Over the years I’ve seen many trainings fall short of their goals. The trainings take place, but the results aren’t as expected.
In practical terms, performance determines results. One outcome of improved performance is team learning and skills development. But what are the other outcomes?
Research and experience reveal 2 gaps in the knowledge pyramid.
- Does your team understand the information it receives, whether in training (face-to-face, online or mobile) or even through simple communication?
- Do employees who are able to transform information into knowledge operate in a micro-environment that facilitates putting said knowledge into action?
FROM INFORMATION TO KNOWLEDGE
In order to increase the amount of information that becomes knowledge, we need to make it more visual, according to the research of Chandler and Sweller (1992); Vogel (1985); Oppehem et al (1981).
This recommendation is aligned with the definition of INFORMATION DESIGN – to present information in a way that is understandable, accurate, accessible, and easily transformed into effective actions.
When combined, these two concepts – visual language and information design – create what we call VISUAL THINKING.
FROM KNOWLEDGE TO ACTION
Putting it all together, we can say that the initial training objective is to set forth the expected actions; the result of aligning these expected actions with stakeholders is the final training objective.
After aligning the expected actions, you must define how to measure them. What are the performance indicators that show the actions are being carried out? Subsequently, it’s necessary to define the target for each indicator.
Training plays a fundamental role in mobilization. Training gets all the stakeholders on the same page so that day-to-day actions can be carried out and the project can reach its expected results.
