How to do a Training Task Analysis

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A task analysis is a process of documenting a task, step-by-step. The ability to do a task analysis is a crucial skill for instructional designers and training developers. After all, training, at its core, is teaching people how to do tasks. To train a learner to complete a specific task, you must first define how the task is done: this is the task analysis. 

Even a seemingly straightforward task, such as making a pot of coffee, can have many steps and decision points.

  1. Fill the reservoir with water
  2. Insert a coffee filter 
  3. Add ground coffee to the removable filter basket
  4. Close the lid
  5. Place the glass decanter on the burner
  6. Press the “On” switch 

There could be even more steps in the process if you were to include how to grind the coffee beans and measure the correct amount. Or, if you were using a fancy coffee-maker with many buttons, bells, and whistles. Needless to say, even the most basic of tasks has more to it than we often realize. 

Task analysis involves working with a Subject Matter Expert to specify the task, its sub-tasks, and the steps within it. Let’s take a closer look at how this is done with an example. Let’s say you’re an Instructional Designer working for a retail business that has several stores. You’ve been asked to build training for new hires on how to do the following task: “Close the store”.  

Step 1: Identify the task 

The first step to the task analysis is to identify the specific task that will be analyzed. A task is defined as “a piece of work to be done”. In this case, closing the store for the day is the task in question. Remember: tasks should always start with an action verb!

Step 2: Identify the sub-tasks 

Once you’ve identified the high-level task, you can start to look at the sub-tasks that are included within it. Sub-tasks are the smaller processes that are included within the larger task, and each sub-task should also start with an action verb. Let’s take a look at some of the sub-tasks involved in closing the store: 

  1. Clean the store
  2. Restock the shelves
  3. Close the register
  4. Lock up the store 

The number of sub-tasks to include will vary depending on the task, as well as how granular and specific you want the training to be. Work with a Subject Matter Expert to identify the sub-tasks to include.

Step 3: Identify the steps 

This is where you get into the details and specifics of how to carry out the sub-tasks identified above. Steps, just like tasks and sub-tasks, should always start with an action verb. Let’s break down our sub-tasks into steps:

Close the store

  1. Clean the store 
    • Mop the floors 
    • Wipe down the countertops
  2. Restock the shelves
    • Re-stock items that are low
    • Face items on shelves
  3. Close the register
    • Shut down the Point of Sale (POS) system
    • Put away the POS equipment
  4. Lock up the store
    • Turn off the lights
    • Lock the front and back doors
    • Activate the alarm system 

One of the challenges of being an instructional designer is deciding how prescriptive you want to be with the steps, and how much detail you want to include. This will largely depend on the specifics of the project and your audience, so don’t forget to complete a thorough audience analysis (read more: 20 Questions to Include in an Audience Analysis). 

Completing a task analysis is a straightforward activity that involves breaking a process down into its step-by-step activities. The ability to complete a task analysis will go a long way in helping you build meaningful and relevant training.

How To Do a Training Needs Analysis

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The training needs analysis is one of the most important steps of any training project. After all, delivering training won’t resolve a business problem or improve an organization’s bottom line if the training was never needed to begin with. There is a tendency for leaders to propose training to fix performance problems, but the catch is that training will only fix a business problem if the problem is caused by a lack of knowledge and skills. If a business problem is caused by anything other than a lack of knowledge and skills, for example, if it’s caused by a problem with hardware or equipment, or if it’s caused by a lack of standards or defined processes, training will not resolve the issue. That’s why it’s critical to do an up-front needs analysis when training is requested to identify if there is a performance gap, what is the cause, and what is the appropriate solution. This way you can be sure the training you’re providing will actually resolve the problem at hand.

It’s important to note that there are a few specific situations when you do not need to do a training needs analysis. Those are:

  • when something is brand-new (if it’s new, employees definitely need to be trained on it)
  • when training is legally mandated (if it’s the law, employee’s definitely need to be trained on it)

Remember: the training needs analysis is not the part of the project where you identify the audience, the type of training, amount of hours, the learning objectives, etc. Doing those tasks assumes that the training is needed, and before you even get to the point of asking those questions you need to be able to answer this one: is this training even needed to begin with? Once you complete the following five-step training needs analysis process you’ll be able to confidently answer that question.

