Chapter 15
External Support Systems
This chapter
examines ways the external world beyond your organization can assist you in reaching new performance improvement heights
explains the value of joining local or industry-based performance improvement associations
suggests benefits to you for joining national and international performance improvement societies
describes value to be gained from attending workshops and conferences and from forming relationships with colleges and universities
encourages you to read professionally in the field, and gives you some excellent starting places to explore
lays out the benefits of networking
welcomes you to continue the dialogue with the authors.
This final chapter adds an external dimension for supporting your ongoing progress toward becoming a Training Ain't Performance organization—one that achieves the performance improvement that leads to valued results for all stakeholders. The first recommendation we offer is our strongest one: become active professionally outside your company.
Join a Local or Industry-Based Performance Improvement Association
We suggested in the previous chapter that joining a performance improvement society offers self-development benefits. We return to this and add that being part of such a group provides an external support system for you and your organization. Such groups
share best practices
obtain speakers at a much lower cost than your own organization would have to pay
keep members current on what's happening in the field
provide collegiality when support is needed
act as a sounding board for your issues, concerns, and ideas
usually give out awards for member (individual and organizational) accomplishments, and these reinforce your and your team's efforts while they validate and enhance them
offer an opportunity for networking, which leads to recruitment of talent and hiring of consultants and freelancers, and which opens possibilities for your own future career moves.
These associations can be local, with members representing a wide range of industries. This type of diversity encourages cross-pollination of ideas. Industry-based associations focus on concerns similar to those of your own organization. Learning and performance improvement associations exist in the pharmaceutical, financial, railway, high-technology, and telecom industries as well as many others.
An Activity for You
Contact your local Chamber of Commerce to identify associations in your area. Also contact ASTD at www.astd.org, the Canadian Society for Training and Development (CSTD) at www.cstd.ca., or the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) at www.ispi.org for information on local chapters in your geographic region. (ASTD and ISPI also have chapters in many other countries.) To locate industry groups, the best way to start is with an Internet search. You will discover a broad array of professional support groups.
An Activity for Your WLP Team
Create a list of potential local associations to explore. Gather information and set up a file on each one. Circulate these files among your colleagues. Hold a meeting to discuss impressions and reactions. Assign individuals to explore further and report to the group. Finally, select a local and/or industry association in which to become active. If the association has the potential to support your WLP organization, not only become active but also accept increasing leadership positions. You will grow individually and your organization will reap the rewards of your expanding vision and capabilities.
Join a National or International Performance Improvement Society
We have already mentioned ASTD and ISPI. Both of these produce publications and reports that are of immense benefit to performance professionals. Their fees are reasonable. Their conferences are extremely professional and provide continuing learning opportunities for you and your team. They also offer workshops and certificate programs to enhance performance capabilities in a variety of relevant areas.
Attend Workshops and Conference Events
There are dangers in becoming too internally fixated on your work. Attending local and national workshops and conferences opens one's eyes to new avenues. Often the materials from these events can constitute the basis for significant change in your work setting. We recommend getting on email lists from ASTD, ISPI, and industry/local associations. Their periodicals also announce learning and conference events. Webinars are a growing vehicle for professional development. Their advantage is that you need not travel to learn from external courses. Fees are generally low, and the quality is becoming better as Webinar software increases in simplicity of use and sophistication of interaction and delivery.
Get Certified
ASTD offers a Human Performance Improvement (HPI) Certificate Program. It provides professional development for aspiring performance consultants. This program helps you
develop marketable skills that enable you to move beyond training
gain experience using tools designed to cultivate performance improvement competencies
learn from experienced performance consultants and practitioners
demonstrate your commitment to performance improvement
enhance your reputation for providing results-oriented solutions.
For more information on ASTD's HPI Certificate Program, visit www.astd.org/astd/education/hpi_certificate_program.
ISPI offers a Certified Performance Technologist (CPT) designation, which helps employers and clients identify practitioners who have proven they can produce results through systematic performance improvement processes. For practitioners the CPT credential helps assess their ability, focus their professional development efforts, and recognize their capabilities.
A CPT designation provides a professional label that is respected worldwide. A certification says you are a member of a profession. Your name is placed in a registry of CPTs. The designation program is based on globally accepted standards of human performance technology.
