A Match Made in Heaven: Performance Support and Mobile

Implementingtraining that actually drives skill and performance gains is a daunting challengefor any manager. Yet even if you do that initial dose of training well, it isthe period after the training when employees are most in need of support. Thisis borne out by myriad research studies, which tell us that learners will notretain anywhere near all of that first dose of training.

Supporting application where it counts

Muchof the challenge to refreshing training concepts has to do with logisticalconstraints and the vast amount of time required to make this happen. One waythat some companies approach this refresher problem is to have their managersgo through training that enables them to serve as in-the-field coaches whoreinforce core training principles.

Andwhile this approach certainly has its uses, it cannot directly support employeesat the very moment of need, such as when a salesperson needs to recall a keypart of their sales process or the details of a product offering.

Sowhat cannot be done by training is, at that point, made possible by performancesupport (PS) embedded in the learner’sworkflow. In other words, well-developed PS tools should facilitate orstreamline completion of a task or procedure, while also elevating the qualityof task execution. As the term suggests, performance support helps the employeeperform at the very moment he or she needs it. That said, well-designed PSenables organizations to literally drive higher performance every day.

The five key moments of need

Sowhen and where should companies implement PS? What are those key moments ofneed? Well-known performance support expert Conrad Gottfredson has developed aframework that delineates five key moments of need.

1. When learning something for the first time

2. When seeking to learn more about something

3. When trying to apply or remember something or adaptperformance to a unique situation

4. When attempting to solve a problem or deal withsomething that has gone wrong

5. When something changes that requires a change in howwork gets done

Sowhile it’s become a given that well-crafted performance support is central tohoning the quality of skills and execution, what’s the best way to embed itinto the employee workflow? More and more frequently, the answer is mobile-learningtechnology. With escalating adoption rates for mobile-learning technology inthe corporate world, we may well have an important mechanism for resolvinglearning and skill-mastery challenges.

Mobile devices + performance support

Withthat as a backdrop, allow me to make a case that performance support and mobiledevices may truly be a match made in heaven.

Hereare five reasons to support my claim.

1. Moment of need

Mobiledevices may have become the first devices or tools (maybe other than a watchand a pen) that nearly everyone owns and carries virtually all of the time(awake and at work). The ubiquity of mobile devices in itself addresses much ofthe challenge, as it ensures a delivery channel whenever and wherever performancesupport is needed.

2. Real-time

Whilehaving a device with the capacity to deliver PS is critical, the device itselfdoesn’t do enough. The actual value is in the ability of the device to accessinformation or people that can provide help at that moment of need.

Ofcourse, the limiting factor here can be connectivity. While access to key dataclearly has value, there may be times when Internet access to a central Internetserver is not available. If the data is only available online, and the mobiledevice cannot connect to the Internet, then the device is worthless. Thereneeds to be a Help function in place for such situations—a way to bridge the PSgap. This brings us to the third reason.

3. Offlinestorage

Mobiledevices are not just channels to access information; they are, in their ownway, powerful computing devices and their power seems to be increasing daily.This means that it is possible to store information on the device for use evenwhen the device is not connected to the Internet. So, theoretically speaking,someone on a field-service call at three AM in a remote area would still beable to fix a customer’s problem by accessing a short video or trouble-shootingguide stored on the technician’s mobile device. This is a rather mind-blowing concept.It’s the very essence of true performance support—enabling the employee tosolve a problem quickly and effectively. Not to mention the resulting boost to customerretention and reputation.

4. Videos

Apost published on the Upside Learning blog in late 2012 (“The Return Of VideoTo eLearning”) highlights the reality of a sharp increase in popularity and useof videos in eLearning and mLearning for performance support. The power ofvideo (typically two-to-three minutes in duration) provides benefit whether theuser is online or offline, which clearly provides a nice value added inscenarios where connectivity is a big concern. Plus it is an excellent way toleverage mobile devices for performance support.

5. Responsive design

Ina way, responsive design, where the software automatically senses and adapts tothe display device, is the savior in all of this. The other method ofdeveloping performance support tools for mobile devices is to develop nativeapps for a mobile platform. The presence in the user pool of three to foursuch platforms, and the uncertainty created by the bring-your-own-device (B.Y.O.D.)trend, makes the conversion of content to native mobile apps potentially costlyand time consuming. In addition, in the long run it can also be a challenge tomaintain and update content. Responsive design saves the day by removing theneed to repeatedly develop content in support of yet another mobile devicetype, while retaining the benefits of mobile device delivery. It also gives companiesa relatively cost-effective way to quickly adapt existing tools and informationalmaterial for mobile performance support without reinventing the wheel for eachand every mobile device.

The “perfect couple”

Theneed for performance support has definitely not been the driving force behindthe ascent of mobile-learning technology. It has been the other way around—akind of silver lining if you will. The capabilities of mobile devices aredefinitely ensuring that providing performance support to employees when theyneed it and in real-time (rapid response time) is easily possible andaffordable.

Performancesupport and mobile certainly seem like the perfect couple…wouldn’t you agree?

Reference

Garg,Amit. “The Return Of Video to eLearning.” Upside Learning blog. 18 October2012. https://www.upsidelearning.com/blog/index.php/2012/10/18/the-return-of-video-to-elearning/

Note from the Editor: Want more?

Wouldyou like to learn more about performance support—how to design, deliver, anduse it to obtain the on-the-job results your training was intended to deliver? Cometo The eLearning Guild’s Performance Support Symposium 2014 in Boston, September 8 & 9. Meet ConradGottfredson, Allison Rossett, Frank Nguyen, and performance support expertsfrom organizations ranging from IBM and the US Postal Service to healthcareproviders, utilities, manufacturing firms, financial institutions, consultingorganizations, and vendors of performance-support tools and services. Networkwith colleagues from around the world who may be wrestling with the sameproblems you are—some of whom will have ideas you can use!