Step 1: Identify desired/expected performance

The first step in the training needs analysis process is to identify how employees are expected to perform the task that the training will cover. For example, if the requested training is for how to process sales calls, you want to know employees are expected to process sales calls. Or, if the requested training is to train employees on the company refund process, you want to know how employees are expected to handle refunds. There are a variety of ways you can collect information about desired performance: look at training guides and past training materials, review job-aids, business process docs and standard operating procedures, interview employees and managers to learn more about what they understand expected performance to be.

Step 2: Identify current/actual performance

Once you’ve identified the expected performance, you want to understand how employees are actually performing that very task. For example, if you are looking at the company refund process, you want to have a deep understanding of how employees are currently handling refunds. Or, if the training is on how to process a sales call, you want to know how employees are currently processing those sales calls. You want to see how the task is actually being done at this point in time. There are several ways you can do identify actual performance: review documents or performance records, observe employees doing the task, interview employees and managers to understand how they do the task.

Step 3: Identify if there is a performance gap

Once you have identified both the expected/desired performance and the current/actual performance, you can compare the two to identify if there is indeed a gap, or a difference, between the two.

Step 4: Identify the cause of the performance gap

Once you have identified that there is indeed a performance gap, it’s time to identify the cause of that gap. A performance gap could be caused by many factors. Remember: training provides employees with knowledge and skills. Training will only fix the performance gap if the cause is a lack of knowledge and skills. Learn more about performance factors and how to identify which one is responsible for a performance problem here: Performance Factors and Why They Matter in Training.

Step 5: Identify a solution

Once you understand the performance gap and it’s true cause, you can propose a solution to the problem. You will only be proposing training solutions if the problem is caused by lack of knowledge and skills. Depending on which factor is affecting performance, your recommendations for a solution will vary.

Learn more…

How to Conduct a Training Needs Analysis (E-Learning). This is an interactive e-learning module I created in Articulate Rise 360 which walks learners through the training needs analysis process and a real-life scenario.

How to Conduct an Effective Training Needs Analysis (Article). This is an article I wrote on this same topic, which was published by Training Industry digital magazine.

Manager Onboarding Guide: Sample Training Outline

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Have you ever witnessed the following situation: an employee is promoted into a managerial position, but they aren’t provided the tools and training they need to be successful in the new position. Some organizations will take a competent individual contributor, promote them into a manager position, and expect them to just know how to manage a team. But smart organizations know that new managers need crucial, up-front training to be as productive as possible. A proper Manager Onboarding Program will set your leaders up for success by providing them with the key information they need to be successful from the get-go. 

While it’s important to provide managers the soft-skills training they need to be effective leaders (for example, communication and delegation skills), it’s just as important to train them on the practical skills they need to know in their first days, weeks, and months. By practical skills I refer to information that is company-specific; for example: company policies, programs, tools and processes. 

Below I’ve provided a sample Manager Onboarding Training Outline that focuses on practical, company-specific topics that managers typically need to know when they are onboarded. Use this training outline to guide the next manager onboarding content that you build. Having this type of training content in place will go a long way in arming your organization’s managers with the practical information they need to be productive from the get-go.

Welcome

  • Introduction
    • Welcome Message from Leadership
    • Our Company’s Management Philosophy
  • Important Contacts
    • Human Resources Team
    • Business Partners
    • Other Key Contacts

Company and Culture

  • Company Structure
    • Overview of the Organizational Structure
    • Overview of Global Entities, Teams and Departments 
    • Types of Employees (Full-time, Part-time, Contractor, etc.
    • Software Used to View Org Chart and Employee Information
  • Our Culture
    • Overview of Our Company Culture
    • Manager’s Role Within the Company Culture
    • Practical Tips to Promote and Build Our Culture
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    • Overview of our DEI Program, Vision and Mission
    • Our DEI Goals and Milestones
    • How Managers Can Promote DEI Within Their Team(s)

New Hires

  • How to Recruit a New Hire
    • Manager’s Recruitment Roles and Responsibilities
    • Recruitment Concepts (Headcount, Salary Ranges, etc.)
    • Process for Recruiting a New Hire
    • Software Used for Recruitment
  • How to Conduct an Interview 
    • Overview of Interview Process
    • Interview Roles and Responsibilities
    • How to Prep Your Interview Team 
  • How to Onboard a New Hire
    • Overview of the New Hire Onboarding Experience
    • Software Used for Onboarding New Hires
    • How to Complete Manager Onboarding Activities
      • Choosing a Buddy
      • Scheduling Introductory Meetings
      • Verifying Equipment Needs

