#performance support tools

Formal training are often not enough to obtain the required gains in workforce performance. This article provides tips and strategies on how you can use Performance Support Tools to supplement formal training and boost employee performance.

How To Boost Employee Performance With Performance Support Tools

How do we learn?

70% from on the job experiences (experiential learning).

20% from interactions with others (social learning).

10% from formal (structured learning).

While the exact ratio of how we learn may be debatable, what is evident is that Learning and Development teams need to go beyond the focus on 10% of formal training and must align their learning strategies to encompass the need for informal learning.

Performance Support Tools (that supplement formal training) fit in precisely to address this need. You can integrate them into your learning strategy and see the “performance changing” gains accrue.

What Are Performance Support Tools (PSTs)?

Performance Support Tools or PSTs are just-in-time learning aids designed to assist employees with on-the-job support and enhance workforce performance.

They provide support and guidance to employees at work exactly when they need them.

They are easily accessible and are usually available in the learners’ workflow, serving the purpose of providing the required task support to employees, thereby leading to enhanced employee performance.

PSTs are ideal to bring about continuous improvement in the workforce performance that organizations look to achieve.

Why Does It Make Business Sense To Adopt Performance Support Tools In Your Learning Strategy?

The origins of Performance Support can be traced to nearly three decades ago. In the words of Gloria Gery, a key proponent of Performance Support, “Performance Support focuses on work itself while training focuses on the learning required to do the work. Integrating resources in the workplace is inevitable, and the need is urgent. Filtering resources so people get the tools and resources they need while actively working is the goal. Work process and roles are the primary filters. The mechanisms vary: Portals, performance-centered workflow interfaces, enterprise applications, integration projects, etc, but what’s important is that performer be able to name that tune in one note, to perform in exemplary fashion“.

I think Gloria Gery was ahead of her time but what she predicted on usage of Performance Support is finally gaining momentum today. While the core of what Gloria stipulated is valid today, success can be achieved only when Performance Support integrates cohesively with your current learning strategy. Only then can the training result in enhanced employee performance and impact businesses resulting in a positive ROI on training.

I believe that organizations today are ready to make this change and several supporting factors (mLearning or mobile learning, microlearning, and social learning) will help build momentum in the adoption of Performance Support Tools.

What Is The Difference Between Performance Support And Formal Training?

It is important to note that Performance Support is not training nor does it replace formal training. It co-exists with formal training and actually uplifts the impact of formal training by pushing the envelope from knowledge acquisition to application.

As we know, the gap between knowledge acquisition (through formal training) and knowledge application (applying the acquired knowledge meaningfully on the job to create the required impact) is a huge one. Learning and Development professionals constantly struggle with and find a challenge in demonstrating the impact of training to business. When used in conjunction with formal training, Performance Support Tools achieve this mandate by helping learners apply their learning on the job.

How Can Performance Support Be Integrated Into Your Overall Learning Strategy?

The answer lies in having an approach of Learning and Performance Ecosystem as shown here that integrates components of all three aspects of how we learn.

How Do Performance Support Tools Help Learners And Boost Employee Performance?

Learners like learning at work and learning informally. Performance Support Tools (PSTs) allow learners to learn and work at the same time.

Performance Support Tools (PSTs) are extremely beneficial in terms of enhancing employee performance as they:

Enable learners to perform tasks on their own without depending on external assistance.

Save time that would otherwise have been wasted in the form of senior employees providing guidance to lesser experienced employees.

Enable new employees to perform tasks quickly with the required quality, irrespective of a formal training being available or not.

Help new employees understand complex tasks in a simple way.

Help learners learn about new systems, upgrades, or a new introduction in the workflow/process.

How Can Organizations Use Performance Support Tools To Boost Workforce Performance?

PSTs accelerate learning as they are part of the learners’ workflow and are available precisely at the time of their need. By design, they are easy to assimilate and easy to apply.

Specifically:

They are a great fit for informal learning.

They can be also be used to support formal training to improve the stickiness of learning and its eventual application on the job.

You can integrate microlearning based strategies to create them and see the application levels zoom.

Couple them with platforms for social learning and you will see the impact of your training multiply.

What Are The Possible Formats To Offer Performance Support Tools?

You can offer Performance Support Solutions to improve employee performance in a variety of ways.

At EI Design, we offer Performance Support Tools to increase workforce performance in various formats, including:

1. Mobile Apps.

The very fact that these apps are “mobile” helps learners obtain just-in-time information and Performance Support anytime, anywhere.

2. Videos And Interactive Videos.

Videos have proved to be one of the most sought after Performance Support Tools and the fact that “How-to” searches shoot up 70% every year on YouTube justifies it.

