Jim Huggins and the Case for CBT: A Play in Four Acts

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Jim Huggins and the Case for CBTA Play in Four
Acts
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The Scene

• Hill Industries Producer of manufacturing plant
  machinery
• New competitors have been able to develop
  high-quality products more quickly and for less
  cost
• Hill Industries has streamlined the PD process
• Flatter organization
• Fewer approval steps
• Fewer prototypes
• Early involvement of manufacturing/marketing
• More reliance on design and engineering

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The Players

• Jim Huggins Instructional Design Consultant
• Bob Werner Steering Committee Chair
• John Eggleston Committee Member/Training
  Supervisor
• Committee Members

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The Plot

• Jim has been asked to develop a training program
• Jims recommendation Hypermedia CBT
• CBT has been implemented at Hill Industries, but
  less than 15 of the 15,000 employees have used it

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Lets go back
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ACT IMeeting 1 with the Steering Committee at
Hill Industries
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Flag
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Red Flag 1

• Committee members do not understand what a CBT
  is, based on Jims description
• Familiar with classroom training
• Cannot visualize what Jim is talking about

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Red Flag 1
What could Jim do better?

• Come with an example
• Discuss how other companies like Hill Industries
  have used CBT (Review literature, etc.)

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Lets Continue
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Flag
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Red Flag 2

• Hill Industries has traditionally used classroom
  training
• Committee members know there are problems with
  classroom training, but they would rather have
  problems they understand than ones they dont
  (CBT is too much of a mystery)
• Committee members dont know whether CBT can be
  used to teach PD processes

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Red Flag 2
What could Jim do better?

• Come with an example of how CBT has been used to
  teach processes (Straw Rossett, 1999)
• Be prepared to discuss potential pitfalls of CBT
  and how they can be avoided
• Apply change management techniques (Dormant,
  1999)
• Demonstrate advantages of change
• Identify key peers that can influence others
• Identify sponsors who can promote the change

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Lets Continue
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ACT IIMeeting 2 with the Steering Committee
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Flag
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Red Flag 3

• Committee needs more data on how CBT has been
  used in their particular industry in order to be
  comfortable with the idea
• CBT supporters are making decisions based on
  opinions of others and a desire to embrace the
  latest technology

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Red Flag 3
What could Jim do better?

• Select better examples companies similar to
  Hill Industries
• Help the committee make a decision for CBT based
  on whether or not it is the best delivery option
  not just because it is the latest thing
• Consider drivers barriers (Rossett, 1999)

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Lets Continue
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Flag
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Red Flag 4

• Committee does not understand how cost of CBT is
  typically high at the front end (design
  development), but the recurring costs are reduced.

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Red Flag 4
What could Jim do better?

• Show that while initial CBT development costs are
  high, the overall cost may be less than that for
  classroom training (travel, materials, etc.)

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Lets Continue
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ACT IIIYet another meeting with the Steering
Committee
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Flag
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Red Flag 5

• Committee appears to have made a decision based
  on lower cost and popularity of new technology,
  not real understanding of what the solution will
  be

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Red Flag 5
What could Jim do better?

• A small, less complicated prototype could have
  been used to help visualize the CBT program
• Committee could make a decision based on what
  would be actually be delivered, not just on the
  basis of the dollar amount and the latest trends.
  

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ACT IVImplementationthe Final Act!!!
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Flag
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Red Flag 6

• CBT is being implemented because of a top-down
  mandate from management stakeholders are not
  involved early in the process.
• No one is made responsible for making sure that
  employees complete the CBT only that they have
  access!

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Red Flag 6
What could Jim have done better?

• Press for earlier involvement with the training
  coordinators so that they understand the
  importance of the CBT (as part of a blended
  approach) and embrace the solution.
• Make someone accountable for ensuring that
  employees complete the CBT
• Change Management

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What Can Be Done at this Stage?

• Find out what the 15 who are using the program
  like about it
• Use their successes as examples, reward them
• Establish incentives for using the program or
  disincentives for not using it
• Consider a hybrid approach where trainers and
  those who have successfully used the program
  become mentors

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Lessons Learned

• When making a change, make sure that benefits are
  clearly understood
• In any change effort, there must be buy-in from
  management and other stakeholders
• Be aware of drivers and barriers in the
  environment they can make or break any type of
  new program

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Questions?
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Thank You!
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References

• Dormant, D. (1999). Implementing human
  performance technology in organizations. In H. D.
  Stolovitch E. J. Keeps (Eds.), Handbook of
  human performance technology (2nd ed., pp.
  237-59). San Francisco, CA Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.
• Mager, R.F. and Pipe, P. (1997) Analyzing
  Performance Problems. (3rd Ed. P. 75-77)Atlanta,
  GA. The Center for Effective Performance.
• Rossett, A. (1999). First things fast. San
  Francisco, CA Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.