Performance Management

  • Performance Management
    • Overview of Performance Management Program and Philosophy
    • Overview of Annual Performance Cycle and Review Process
    • Software Used for Performance Management Activities
  • Create Career Development Plan with Employees
    • Manager’s Role and Responsibilities
    • How to Create Career Development Plans
    • What to Include in a Career Development Plan
    • Software Used for Creating Career Development Plans
  • Set Goals and Objectives With Employees 
    • Managers Roles and Responsibilities Related to Goal Setting
    • Types of Goals and Objectives 
    • When and How to Set Employee Goals
    • Software Used for Objective Setting and Tracking 
  • Have Effective 1:1 Meetings
    • Schedule and Cadence For Employee 1:1 Meetings
    • Topics to Discuss in 1:1 Meetings
    • Software Used for 1:1 Meetings
  • Complete Performance Reviews
    • Manager’s Role and Responsibilities  
    • What to Include in Performance Reviews
    • Software Used for Performance Reviews
  • Reward and Recognize Great Work
    • Overview of Rewards and Recognition Program 
    • Behaviors and Events Managers Should Recognize and Celebrate 
    • Software and Tools Used to Give Rewards

Training & Development 

  • Training & Development
    • Overview of Training and Development Policy
    • Manager’s Role and Responsibilities Related to Training and Development 
    • How to Identify an Employee’s Training Needs 
    • How to Approve Training Requests
    • Software Used for Training Requests and Training Tracking

Company Policies

  • Company Policies
    • Key Policies 
    • Where to Find Policies

Time Off

  • Company Leaves and Holidays
    • Statutory Holidays
    • Types of Leaves 
    • How to Approve Leaves
    • Leave Position Unstaffed vs. Request a Backfill
    • Manage an Employee’s Return from Leave
    • Software Used for Leaves and Holiday Tracking
  • Vacation and Sick Days
    • Vacation Policy
    • Approve Vacation Time
    • Considerations Before Approving Vacation Time
    • Sick Day Policy
    • Approve Sick Days

Finance & Purchasing

  • Approvals Process
    • Approval and Authorization Framework 
    • Manager Approvals & Dollar Amounts
    • Considerations Before Approving Expenses
    • Creating Purchase Orders
    • Approving Expenses
    • Software Used for Approvals and Expenses

Compensation

  • Compensation Basics 
    • Compensation Framework 
    • Annual Salary Planning Cycle 
    • Salary Adjustments
    • Software Used for Compensation and Salary Tasks

Departures

  • Departures
    • Offboarding Process
    • Terminations
    • Resignations

You may find that some of these topics do not apply to your organization, or, that there are additional topics not identified here that you need to include. I’d love to hear from you in the comments about any other topics, subjects or lessons that you think I missed that should be included in a manager’s onboarding training outline.

5 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Rise Courses

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Rise 360 is an awesome tool for quickly creating engaging e-learning courses. The beauty of Rise is threefold: it’s easy to use, the courses look polished and professional, and the content is fully responsive. However, at the end of the day, e-learning designers know that great e-learning is not about the tool you use, and more about the quality of the content within the course itself, and some basic mistakes can have a big impact on the learning experience. Next time you’re designing a course with Rise 360, review your content and make sure you avoid the following common mistakes:

Too much text

Ultra text-heavy content is a common offense in Rise courses. The text blocks tend to be an obvious choice, the go-to block for most people. The problem is that this often leads to courses filled with endless paragraphs. This is something you want to avoid as learners can become discouraged when there’s too much reading involved. 

Pare down the text content in your course to strictly need-to-know information. Make sure there is no redundant or duplicate verbiage. Keep paragraphs short and to-the-point, no more than 2-4 sentences each. Break things out into lists, or use accordion and tab blocks to hide text; this will help avoid overwhelming learners with too much to read at once.

