled free-flowing, just-in-time interaction between learners. This phenomenon, known as social presence in learning, is discussed in greater detail on a previous post.

Training and adult learning has benefited from advances in technology, but  the success of learning in the workplace rests in how well we interact with one another, not the technology we use. It is only a means to an end. Going social with our learning will enable us to find “who knows what” and connect with them. If you think about it, if we accelerate learning through social presence and social networks, we’re all teachers as we educate, guide and mentor others.

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• More on Knowledge Management
• Reusable Learning Object Strategies
• The Difference Between LMS and LCMS
• Make the Best of What’s Around
• SCORM in a Nutshell

Happy holidays. See you in 2011!

Related articles

• The Futureof SCORM (downes.ca)
• Introduction to SCORM, Part I (downes.ca)
• Tips for Developing a Knowledge Management Strategy (brighthub.com)
• Best platforms to host corporate training? (edugeek.net)

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Training should only be implemented when there is a clear need. That need must be based on a defined lack of knowledge, skills or abilities in the target audience. Anything less is merely communicating to your employees – to inform them of anything new or updating them on the status of the organization, for example.

Still, the question as to whether or not training should be implemented wouldn’t be posed unless there was some sort of issue that needed to be addressed. If communication between management and employees is needed, take the necessary steps to make information accessible. There are a number of solutions that can be implemented such as e-mail newsletters to employees or perhaps a blog where managers and executives can post information and solicit feedback. The possibilities to distribute information and communicate to your employees is only limited to your imagination and available resources.

Before you commit to training, ask if there is a lack of knowledge, skills or abilities in the target audience or if they simply need to be informed in order to perform at their job better. By doing this, you will avoid developing costly training that will have little or no impact and address a need that can be resolved at minimal expense.

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Learning 2.0 for Associations is not necessarily an e-book. It’s actually a well written report that provides an overview of the tools that have emerged as of late in the Web 2.0 revolution and how they apply to learning in organizations. It is not an in-depth technical view of the tools, rather it assumes the reader has a solid grasp of the web, knows how it works and is able to conceptualize how these tools facilitate learning.

As a practitioner in the field of training and development, I appreciate the report’s attempt to trace how we’ve gone from Learning 1.0 (one to one traditional instruction) to Learning 2.0 (one to many). Today’s learning, driven by Web 2.0, not only allows instructors to teach more people than ever before, the social aspects enable students to serve as teachers guiding, supporting and providing feedback to their fellow students.

What I learned from this report is that Web 2.0 does not facilitate learning in and of itself. They are tools that enable or enhance the learning experience. The trick is to select the right platform for the appropriate learning situation.

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