So You Want to Build a Curriculum

So You Want to Build a Curriculum…

Jay Orlin Ron Sacchi

What drew you to this topic?

IcebreakerIf you have ever been involved in building an

employee development curriculum, what role were you in?

A. Learning and Development LeaderB. Org Development/Org Effectiveness

ConsultantC. Talent Management ConsultantD. Training Developer E. HRBP F. None of the Above

What Will Be CoveredDiscuss employee development initiatives:

How they usually originateHow to effectively respond to requestsUsing a real case study, identify common

pitfallsProvide a reference tool for working with

Stakeholder teams

The CaseWorldwide company3700+ employeesCorporate competencies already defined$200k in fundingData from Employee Engagement showed

“Development” was a critical needMission: “Create an employee development

curriculum”If you were consulting this process: what else would you WANT to know?

Business ReasonsWhat the textbook would prescribe…

Curriculum must be aligned to business talent needsWhat capabilities are required to achieve business goals –next

year, the year after? Measure the effectiveness of your new capabilities in terms of:

Improved Quality Decreased Cost Innovation/”Time to Money” Improved Service or Revenue

Stakeholder Management Overcoming the “Just do it” mentality Overcoming the “We can’t afford it” excuse“Whatever you do, will be better than having nothing in place”Development CAN be quantified in monetary terms

Key Capabilities/Competencies Required for the BusinessTextbook says:

Clear Performance Specifications? Necessary Supports? Clear Consequences?Prompt Feedback? Necessary skills and knowledge?Individual capabilities

Stakeholder Management Seldom is the hierarchy perfect—using Inquiry

rather than Advocacy Rummler, 2004

Gap AnalysisTextbook says

Current State v. Future State analysis How do you know the “right” set of skills to build for?

Stakeholder managementTechnical skill sets are:

The easiest to plan for and ea$iest to quantify Biggest time sink –due to customization

Fundamental skills (“soft skills”) are Easy to buy (soft skills vendors are plentiful) Hard to get “buy-in” Universal questions– “So don’t we hire for these skills when

people come in the door? Why would we need to teach these?

Design/Develop—prioritize areas of focus and build out course/wareTextbook says

Check in with Steering Committee team to prioritize

Document decisions made by the teamCheck in with Senior Leadership on progress

Stakeholder ManagementOriginal goals may shift—rework, abort some

pieces “Organizational Amnesia”: Document all

agreements, rationale and decisions

Implement, pilot and measureTextbook says

Communicate, communicate, communicateInvite/Select your pilot audienceMeasure to stated objectivesMeasure response to the medium and content

Stakeholder Management Lead with data from pilots as measured against

needs is VISIBLE and intuitiveEnsure your stakeholders view/participate in

pilotsMake BUZZ!

“The Rest of the Story” Lessons Learned:

Document and report on progress early, often and in a consistent format

Contract specific Stakeholder role as “Ambassador” for the work being done

Make messaging simple and consistent

Case for

Change

Common Vision

Communica-tion

Assess

BarriersProgress

Reinforce-ment

RESULT:CHANGE

WHAT HAPPENS IF ONE OF THE STEPS IS MISSING?

MissingCommon Vision

Communication Barriers Progress ReinforcementRESULT:

COMPLACENCY

Case for

Change Missing Communication Barriers Progress Reinforcement

RESULT:

FALSE STARTS/CONFUSION/

MISALIGNMENT

Case for

Change

Common Vision Missing Barriers Progress Reinforcement

RESULT: INACTION/CONFUSION

RESISTANCE

Case for Change

Common Vision

Communication Missing Progress ReinforcementRESULT:

FRUSTRATION

Case for Change

Common Vision

Communication Barriers Missing Reinforcement

RESULT:

CYNICISM/LOSS

OF MOMENTUM

Case for Change

Common Vision

Communication Barriers Progress MissingRESULT:

WASTED EFFORT

STEPS for CHANGE

Purpose:• Increase accuracy of targeting objectives• Increase relevance and validity of test questions• Minimize unnecessary rework • Increase likelihood of acceptance

Benefits of Review Team:• It helps to “sell the value” of participating on your team• Greater learning efficiency for Module Participants

• More precision in module content• Time saved by eliminating non-essential content• Greater emphasis on prioritization of business

needs

Learner Centered: All training and evaluation must be directly relevant to Learner’s job

Review Team Candidate:• Representative of Stakeholder organizations• Well informed about business needs of organization• Sufficient understanding of subject matter• Reliable in terms of keeping commitments

Roles and Responsibilities of Team Members:• Provide timely response to Developer’s input requests.• Champion the needs of the organization they represent• Provide guidance on module objectives and evaluation

methods• Review modules in draft stage and guide direction

Tips for Facilitating the Review Team:• Provide an Orientation

• Short email explaining the team’s goals• Follow-up call to ensure their understanding• Specify the role they will play and what your role

will be• Get a commitment for turn-around time for input

• Edit out unnecessary information before communicating

• Be very specific about the kind of feedback you want• Make it as easy as possible for them to respond

• Offer templates or fill-ins when possible• Use open-ended questions to uncover additional details• Take an active approach when needed input is late• Use best meeting practices

Recognize Participation:• Participation on your team is voluntary/ beyond usual

job• Everyone should be acknowledged for their

contribution• Thank members personally• Ensure their management knows of their efforts• Acknowledge people who really go the extra mile for

you• These practices will help you re-recruit Review Teams

Training Need Identified

ObjectivesEvaluationCriteria

Module Development

Evaluate Results

Feedback Audience Perspective

Expertise

Suggestions

Q&A