Creating a Solid Training Foundation

Welcome to Orgwide’s second part of our Back-to-Basics blog series. 

Long before you install the kitchen sink, there are many steps to building a house properly.  The first step is the most important:  lay the foundation correctly.  Without the right foundation, problems arise later and can be more costly and time consuming.

The same is true as you develop successful training.  Before you start writing scripts or creating a storyboard, you need to create the foundation.  At Orgwide, the foundation is built with our High Impact Learning Map, or HILM.  What do you want your learners to Know, Do, Believe, and Achieve?  Let’s go through the steps to learn how to create a solid foundation for training.

ACHIEVE – Organization Goals

We actually start with the end in mind – how will the learner achieve success following this training. These are the “big picture” organizational goals that make the training necessary in the first place. 

BELIEVE – Why is this important to me?

Next, we focus on what we want the learners to believe.  As adult learners, we need to understand “what’s in it for me.”  (For more information on adult learners, check out our blog about Adult Learning Theory.) 

DO – Learning Objectives

In this section, we define what do the learners to be able to do to achieve success. Does your learner need to be able to perform a process, complete a task, create a report, etc. These become the foundation for the learning objectives. 

KNOW – Facts

What does a learner need to understand, recall, or define in order to be able to do a task, process or procedure in order to successfully accomplish a goal or met an objective.

Read through this example to see how all the pieces come together to build a strong foundation.

KNOW

DO

BELIEVE

ACHIEVE

As a result of this training, participants will know:

As a result of this training, participants will be able to:

As a result of this training, participants will believe that:

As a result of this training, participants will have the ability to achieve:

The point of purchase system makes sales efficient and effective.	Demonstrate ability to complete a customer purchase.	I make an impact on the company’s revenue.	Reduction in onboarding time.
Only the top-quality products are acceptable.	Differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable products.	I make an impact on the company’s quality.	Consistent knowledge and behavior among all employees.
The sales process is proven to be successful.	Demonstrate the ability to use the sales techniques to increase revenue.	I make an impact on the company’s revenue.	Reduction in onboarding time.
The company operates with specific standards of ethics.	Explain the three standards of ethical behavior that all employees should follow.	It is good to work for a company with high ethical standards.	Consistent knowledge and behavior among all employees.

Think about your last training program.  Did you use a similar process to make sure you were meeting all of the objectives, including gearing your training toward adult learners?  Use this HILM worksheet for your next project and see if the results are more focused.  And, if you need help, reach out to the Orgwide team. We are always eager to make training more effective.