Designing Learning for “When Things Go Wrong”

February 8, 2012

A manager needs to respond toan angry customer. An employee can’t find the right command to use a newproprietary tool. A printer breaks down and someone has to get it working.

Bob Mosher and ConradGottfredson have defined “When things go wrong” as a key moment of need in their learning ecosystem. (See the References at the end of thistip.) Problems are a part ofeveryday working life. They are bound to occur when learners encounter both commonand new situations.

When learning professionalsanticipate that things can and will go wrong, they will design performancesupport tools and facilitate resources to provide answers. Providing access tosocial media (and where necessary, showing or teaching how to use it) andpositioning it appropriately leverages performance support, enables people tosolve problems quickly, and increases the organization-wide knowledge database.This is a strategy that works for any approach to learning, whether formal(face-to-face, online, or blended) or informal.

Here are some tips for designinglearning for when things go wrong.

Harvest typical problems. When thingsgo wrong, the natural response is to seek help – from a manual, colleague,knowledgeable resource, or database. Learners should have easy access to problems that typically occurand their solutions, on the Web or mobile device.

Troubleshooting advice may be in a structured format, such as a FAQsor troubleshooting document, or more informally, for example, a communitygenerated discussion group.
Social media tools like wikis enable users to generate their ownlist of problems/solutions. This increases the range of issues addressed and thequality of the responses. Learners should be given incentive to write up theirproblems and solutions to share with their team. Take care to monitor your formaland informal problem-sharing repositories to ensure accuracy.

Provide SME support: When rolling out a newproduct, identify specific employees and provide them withadvanced training in the tool. You can also give expert users responsibility followingthe product rollout for answering questions by phone or e-mail, facilitating acommunity of users, creating blogs to teach best practices, and/or facilitatingFAQs.

Beyond a productrollout, a useful strategy is facilitating micro-blogging with specific tags toindicate a problem so that any issues can be immediately addressed.

Reduce problems with Job Aids (Planners and Sidekicks) The integration of plannerand sidekick job aids into learning helps supportperformance and avoid common problems. (If “planner and sidekick job aids” is anew phrase to you, see the article by Allison Rossett and Lisa Schafer in theReferences.) Planners allow learners to plan for a challenge, for example achecklist for a performance review, or, in the initial example, planning fordifficult customer conversations. Sidekicks help learners when they need it,for example a spell check or a mobile, searchable database.

When designing and implementing job aids:

Analyzethe task thoroughly
Interviewstar performers
Findout when and how things may go wrong. Look at the evidence, which may be theerror rate or specific feedback from customers
Gatherinput using existing discussion feedback on discussion groups
Getfeedback from SMEs on the job aid before introducing it to learners
Introduceand practice using job aids during formal training
Conductperiodic checks to ensure the job aid is relevant and useful

Coach for far-transfer tasks: You perform near-transfer tasks in the same manner each time. You must applyfar-transfer tasks differently each time because there is no one correctanswer. (See the article by Ruth Clark and Gary L. Harrelson in the Referencesfor an explanation of near- and far-transfer.) While job aids provideguidelines or best practices, it is also useful to have real-life input intohow to address problems. Consider identifying experts with specific expertise so thatthey can be approached in person or virtually if a problem occurs. Community discussion groups provide real value.Consider formalizing existing communities or arranging for SMEs to facilitate newcommunities so problems can be immediately solved. Furthermore, encourage SMEsto blog on complex topics to provide insight into successful strategies.

By considering theinevitability of things going wrong and building support into the learningstrategy, learning professionals can reduce frustration and facilitate employeeproductivity. Furthermore, the process of solving problems can be learningexperience. When solutions are discovered and shared, learners can increasetheir knowledge and contribute to a company-wide knowledge base.