7 minute read
Sustainability for Learning and Development
Angela Bingham, Executive Director People and Capability at the Open Polytechnic, looks at a practical guide to capability, drawn from her experience of designing and developing learning within a sustainable framework.
Many of us are continually reading and looking for the ‘next big thing’, or trying to predict the future of work, and seeking out cutting-edge research in the field of learning and development. What’s important in all of this perusing is that, whatever we end up choosing, we get a positive return on our investment that will have a long-term, long-lasting, sustainable impact on our people.
Consider this scenario: you have spent countless hours creating a thorough set of reference and learning documentation for your business’s finance (procurement, legal, HR, …) system. You have crossed every ‘t’ and dotted every ‘i’. Consulted with the best of the best and are ready to go. This will be familiar to many of you, the feeling of pride when you’ve finished the work and printed the artefacts. You have been offered another role or project. In preparation for the handover, you prepare documentation on how to maintain the resources you have created. Your successor joins the organisation with different skills and experience from you. They have decided the enterprise system can be easily replaced by a cloud-based app, with AI and machine learning. In the blink of an eye, technology changes, and the blood, sweat and tears of those resources and artefacts are in the recycling bin.
My sense is that many organisations are in this space, large-scale enterprise solutions with extensive high maintenance, detailed, specific content. The uptake of Agile methodology, prototyping and minimal viable products are creeping in to the way we have traditionally viewed the work of learning and development teams. We have an immediate call to action to create sustainable practices and resources that enable businesses to be nimble and future focused.
What is sustainability in terms of capability?
Wikipedia offers the following definition of sustainability "the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level”. And/or “avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance”. The very same definition can be applied to capability. You are creating initiatives that maintain a certain rate or level and avoiding depletion. Translated this means: low maintenance (cost, hours to produce, physical paper and printing), reduction of replication, and developing life skills alongside technical skills; ensuring capability is transferable outside your organisation.
Below is my quick reference guide to developing sustainable learning (artefacts, resources and initiatives). Many of you will be doing this instinctively, and it’s just jolly good practice. For the rest, it should spark some creative ideas on how you can take your practice to the next level.
So now you’re ready to start your next capability project, and you’re keen to adopt a few of the sustainable practices (I also recommend spending time on the needs analysis and then indicative structure phases), here are points to consider.
1. Align the capability plan with the goals of the business.
a. Can you achieve the capability outcomes with a mix of formal education and corporate learning?
WHAT
Creating resources that are low maintenance.
Creating resources that are flexible and adaptable: guidelines rather than step-by-step.
Using information- mapping techniques and ‘chunking’ information.
Re-use, recycle and re-purpose.
Leverage social learning mediums.
Create resources and artefacts that are digital and interactive or downloadable for those who like digital resources.
Create resources that grow generic skills like critical thinking. If you need to go specific, use action-based learning.
Create initiatives that use the leader as a coach.
WHY
Simply to reduce the production hours to keep all resources updated. Again, enabling minimal updates.
You only change the relevant step or paragraph rather than the entire artefact. Again, enabling minimal updates.
You only change the relevant step or paragraph rather than the entire artefact.
Curating others’ resources is a great way to achieve a quick deliverable and sets tone rather than prescription. Enabling learners are asking questions with their own research and discussion.
Versus having physical resources that like to collect dust. Verus specific skills where formal education programmes already exist.
Ensures that the learning is concise and specific to the needs of the business rather than all of the knowledge that the subject matter expert has.
Our leaders know the business. They are the connector from the coal face to the shareholders, boards or ministers. While they have busy operational roles, they are the first line of approval. So let's let them coach to that delegated approval.
HOW
Using hyperlinks to the operating procedures and/or external websites.
Using writing techniques that reduce the word count and create exclusive paragraphs is important. Processes and procedures are not creative writing pieces and don’t need linking paragraphs, or scenarios.
Using writing techniques that reduce the word count and create exclusive paragraphs is important. Processes and procedures are not creative writing pieces and don’t need linking paragraphs, or scenarios.
Many tools and resources are out there that can curate content for you that is up to date and current. I have used Anders Pink, Open Educational Resources, LinkedIn Learning and MOOCs to provide the detail or theory to a scenario or concept.
During the process of creating and learning, we have been schooled into starting from the lowest common denominator. However, I prefer to set questions at the beginning of a learning event. This results in a few positives: you aren’t telling the learners to ‘suck eggs’; you are acknowledging that they have knowledge and experience that can contribute to the learning cohort and you are handing the responsibility of research and discussion to the learner rather than spoon-feeding too much content. Go digital. We are in the digital age, and most of us want to save the planet. Make printed resources the exception or on request. For some, the digital space is filled with non-tangible uncertainties. As capability specialists, this is your time to shine and start a change management process to invite people into the digital sphere. Leverage human centred design principles.
This is an excellent opportunity to partner with formal education providers and blend corporate learning with formal education (you can have it all). Bloom’s taxonomy steps learners through a progressive learning chain (similar to Maslow or Piaget where to progress, you have to have mastered the previous level). Taking this type of approach lets you pitch your learning at the right place. Any additional learning the learner requires, you can either reference online material or recommend formal education. It is leaving you to create learning that enables the practical application of that technical content.
At the stage of your learning needs analysis, you have a real opportunity to apply good pedagogy. Learning specialists like Cathy Moore will encourage you to teach the skill, not the history of the skill, and all the different ways you can use the skill.
Leader-led learning is a formidable way to leverage the subject matter expertise of leaders and to develop their coaching skills. They approve the work being done, so leader-led learning should complement their leadership practice (unless of course your organisation has autonomous teams).
b. Will your learners have a feeling of autonomy where they can self-select or ‘pull’ learning rather than receiving ‘push’ learning?
2. Design an indicative structure of the components that make up the initiative.
3. Develop an indicative rollout or implementation plan (don’t forget to identify change and communication).
4. Start full design and development.
5. Complete the implementation plan.
This has been a starter-for-ten type article. Its purpose is to encourage you to reflect on the excellent work you are doing and/or spark new ideas and practices. As learning and development professionals, one thing I know for sure is we need to keep the conversation going. Keep talking and sharing, and do so for the greater good. Good luck, I know you’ve got this.
Angela Bingham He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata! Angela Bingham started as Executive Director People and Capability at the Open Polytechnic in October 2018. Before that she held a variety of leadership roles, with an emphasis in Learning and Development. She has worked for Kineo (Pacific), ACC, Endeavour IT Limited, Rugby New Zealand, Department of Internal Affairs and ANZ, among others. Angela has a strong people agenda, which she has developed from her degree in Community and Family Studies from the University of Otago. Angela’s philosophies are that an effective leader works for the good of others with a firm foundation in strengthbased conversations.
