A Study of Classroom-based instructional strategies to accelerate proficiency of employees in complex job skills (original) (raw)
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Proceedings of 9th International Conference on Researching in Work and Learning (RWL), 2015
The race among global firms to launch its respective products and services into the market sooner than the competitors puts pressure to equip its employees with job related skills at the pace of business. Today's global and dynamic business requires employees to develop highly complex cognitive skills such as decision-making, problem-solving, troubleshooting to perform their jobs proficiently. Traditional training models used by some organizations lead to a very slow speed at which employees gain an acceptable level of proficiency in the targeted job skills. Also, these models have long and regimented instructional development cycle. Thus, traditional models are inherently counter-productive to the business and do not enable employees and organizations for today's business needs. Therefore, business organizations need to explore new training models and strategies that could reduce the time an employee takes to reach target proficiency in complex skills without compromising the effectiveness or outcome. A comprehensive review of the literature shows a very limited amount of academic or practitioner research on this topic. This doctorate research study aims to find various training strategies that have proven successful in organizations for accelerating proficiency of employees in complex job skills. The researcher collected data primarily through 74 in-depth interviews with 86 training experts with known work experience of reducing time-to-proficiency in various settings. A total of 105 project cases is collected across 42 industries to date. A grounded theory approach with constant comparison method is used to guide the theoretical saturation, analyze the data and to develop a theoretical model of training strategies. This paper presents the preliminary findings and the conceptual model of major training and learning strategies discovered in this study that leverages workplace to shorten time-to-proficiency of employees. This paper will also discuss the implications for practitioners and academicians. The preliminary findings of this study confirmed that boundaries between work and learning are getting diffused. It is further noticed that organizations are now more inclined to leverage workplace learning and training strategies as the primary mode to accelerate skill proficiency as opposed to lengthy traditional or formal training methods. Research findings suggest a pattern of three workplace training and learning strategies that are more successful in reducing time-to-proficiency-1) manufacturing and structuring on-the-job experiences; 2) sequencing activities in a lean learning path; 3) providing performance support systems and resources. This paper will also discuss the implications for practitioners and academicians.
2019
This book deals with solving a pressing organizational challenge of bringing employees up to speed faster. In the fast-paced business world, organizations need faster readiness of employees to handle the complex responsibilities of their jobs. The author conducted an extensive doctoral research study with 85 global experts across 66 project cases to explore the practices and strategies that were proven to reduce time to proficiency of employees in a range of organizations worldwide. This book provides the readers with a first-hand account of findings exclusively related to training and learning strategies, instructional methods, and curriculum design. This book delivers over 21 training and learning strategies across online learning, classroom instructions, and on-the-job learning. These strategies will allow training designers and learning specialists to design workplace training programs that hold the potential to shorten time to proficiency of employees. The book not only describes findings of the study and theoretical underpinnings, but it also provides practical guidance for implementation to equip corporate learning specialists, HR professionals, training leaders, performance consultants, and direct managers. Chapter 1 of the book introduces the research study that was conducted and describes the sampling, participants, data collection and data analysis methodology. Chapter 2 introduces the concept and definition of accelerated proficiency and metrics such as time to proficiency and speed to proficiency. The chapter sets the premise for the business need that demands learning designers to explore methods to shorten time to proficiency of employees. Chapter 3 describes the result of proficiency curve analysis that revealed four possible trajectories to accelerate employee proficiency. Chapter 4 introduces the four key hurdles in the form of the inefficiencies of traditional training models that hamper the acceleration of proficiency. This chapter sets the stage what needs to be avoided when designing training meant to accelerate proficiency. Chapter 5 addresses the group of findings related to online or e-learning. A conceptual model is presented to describe five e-learning strategies with the great potential to accelerate proficiency in work-place skills. Chapter 6 focuses on findings grouped as the formal classroom or instructor-led instructional strategies. The chapter specifies five instructional strategies to design classroom training and deliver an enriched learning experience to put learners on an accelerated proficiency path. Chapter 7 explains the findings grouped as on-the-job learning or workplace learning strategies. The chapter describes three strategies for workplace learning design to leverage workplace opportunities and interventions which reported great potential to accelerate proficiency. The chapter presents a conceptual model of workplace learning strategies to guide the implementation of these strategies. Chapter 8 consolidate the strategies for online learning, classroom learning and workplace learning into a simple model for training design that holds the potential to create training that can contribute into shortening time to proficiency of the employees. Chapter 9 concludes the book with final thoughts on the role of training and learning strategies toward accelerating proficiency in the long run.
Proceedings of 1st Australia-New Zealand Conference of Advanced Research (ANZCAR-2017), 2017
The high pace business environment poses great competition among firms. The key to an organisation's survival is its workforce. Time taken by the workforce to reach to full proficiency in their job role takes very long in certain job roles. Thus, shortening time-to-proficiency of employees is a critical business problem for today's organisations. This qualitative research study explored the proven practices and strategies that have successfully reduced time-to-proficiency of the workforce in various settings. A total of 93 participants from seven countries participated in the research study. Bounded project case (with a defined start and defined end) was used as a sampling unit and unit of analysis in this study. This study collected 67 successful project cases with the evidence of significant reduction in time-to-proficiency of the workforce in their settings. These project cases are spanned across nine economic sectors, 20 business sectors and 28 industrial groups. This study revealed that project leaders across the board used six practices to successfully reduce the time-to-proficiency. The purpose of this paper is to present the model of accelerated proficiency in the work place developed in this study.
