Blended Learning White Paper

To quickly accelerate
employee
performance, training
programs must offer
strategic blended
learning interventions
at key points in time in
order to decrease the
learning curve.

TIMING
IS EVERYTHING
Accelerate Employee Performance Infopro
Learning
Using the Learning Curve
Introduction
Plenty of time and energy is spent in
talent development pondering answers to the “Who?” “What?”
“Why?” “Where?” and “How?” questions of training, but the
question of “When?” is often limited to one answer: “Whenever
time permits.”

The learning Curve

Growth
Performance

Anxiety (A) Hight Self Motivation;

High retention innovation

Information Stagnancy


Low Self Motivation;
Overload (IO) Complacency
Low retention
Fall

Low Self Motivation;
Disillusionment;
Attrition
Optimum


Performance(OP)
High Retention


Knowledge
Formation (KF)
High Retention

Time

However, the strategic element of timing in training is much more nuanced than
this, and can lead to significant gains in return on investment if planned properly.
To quickly accelerate employee performance, training programs must offer
strategic blended learning interventions at key points in time in order to decrease
the learning curve.

The learning curve considers the relationship between time spent learning a new
competency and on-the-job-performance. The curve is partitioned into four key
sections: anxiety, information overload, knowledge formation, and optimum
performance. Each of these sections along the curve should be treated differently
(and we will cover strategy in this paper).

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 Once optimum performance has been reached, it is critical that continuing
education and engagement spur employees towards growth rather than
stagnancy or degradation in on-the-job-performance.

The learning Curve



Growth
Performance

Anxiety (A) Hight Self Motivation;

innovation
High retention Information


Overload (IO)
Low retention Stagnancy
Low Self Motivation;
Complacency

Fall
Optimum


Low Self Motivation;


Disillusionment;
Performance(OP) Attrition
High Retention


Knowledge
Formation (KF)
High Retention
DECREASE TOTAL TRAINING TIME Time
DECREASE TIME TO PROFICIENCY

Decreasing the learning curve will decrease

total training time and time to competency
for employees.

2
 Anxiety

Although it might sound counterintuitive,

the anxiety that employees feel to perform on the job at the
outset of a training program actually helps them to retain
information more effectively. 1,2

Curve of Anxiety

Performance

A Increase Anxiety by:

Expectation-Setting
Communications
Pre-Training Materials
Pre-Course Assessments

B Decrease Learning
Curve by:
Custom Role-Based Training
Tailored ILTs and WBTs
Base Job Certification

This makes the curve of anxiety the most crucial stage of a training program. Of
course, there is a balance between optimal anxiety levels, too little anxiety, and
crippling anxiety that should be respected.3 However, on-the-job-performance can
be accelerated much more quickly than normal during this stage of training.

An excellent way to promote healthy anxiety levels for programs and increase
learner retention is to issue pre-training materials and communications to
employees.4 Pre-training can include quizzes to assess learner knowledge ahead
of the program, expectation-setting emails, or a sneak peek at what subjects the
training program will cover.

Beyond pre-training activities, the curve of anxiety also encapsulates the first
“official” training event in a program. The first training event should ideally be a
contextual, personal, role-based introduction to the program rather than a generic
“off-the-shelf” introduction. The best learning modalities for this are
classroom-based instructor-led training and self-paced e-learning (and both
should be customized). The first training event should provide base information
upon which knowledge will be built upon later.5

Ending the first training event with a terminal objective and a “certification” for
learners to work towards will also help to maximize their efforts and boost
3 knowledge retention.6
 Anxiety Onboarding

The curve of anxiety in the context of

new hire onboarding begins as soon as an employee is hired, and
should even be played upon prior to the employee joining the
company.7

Too often companies wait until their new hires’ first days in the office to start
getting them ramped up and ready to contribute. However, companies that
pre-board their new hires have significant advantages over those that do not:

Compared to other
companies, the best-in- 35% More Likely to begin the onboarding
process before day 1
class are:

Companies that
pre-board new 11% More Likely to retain first -year employees
hires are:

More Likely to have employees who exceed their

14%
performance expectations in their internal reviews

More Likely to have a higher rate of hiring manager

17% satisfaction with new hires

1.6x More Likely to have a lower cost per hire

Compared to those that

do not pre-board.

