TRAINING OR SUPERVISION: Determining the Root Cause of

Performance Compliance Issues

Sandra Ray, CIRS2-1-1 Texas/United Way HelplineUnited Way of Greater Houston

Workshop Objectives

Assess the training needs of employees

Review learning styles for adults Determine how learning styles

affect retention of information Evaluation employee training

retention Apply appropriate supervisory

intervention

Assess Training Needs of Employees Organizational Assessment measures

effectiveness of organization Where training is needed Conditions it is conducted (laws, economy,

costs, technology, changes in the organization, etc.)

Occupational Assessment measures the task or the job What does the job description say? What are the KPI’s?

What’s In Your Toolbox?

Assessing Training Needs of Employees (cont.) Individual Assessment measures

performance within the job role Performance appraisal Performance issues Methods include observation, silent monitoring,

questionnaires, checklist, etc. U.S. Office of Personnel Management –

sample tool where you can go through an assessment for ideas www.csc.noaa.gov/needs/

Is it the Job/Task or the Individual? Organization has developed

goals/expectations & employees are informed of this direction. If there is a change in the organization, this is

company-wide. If it’s a change in how to perform a task, it’s

training the group of employees expected to perform the task.

If the assessments indicate that most of the employees are responding, then it’s an individual issue.

More training? Supervision/Discipline issue Areas that can’t be addressed through

training or discipline

Brief Review of Adult Learning Styles Visual Learner

Images, pictures, color and other visual media help learn

Use color, layout and spatial organization (visual words)

Auditory Learner Use sound, rhyme and music in learning Use sound recordings to provide

background to help visualize Kinesthetic Learner

Physical style Use touch, action, movement & hands-on

work

Learning Style Assessment

Do Learning Styles Affect Memory Retention?

Sometimes motivation adults have for learning is more important than learning style:Goal Oriented – my boss told me

to be hereActivity Oriented – I’ll go to any

training that gets me “off the phone”

Learning Oriented – I just like to learn

How Do People Learn

Two channels to process informationVisualAuditory

Memory is limited Learning occurs by active processing

in the memory system New knowledge & skills retrieved

from long-term memory to transfer to demonstrated skills on the job

Clark, Ruth Colvin and Mayer, Richard E. e-Learning and the Science of Instruction. Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2003, 35-42.

How Memory is Formed

Visual/Auditory Information Enters

Information stored briefly in working memory

Encoding – Integrating information from working memory into long-term memory

Rehearsal – active processing of information

Retrieval – learner is able to demonstrate process taught during training

12 Principles for Effective Adult Learning Needs Assessment: Participation

of the learner in naming what is to be learned.

Safety in the environment between teacher and learner for learning and development.

A sound relationship between teacher and learner for learning and development.

Careful attention to sequence of content and reinforcement.

Praxis: Action with reflection or learning by doing.

12 Principles for Effective Adult Learning (cont.) Respect for learners as subjects of

their own learning. Cognitive, affective, and

psychomotor aspects: ideas, feelings, actions.

Immediacy of the learning. Clear roles and role development. Teamwork: Using small groups. Engagement of the learners in what

they are learning. Accountability: How do they know

they know?Vella, J. Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach. San Francisco: Jossey – Bass, 3-22.

Measuring Training Retention in Employees

Two elements to consider:Perceived Learning – what the

learner thinks they’ve learnedDemonstrated Learning – how the

learner performs the elements included in the training

Perceived Learning

Post-training surveys/questionnaires

Quizzes given at the time of the training

Class/Learner discussions

Demonstrated Learning

Observations Reports Follow-Up Survey to test

knowledge retention and possibly cultural sensitivity of how the information is received

Call Monitoring

They Know It…BUT…

Before developing a new training or re-training an employee, test for knowledge retention and demonstrationSurveyGroup DiscussionReports

Do They REALLY Know It?

Perception IS reality – I&R Rule #1 when working with callers applies to employees too.

The employee’s perception of the material is incorrect or not correctly processed

Follow-up surveys demonstrate only partial learning of material

Perhaps the key concept was retained, but the components that are needed to demonstrate knowledge are missing.

How Can I Decide When and/or How to Retrain? Larger Group demonstrates wide

discrepancy between training and demonstration of the skill Follow-up with Small Groups after large group

training Not everyone will ask questions in a large group. Can assess who is struggling with concepts. Offers opportunities for role-plays where group

members can help one another One-On-One – anyone who appears to

struggle with the concepts in large or small group trainings & may need additional attention.

If It’s Not Training…It’s Time for Supervision After all the training & retraining,

it may be time for a supervision discussion with the employee.

Supervision Example #1

Funding requirement – ask every caller a specific question & record response.

Training takes place in large groups, small groups, and one-on-one. Surveys indicate 100% of specialists understand the requirement.

Call monitoring/coaching sessions reveal an employee is not complying – and tells coach he does not plan to comply. Employee believes callers are asked too

many required questions. Believes it is up to caller to self-disclose.

Supervision Example #2 High performing bilingual employee begins

to exhibit issues shortly after learning new program requirements.

Retraining and coaching are provided. During retraining and coaching, employee is able to perform all tasks with low error rate. Issues remain when employee answers calls.

When questioned, employee admits to high level of verbal abuse by English speakers due to his Spanish accent. Employee did not experience until working for

short period of time on overnight shifts. Even though has returned to day shift and issue

is not continuing, high level of anxiety remains. Employee admits he did not share with employer

– he was not sure if anything could be done to solve issue.

Example 1 vs. Example 2

Example 1: Supervisor intervention needed: Performance Improvement Plan

Employee’s personal beliefs interfere with compliance.

I&R program is in jeopardy of losing funding as a result of non-compliance.

Employee was reminded he could share with supervisors if he disagreed with a procedure as a means of venting frustration.

Example 2, Supervisor intervention needed: No amount of training can change the employee’s

accent Organization is at risk if issue is not addressed

(hostile workplace, harassment, etc.) Supervisor moves employee to answering Spanish only

calls Supervisor provides approved off-phone work for times

when employee is feeling high amount of anxiety.

Performance Improvement Plans (PIP) When issues are related to supervision,

develop a performance improvement plan. Consider your agency’s personnel

policies/procedures PIP needs (at minimum) to include

following elements: State precisely why performance is

inadequate/unacceptable State exactly how employee can comply

with expected performance Specify time period for expected

improvement Specify that continued poor performance

has adverse consequences.

After PIP: Can an Employee Turn Around Performance? Absolutely! Employee may be testing “boundaries”

of the supervisor or organization Employee may not grasp fully

reasoning behind a decisions or why personal decisions are not allowed to influence judgment (example 1)

Some employees need more structure in work environment I&R by nature is a creative profession Employees who need more structure can

rely on information in PIP to make decisions about future performance.

Questions/Comments?

Sandra Ray, CIRSManager, Information & Referral2-1-1 Texas/United Way HelplineUnited Way of Greater Houston

sray@unitedwayhouston.org713-685-2469