E-learning Strategies at Workplace That Support Speed to Proficiency in Complex Skills
Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on e-Learning: ICEL2016, 2016
The complexity of business and complexity of skills slow down the speed with which employees comes up to desired proficiency in the skills required to do their job. However, the pace of the business and the cut-throat competition does not allow organizations enough time waiting employees to acquire proficiency in required job skills Time-to-proficiency is now becoming a crucial survival metrics for the business to accelerate customer satisfaction and profits. This business challenge requires organizations to rethink the training and learning strategies to bring employees up to speed. It appears that traditional training and learning interventions do not address the need for speed to proficiency. Extensive literature review indicates a lack of systematic research in this business-critical topic, especially on availability of any proven framework or model to design and deliver training interventions to accelerate speed to proficiency. To address this gap, as part of the doctorate research, the author has explored the training and learning strategies that have been implemented successfully by leading organizations to shorten the time-to-proficiency and accelerate speed to proficiency at the workplace. Author conducted a qualitative research across 42 industries through in-depth interviews with over 86 leading experts from renowned organizations who are known to have reduced the time-to-proficiency of employees. Using thematic analysis, a conceptual model is developed for various training and learning strategies to accelerate speed to proficiency. Preliminary data analysis revealed several workplace training, classroom training and e-learning strategies to reduce time-to-proficiency. However, the intent of this paper is to present a subset of the overall preliminary findings of this large research study. The focus of this paper is to report only the e-learning strategies found in the main study that hold strong potential to reduce time-to-proficiency.
2018
This study aimed to explore practices and strategies that have successfully reduced time-to-proficiency of the workforce in large multinational organisations and develop a model based on them. The central research question of this study was: How can organisations accelerate time-to-proficiency of employees in the workplace? The study addressed three aspects: the meaning of accelerated proficiency, as seen by business leaders; the business factors driving the need for shorter time-to-proficiency and benefits accrued from it; and practices and strategies to shorten time-to-proficiency of the workforce. 85 participants (n=85) from 7 countries who represented 10 economic sectors, 20 business sectors and 28 industry groups contributed 66 successful bounded project cases. A qualitative research approach was used. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with project leaders and by collecting additional project case documents. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify the themes in the data. Matrix analysis was then used to perform within-case and cross-case analysis to compare the project cases. 11 overarching themes were developed from the data analysis, out of which two overarching themes explained the characteristics of job-role proficiency and accelerated proficiency, while three overarching themes described the magnituide and scale of time-to-proficiency business problem, business drivers for accelerating proficiency and business benefits of reduced time-to-proficiency. Six overarching themes revealed the business practices employed by organisations to reduce time-to-proficiency: (1) Defining business-driven proficiency measures in terms of expected business outcomes from a job role; (2) Developing a proficiency reference map of all the inputs, conditions and roadblocks that determine or influence how required business outcomes are being produced in a job role; (3) Sequencing an efficient proficiency path of activities and experiences ordered to produce the desired business outcomes in the shortest possible time; (4) Manufacturing accelerated contextual experiences by leveraging on-the-job opportunities or training interventions in a compressed time-frame; (5) Promoting an active emotional immersion through engagements, consequences, stakes, feedback and proficiency assessments; and (6) Setting up a proficiency eco-system, providing timely support to performers while doing the job such as enabling job environment, highly involved manager, structured mentoring from experts, purposeful social connectivity with peers, leveraging subject matter experts and on-demand performance support systems. Organisations orchestrated these six business practices as an input-output-feedback system to reduce time-to-proficiency of the workforce. A conceptual model (Accelerated Proficiency Model) was developed representing interactions among six business-level practices/processes as a closed-loop system to explain the concept and process of accelerated proficiency in the workplace. These practices were implemented through a set of twenty-four strategies proven successful in various contexts. The strategies employed were much beyond the boundaries of conventional training interventions. The job itself acted as the primary mechanism to accelerate proficiency. A two-level hierarchical framework (6/24 framework of strategies) was also constructed in the form of a checklist consisting of six practices and twenty-four strategies for practitioners. Overall, the findings of this research study contribute significantly to the body of knowledge on accelerated proficiency. In particular, the conceptual model and the framework developed in this study can be implemented across a range of contexts, business sectors, job types and settings to reduce time-to-proficiency of the workforce.
E-Learning Forum of Asia (eLFA) Conference, 2015
Globalized workplace is increasingly moving into complex jobs requiring their employees to exhibit complex knowledge and complex skills. Though acquiring such complex skills or knowledge requires longer time, the pace of business puts pressure on organizations to accelerate the time it takes for their employees to become proficient in their jobs. This shift has challenged the conventional training and learning strategies, structure, methods, instructional design and delivery methodologies generally used by training providers and by the organizations. This paper presents the preliminary research findings of a Doctorate research carried out using Grounded theory approach with over 71 in-depth interviews with leading experts in over 40 industries. Preliminary findings suggest that certain e-learning strategies and platforms hold better potential over others to successfully accelerate time-to-proficiency of individuals in leading organizations. This paper provides first look at 10 e-learning strategies and how those could be orchestrated before, during and after a formal training program to develop job-ready learners in shorter time.
Learning in Action: How Competent Professionals Learn (178)
Performance Improvement Quarterly, 2016
The studies pertaining to expertise development are diverse and broad (Bjork, 1994; Einstein & McDaniel, 2005; Schneider, Healy, & Bourne, 2002), yet empirical research that bridges expertise development into instructional design theories is still in its very formative stages (Ertmer et al., 2008; Fadde, 2009). This article is intended to identify the instructional principles that are effective in accelerating the performance of journeymen, considering the significant impact of the journeyman stage and the need for hastening performance in that stage. With the introduction to the major scholarly works and principles that have led to the elaboration of training methods, strategies, and materials, this review of literature proposes a learning model that has four components: (1) development plan, (2) action, (3) reflection-on-action, and (4) remedies.