Specific Trend: HPI / Performance support

Setting: Business

Background

If you asked a random stranger on the street where does instructional design take place, more often than not he or she would reply only in a school. But instructional design takes place in many more settings like business, military, and in health care. Learning comes in many forms, fashions, and purposes; likewise, learners come in all ages, backgrounds, and have widely different learning styles. For this case study, performance support is examined and analyzed as a specific trend within the setting of business of a specific company, Fish Fun & More.

Performance support is a broad term that encompasses various assistance. The terms cheat-sheet, reference material, or job-aid are common in business and are forms of performance support. But those terms don’t accurately describe their purpose, which is better defined as

“a tool or other resource, from print to technology supported, which provides just the right amount of task guidance, support and productivity benefits to the user—precisely at the moment of need” (Reiser, 20170118 p. 134, chapter 15).

Performance support can be considered very crucial in meeting business goals and driving the business, and while it is designed primarily for the user/worker it has many advantages beyond the specific task at hand. In business, training can be costly both in labor costs (not only in paying a worker but paying a worker without getting any productivity during training) and design/material/resources. So, in business, performance support helps to mitigate these costs. Performance support also ties into productivity by giving this support only at the time and place needed to complete the particular task in the heat of the moment. Better productivity often equates into better revenue. For instance, during a busy sale season. Whether that performance support could be, for example, a laminated reference card next to the phone system or computer software that has embedded functionality for price checking sale items, performance support does not have to be technology based to be effective. In this scenario, a sales clerk or cashier has immediate information available to compare original prices versus the sale price, can inform the customer immediately, leading to no loss in productivity and has the added-on benefit of being beneficial for the customer who isn’t delayed as well leading to a quicker sale. Not only does the worker (and the company) gain through using performance support, but so does the customer.    

However, performance support may be an under-appreciated method of improving productivity. Gok & Law (2017) conducted a broad study to clarify and assess the growing field of performance improvement, and in particular needed to evaluate how often companies, industries, and other institutions discuss it themselves. The researchers determined frequencies of concepts & terms. Not surprisingly in the business field (table 4), it was determined that “performance” was highly discussed.

On the flip side, it was highly surprising to see that “needs assessment”, “training”, and “improving results” was much lower to begin with in comparison and its frequency actually decreased over the same period or stayed still relatively low. The implication of this is that while businesses are always emphasizing performance as a measure to evaluate a worker, there is rarely any emphasis or discussion on identifying what tools and support could actually improve productivity.

An entirely different industry (human resource development in nuclear power) was reviewed by Hawley & Barnard (2005). One challenge and opportunity identified was how to leverage technology in training and support. With globalization, remote employees, and the need to have immediate information (one of the characteristics of performance support being “precisely at the moment of need” as mentioned in the introduction), the study elaborated upon peer support. Technology like chat rooms  had provided a positive impact on training transfer, knowledge transfer, and immediate opportunities for collaboration. The implication of this together is that it is important to recognize that performance support can and does come in the form of peers (fellow co-workers) providing on-the-spot guidance but that this type of support isn’t limited by being in close proximity.

Maughan (2007) examined work performance in highly specialized technician work. Not only were workers evaluated for job performance on productivity but also efficiency and accuracy. There is a general debate within the automotive service industry as to “whether there is a shortage of technicians, or a shortage of high quality technicians. Either perspective infers the need to train more high quality technicians and provide support to those in the field.” One of the contributions to the discussion that the author provides is recognizing that a worker can troubleshoot his/her own way to a solution based on the interconnectivity of other personal factors from a worker (like experience, personal habits) “as well as the integration of diagnostic tools.” The article highly suggests that given the appropriate technology tools to identify problems, a worker is just as capable of developing solutions without a step-by-step guide. In other words, the technology diagnostic tool itself is the form that performance support takes.

One challenging part of performance support is implementation. Sichko (2019) discussed a connection to implement performance support in reviewing air safety operations at a major airport. With the sudden rise in popularity of unmanned aerial drones (a new consumer product) by commercial and public services, the airport found that it lacked the capability to actually track or identify them which posed high security and safety risks. What was notable in this article is the buy-in from various stakeholders to appreciate this need. Drone detection, a cutting-edge technology-based performance support tool, is described as “a valuable safety tool.” Instead of having to rely-upon entities to self-report their presence with drones or rely-upon reports from eyes-on-the-ground, safety controllers will have in the moment access to detect these hazards.