Not enough visuals

Visuals can be a key part of a learning experience, so it’s important to use them consistently throughout your Rise courses. As a best practice I recommend using at least one or two image blocks per lesson; if the lesson is on the longer side, perhaps even more. Consider sprinkling them throughout your lessons as something that captures the eye, adds colour and aesthetic appeal. Images can also add value in that they can help divide content within a lesson or drive home an important point or piece of information. Consider using an Image with Text block to add visual appeal while sharing an important sentence, fact, or piece of information on top of it. 

No block variety 

Text blocks are definitely the most-used block in Rise courses. Makes sense, right? Most learning content is text? Wrong! Images, interactions, videos, audio clips, drag and drop activities… are all great ways to share information that take it beyond the boring old text block.I recommend ensuring that each lesson has no more than 50% text blocks. The other 50% needs to be a variety of blocks to keep things interesting. Add images, a scenario block, a sorting activity, flash cards, or a Storyline block. There is a large variety of block types available, so familiarize yourself with them and make a consistent effort to go beyond the text block in each lesson.

Lack of interactivity

This point ties into the previous mistakes of having too much text. You don’t want to bore learners and have them read the whole time; you want learners to interact with the content.Seek out new ways to have learners engage by making decisions about content. This can be dragging choices into a Do or Don’t pile in a sorting activity, or walking through a real-life situation and making tough choices in a scenario block. Adding interactivity and the ability to interact with the on-screen content is a very helpful way to bring the learning experience to life and engage your learners. 

Endless lessons

One of the things I love about using Rise is that I’m not restricted to slide dimensions, like I am in Storyline 360 or PowerPoint. The lessons can scroll endlessly. The problem is: the lessons can scroll endlessly. While your lessons can be endless, that’s certainly not a best practice. You want to present the learning content in small, digestible chunks. If your lessons are going 20 blocks, strongly consider how you can pare it down; perhaps one long lesson can be re-organized into 2 or 3 shorter lessons instead. 

Rise 360 is a wonderful tool for quickly creating beautiful, responsive e-learning courses. But it’s important to remember that at the end of the day: it’s all about the quality of the content within our courses. By avoiding the five mistakes listed above you’ll ensure your Rise courses are top-notch and provide a great learning experience!


What are some common mistakes you’ve seen in Rise courses? I’d love to hear opinions from other instructional designers and training specialists. Let me know in the comments! Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter for more e-learning and training content.

Storyline vs. Rise: When To Use Which?

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If you build online training, you’re likely familiar with the Articulate 360 suite of e-learning tools. Articulate 360 tends to be the go-to for most training developers as it’s a robust suite that offers everything needed to create e-learning; this includes multiple authoring tools, video recording software, an image library, and a Review tool. As part of the Articulate 360 suite you get access to two authoring tools: Storyline 360 and Rise 360. One of the most common questions people ask is “When do I use Storyline vs. Rise?”. Each tool serves a unique set of needs, but when you’re new to them, it can be hard to know which to use when. Here are some best practices for when to use Storyline vs. Rise. 

Use Rise 360 for…

Super-rapid development. There’s no doubt about it: Rise is the quicker tool for e-learning development. Popping in the different types of blocks is very quick and easy to do. From there, you simply add your text, insert a few images, and you’re done. I also find development is made easier by the fact that you can have a lesson that scrolls endlessly, instead of being confined to a slide’s dimensions.

Text-based content. Rise works especially well for text-heavy content, such as job-aids, policy documents, employee handbooks, and standard operating procedures. Pretty much any business document can be converted into a Rise course, so, if you’re thinking of putting it into a PDF document, consider a Rise course instead. 

Collaborative course development. Between Storyline and Rise, Rise is the more collaborative tool of the two. It allows you to have multiple people working in a course at the same time. So, if you need to involve multiple course creators, or if you want your Subject Matter Expert or reviewers to be able to make edits directly to the content, you’ll probably want to use Rise.

Seamless mobile experience. Rise offers a better experience across devices, hands down. The main reason is that Rise is responsive and automatically adapts to different screen sizes, whereas Storyline content is restricted to it’s slide dimensions. If your content will be heavily used on mobile devices, Rise is definitely your top choice.

Use Storyline 360 for…

Customization capabilities. If you’re looking to really control the look-and-feel of every screen, the fonts, the colours, and everything about your content, then you will want to use Storyline. With Rise, you’re limited to the block types, so if you want to go beyond that in terms of on-screen activities and the look-and-feel of your course, you need to use Storyline. 