The 10 Standards of Human Performance Technology are drawn from the key principles that form the foundation of the field. They require application of systematic processes to improve performance. These standards ensure that the certified performance technologist conducts her or his work in a manner that includes
- an unwavering focus on results
- systematic examination of performance improvement situations while maintaining a system view of the global context with its competing pressures, resource constraints, and anticipated organizational changes
- the addition of value from how you do your work and the work itself
- development of partnerships or collaborations with clients and other experts, as required
- systematic assessment of the performance opportunity or problem
- systematic analysis of the work and workplace to identify the causes or factors that limit performance
- systematic design of appropriate interventions or specification of the requirements to eliminate or decrease performance gaps
- systematic development of all or some of the performance interventions
- systematic implementation of the basket of performance improvement interventions
- systematic evaluation of the processes employed and the results achieved.
CPTs also adhere to a universally accepted code of ethics intended to promote appropriate professional practice. To be certified or recertified, an applicant must sign a statement of agreement with the principles on which the code is based, principles that guide the performance improvement process:
adding value
using validated practices
collaborating with others
continuously improving ones proficiency
demonstrating integrity
upholding confidentiality.
CPTs are committed to continued growth and development in their profession. There is a requirement for periodic recertification. ISPI offers conferences, institutes, and workshops that support the standards of human performance technology and the code of ethics and that provide the means for recertification.
To learn how you can become a CPT, visit ISPI's Website at www.certifiedpt.org/.
Create Relationships with Colleges and Universities
Educational institutions have large amounts of expertise and resources on hand. Costs for using these resources are often less than your internal ones. Your local college or university may have software specialists and studios with which you can contract to develop and deliver Web-based learning and performance support tools and systems. Subject-matter experts can help enhance content. Students, acting as interns, can increase your ability to undertake projects for which you have insufficient resources. You also contribute to the students' learning. Often, an intern becomes a potential recruit for your team.
Read
Build your knowledge of the training field and acquire tools for improving your organization's performance by reading books and periodicals on relevant topics.
Training Ain't Performance contains a large reading resource section. Beyond that list there is a vast body of reading materials, far too many to cite here. As learning and human performance support continue to grow in importance, books and magazines are increasing rapidly. Below is a list of publishers who specialize in these topical areas. We recommend that you research the following sources:
ASTD Press—www.astd.org/astd/Publications/books/astd_press_books.htm
ISPI—http://performance.ispi.org/source/library/ordershome.cfm?section=orders
HRD Press—www.business-marketing.com/store/hrd.html
Pfeiffer—www.pfeiffer.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-101552.html
Berrett-Koehler—www.bkconnection.com/
CEP Press—www.cepworldwide.com/storefront.asp
With respect to magazines, we recommend
T+D(ASTD's monthly magazine)—www.astd.org/astd/publications/td_magazine
Infoline(ASTD's series of tips and tools)—www.astd.org.astd/publications/infoline/infoline_home
Performance Improvement Journal(ISPI's monthly journal)—www.ispi.org/
Performance Improvement Quarterly(ISPI's quarterly academic publication)—www.ispi.org/
Workforce Performance Solutions—www.wpsmag.com
Build a Network
Local and industry associations are certainly excellent means for creating professional networks. Beyond these we recommend searching through your own organization for kindred spirits, people who are committed to human performance improvement and the impact this can have on results. Where do you find them? Almost anywhere. Here, however, is a high-probability starter list:
human resources personnel (for example, compensation, benefits, incentives)
other groups in your organization with a performance improvement mandate (such as information technology, sales, manufacturing, safety)
individual contributors who are committed to and actively engaged in performance improvement initiatives
organizational development and organizational effectiveness specialists
human factors/ergonomics specialists
work process specialists.
An Activity for Your WLP Team
Brainstorm with your group to identify internal network contacts of value to or in support of the directions you wish to take your WLP team. Include key influencers, informal leaders, union leaders, and managers who may champion your cause.
Outside your organization are like-minded thinkers in your industry, local professionals, and national/international thought leaders. Most are open to exchanges of information. Exploit all of these potential links.
Stay in Touch
This brings us to the end of our Beyond Training Ain't Performance Fieldbook, but not to the end of the dialogue we've established with you. We're always open to chatting with you and helping support you. Our Website is www.hsa-lps.com. There you can find free articles to download and a newsletter you can receive online at no cost.
This Fieldbook is a tool-based resource for you. Use it. Let us know how you're doing. We wish you the best of success in improving your, your clients', and your organization's performance!