Like pre-training,
pre-boarding techniques increase the
feelings of anxiety that employees
have before officially joining a
company, priming them for
accelerated learning. Rather than
scaring new hires away from a role
before they even begin, pre-boarding
gives new hires a heightened sense
of purpose.
A new hire’s first days on the job are
marked by an eagerness to learn and
a drive to prove oneself to colleagues:
it is a time for high impact learning.
Setting performance expectations for
new hires from the outset helps them
to learn and grow much faster.8

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 Information Overload

Information overload occurs in learners

that have finally been exposed to on-the-job training for a new
competency or role, and although they are continuing to learn
and improve, there is too much new information to retain.9

Curve of Information Overload


Performance

Decrease Learning
Curve by:
 Social Learning
 Electronic Performance
Support System (EPSS)
 Job Aids

A IO IO Time

Although information overload cannot be avoided completely, there are ways to

ensure that this section of the learning curve can be shrunken and performance
can be accelerated.

Social Learning: Performance Support:

Allowing learners to collaborate,
share tips and tricks, and compare
notes with one another (via social
media or an internal
communications platform) helps
them to focus on emerging best
practices. Coaches and mentors
can also impart their wisdom to
learners to help them avoid pitfalls.
Nothing will aid learners more during
on-the-job training than performance
support tools. Software training can
be aided by Electronic Performance
Support Systems, while job aids can
bolster functional training.

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 Knowledge Formation

The curve of knowledge formation marks

the period of time in a training program when learners are rapidly
beginning to crystallize knowledge gleaned from on-the-job
training and experiential learning.10

Curve of Knowledge Formation


Performance

Decrease Learning
Curve by:
 Let Students become
the teachers
 Communities of Practice
 Adaptive Simulations and
Assessments

A IO KF Time

This is when training is really starting to “click” with learners: suddenly

peer-to-peer learning becomes much more powerful, since the learners are
becoming so familiar with the training material that they are able to teach it to
others! This is a period of learning in which establishing communities of practice
is especially beneficial.

The Student Becomes the Teacher

One of the best ways to capitalize on the knowledge formation section of the
learning curve is to hold training events in which the learners need to formally
train each other on certain areas of expertise. For example, if your training
program is on leadership skills, each participant will have to present for five
minutes on a particular leadership skill that he or she excels in and share best
practices with the learning group.

Having learners be able to coach their peers on particular aspects of the overall
training curriculum helps them to reinforce what they have learned and convert to
long-term memory. 11 These peer-to-peer learning events can take place in a
classroom or virtually, but should be facilitated by an experienced trainer.

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 Optimum Performance

The curve of optimum performance

encompasses the final transition to competency for learners.
Most of the terminal learning objectives of the training program
have been met, but there are still further refinements to be made,
and expectations of future performance to be set.

Curve of Optimum Performance


Performance

Decrease Learning
Curve by:
 Change and Talent
Management Stratgies
 Providing Leadership and
Innovation Opportunities
 Coaching and Mentoring
Frameworks

A IO KF OP Time

Many training programs are designed to bring learners up to the point of

optimum performance (or never make it that far at all),12 but the best programs
also plan for future talent development. There are two particularly effective
means of decreasing the learning curve during optimum performance:

Innovation Opportunities:
Before a training program draws to a close, it is important to ask learners how
they might be able to innovate in two ways:

1. How they can improve the training program itself and

2. How they can improve upon the functional or soft skills being taught in the
training program through business process changes. When learners transfer
their knowledge so that it applies to hypothetical contexts, it helps them to
retain knowledge long-term and master a particular subject.13

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 Coaching:
Intensive one-on-one coaching is normally offered for high-end leadership
development or sales training programs.

However, any training program can benefit from the establishment and
follow-through of periodic coaching appointments with learners to ensure that
they are continuing to perform at the highest level. Coaches can be functional
thought leaders in certain areas of expertise within a company internally, or they
can be trainers, or they can be hired as third party contractors.