Extensive interactivity. Storyline is an extremely powerful tool for building rich interactions; it even allows you to easily add logic and conditions to your interactivity so you can really control the experience and make all kinds of cool things happen on-screen. You can add animations and do things like build custom games and activities. If you want something really feature-rich, unique, or game-like, you’ll want to go with Storyline. 

Software simulations. Software sims are an excellent way to get learners using a new application without the risk of being in the real system. If you’re looking to create software sims, you’re going to want to use the screen recording capability in Storyline. This allows you to record your process once and easily break it down into step-by-step slides that automatically include captions, hot-spots, and more.

Keep the above-mentioned tips in mind next time you’re getting ready to develop a course, and use them to consider what is the best tool for the project at hand. Remember: you can have the best of both worlds and include Storyline content within a Rise course, using the Storyline block. I have used this feature a lot myself, especially when doing product training and wanting to bring in a few software sims. Personally, I find Rise to be my go-to because of its ease-of-use and mobile responsiveness; I fall-back to Storyline when I need to do something more custom or special. 

How do you decide whether to use Rise or Storyline for a project? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Let me know in the comments, and follow me on Twitter for more e-learning and training content

Performance Factors: What Are They and Why Do They Matter in Training?

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If you work in training, you’ve likely witnessed the following situation before: management spots a performance problem so they immediately request training to fix it. Training requests can sometimes be a knee-jerk reaction to a performance issue, and the problem there is that training won’t fix any and all performance problems.

If a performance problem in a call center is caused by a slow or faulty computer system, will training employees fix the problem? No. Training can only fix performance problems that are caused by a lack of knowledge and skills, which is what training provides.

If a workplace problem is caused by a performance factor other than a lack of knowledge and skills, training is unlikely to resolve that problem. That’s why it’s critical for instructional designers to follow-up on training requests and gain a deeper understanding of the training needs, why the request is being made, and the specific performance problem at hand. As you gather this information, the goal is to identify which performance factor is causing the performance issue.

Key factors that affect how employees perform:

  • Knowledge and skills
  • Incentives and motivation
  • Mental and physical abilities
  • Tools and equipment
  • Standard and processes
  • Feedback and measurement

Every time you identify or suspect a performance problem, run through a list of the following questions while considering the problematic task and the employees who perform it. Any questions you answer “no” to might indicate that that performance factor is contributing to the problem.

Knowledge & Skills

  • Do employees have the knowledge to perform the task?
  • Do employees have the skills to perform the task?
  • Have the employees been trained on how to perform the task?
  • Do the employees perform the task regularly?

Incentives & Motivation

  • Are employees motivated to perform the task?
  • Are incentives in place for employees that perform the task?

Mental & Physical Capacity 

  • Do employees have the mental capacity to perform the task?
  • Do employees have the physical capacity to perform the task?

Tools & Equipment

  • Do employees have the necessary tools and equipment to perform the task?
  • Do employees have access to the appropriate technology to perform the task?

Processes & Standards

  • Do employees have a clear and defined process in place they can follow to complete the task?
  • Do employees know the standards to which the task needs to be completed?

Feedback & Recognition

  • Do employees receive feedback or recognition on how they are completing the task?

Remember: training can only resolve performance problems that are caused by a lack of knowledge and skills. Many unnecessary training programs are created that don’t fix the underlying business problem. As an instructional designer, it’s crucial that that you analyze a performance problem and understand its root issue before you start designing a training solution. This will help you, and your clients, ensure the training you’re creating is valuable and provides a positive Return on Investment.

Have you ever had to build training that was unnecessary? Have you ever identified the performance factors affecting a workplace problem? Let me know in the comments, and follow me on Twitter for more e-learning and training content.

How to Define a Business Process

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Here’s a situation I have witnessed before: management decides they want to train employees on an important topic, such as web security. They ask an Instructional Designer (ID) to put together a course that includes important security information. One of the topics they want the training to cover is how to report a security breach. When you ask your security Subject Matter Expert (SME): What are the steps to report a security breach? You get a lot of head-scratching and confused looks. No one has ever defined that process. How should the breach be reported… should it be an email? A phone call? Who should receive that email or call? What if the breach happens during a holiday? Your SME isn’t really sure of the answer because it’s never been formally defined or documented. But if the organization wants to train employees how to report a security breach, the business first needs to answer those questions and properly define the business process.

