Training Needs Analysis, Skills Auditing & Evaluation

TRANSFORMING THE TRAINING FUNCTION:
ANALYZING, DESIGNING, DEVELOPING, DELIVERING
AND EVALUATING STRATEGIC LEARNING SOLUTIONS
CHARLES COTTER
EAGLE’S NEST LODGE AND CONFERENCE CENTRE
16-18 NOVEMBER 2016
www.slideshare.net/CharlesCotter

3-DAY, TRAINING PROGRAMME
OVERVIEW
• Understanding and Applying the ADDIE training process/cycle
• Applying the Training Needs Analysis process
• Applying the Skills Auditing process
• Compiling Workplace Skills Plans (WSP) and Annual Training Reports
(ATR)
• Training Evaluation
• Calculating Training Return on Investment (ROI)
• Strategic Learning and Development
• Case studies

INTRODUCTION
• Skills development through education and training has always been the
most powerful lever for improving both individual and institutional
competitiveness of companies worldwide.
• Governments and employers recognize the critical role a skilled and
knowledgeable workforce can play in securing competitive advantages in
international markets.
• both common sense and economic research support the idea that the
quality of a nation’s workforce is important for economic growth and
social development.
• Two factors are generally considered to be prime determinants of the
quality of workforce, namely:
 Labour productivity
 The flexibility of the workforce

INTRODUCTION
• It is of critical importance that management implements training to
stimulate productivity.
• Management has to realize that there are four (4) main factors in
training that will increase the performance and resultant
productivity of employees, namely:
 Adequate knowledge of tasks
 Requisite skills to perform their tasks
 Motivation
 Opportunity to effectively utilize other production resources
• All the production factors are, however, dependent on the skills of
workers at all levels – from senior level to competent technicians at
the middle level to semi-skilled operators

THE BUSINESS VALUE OF EMPLOYEE
DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTORY LEARNING ACTIVITY
• Individual activity:
• Complete the statement by inserting one (1) word only. As a L&D
Manager, in order to optimize the impact and value of training, I
need to/to be .………………………………………………………………………….
• Now find other learners with the same word as you.
• Jot these words down on the flip-chart.
• Each learner will have the opportunity to elaborate on their
chosen word.

GENERIC TRAINING AND
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS/CYCLE
• Step 1: Identify the overall business needs
• Step 2: Identify the success criteria
• Step 3: Establish individual training needs
• Step 4: Design and develop a learning solution
• Step 5: Review the learning solution
• Step 6: Production of learning and instructional materials
• Step 7: Implement the learning solution (delivery of training)
• Step 8: Evaluate and Review the impact of training

INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS
• List the critical success factors for the effective
management of the training function.
• Prioritize these critical success factors.
• Given these critical success factors, what is the
overall evaluation of the training function?

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
• Vertical alignment with business strategy and horizontal
integration (bundling)
• Ensure that the organization is future-proof i.e. sustainable
competitive advantage and business continuity in a “business
unusual” environment
• L&D conducts environmental scanning and is highly attuned,
sensitive to and pro-actively responsive of change
• Apply metrics and analytics to demonstrate it’s strategic value and
impact
• Be a change agent and be pivotal and instrumental in transforming
core business processes

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS – 6 POINT
CHANGE PLAN REQUIRED
• Training must re-engineer current functions and processes
from:
#1: Providing training programmes to providing business valued
learning solutions
#2: Being a cost centre to being a profit centre
#3: Being transactional (administrative) to being
transformational (strategic) - training administrators to being a
strategic learning partners
#4: Being people pleasers and comfort-seekers to making
employees competitive and competent
#5: Traditional, manual methods to technology-enabled
learning
#6: Training departments to learning factories (repositories of
knowledge)

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR:
INTEGRATION AND ALIGNMENT

PERFORMING A TRAINING NEEDS
ANALYSIS (TNA)
• The objectives and benefits of a training
needs analysis
• Levels of training needs
• SDF responsibility in TNA
• The TNA process

