Performance Mapping: How Training can attain it.

In the recent down economy, internal training departments sometimes seemed to be the first to feel the effects of downsizing. In these cases, it seemed that  the battle was actually lost months or years earlier, as training developed an internal reputation as a soft discipline unconcerned with business impact (and so easy to scale down). In other words, the departments, fairly or not, were perceived as not really making a difference, as producing a series of events that could be quickly forgotten. In other cases, these departments may even have created over-training and burnout, because the department focused on content output and not competency measurement. Hearing people describe some of these programs,

One of Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits is to begin with the end in mind, and it has been found to be a useful perspective with many applications. At Allen, I’ve seen this same disciplined thinking play out in designing training. Specifically, our instructional designers have developed a performance model that provides a line of sight from the business goals directly to recommended learning activities. We call this process Performance Mapping.

When one creates Performance Maps, the goal is to provide a meaningful learning experience that produces real business results and has a lasting effect on learners. Performance Mapping drives ones decisions when selecting strategies and activities for training.

The performance mapping process has generated enthusiasm for  clients all around the world for creating training with purpose.  Organizations that are considered to be the best companies to work for are the ones that understand the value in the commitment to training, realizing that if done right the cost of training is truly worth the investment. Let your next training initiative be one that really makes an impact for both the learner and your business.