The above-mentioned scenario is a common one, as many businesses (especially start-ups and smaller sized organizations) don’t have a great deal, if any, of their processes documented. Employees are all getting things done their own way, which works… until it doesn’t.

This illustrates why training and business processes go hand-in-hand. When you’re training employees, you’re teaching them how to carry out business processes. If there is no documented business process or no defined way of doing things, how can you teach employees how it’s done? This is why sometimes, as an ID or training designer, you might need to be able to define business processes as a part of your job.

Here are the high-level steps you can follow to document your business processes.

Choose the starting point

The first step is to identify the starting point for your business process. A business process typically involves many steps and covers many sub-processes. Some of the steps that occur earlier in the process may affect what happens further down the line. But your process could cover too much and be too far-reaching if you don’t select the right start and end point. Another helpful tip is to start by covering the most common scenario, to avoid covering too much.

Let’s look at an example. Say you’re defining the business process for how to onboard a new employee. A logical starting point for this process could be when the new hire accepts the job offer. The onboarding process might be different for a full-time employee vs. an intern, but if 80% of the new hires are full-time employees, it’s probably a good idea to start with that. 

Identify all the roles involved

Business processes often involve multiple roles and span across multiple departments. The first part of the process might be carried out by one role, then passed along to someone in a different department, then it goes to another person, and so on. You’ll want to identify and include all of the job titles and departments that need to provide approvals, make decisions, or be notified as a part of the process.

The onboarding process involves people across multiple departments. It might involve a Recruiter who sends the final job offer, a Human Resources Administrator who creates an employee profile for the new hire, an IT Specialist who sets up the computer, a Finance team member to add the new hire to payroll, and others. 

Interview people

Asking questions and interviewing the people who carry out the business processes is integral to understanding exactly how the processes are done. You’ll need to sit down with each person involved, one at a time, and have them explain, step-by-step, how they do their job. You’ll ask questions like:

  • What is the trigger that kicks off this process?
  • Why do you do it this way?
  • How do you get this piece of information?
  • What is the next thing you do immediately after this step?
  • What happens if this step goes wrong?

You will continue this line of questioning until you reach the end of their part of the process.

For example, to understand the onboarding process you would start by sitting down with the Recruiter and asking them to walk through their portion of the process, step by step. You might start by asking “What is the first thing you do when an offer is accepted by a new hire?”. Say they respond: “Once the offer is accepted, I communicate this to the rest of the team.” your follow-up questions might then be “How do you communicate this? Who do you communicate it with? Why do those specific people need to know? What would happen if they didn’t?” and so on. 

Document each step

As you’re interviewing the people involved in the process you’re defining, you want to properly document each step in the appropriate order. It’s also a good idea to include relevant notes or tidbits of information that could affect the outcome or that might impact that step.

For the Recruiter involved in the onboarding process, the steps might look like: 

  1. Email the final offer to the candidate with instructions and a deadline for acceptance
  2. Receive the email from the candidate accepting the new offer
  3. Email the candidate to welcome them to the team and provide instructions for the next step which is completing a background check (notes here could include exactly what is needed from the candidate to submit the background check in terms of ID, etc.)
  4. Send an email to HR, IT, Finance, and the new hires boss to communicate the offer acceptance and the start date (notes here could include the text from an example email and disclaimer that start date is pending successful background check)
  5. Receive email with information for the background check 
  6. Initiate the background check process (this step could have further sub-steps that explains exactly how to do this)

Specify time frames

One of the crucial things you’ll want to identify is the time frame when each step happens. Identifying the time frames is key to making sure that things happen in a timely fashion and in an order that makes sense.

For example, if the background check takes 10 business days to process, you’ll want to document that in your steps. The timing of steps will impact subsequent steps and processes. For example, the new hire can’t start until the background check is complete. This means they can’t join the team until a  minimum of 10 business days after the background check process has been initiated. The timing of when that process is kicked off will affect when they come on board. 

Create a flow chart

A picture is worth a thousand words. This is why it’s a good idea to create a visual flow chart of all the steps, roles, and the time frames involved in the process. The flow chart allows you to conceptualize the steps in the process and see how they flow across the different departments. It also makes it easier to pinpoint problems or disconnects in the process.