The benefits for long-term talent development cannot be understated.14 ,15

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 Growth, Stagnancy, or Decline

Once optimum performance is reached,

learners can either grow, stagnate, or decline in their on-the-job
performances. However, we can use talent development
principles and learning strategies to ensure continued growth
rather than stagnancy or decline:

Curve of New Growth


Performance

 Treat “Growth” as the “Curve of

Anxiety” For next level

ll CAPTURE THE MOMENT ll

A IO KF OP

Treat Optimum Performance as New “Curve of Anxiety”

One clever way to ensure that high-performing employees continue to improve
and grow is to treat their achievement of optimum on-the-job performance as an
opportunity to motivate them for continued growth by giving them renewed
expectations, additional responsibilities, and a new drive to advance their careers.

Of course, this is exactly how we treat our learners when they are being
onboarded as new employees or when they are being enrolled into a new training
program: we need to treat optimum performance as a new “curve of anxiety,” and
instill a healthy amount of anxiety in them so they can strive to reach new heights
in their key competencies and careers.16

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 Grooming Tomorrow’s Leaders

Employees that have learned nearly

everything there is to learn, and have achieved nearly everything
there is to achieve in their respective roles need a next step, a
terminal objective to strive for and look forward to: in most cases,
they need a clear path towards a promotion.

Below are two vital techniques for grooming tomorrow’s leaders:

Leadership Development: Career Development Plan:

Corporate training expenditures are Drafting career development plans for
highest on leadership development,17 high-potential employees is shown to
and for good reason: investing in increase employee engagement and
tomorrow’s leaders today is a hallmark reduce turnover in key job roles.19
of sustainable business
This can become an impetus for
development.18
employees to continue to grow and
Leadership development courses are improve in order to attain future
often offered as classroom training in promotions.
a number of different subjects, and
can be a great way of instilling
leadership qualities in high-potential
employees.

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 Structured vs. On-Demand Learning
A central premise of the learning curve
framework is that the training program is well-structured and
planned out in advance:

The program’s budget, timelines, content, personnel, and administration are all
accounted for at the outset. Using a structured approach lets managers maintain
control over the training program, evaluate its effectiveness, and budget for it.20
Structured training programs like those that employ the learning curve
framework are good to use for training employees on key performance indicators
and mission-critical competencies. However, developing a structured learning
curve and blended learning strategy for one-off training programs targeting a
small handful of employees might be overkill. The structured learning curve
approach is excellent for training in these areas:

Employee Onboarding Call Center Training

Long-Term Leadership Development Compliance and Regulatory Training

Sales Enablement Technical Skill Development

An on-demand, unstructured learning approach including a library of self-paced

e-learning, performance support tools, and instructor-led courses that can be
offered on an ad hoc basis is recommended for training requirements that are
more fleeting in nature. However, on-demand learning resources are also a vital
component of any world-class learning ecosystem.

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 Infopro
Learning
About InfoPro

InfoPro Learning – The Right Choice

InfoPro Learning helps organizations rapidly transform talent by
focusing on Learning for Performance.

A global, award-winning learning and training solutions company for almost 20

years, InfoPro provides performance improvement strategies, blended learning
solutions and managed training programs.

At InfoPro, performance innovation, cutting edge technology and a talented team

are combined to deliver successful workforce solutions and business outcomes.
InfoPro Learning is obsessed with helping customers build training capacity,
advance their practices and respond effectively to changing learner needs.

Awards & Recognitions

TrainingIndustry.com- (three years in a row!) CLO Learning in Practice Awards
- Top 20 Content Development Company -- Excellence in Vendor Partnership
- Top 20 Training Outsourcing Company - Excellence in Blended Technology

Brandon Hall Awards

- Best Advancement in LMS Technology
- Best Custom Content Development

For more information about InfoPro Learning, Inc.,

visit: www.infoprolearning.com, call (609) 606-9984 or
email us at info@infoprolearning.com

12
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14 (609) 606-9984 info@infoprolearning.com www.infoprolearning.com