OBJECTIVES AND BENEFITS OF TNA
• Provide necessary information on participants
• Identify employee difficulties and performance problems
• Identify important topic areas
• Provide documentation and materials for training
• Provide information on attitudes to training
• Increase employee involvement
• Help establish contact with subject specialists
• Help estimate the cost of training
• Save time, money and resources
• Help tailor the service more accurately
• Provide a means of measuring training effectiveness

LEVELS OF TNA
• Organizational Needs
 Identify key problem areas that affect performance on an organization-
wide basis.
• Job or Occupational Needs
 The knowledge, skills, information, equipment, materials etc. needed
to perform to standard in the job and the steps in performing the job
• Individual Needs
 This level ensures that individuals who need training are the ones who
actually get it and that the training introduced bridges the gap
between actual, current and desired, future performance.

SDF RESPONSIBILITY IN TNA
• The role of the SDF is to offer expert advice
to management about what training can and
cannot achieve
• To facilitate the needs assessment process so
that it is a participative, transparent and in-
house consulting role.

6-STEP TNA PROCESS
• Step One: Performing a situational and problem analysis
• Step Two: Envisioning the desired end state
• Step Three: Identifying the TNA methods
• Step Four: Collecting data
• Step Five: Reaching, sharing and presenting TNA findings
• Step Six: Compiling an Implementation Plan of Action

STEP ONE: SITUATIONAL AND PROBLEM
ANALYSIS
• Focuses on getting a clear and realistic understanding of the situation or problem
that we think training may address and on defining the starting point for the TNA.
• Fundamental questions to ask?
• A situational analysis is conducted to assess the unique requirements of a
situation when there is a perception that everything is not as it should be.
• Indicators (of a problem)?
• Three types of problems:
 Managerial
 System
 Job performance
• Preferred environmental scanning tools: PESTEL and SWOT Analyses

ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING TOOLS
SWOT Analysis PESTEL Analysis

STEP TWO: ENVISIONING THE
DESIRED END STATE
• Encourages you to ’draw a picture" of what the future will look like
once the training needs have been addressed. A vision is a mental
picture of a possible future state. Focus on:
 What would success look like?
 Where do we want to be?
 Do we have the whole picture?
• Step 2 represents the information that allows you to do a kind of
gap analysis - between the present and the future. It becomes
possible to work out how to get from now to then. Additional
useful questions to ask are:
 What are the challenges to getting the desired results?
 Who else do we need to involve or convince to get the desired results?

STEP THREE: IDENTIFYING THE TNA
METHODS
• Who to ask?
 Who knows the most?
 Who wants to be involved?
 Who would have a different perspective, who might derail the process if they are not involved?
 Who can provide objective information?
• What to ask?
 How do you see the situation?
 What do you think needs to be done?
 What training is needed?
 Is there anyone else we should talk to?
• What data collection method/s to use?
 Job analysis
 Performance appraisal
 Skills Auditing

STEP FOUR: DATA COLLECTION
• This step focuses on collecting, interpreting or
processing the information so that you can
work out what it is really telling you.
• You need to:
Identify the issues
Prioritise the issues
Prepare the information to share with others

STEP 5: REACHING, SHARING AND
PRESENTING TNA FINDINGS
• Your results must be shared in a way that will
help you to move forward.
• Decide:
What you want to share
How you want to share it

STEP 6: COMPILE AN
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN OF ACTION
• Now you must draw up a plan of action.
• The objective is to ensure that everything you
have done up to now does not go to waste.
• Incorporation of findings into Workplace Skills
Plan (WSP).

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1
• Group Discussion:
• By referring to the TNA process, apply steps
1-6 to a defined organizational context.

