Research conducted earlier this year by members of *Boise State University’s Learning Strategy Lab discovered a persistent theme: the time for organizations to emphasize workflow learning and performance support (WL/PS) is now. Over the summer of 2022, the research team interviewed over 20 learning leaders and decision-makers across industries (e.g., healthcare, technology, military, government, and L&D services). They supplemented the interviews with reviews of the annual industry reports of Red Thread Research, LinkedIn Learning, McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Industry Magazine. Upon analyzing all data, the researchers observed three trends: (1) the stark reality of the new (i.e. remote) modern workplace as a result of the COVID pandemic; (2) increasingly nuanced and evolving tasks required of employees; and (3) the organization’s heightened responsibility to address those dual needs and to do so at scale. The research team further concluded that the optimal manner to address this threefold challenge converges around strong workflow learning and performance support.
Workflow Learning & Performance Support Today
There currently exists a diversity in conceptualizations of the terms workflow learning and performance support. That is, depending on the individual we interviewed or industry report we reviewed, it was highly probable that we might receive very different answers to the question of how the WL/PS terms were understood. Some considered WL/PS to be no more than checklists, procedures, examples, and flowcharts. Others communicated a more nuanced understanding, sharing that WL/PS was truly any learning resource that assisted the performer in the duty of their job, regardless of it being analog or electronic (e.g., a company wiki or discussion forum). The truth is that WL/PS includes all of these.
Additionally, some learning and development professionals consider WL/PS to be highly relevant and germane to their job, while others report a sentiment of, “WL/PS is for the employees to manage themselves; our job is to focus on the formal training experiences.” Ultimately, the disconnect is clear – and telling.
Workflow Learning & Performance Support Going Forward
For organizations to successfully adapt to the changing workplace environment while simultaneously responding to their employees’ ever-changing needs, the Learning Strategy Lab team concludes that now is the time to emphasize WL/PS. Why? Because not every employee’s performance needs require formal training. This could be because more people are working remotely and it would be a logistical nightmare to try solving their needs using a formal training approach. Further, if two employees on the same team are working on similar tasks, but one is significantly more astute than the other, would it be efficient or effective to require the more proficient employee to sit through the same training as the lesser? Of course not. The culmination of these tensions points toward a single solution is needed now more than ever: a strong workflow learning strategy and performance support system.
How? First, in an ideal scenario the learning involved shifts from how to perform a workplace task to how to use performance support to complete the same workplace task. Second, the data are clear that leadership support and an organizational culture that is committed to learning are critical to the success of WL/PS (Ellinger, 2005; Eraut, 2004). Additionally, a strong WL/PS solution requires a knowledge management strategy to keep any information in the performance support tool current (Maughan, 2005).
If organizations want to succeed in supporting and amplifying the performance of their employees in 2023 and beyond, it is imperative that they develop a sound strategy around learning within the flow of work and an accompanying performance support system to match. The data are clear. The industry has spoken. The time is now.
*The full manuscript related to the research described in this white paper is currently under development for publication in 2023.