Here’s an example flow chart for the onboarding process:

flowchart

Defining business processes is an involved task, but it’s a necessary part of creating effective training. Keep in mind that business processes are ever-evolving; you’ll need to make updates and changes to the process over time.

Following the steps outlined above will help you define and document your processes. Having properly documented processes will help the business run more smoothly and will allow you to build more effective employee training.

Do you have any tips of your own for defining and documenting business processes? Let me know in the comments, and follow me on Twitter for more training tips and tricks.

Change Management Tips for Instructional Designers

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Fatima has been working at a company for over 3 years and she’s very comfortable doing her job. She’s familiar with the systems and applications she uses to get her tasks done. Suddenly, her employer announces the company is implementing a brand-new computer system that will completely change how Fatima does her job. To top if off, the new system will be launched at the busiest time of year when Fatima is already stressed about work. Now she has to take training to re-learn everything, and she’s expected to be excited about the new system.

We all know that change is hard and humans are creatures of habit. We tend to be attached to daily routines and to our tried-and-tested ways of getting things done. How we do our jobs is no exception. 

Instructional designers often find themselves in situations where they have to act as agents of change. Reason being: training often involves teaching people new information, policies, or processes. Sometimes when we ask someone to change the way they’re doing their job, we can be met with an unwillingness or a disinclination to do so. This is when it’s handy to know basic change management techniques.

According to Prosci “Change management is the discipline that guides how we prepare, equip, and support individuals to successfully adopt change in order to drive organizational success and outcomes.” Since the goal of training is to drive organizational success and improve performance outcomes, we can see where there is a clear intersection between training and change management. Knowing some change management best practices can help you message your training in a way that gets employees on board and excited about it.

These are a few basic techniques to keep in in mind:

Communicate the Changes

This is an important point. It’s not a good idea to spring changes on people at the last minute; this leaves them feeling surprised and stressed out. It’s crucial to communicate that change (and training) is coming as far in advance as you can. This lets employees get used to the idea, and comfortable with the fact that changes are coming. You should communicate updates regularly as you get closer to implementing the changes and the training.

Explain the Why

Understanding why a change is happening is a big part of getting people on-side. Often, this isn’t communicated, and people are left wondering why a change even had to happen in the first place. They might wonder “What was wrong with the old way of doing things?”. This is why it’s a good idea to spell it out for them. For example: perhaps the old system or processes were slow and outdated, which caused employees to make mistakes or take longer to do their jobs. Or, perhaps a new law was passed, that made this change or training necessary. Communicating the why of the change is an important best practice.

Highlight the Benefits

Usually changes are made to improve the business bottom line, and hopefully there are benefits associated with those changes. Whether it be saving time, making a task easier, or improving the quality of an output, it’s important to highlight the benefits that the change and the training will bring to the employee affected by it. If an employee realizes they can do a task in half the time because of a change or new process, this may help them accept it more willingly.

Time Changes Appropriately

Timing a change is critical to it’s success. If the Accounting team is stressed to the max and working overtime hours in the last quarter of the year to make their annual deadlines, launching a new system at that time will lead to a lot of extra frustration and workplace tension. Be considerate of factors that affect employees and their productivity, such as peak seasons, when you time changes and execute training.

Implementing a training program that requires employees to change how they do their jobs can be a daunting task. If you keep these four change management best practices in mind the next time you implement a training program, you’ll be well on your way to getting employees to embrace the change.

Do you have any tips of your own for implementing change management techniques in the context of training? Let me know in the comments, and follow me on Twitter for more training tips and tricks.

Tips for Successful Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Training

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Imagine this scenario: a company decides they’ve had enough of using systems that are outdated, slow, and inefficient. They embark on a project to implement a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to replace their legacy tools. The company spends months, maybe even years, working with consultants and employees to define new processes and customize the systems. Come launch time, they don’t provide adequate training and the employees don’t know how to use the new systems effectively. This leads to costly mistakes, wasted time, lost revenue, and many stressed out employees.

ERP implementations are typically large-scale projects with many stakeholders and moving parts; creating training for these projects comes with their own set of unique challenges. Planning for these challenges up front can help ensure you have a successful training program that plays a crucial role in the smooth rollout of a new system. Here are some important things to consider before you embark on your next ERP implementation training project.