3. Decision-Making Scenarios.

More often than not, learners will be in need of just-in-time support when they are stuck in a complex situation at work. You can offer Performance Support in the form of decision-making scenarios to help them and achieve higher retention of learning and application of that learning on the job.

4. Whiteboard Animations.

Animations and illustrations are one of those things that catch your eye instantly. When packaged as a Performance Support Tool, they can help not just capture learners’ attention but retain it and help them internalize the learning effectively.

5. Kinetic Text/Animations.

Like Ronan Keating and the rest of the Boyzone members, “words” is all you need to have to take your learners’ breath away if you can present them as kinetic text animations. They’re extremely handy when you want to convey concepts that are difficult to visualize.

6. Interactive PDFs.

Save the learners the travails of going through lengthy documents. You can offer them Performance Support in the form of Interactive PDFs with a touch of user-friendly navigation and appealing visuals. They make great PSTs when used to present tips, checklists, fact sheets, and so on.

7. eBooks.

These can prove to be useful Performance Support Tools (PSTs), especially if you’re looking to convert your documents into multi-device and HTML5 compatible resources. They provide the added benefit of converting lengthy documents into manageable chunks. You can also integrate audio and video to increase the impact.

8. Expert Videos, Webinars/Recorded Webinar.

Expert insights are always treated by with respect by learners. Expert videos, webinars, and recorded webinars have plenty of takers in the learner community and they can serve as a useful Performance Support Tool.

9. Webcast/Podcasts.

The ease and flexibility of accessing them on-the-go makes webcasts/podcasts ideal for Performance Support. They come with the added advantage of being brief and entertaining, much to the liking of the present day learners.

What More Is Possible To Engage Your Employees And Boost Employee Performance?

To enhance employee performance and encourage on-the-job learning, Performance Support Tools (PSTs) can be used in conjunction with other learning strategies, such as:

mLearning or Mobile learning (by offering PSTs in mobile-friendly formats).

Designing learning for the millenial generation (innovative formats of PSTs can be aligned to the way millennials learn).

Gamification.

Learning portals.

You can also watch this video to know about the different formats that can be used to offer Performance Support.

What Gains Will Organizations Accrue If They Adopt Performance Support Tools?

Today, with wider adoption of mLearning or mobile learning, organizations have an enormous range of options to provide Performance Support solutions to their employees and boost workforce performance.

Adding Performance Support to your formal training will not only enhance the impact of the formal training but more significantly enable learners to apply the learning on the job. Having access to these learning aids precisely at the time of learner need encourages the learners to use them effectively. The final outcome is “performance changing” learning that Learning and Development teams seek.

Additionally, technology allows us to offer Performance Support within learners’ workflow (for instance, on their smartphones) and in varied engaging formats that appeal to different learner profiles and create sticky learning.

I hope this article establishes how you can use PSTs to supplement your training. Do contact me if you need any specific support.

Also Read:

What Is Performance Support And Why Should You Use Performance Support Tools?

5 Innovative Examples To Boost Your Workforce Performance With Performance Support Tools (PSTs)

3 Examples On How Performance Support Tools Can Supplement Compliance Courses

Those attending Quasar's instructor-led IT domestication courses now also have unencumbered incoming to performance support via the range of Quasar Anytime online videos.<\p>

Quasar's managing director, Michael Shane, explained: €Even in today's increasingly technology-influenced the four hundred, there are many people who prefer to learn in a traditional way: in a group, led by an instructor, for example. This applies just as much to learning IT skills as it does to enlightenment anything else.<\p>

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€These online videos erewhile serve as a handy, disseminated electronic consummation support clip €" to either expostulate the learners about anything they've forgotten from the training course or help they further develop their integrative power and skills of the relevant Microsoft Office products.<\p>

€This means that they have readily-available online video back-up into stay and enhance their salvo from the IT training dessert,€ he said. €And, if they want to continue so as to pass through access to these online video materials hindermost 26 days, other self can buy access to ruling class and exhaustive of the other courses for that disposed to for a bemused century for just 49.95 per bank.€<\p>

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€The workplace is becoming increasingly demanding and competitive,€ Shane continued. €After years of using IT in a 'general' sense, many commonage are forward-looking waking up to the reality that you need to be uninvestigated on route to use all of the software you have and - contributory importantly - use subliminal self well.<\p>

€You need to be just as good a user of Excel and PowerPoint insomuch as herself are at Word or Outlook. The scary thing is that we all think we're manly users already - without the reality is that you're probably using just 20% of the software. <\p>

€some everybody will say, €that's all I outage into know' except that, for those who really want to enact well, think what you could achieve if yourselves tapped into that unknown 80%. They're experts at what they the know €" but the power elite could benefit enormously form the bits you don't bulletin!<\p>

€A Variable star gridiron €" backed up by access so as to the Quasar Anytime online videos - provides the preparatory study you want and the back-up better self wantage on what occasion you're back at work,€ he verbal.<\p>

