Making the Move from Training Event to Learning Ecosystem

Organizational dynamics and federal mandates are having a significant impact on the demands of the federal workforce. These include the transition of leadership from a retiring workforce, the need to attract and retain qualified talent, and the support for increased telework while promoting mental health, career growth, and results. Add a declining trust in government and a demand for more equitable, inclusive, and transparent organizations, and you have a clear call for change in how we encourage and support high-performing individuals, teams, and organizations.

The Future Path Forward for Federal Learning

The changing landscape is challenging Federal agencies’ learning event-based model that is typically comprised of in-person training that is outside of the flow of work. It requires individuals to recall this instruction and apply it to the job, often months or even years from the original instruction. A closer evaluation of the performance needs can reveal other options to support the workforce in a targeted and timely way. With the confluence of available technology and the need for on-demand learning, organizations with modern training that is tailored to the needs of the learner will not only empower agencies to navigate change effectively but will also equip agencies with a competitive advantage in recruiting the modern workforce.

Moving from Training to a Learning Ecosystem

Making the transition from a training event-based model to a learning ecosystem should begin with an upfront analysis to determine the nature of the issues we are trying to address. While this seems straightforward, experience has shown that there are typically two orientations that stakeholders come to the table with. Either “I have this problem, and we need to train people to address it,” or “I see this technology and I am not satisfied with what we have, so let’s try this.” It is the role of the instructional designer to provide context and a framework for making deliberate choices about the learning and performance mix that is best suited to achieving the agency’s performance goals.

Following an in-depth analysis, the next step in creating a modern learning ecosystem is to recognize that training may not be the answer to every workforce performance need. As Mosher and Gottfredson found in their influential research on the “five moments of need,” different learning and performance support interventions should map to the type of problem individuals are trying to solve. These “five moments of need” include:

1) When you are learning something new.

2) When you are adding to a body of existing knowledge.

3) When you are applying what you have learned.

4) When things do not go as expected.

5) When things change.

Formal learning (e.g., eLearning and instructor-led training) is useful when addressing moments one and two. Performance support resources (e.g., checklists, instructional videos, and just-in-time reference materials) are often more suited to moments three, four, and five, where learners are seeking answers to specific questions, often in the flow of their workday. Understanding this distinction provides a framework for assessing the job needs and being more prescriptive with the performance solution.

Moving forward, agencies and learning solution providers need to move beyond the training event mindset to better support the workforce with a more responsive and dynamic learning ecosystem mindset. This new perspective assumes that training is not necessarily the solution to closing a performance gap, but a method of connecting the workforce to targeted resources based on the performance needs, often in the flow of work and facilitated by technology. This is the learning ecosystem model of the future.