Why we measure learning agility in our learning system
Sometimes we compare our system with the Russian dolls. Or with onions. Our potential clients usually need some time to understand it. "You offer Learning & Development, right? Something like LMS?", they say. Yes and no. Yes, at the heart of our system lies learning system based on microlearning and spaced learning. But it can do much more.
SNAPSIM Learner also helps to calculate the rating based on learning agility.
And how do we measure learning agility? It comes from how learning is designed and what actions are tracked. First, we divide content into snippets. In our system they are called snaps.
Snap is a small amount of learning text, to which questions can be formulated.
The system tracks all actions of users and "knows" how they learn and can measure their learning agility. The system also collects data of the self-assessments of learners and the assessments of their managers. It is done both before the learning programme and after its completion (three month after completing the learning) to understand learning agility in context.
This approach requires more work in preparing content:
SNAPSIM Leader on just one level (Team Leader) has 6000+ questions to micro-content and over 260 behaviour descriptions in 28 questionnaires.
When working on content it is important to remember to include only content that supports required behaviours.
After all requirements are met, we can prepare learning agility ratings for employees.
Tests and spaced learning
In this series of articles we have discussed how we can use data collected in the learning process to measure learning agility. Currently used models have several disadvantages that can be overcome with the methodology of measuring learning agility with data collected in the learning process. We can used spaced learning and microlearning to measure learning agility.
That's not all. Spaced learning opens another door - we can measure how learning has impacted behaviours. For this we need the help of line managers.
Managers are very busy people and they might be cynical abour the way learning works. They even might blame HR professionals that their "don't know anything".
The illlustration above shows the difference between spaced learning and traditional learning. It shows that with spaced learning in SNASPIM employees know at least 80% of waht was learned.
Responsibility for learning
HR and L&D professionals don't understand how learning is transformed into new knowledge and competencies, as stated in the slide below as per quote of Laszlo Bock, former VP of People in Google. To understand this process, the organisation should also engage line managers. There is no other way to understand how learning impacts behaviours. Nowadays many companies use appraisals (usually every year) for performance evaluation.
However, according to the latest researchall forms of appraisals are quite expensive and are connected to performance.
Appraisals are useless and potentially dangerous. Some companies have stpped to use them - among them Dell, Microsoft, IBM, аGap, Accenture, General Electric.
Most HR professionals still use appraisals and some of them even try to use AI with it.
On the other hand, managers need tools to motivate and encourage employees. So instead of appraisals the can use tools that evaluate their direct report behaviours in each developed competency to support coaching conversation.
So regularly evaluating behaviours can:
- be used in regular coaching conversation,
- help to see potential problems in the workplace,
- allow managers to evaluate how knowledge gained transfer to skills and improved behaviours.