FUNDAMENTALS OF SKILLS AUDITING
• Costs and Benefits of Skills Audits
• Understanding the concept, “competence”
 “Applied Competence is the union of practical, foundational and
reflexive competence”
• Types of evidence
• Techniques and Approaches for Conducting a Skills Audit
 Panel approach
 Consultant approach
 One-on-one approach
 Alternative approaches

INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS
• Q1: For any business manager, what is their
most crucial financial and business risk
mitigation tool?
• Q2: For any Learning & Development
Manager/Skills Development Facilitator, what
is their most under-utilized people/skills risk
mitigation tool?

ORIGIN OF THE WORD, “AUDIT”
• The word audit originates from the Latin word
‘audire’ which means to “listen”.
• An audit is a systematic, objective risk
management tool for how well the workplace is
complying with regulatory and policy
requirements.

DEFINITION, PURPOSE AND
OUTCOME OF SKILLS AUDITING
• A skills audit is a snapshot that allows an organization to determine the
level of skills and knowledge of the workforce.
• It is compared against the competencies that are required in order to
determine the gaps and to focus training and development accordingly.
• Skills audits are conducted to determine training needs within an
organization in order for that organization to improve its skills and
knowledge.
• A skills audit establishes an individual’s current competence against the
skills matrix for a particular position.
• A skills audit gathers more information than current qualifications levels.
• The outcome of the skills audit process is a skills gap analysis.

V-I-P SKILLS AUDITING
• Valid (accurate & correct
Measurement)
• Interrogative (3rd degree)
• Protective (against skills
& reputational risks)

BEST PRACTICE CRITERIA: SKILLS
AUDITING
• #1: A job analysis must be used as a basis for the skills audit
• #2: Definitive performance standards must be developed, written,
and provided to all stakeholders, regardless of the type of rating
• #3: Raters are trained to use the rating instrument properly
• #4: Formal appeal mechanisms must be in place and assessment
results need to be reviewed to ensure fairness and reliability
• #5: Multiple techniques/approaches are utilized and ratings are
supported with documented examples of behaviour

BEST PRACTICE CRITERIA: SKILLS
AUDITING
• #6: Employees are given a chance to improve their skills through targeted
development opportunities
• #7: The 6 E’s - the Skills Auditing process is efficient, effective, economical,
educational, ethical and evidentiary
• #8: Compliance with the following principles of Skills Audits:
 Fairness
 Validity
 Reliability
 Transparency/ Openness
 Constructive feedback
 Objective
• #9: The outcome of the skills audit generates predictive analytics and business
intelligence, providing the organization with a strategic competitive advantage
• #10: Skills Auditing must be a holistic, systematic, integrated and aligned
approach

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2
• Review and evaluate your organization’s
current skills audit process against the ten
(10) best practice criteria.
• Identify gaps and recommend improvement
strategies to address these process gaps.

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS FOR SKILLS
AUDITS

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE OF SKILLS
AUDITING
• The key piece of information an organization needs to improve and to
deliver to its Mission Statement and strategy is to know what skills and
knowledge the organization requires and what skills and knowledge the
organization currently has. This information is essential for a number of
reasons:
 Without this information you don't know where to improve.
 With this information your training and development will be better planned
and more focused.
 Recruiting needs are better defined and more likely to result in the most
appropriate candidate.
 Placement decisions are easier with knowledge of current competence levels.
 Career pathing and succession planning is assisted with accurate information
on individuals.
• Meyer, Mabaso & Lancaster (2001) recommend proactive needs
identification and a more futuristic approach to the assessment of
training needs.

KEY BENEFITS OF A SKILLS AUDIT
• Valid and valuable Workplace Skills Plans (WSP)
• Improved skills and knowledge
• Lower training and development costs because development efforts are more focused
• Business intelligence - acquisition and use of information that can be used for purposes such as
internal employee selection and placement
• Increased productivity as people are better matched to their positions
• The results of a skills audit can be reported for each division to show individual and divisional
competency gaps against competency needs.
• This assists with the collation of a WSP that complies with the provisions of the Skills Development
Act and Seta regulations.
• Lancaster, Mabaso & Meyer (2001, p86) claim that “the skills plan can only be produced after the
organization has conducted a skills audit and a comprehensive needs analysis”
• Certain SETA’s have included skills auditing as one of the requirements for the discretionary grant.
Organizations that conduct skills audits in a structured manner, may submit levy claims against
Grant D of the skills development regulations.

