Learning Design Post 2 -Rummler Path B: Approach

Rummler's "Path B" Approach
Lynn Pregitzer (lpregitz) (Jan 20, 2011 11:52 PM) - Read by: 13Reply
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As part of the change management planning for the IT project I’m working on, it is becoming apparent that a needs assessment will be critical to the successful deployment of the system. The training is required for the end users in Hawaii, however, since this is a second phase of a nationwide deployment, the training consultant’s Hawaii plan is identical to the first phase of the project, which was in Colorado. There was a needs analysis conducted in Colorado during the early stages of the five year project and the training has been well received there. I believe due to the success there, the team is assuming that the same training will translate to Hawaii. Rummler emphasizes that the WLP should begin by asking key questions such as “What is currently occurring that precipitates the need for training?” and “How will we determine if the training has been effective”. The critical piece missing in our action plan is the “Path B” approach which is described above. Conducting investigate work up front and observing the employees before designing the training program is prudent to ensuring a cost effective training with skills that will transfer to the job.


Elliott reinforces a similar idea of ensuring that training is transferred to the job by analyzing the accomplishments of the employee versus the competencies. Collecting data on the major accomplishments of high performers will allow the WLP to identify shortcoming of others. The WLP can benchmark the granular tasks and identify opportunities for performance improvement to make training recommendations. I will be discussing Elliott’s method of analysis with the trainer which should help us understand where the real gaps of knowledge exist.