A large part of managing performance has become providing access to the continually evolving tools, technology and information employees need to do their jobs well. In today’s workplace, line between working and learning is disappearing. This presentation explores the shift from traditional employee training methods to just-in-time Performance Support models for supporting workplace learning and development.

1. TRAINING VERSUS PERFORMANCE SUPPORT
Learning Tools for an Infobese Workplace

2. TRAINING VERSUS PERFORMANCE SUPPORT
• The volume and complexity of information is
growing at an unprecedented rate.
• Knowledge intensity has become part of our
daily working reality.
• Managers must provide access to the continually
evolving tools, technology and information
employees need to do their jobs well.

3. LEARNING IN AN INFOBESE WORKPLACE
In today’s workplace, the line between
working and
learning is
disappearing.
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4. WHAT IS PERFORMANCE SUPPORT?
• When the tools, technology and information
employees need to excel are combined
• Into electronic systems specifically designed to
support them in their work
• A “performance support system” (PSS) or
“electronic performance support system”
(EPSS) is born.

5. WHY MAKE THE SHIFT?
Research has concluded that performance
support systems could be a significant benefit to
the next generation of training and educational
technology.
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6. WHY PERFORMANCE SUPPORT VS TRAINING?
• Current focus on mobility encourages us to
offer employee learning anytime, anywhere.
• Social media provides access to content and
expertise as needed, via peers and broader
online communications networks.
• No single strategy guarantees performance
improvement. People pursue knowledge and
skills in their own way, at their own pace.

7. WHY PERFORMANCE SUPPORT VS TRAINING?
• Sheer volume of information is
like “drinking from a fire hose”.
• Personalized access to gives
people what they need, when
they need it, to pace the flow.
• Good technology can simplify,
clarify and systematize much of
what employees need to
succeed in their jobs.

8. WHAT SETS AN EPPS APART?
What characterizes an EPSS?
• Computer-based
• Provides access to the discrete, specific
information and tools needed to perform a task
at the time the task is to be performed
• Used on the job, or in simulations and job
practice scenarios
• Reduces the need for prior training in order to
accomplish the task

9. WHAT SETS AN EPPS APART?
What characterizes an EPSS?
• Controlled by the worker
• Irrelevant information is excluded and access
to external expertise is often built in
• Easily updated with the most current
information
• Allows for different levels of user knowledge
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10. THE SHIFT IS HAPPENING NOW!
The shift from traditional learning models to
performance support is happening all around us.
• YouTube videos on assembling a barbecue
• GPS systems that direct us to the closest library
• The “how do I get rid of the Babylon tool bar”
query we type into Google.
These are the “just-in-time” learning tools we all
need to navigate an “infobese” world.

11. WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HELP YOUR EMPLOYEES?
It’s time to start providing “just-in-time” learning
tools and supports in the workplace, because too
much of the wrong information will:
• dampen motivation
• bog down productivity
• frustrate and disengage
• and hamper performance
So nobody wins.
On the other hand…

12. THE RIGHT SUPPORT WILL HELP THEM SOAR
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THE RIGHT SUPPORT WILL HELP THEM SOAR!

13. SOURCES AND REFERENCES
S. Desrosiers and S. W. Harmon. Performance Support Systems
for Education and Training: Could his be the Next Generation?
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwitr/docs/nextgen/
Elearning Guild, Rosenberg, M.J. PhD. At the moment of need:
the case for performance support.
Alpert Sleight, D. What is Electronic Performance Support and
What Isn't? https://www.msu.edu/~sleightd/epssyn.html
Photos: Flikr.com/creative commons, Joseph Fung, CEO, TribeHR

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