5 C’S – THE KEY BENEFITS OF A SKILLS
AUDIT
• Compliance
+
• Competitive
+
• Cash
+
• Credibility
+
• Competence
= Clean Skills Audit

COSTS OF SKILLS AUDITS
• Training
• Time
• Administrative expenses (e.g. stationery)
• Information system/software
• Communication
• Use of consultants (where necessary)

POTENTIAL REPERCUSSIONS OF NOT
CONDUCTING A VALID SKILLS AUDIT
• Invalid and unreliable training plans
• Training plans that are not specific to individual, departmental and
organizational needs
• Little or no commitment to training & development by
management and staff, as plans are not seen as value-adding
• Little or no alignment of training and development to
organizational strategy and objectives
• Non-implementation of the Workplace Skills Plan and therefore the
organization will not be able to claim reporting grants

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3
• Group activity:
• Develop a business case for Skills Auditing i.e.do
the benefits outweigh the costs?
• Do skills audits comply with:
Viability
Feasibility
Sustainability

COMPETENCE
• “Applied Competence is the union of practical, foundational and reflexive
competence”
• Practical Competence - the demonstrated ability to perform a set of tasks in an
authentic context. A range of actions or possibilities is considered and decisions
are made about which actions to follow and to perform the chosen action.
• Foundational Competence - the demonstrated understanding of what the learner
is doing and why. This underpins the practical competence and therefore the
actions taken.
• Reflexive Competence - the learner demonstrates the ability to integrate or
connect performance with understanding so as to show that s/he is able to adapt
to changed circumstances appropriately and responsibly, and to explain the reason
behind an action.
• Thus competence is understood as including the individual’s learning,
understanding and ability to transfer and apply learned skills and knowledge
across a wide range of work contexts.

PERFORMANCE-BASED TRAINING
PROGRAMMES

TECHNIQUES/APPROACHES TO A
SKILLS AUDIT
• Panel approach
• Consultant approach
• One-on-one approach
• Alternative approaches:
 Competence-based self-assessment with validation by direct manager or supervisor
 360 degree reviews
 Focus groups
 Assessment centres
 Assessment by subject matter experts

EVIDENCE
• Types of evidence:
Direct
Indirect
Historical
• Evaluation of evidence (VACCS):
Validity
Authenticity
Consistency
Currency
Sufficiency

SKILLS AUDITING PROCESS –
ILLUSTRATED

SKILLS AUDITING PROCESS
• Step 1: Determine Skills Requirements
• Step 2: Audit actual skills
• Step 3: Determine development needs and
plan for training/restructuring

STEP 1: DETERMINE SKILLS
REQUIREMENTS
• In order to determine skills requirements, an organization should identify
current and future skills requirements per job.
• The end result is a skills matrix with related competency definitions.
Definitions can be allocated against various proficiency levels per job,
such as basic, intermediate and complex.
• Objective: Determine the critical or required skills (elicited from job
profiles, your strategy, or competency matrix).
• Skills matrix process:
 Step 1: Workshop with a project team (include Subject Matter Experts)
 Step 2: Use outcomes analysis to derive skills/knowledge factors and unit
standard titles
 Step 3: Use results of outcomes analysis and value chain process to develop a
skills matrix and titles matrix
 Step 4: Verify matrices with SMEs and finalise

STEP 2: AUDIT ACTUAL SKILLS
• Step 2 involves an individual self-audit and skills
audit
• Results are collated into reporting documents
that may include statistical graphs, qualitative
reports and recommendations
• A skills audit includes auditing qualifications,
experience and training (knowledge)
• Conducting a Skills Gap Analysis

