ATD AXIS AWARDS: FRI, AUG 17
You’ve been asked to deliver a learning program for a new system - the catch is that you only have a short time to do it and if the learners aren’t 100% competent, a patient’s life could be in danger. You need to not only train but validate competency.
Those are pretty high stakes. In L&D | Talent Development we often talk about the importance of job transfer; in healthcare there is patient safety on the line so it’s no wonder that Children’s Health won an ATD Axis Award last year for their training for their new Epic Beaker Lab System for more than 3,000 employees. As project lead Melissa Liu said, “We’re a hospital. We can’t afford to make mistakes.”
Preparation: Training Needs Analysis
To prepare for this important program, Melissa and team conducted a very thorough training needs analysis that included:
- Organizational Assessment - defining knowledge, skills competency the organization required to meet its strategic goal - efficiency.
- Workflow Assessment - This phase looked at new workflows, skills, knowledge, competency required to perform jobs. They grouped those with similar workflows to consolidate training efforts in those areas.
- Job Role Assessment - This phase focused on performance of individual job roles and determination of what training they needed.
Delivery: Four Training Tracks
The TNA resulted in 4 training tracks for different user groups. The training was different for each group and all included a blend of content to meet multiple learning modalities – read, watch, practice, touch, test. Implementing a blended learning program is challenging; a typical format is eLearning + Assessment + Classroom yet Children’s took it further by including “Learning Labs” that functioned as practice plus summative assessment.
- eLearning for each workflow
- Instructor-Led Classroom Training
- ILT Learning Labs
- Self-Guided Practice / Exercises
- Assessments – Knowledge Checks, Completion Assessment, Competency Check Sheets
- Job Aids
- Reference Guides
They team supported learners throughout the entire process with different types of content and measured progress throughout the entire journey.
Assessment
“We differentiate between assessment and competency,” said Melissa (as I silently said ‘amen’ in my head.) To ensure the learning transferred to the job, learners were provided with lab activities. The learners completed the activities then submitted to a trainer to assess.
As a result, they were able to evaluate the program on Kirkpatrick Levels 1 - 4. Four is not easy to get to; it’s essential to involve the organization to point where you measure business results, and they did so with a productivity analysis.
The Children’s Health learning team partnered with the business in ways that led to success in just a few short months.
Congratulations to Children’s Health for a developing such a robust and effective learning program that demonstrates the true value of learning as a strategic business enabler. You’re an example for us in L&D to follow.
Apply for the 2018 AXIS Award! Had a great program this year? It doesn’t have to be on the scale of Children’s; if you had a breakthrough moment this year others can learn from you.