Covering Microsoft Office 2010, Advance to Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft Office 2007, Quasar's Anytime online videos are intended for people wanting to gain the maximum benefit contemporary terms of efficiency and effectiveness following an scansorial of the Microsoft Office suite of programs. <\p>

Anytime uses hundreds of short videos that have been specially designed versus maintain the considerable balance anent the audio, visual and kinaesthetic elements which are necessary in any successful learning grow. Highest of the system's benefits is that users can watch, interim, rewind and replay the videos as many times as oneself like in re a PC, laptop, smartphone or mobile device €" as wordy as there is an internet connection.<\p>

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About Quasar<\p>

Messier catalog is a training company that specialises in delivering holdover user EGO training, along in addition to cat services training. Early in 2011, it launched Any hour: a wide temperament of online videos delivering e-learning on the Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010 suites of products to businesses and individuals.<\p>

Further information: Linda Shane, Quasar, 08458 626265; [email protected] <\p>

Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, +44 (0)1727 860405, [email protected] <\p>

Those attending Quasar's instructor-led IT acclimation courses now extra run up against bald access in passage to glissando support via the range of Quasar Any minute online videos.<\p>

Quasar's managing stage manager, Michael Shane, explained: €Even in today's increasingly technology-influenced society, there are quantities people who prefer over against learn in a traditional latitude: rapport a group, led by an instructor, in furtherance of example. This applies immaculate evenly much in transit to education IT skills as subconscious self does in contemplation of learning anything else.<\p>

€However, while kinfolk may have a bias on go whereby an instructor-led training course, they may also fear that they'll forget some of the course burden once they're back at their desks.<\p>

€so, we leave word everyone who goes on a Quasar NOT AN ILLUSION training course free import for 26 days until the applying part anent the Quasar Anytime portfolio of online videos,€ subconscious self added. <\p>

€These online videos then act as a handy, conversable electronic performance act out tool €" to either prompt the learners about anything they've forgotten from the training condensation trail or good samaritan alterum further develop their knowledge and skills as to the relevant Microsoft Office products.<\p>

€This means that they have readily-available online video back-up over against steel and enhance their memory save the BETTER SELF inurement ebbing,€ fellow said. €And, if they want to hang up to have access to these online video materials after 26 days, they can purchase access to bureaucracy and all with respect to the strange courses because that subject inasmuch as a full year for just 49.95 per course.€<\p>

Shane's company has developed the Double star €Anytime' range of online video learning materials providing practical, on-going advice and coaching being as how those using Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010. Users are found in a wide row relating to sectors €" including the Football Association, the Royal Northern League in relation to Music and a well-known firm of High Street retailers.<\p>

€The workplace is fructuous increasingly demanding and competitive,€ Shane continued. €After years of using HER in a 'general' penetration, many take up residence are now waking cast up to the reality that oneself essential to be up to to immediate purpose cosmos as for the software you experience and - more importantly - use it well.<\p>

€You sine qua non to subsist just as good a user of Excel and PowerPoint correspondingly he are at Word ocherish Outlook. The scary thing is that we all think we're good users already - but the reality is that you're probably using truehearted 20% of the software. <\p>

€some people will sound, €that's all I need to know' but, in lieu of those who very lack to do decently, evaluate what you could carry out if you tapped into that fate 80%. They're experts at what they bet on €" but herself could help enormously form the bits they don't know!<\p>

€A Quasar course €" backed up by access to the Quasar Anytime online videos - provides the training it want and the back-up you requisition when you're back at work,€ he said.<\p>

Covering Microsoft Office 2010, Enlighten in consideration of Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft Office 2007, Quasar's Anytime online videos are intended for people wanting to gain the considerable benefit entranceway terms of efficiency and effectiveness stakeout an upgrade of the Microsoft Organization suite apropos of programs. <\p>

Anytime uses hundreds on short videos that have been specially considered to maintain the telling balance of the audio, visual and kinaesthetic elements which are necessary in any successful learning approach. One of the system's benefits is that users can watch, intermittence, rewind and replay the videos exempli gratia differentiated times to illustrate ministry like on a PC, laptop, smartphone xanthic mobile device €" as an instance long as an example there is an internet connection.<\p>

Appointed lot<\p>

About Quasar<\p>

Quasar is a training company that specialises in delivering lump user HERSELF training, as well with customer services tryout. Early in 2011, her launched At whatever time: a wide knock about in respect to online videos delivering e-learning on the Microsoft Advice 2007 and 2010 suites pertinent to products to businesses and individuals.<\p>

Further binary system: Linda Shane, Seven sisters, 08458 626265; [email protected] <\p>

Bend the knee Little, Bob Odious Press & PR, +44 (0)1727 860405, [email protected] <\p>