SKILLS AUDIT RATING SCALE
Rating Description Definition
0 No evidence of competence An individual does not currently display any form or level of competence
in the skill listed. He or she may require formal training and exposure to
the skill in the workplace.
0.25 Some evidence of competence The individual may demonstrate part competence, but definitely needs
formal training and exposure to the skill in the workplace.
0.5 Evidence of competence, needs
further training
An individual is competent, but needs to improve. Training is the most
effective solution. The individual may be at a lower level than the
position requires, i.e. at linear, instead of complex level.
0.75 Evidence of competence, needs more
exposure to the skill
The individual is competent and has undergone training. Further
exposure in the workplace would ensure improvement and full
competence. The individual may be at a lower level than the position
requires, i.e. at linear, instead of intermediate level.
1 Full evidence of competence The individual is competent in the skills at the level allocated to his/ her
position.

STEP 3: DETERMINE DEVELOPMENT NEEDS AND PLAN
FOR TRAINING/RESTRUCTURING
• Once skills audit information has been collected, an analysis of the
results may be used for planning purposes relating to training and
development and other Human Resource interventions.
• Recommendations are then discussed and agreed actions are
implemented.
• This skill shortfall forms the basis of a Training Needs Analysis
(TNA) so that the company can reach the desired skill base amongst
its employees.
• A gap analysis is the outcome of the skills audit process.
• Information that is provided through the skills audit can be used for
the multiple HRM and business purposes.

REPORTING SKILLS AUDIT RESULTS
• The reporting framework is generated according to the purpose you want to use
the skills data for.
• These reports are vital as they may be used to inform organizational training and
development strategy, Workplace Skills Plans, individual development plans and
performance management interventions etc.
• These reports must be stored in a manner that respects the confidentiality of
individual employees.
• It is therefore important to agree on and communicate who has access to skills
audit results, and how these people may use the results upfront.
• Skills audit reports may take on a number of forms:
 Individual competency profiles
 Divisional radar report
 Organizational pie chart

INFORMATION EXTRACTION FROM
REPORTS
Individual name & employee number
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
C
om
m
unication
Interpersonal
C
ontrolling
Adm
inistration
Planning
C
om
puter
D
rafting
legal docs
Property
law
Interview
ing
Department name - Divisional Radar Report
0
20
40
60
80
100
Communication Skills (B)
Interpersonal Skills (B/E)
Administration skills (D)
Planning Skills (D)
Management Skills (G)
Marketing (B/C)
Loans Processing (A/B/C/D)
Computer skills (D)
Company name
ORGANISATIONAL
STRATEGIC COMPETENCY PROFILE
66%
73%
75%
69%
75%
71%69%
A. Strategic competency listing B. C. D. E. F. G.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 4
• Apply steps 1-3 of the skills audit process, to
a defined organizational context.

WORKPLACE SKILLS PLAN (WSP)
• The purpose of a WSP
• Objectives and scope of a WSP
• The value and importance of a WSP
• Alignment with the Business and HRM strategy
• Compiling a WSP

COMPILING A WSP
• Step 1: Develop an occupation classification matrix
• Step 2: Populate the occupation classification matrix
• Step 3: Establish the company’s skills development priorities
• Step 4: Define the education and training required for achieving
the strategic skills development priorities
• Step 5: Define the number and characteristics of training
beneficiaries that will be trained in the Levy-Grant Year
• Step 6: Define the quality assurance measures for each of the
planned education and training activities

STEP 3: ESTABLISH THE COMPANY’S SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
• Know-how
• Up-skilling
• Re-skilling
• Multi-skilling
• Refresher training
• Initial training

ANNUAL TRAINING REPORT (ATR)
• Defining an Annual Training Report (ATR)
 Basically this report consists of all attendance registers, proof of expenditure, training provider
used in this report the SETA can establish whether training was done or is in the process of
being done.
• Submission requirements
 This report reflects the education, training and development activities of the organisation that
were implemented.
 The annual training report does exactly what it says; it basically tells the SETA what training
has taken place in the organisation in the previous 12 months, and which employees received
training.
 It also contains information to the type, cost and delivery method of the training it goes
further to assess whether the training that the employees received is in line with the planned
training for the organisation, industry and critical skills identified by the SETA.
 The ATR allows employers to monitor the achievement of the skills priorities and skills
development objectives that were outlined in the WSP.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 5
• By referring to the process of compiling a WSP,
describe the efficiency and effectiveness of this
process in a defined organizational context.
• By referring to the process of compiling an ATR,
describe the efficiency and effectiveness of this
process in a defined organizational context.
• Identify gaps and recommend improvement
strategies.