Fish, Fun & More isn’t a nuclear power plant, it isn’t a highly technical automotive repair operation, and isn’t an international airport. But, as a retailer, Fish, Fun & More still needs performance support for its workers just like any other business, entity, or industry. The discussions given above help to describe where Fish, Fun & More falls short in providing performance support.

Like how Gok & Law (2017) pointed out, management at Fish, Fun & More highly emphasized performance but did little to actually guide or support that goal. For example, performance was based on sales quotas but no support reference materials was given to the salesperson for describing the feeding needs of live animals which was a question often brought-up by a potential customer. By having an app-based reference system on a store tablet (rather than the salesperson just saying “I don’t know”, or worse, making up wrong information), a salesperson could have immediate information to confidently give a customer.

Other job duties at Fish, Fun & More include maintenance of fish tanks. Because maintenance is needed in regular intervals, it is important that it is done consistently and correctly. But, with variable work schedules, no one employee is single handedly knowledgeable or in charge of doing the work. Peer support as a performance support tool becomes important in this situation, especially in communication. While just verbally telling the next shift what needs to be done can be accomplished, there’s room for forgetfulness or misinformation. As a retailer, Fish, Fun & More doesn’t have much capacity or need for in-house workers to have individual computer terminals to instant message another clerk 15 feet away, but if there was a single terminal that connected to a chat room with a store support person then instant, accurate information can be obtained.

Diagnostic tools are also lacking at Fish, Fun & More. Knowing the right water temperatures, right pH levels, and algae levels are important to fish survivability. Old equipment is used for the tanks which can be inaccurate or based on flawed methodologies. With an investment in better diagnostic tools, a worker can know more precisely what is causing trouble when fish suddenly appear ill or listless rather than attempting to rely-upon changing one variable and taking a wait-and-see approach that probably won’t fix the problem the first time.  

While Fish, Fun & More is not an airport and doesn’t have to suddenly find a performance support tool to deal with new drone technology as a safety hazard, it is a retailer with an inherent unique responsibility for safety for the animals it sells. Goldfish are a prime example. As a business, it makes sense to sell as much goldfish as possible because that leads to higher profits. But, there is little informational support given by the company to its workers to properly educate the customer base on how to properly care for these tiny creatures such as proper fish to gallon ratio, feeding, water quality measuring, etc. Education isn’t the goal; sales are the goal. Meaning, this performance support tool isn’t seen as necessary.

This case study has been illuminating to me. Even hourly jobs as a team member or sales clerk at a retailer are important and require more ongoing support than often is provided. Training is already a costly investment, and is often short, abridged, or otherwise incomplete in the push to get the worker out on to the floor as quickly as possible to make him/her productive. Reviewing the importance of performance support makes me realize how little there actually was as a sales clerk at Fish, Fun & More. The expectation from management was to meet business goals (sales) but there was no attention given to actually how to do the job well. So many small things could make a big difference (like accurate reference materials). But this is also the 21st Century, and Fish, Fun & More has fallen behind in leveraging technology to its advantage. Investment in technology & software can be extremely costly, which serves as a large barrier for retailers which are already fighting decreased revenues from online-only competition. However, the general public’s expectations for its retailers has increased as well. Customers expect technology integration in the store, and technology can help store clerks be more knowledgeable and confident for interacting with customers. If Fish, Fun & More (or any retailer) wishes to remain relevant and a leader in its retail field, Fish, Fun & More must invest into technology performance support.

Sources

Gok, A., & Law, M. (2017). Performance Improvement in the Literature. Performance Improvement, 56(1), 14–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.21675

Hawley, J. D., & Barnard, J. K. (2005). Work Environment Characteristics and Implications for Training Transfer: A Case Study of the Nuclear Power Industry. Human Resource Development International, 8(1), 65–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/1367886042000338308 

Maughan, G. R. (2007). Cognitive Processes Embedded in Self-Explanations of Solving Technical Problems: Implications for Training. Online Submission. Online Submission. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

Reiser, R. A., Dempsey, J. V.  (20170118). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology,  4th Edition [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from vbk://9780134237039/page/134 

SICHKO, P. (2019). Integrating unmanned aerial system operations into the Dallas/Fort Worth airport environment. Journal of Airport Management, 13(3), 206–214. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com