Roy Pollock
Chief Learning Officer
Fort Hill Company

I am keenly interested in the best practices that allow companies to maximize the return on their educational investments - especially in the areas of management and leadership.

I have seen first-hand how enlightened leadership can positively transform whole organizations and how well-designed and -executed development programs can help fill the leadership pipeline.

As a manager, however, I am also sensitive to the need for learning and development programs to also demonstrate practical business impact.

I am gratified that my work with Fort Hill allows me to help companies achieve both these ends.

Roy Pollock is the Chief Learning Officer of the Fort Hill Company, Wilmington, Delaware,

Before joining Fort Hill, Dr. Pollock held a number of senior leadership positions including Assistant Dean for Curriculum Development, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University; Vice President, Companion Animal Division, Pfizer Animal Health; and President, IDEXX Informatics.

Dr. Pollock earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and PhD degrees and Cornell University and studied medical education at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

He is the author of more than 50 scientific papers and book chapters, a Kellogg National Leadership Fellow and the recipient of numerous awards.

He can be reached at: pollock@forthillcompany.com

The purpose of the Learning Alert is to share best practices that help learners follow-through and improve their personal and business results.

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Recent Learning Alerts

 
A New Beginning

Roy V. H. Pollock, DVM, PhD

As we begin a new year, it is appropriate to “begin at the beginning” and challenge ourselves to rethink the way we define objectives for learning and development programs.

All well-designed programs have clearly defined objectives. For example, “At the completion of the program, participants will be able to describe the four developmental levels for each of the key tasks,” or “participants will enhance their ability to give and receive constructive feedback.”

But in the course of researching our book, The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning (Pfeiffer, April 2006), we began to suspect that the way in which objectives are usually written is suboptimal. Why? Because they tend to focus on learning as opposed to doing, on creating capability as opposed to putting capabilities to work.

Because of my experience as a line manager (Vice President at Pfizer), my approach is very pragmatic; my interest is enhanced performance.

I know that training and development create critical new capabilities by providing knowledge, skills, insights, approaches, and so forth. But unless those new capabilities are put to work in a way that improves personal and organizational performance, they are of no value to the business for which I am responsible.

Thus, achieving typical program objectives, such as being able to “describe developmental levels” or “give constructive feedback” are important prerequisites to enhanced performance. They are necessary, but not sufficient. Unless steps are taken to ensure that the new capabilities are transferred and applied to the participant’s work, then the program may achieve its stated objectives, but fail to fulfill its organizational purpose of improving performance.

We encourage our clients to “raise the bar” for learning and development by redefining program objectives from what participants will learn, to what they will actually do better and differently as a result and how that will benefit the business.

So, the objective becomes not only to “enhance the ability to provide constructive feedback,” but that "following the program, participants will use their enhanced feedback skills to provide more frequent and more valuable feedback to their employees, thereby enhancing performance and retention.”

Expanding program objectives belying"learning" to “doing” has several important benefits:

• It makes the business relevance and value of training and development much clearer to the line managers who fund the program and the employees who attend.
• It redefines the finish line of the program from the last day of class to successful transfer and application on the job (see Learning Alert #11).
• It facilitates measurement by setting out, in advance, the definition of success.
• It underscores the interdependency between training and management. Learning and development programs cannot achieve “doing” objectives without reinforcement and support from participants’ managers. Redefining objectives in terms of workplace behaviors and results challenges us to think creatively about the need for continuing learning and support outside the classroom box.

Pressure to demonstrate business impact and return from development investments continues to build. Redefining program objectives in business terms is an important place to start a new year and key to delivering on training’s promise of improved workplace results.

Ideas Into Action

1. Review the objectives of your most important program as currently stated. Is the business relevance obvious? Is it clear how participants are expected to use what they have learned and what is the intended benefit? Check your answers with key business stakeholders.
   
   
2. Use Brinkerhoff’s Impact Mapping Process to ensure firm linkage between business needs and learning programs.
   
   
3. Redefine the finish line by stating the program objectives in terms of what participants will be doing better and differently in their jobs as a result of attending. Evaluate the impact this has on how the program is conducted and, in particular, what is needed to assure accountability and support after the formal instruction ends.

References:

Wick, Pollock, Jefferson and Flanagan. The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning: How to Turn Training and Development into Business Results. San Francisco: Pfeiffer, in press, available April 2006.
Brinkerhoff and Apking, High Impact Learning: Strategies for Leveraging Business Results from Training. New York: Basic Books, 2001

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