Plan and prioritize training

Implementing and customizing an ERP system tends to be a huge financial investment, and as such, detailed proposals and plans are created to cover all aspects of the project. However, training for the new system is often listed as a vague deliverable that provides no specifics about how training will be designed or delivered. Not planning for training from the get-go is a costly mistake because the investment in a new system is wasted if the employees can’t properly use it. Include the training team in the project planning phase and allocate the appropriate budget, resources, and timelines for end-user training.

Identify training methods

You’re going to want to think about training methods up-front, during the planning phase. One of the most effective way to give learners a real world experience without risking costly mistakes in a real ERP system is through software simulations. They give employees the power to explore and use all the features of the ERP software they’ll use in the workplace. You’re probably going to want to consider at least some software simulations for ERP systems training. You might mix this with some instructor led training and live Q&A sessions to create a blended learning program.

Create curriculum by role

You’re not going to dump all the lessons on every employee; the employees who work in Engineering don’t need to take Accounting lessons on how to process an invoice. Instead, you’re going to tailor the curriculum by user roles. While you may have some core basic lessons that apply to everyone (logging in and out of the system, setting up your user profile, etc.), there should also be user-specific lessons that are pertinent to each role.

Work with the business

Training teams working on ERP implementations often find they have to work alongside the implementation team. You might find it useful to work with the business process analysts, as they create and test the new system processes (these are often called Standard Operating Procedures, or SOPs). Consider using test scripts as a starting point for training development.  

Designate power users

For each role you identify, consider having one or two power users. These are (hopefully) helpful, quality employees who can help with the training and answer employee questions on-the-job. If there are employees who are already involved in the implementation, for example working as subject matter experts, these are great candidates for power users.

Incorporate real-life scenarios

Integrating real world examples and stories into your processes will make the training more practical and relevant. Instead of jumping into a step-by-step process without providing any context, introduce the process with a scenario that has realistic background information and details. Training that incorporates realistic scenarios helps learners know when and how to apply the tasks covered in the training in the real world.

Use change management techniques

  • Incorporating some basic change management techniques will go a long way to getting your learners on board. Be clear in explaining the benefits of the training, why it’s happening, and the impact of not completing it. Don’t assume end users will move seamlessly from one system to another, without detailing the specific reasons and benefits. Learn more about specific change management techniques for instructional designers here.

    • Following these tips will help ensure you have a successful ERP training program in place. Do you have any tips of your own for designing or developing training for ERP implementations? Let me know in the comments, and follow me on Twitter for more training tips and tricks.

     

    How to Organize, Analyze, and Prioritize Tasks for E-Learning

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    The One Thing You Need To Do To Organize Training Content: Task Analysis

    Are you dealing with a huge pile of raw materials that need to be converted into an e-learning course or training programme? If so, you’re likely wondering how best to organize the content and filter out the need-to-know from the nice-to-know. If this sounds familiar to you, you need to acquaint yourself with the process of task analysis. Discover how a proper task analysis can organize your content so it focuses on what learners need to know on-the-job.

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    How to do a Task Analysis Like a Pro

    As I explain in this article, task analysis is one of the cornerstones of instructional design. Why is task analysis so important? The purpose of training is to teach learners how TO DO something; they should walk away from the training with new knowledge and skills they can apply on-the-job. When you focus on tasks, you’re more likely to accomplish this goal, as you’re focusing on the actual processes the learners will do on the job.  A task analysis is the process of systematically breaking down a task into a documented step-by-step process. This article explains how to first identify tasks, then break them down into sub-tasks, and finally, parse them into steps. It also contains some helpful task analysis dos and don’ts.

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    Instructional Designers: Remember These Factors When Prioritizing Tasks

    Once you’ve completed your task analysis, you’re going to need to organize and prioritize all the tasks you’ve analyzed. How should you order your tasks? This depends on a variety of factors: task importance, task frequency, task difficulty, and learner experience. Learn about these four factors and what you need to know to ensure your content focuses on the right tasks.

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    Have you ever done a task analysis before? If so, how did it go? Do you have any tips or tricks to share with others? If so, please leave me a comment below, I love to hear feedback.