TRAINING EVALUATION – KIRKPATRICK (4-
LEVELS) AND PHILLIPS (5-LEVELS)

DIAGNOSTIC ACTIVITY 6
• By referring to the 6 levels, determine your
organization’s level of training proficiency.

DIAGNOSIS OF CURRENT TRAINING AND
DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES
• How efficient is the training process; is the
attendance of scheduled training programmes
good and are learners satisfied post-training? –
LEVEL 1: EFFICIENT
• What is the submission rate of PoE’s and is there
a good success rate? – LEVEL 2: EDUCATIONAL
• What is the degree of transfer and application of
learning to the workplace and improved
behavioural change and performance? – LEVEL
3: EFFECTIVE

DIAGNOSIS OF CURRENT TRAINING AND
DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES
• What is the impact of training programmes on
organizational business results and metrics e.g.
productivity; competence; customer service etc. – LEVEL
4: VALUABLE
• What is the Return-on-Investment (ROI) of the training
programmes? Do the benefits exceed the costs? – LEVEL
5: ECONOMICAL
• To what extent do training programmes directly
contribute to the achievement of strategic objectives;
drive innovation; generate business solutions and create
sustainable competitive advantages for the organization?
– LEVEL 6: STRATEGIC

DEFINING TRAINING ROI FORMULA
ROI is a key financial metric of the value of training investments and costs. It
is a ratio of net benefits to costs, expressed as a percentage.
The formula can be expressed as:
[(monetary benefits – cost of the training) / cost of the training] x 100

LEARNING ACTIVITY 7
• Complete the Training ROI Scorecard, 16-
point checklist. Identify gaps and recommend
improvement strategies.

ILLUSTRATION: TRAINING ROI
PROCESS

4-PHASE, TRAINING ROI PROCESS
• The calculation of training ROI should be
approached in an iterative, 4-phase approach:
Phase 1: Preparatory
Phase 2: Initiation
Phase 3: Analysis
Phase 4: Consolidatory

PHASE 1: PREPARATORY
• Creating sufficient awareness, insight and general understanding of training ROI within the
organization
• Communicating and “selling” the benefits of ROI and the importance of training accountability to
your training staff
• Enabling and capacitating your training staff with the requisite knowledge and skills to measure
ROI
• Allocate sufficient resources for the calculation of training ROI
• Aligning and integrating the ROI implementation into the strategic HRM/D planning process
• Partnering and building relationships with line management as a means of garnering support and
assistance for the ROI implementation process
• Creating a synergistic link between training and other HR systems like performance management,
skills development etc. as a means of accurately identifying performance problems/gaps

PHASE 2: INITIATION
• Introducing and utilizing pre-and post-assessment i.e. quantify
information before the training in order to establish a baseline
• Start with only one course as a pilot programme to practice ROI skills
• Using ROI measurement as both a predictive and evaluative instrument
• Data collection of the total expenditure (cost items) throughout the
entire training cycle
• Data collection of the attributable benefits of the training programme
• Converting and monetizing these benefits and value to metrics and
money, respectively

PHASE 3: ANALYSIS
• Evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of
your training programmes at the 4 levels
proposed by Kirkpatrick
• Managing and measuring the overall training
performance as well as that of individual training
programmes i.e. using HRD metrics such as
activity, results and efficiency
• Calculating the ROI ratio of your training
programmes

PHASE 4: CONSOLIDATORY
• Auditing and verifying your ROI measurements to
increase authenticity, accuracy and credibility thereof
• Implementing improvement plans and other remedial
interventions i.e. scrapping training with a
negative/low ROI, as a result of the ROI measurement
process
• Compiling, communicating and marketing benefits
and value of training in a ROI Report/Scorecard to
management and other relevant stakeholders.

