The crucial question we often find ourselves answering when in early discussions with our clients about development programmes is the degree to which our products are “off the shelf”.
This is normally to establish a difference in price-point between standardised material, more commonly associated with open training courses, or the more boutique/ prestigious/ costly outlay of a customised bespoke development programme. The real question that should be answered is: ‘How closely should the programme reflect the development needs of those who are going on it?’
In truth, no programme will be as effective as it should be unless the needs of the target audience are incorporated, i.e. the participants and their business stakeholders. In old money, this was called a ‘training needs analysis’. Considering this in more detail, there are many layers, from defining the capabilities required for success in the first place, to measuring how each prospective participant measures up to these via an assessment process, to designing activities and learning approaches which grow the skills and behaviours required for performance. This is in addition to exploring the expectations and perceptions of those impacted in the business, such as direct reports and stakeholders, via interviews and focus groups.
A further key layer involves understanding not just the participants' baseline, but also their trajectory – where they have the potential to grow. Once we have identified the individuals who have the energy, drive, and dexterity to develop and become future-fit, we use assessment insights and 360 feedback to pinpoint where this growth should focus. Reviewing this data holistically at a cohort level allows us to design programme content that is both aligned with common needs and fine-tuned to individual or group-level developmental gaps.
A truly effective development programme should address the common needs for all but bring in personalised elements, as we are not all the same, but how?
360 feedback and personality profiling using Facet5
One of the best ways to bring in an element of personalisation into the start of a development journey is to prompt self-awareness using feedback and some initial coaching. We often link a personality profile to the feedback using a ‘cause and effect’ rationale; it gives individuals a suggestion of how they are likely to behave and tests this by seeing if it plays out in reality. A conversation with a coach can then build around the specific development goals which emerge.
Modules featuring specific topic focus areas
By amalgamating assessment data and anecdotal evidence, a picture can be built of the general needs for any given population. Common topics might be delegation (for line managers), communicating with impact (most levels) or thinking strategically for more senior populations. This commonly involves sharing useful techniques or approaches which support the chosen skills or behaviours. What is important here is to focus the learning on not just trainer-led input, but on the sharing of experiences and discussion on how to apply the ideas presented. This allows participants to form the ideas around their specific challenges. Programmes with standardised content often fall short of this, plus we find sometimes that too much reliance is placed on anecdotal diagnostic evidence, rather than verified research and data about the audience itself.
Group and individual coaching
At t-three and Kiddy & Partners, we find this is an essential way of drawing on the collective knowledge of a cohort to solve individual challenges. Participants gain from sharing, exploring ideas and challenging each other. In this way, the outcomes of the learning programme are even more closely matched to the individual needs. If a programme can incorporate two or three 1:1 sessions with a coach, the development each learner experiences can become even more personalised especially when linked to an up-front assessment of their capabilities which the coach is privy to.
To conclude, the commonly held learning approach of experience/ exposure/ education (70/20/10) supports the view that individuals acquire skills and knowledge from a range of approaches. If we are to deliver solutions which maximise outcomes for the individual, rather than simply being generic, we should pay attention to the groundwork, diagnostic and assessment elements of the target audience before setting out to design a truly effective learning programme.