L&D METRICS
• Measures of training activity (concerning how
much training and development occurred with
the focus on formalised, structured learning)
• Measures of training results (concerning how
well training and development achieved its goals)
• Measures of training efficiency (concerning the
extent to which training and development
maximises resources in pursuit of its mission)
• Refer to the specific L&D metrics (pages 83-84)

TRAINING ROI SCORECARD/REPORT
• Executive Summary
• Introduction and Contextualization
• Analysis and Results
• Recommendations and Training Improvement Plan
• Conclusion
• Reference to Attachments

LEARNING ACTIVITY 8
• Indicate what L&D metrics are currently utilized.
Describe the credibility and the effectiveness of
these metrics to accurately measure the impact
and value of training and development.
• By referring to the 4-step ROI process, describe
how the measurement of the impact of training
can be measured at your organization.

DEFINITION OF STRATEGIC TRAINING AND
DEVELOPMENT

STRATEGIC TRAINING AND
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE OF LEARNING
AND DEVELOPMENT
• Deloitte (2014): The Nine Critical Talent Imperatives inter alia:
 Accelerating Time to Competency
 Driving Performance & Development
 Improving Management & Leadership
• Building a leading L&D function will likely not only drive
performance, but also improve employee engagement.
• “For far too long, training has been a passive, organizational back-
seat driver. It should come to prominence by enabling and
ultimately, driving strategy and it’s achievement.” (Cotter, 2015)
• If skills shortages are seen as a top threat to business expansion,
leadership will turn to learning managers for a response
(justification).

FACTORS OF STRATEGIC L&D (COTTER,
2016)
• #1: Strategic mind-set and alignment with
business goals
• #2: Evidence-based, business metrics and
predictive analytics
• #3: Learning architecture and design
• #4: Learning structures and roles
• #5: Enhanced skills set of L&D professionals

FACTORS OF STRATEGIC L&D (COTTER,
2016)
• #6: Extended learning, knowledge management
and change to “skills building” L&D approach
• #7: Utilisation of social and e-learning (70-20-10
model)
• #8: Learning organization culture
• #9: Top management support and line manager
engagement, contribution and involvement

10 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF
TRAINING TO A STRATEGIC LEARNING SOLUTION
• #1: Top management support and ownership
• #2: Vibrant and effective Performance Management
System (PMS)
• #3: Direct and active engagement, consultation and
participation of line management in all learning
processes
• #4: Training Managers need to adopt and apply a
strategic mind-set (conceptual thinking)
• #5: Establishment of a learning organizational culture

CULTURE IS CRITICAL
• L&D should be a poster child of “people
investment” in your company—creating not
only great training, but also reinforcing the
culture of learning.
• Research on learning culture shows that,
among all of the different investments in
learning that can be made, creating a culture
of learning is the most important of all.

10 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF
TRAINING TO A STRATEGIC LEARNING SOLUTION
• #6: Holding individuals accountable for application of
learning by means of e.g. learner contracts/agreements
• #7: When utilizing outsourced training providers ensure
performance-directed, Service Level Agreements are in
place
• #8: Learning and Development must be embedded in the
business strategy
• #9: Learning strategy must precede structure
• #10: Commitment to training as an investment and not
cost item

BACK TO BASICS – THE BALANCED
SCORECARD

• Strategy maps are communication tools used to tell a story
of how value is created for the organization.
• They show a logical, step-by-step connection between
strategic objectives (shown as ovals on the map) in the
form of a cause-and-effect chain.
• Generally speaking, improving performance in the
objectives found in the Learning & Growth perspective (the
bottom row) enables the organization to improve its
Internal Process perspective Objectives (the next row up),
which in turn enables the organization to create desirable
results in the Customer and Financial perspectives (the top
two rows).
STRATEGY MAPPING

LEARNING ACTIVITY 9
• Evaluate the current degree of compliance to
the 10 best practice criteria. Identify gaps and
recommend improvement strategies.

ANALYSIS
• Required Thinking – Laboratory Scientist
• Accurate sourcing of training needs by means of properly
performed and scientifically reliable and valid skills audits
• Accurate sourcing of performance gaps by means of a vibrant
performance management system/process
• “Training is not the Alpha and Omega and the cure for all
organizational ills.”
• (Vertical) Alignment with Strategic Business Plan and Strategic
Workforce Plan and horizontal integration (bundling) with other
key HRM functions/processes

DESIGN
• Required Thinking – Architect
• O-R-C-A – Outcomes; Resources; Capabilities and Activities
• Contract learning curriculum design specialists
• Ensure quality assurance of all learning materials and assessment
tools
• Transform to a technology-driven or web-based methodology e.g.
e- or m-learning, MOOC’s or gamification
• “Organizations should redesign their learning architecture”
(Deloitte, 2015)

PROBLEM: TOO MUCH LEARNING
CONTENT (OVERLOADING)

DEVELOPMENT
• Required Thinking – Construction Manager
• Applied Competency-based methodology (SAQA definition:
foundational; practical and reflexive)
• Contract a diverse, task team of subject matter and development
experts
• Review, pilot and consult with line management to determine
relevance, compatibility and value of learning offering
• “Companies should focus on building a complete learning
experience.” (Deloitte, 2015)

IMPLEMENTATION
• Required Thinking – Postman, because they always
deliver
• Due diligence to verify competence of trainers
• SAPTA – Certified Professional Trainers (CPT)
www.saptaonline.org

EVALUATION
• Required Thinking – Engineer
• Develop policy, processes, systems and
learning analytics to measure the impact of
learning beyond levels 1-3
• Revision of formative and summative
assessment practices
• Training ROI

LEARNING ACTIVITY 10
• Describe how strategic principles can be
applied to the ADDIE training cycle to
transform to a strategic impact and level.

LEARNING INTEGRATION – CASE
STUDIES
• Apply the theoretical principles to the
following two (2) case studies:
Chubb
Portakabin

CASE STUDY 1: CHUBB
• Questions:
• 1. Outline the 4-step process of the strategic learning model/cycle.
• 2. Would you regard Chubb as a Learning Organization? Substantiate
your reasoning.
• 3. Would you regard the organizational culture at Chubb as a critical
success factor of strategic learning? Substantiate your reasoning.
• 4. Identify the strategic drivers of learning, innovation and growth at
Chubb.
• 5. Would you regard HRM as a strategic business/learning partner at
Chubb? Substantiate your reasoning.
• 6. Explain your understanding of the strategic concept, “learning and
adapting.”
• 7. Identify the benefits (outcomes) of the application of the strategic
learning model/cycle.
• 8. What are some of the key strategic learning and development
lessons that can be extracted from this case study?

CASE STUDY 2: PORTAKABIN
• Questions:
• 1. By reviewing Portakabin’s learning and development principles,
would you regard the company’s approach as strategic?
Substantiate your reasoning.
• 2. How would you rate Portakabin’s learning and development quality
assurance and continuous improvement processes? Substantiate
your reasoning.
• 3. How instrumental have the company values been in driving the
learning and development success? Substantiate your reasoning.
• 4. How would you rate the performance of the learning and
development function at Portakabin? Substantiate your reasoning.
• 5. Identify the benefits (outcomes) of the application of their learning
and development approach.
• 6. What are some of the key strategic learning and development
lessons that can be extracted from this case study?

CONCLUSION
• Key points
• Summary
• Questions

CONTACT DETAILS
• Charles Cotter
• (+27) 84 562 9446
• charlescot@polka.co.za
• LinkedIn
• Twitter: Charles_Cotter
• http://www.slideshare.net/CharlesCotter

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