Monitor performance outcomes

After a learning plan has been developed, it should continue to be a live document with regular monitoring. Monitoring learning plans is important for the business and individual. The time and resources businesses and individuals invest in learning are valuable, and the outcomes produced should be monitored for relevance to the business's strategies, key priorities and operational activities.

Most learning plans span for a particular duration; however, they should include review timeframes within the period. For example, a learning plan may be developed for a 12-month term, and the plan may be actively reviewed at the six-month mark. The outcomes of reviews should be assessed and recorded at formal and informal intervals. As per relevant business policies, a formal interval will be any time the plan is designed for review (e.g., at a scheduled six-monthly review and at the completion of the plan). An informal interval is any time when the plan is being proactively monitored, and efficiencies or changes are identified.

When reviewing a learning plan, common criteria to be analysed and recorded include:

• How is the learning progressing?
• Is the learning still relevant and effective?
• Is there anything further that should be included in the plan?

Complete the following steps to monitor the effectiveness of the learning plan:

1. Develop a monitoring plan: Develop a plan that outlines how to measure the progress and effectiveness of the learning plan. This should include specific metrics to track and the schedule for collecting and analysing data.
2. Track progress against the implementation plan and learning objectives: Track progress against the implementation plan to ensure the plan is being executed as intended and achieving the desired learning objectives and outcomes.
3. Gather feedback: Gather feedback from participants on the learning plan to help identify areas of improvement and opportunities for making the learning more effective.
4. Analyse the data and performance metrics: Analyse the data and performance metrics to identify any patterns or trends that may indicate problems or areas for improvement.
5. Make adjustments as needed: Use the data and feedback to improve the learning plan's efficiency and effectiveness.
6. Monitor the implementation of the adjustments: Monitor the implementation of any adjustments made to the learning plan, to ensure that they effectively improve the learning.
7. Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of the learning plan: Evaluate the effectiveness of the learning plan, and make adjustments as needed to ensure that it continues to meet the learning and development needs of individuals and teams over time.

When a learning plan is developed, its duration and review periods should be clear to both the individual and the manager. The learning plan should be reviewed frequently. Other factors that might impact whether the learning plan requires review include:

• Changes to business goals, strategies or business priorities
• The individual’s job changes or takes on different responsibilities
• New or more efficient or effective methods of learning become available
• Further development support requirements are identified.

Monitoring the learning plans will help to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of learning by identifying areas that need improvement and making necessary adjustments. Gathering feedback, analysing data, and performance metrics can provide valuable insights into how the learning plan is implemented, how well it works, and areas that need adjustment. Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of the learning plan and making adjustments as needed will help ensure that the learning plan remains effective and continues to meet the needs of the learners and the organisation over time.

Improve your own skills by seeking feedback from managers and workers participating in the learning program. Feedback helps us to understand our strengths and areas for improvement. It will assist us in developing goals to improve existing learning plans and identify our own skill development to implement learning plans better.

Here are some guidelines for seeking feedback:

• Be open to feedback
• Don’t be defensive
• Ask a question to understand the feedback
• Paraphrase your understanding of the feedback
• Identify ways you can improve your performance and behaviour.

As part of monitoring learning, you may identify improvements required to your own skill set in the way you established, monitored and facilitated learning. You must continue to reflect on your skills and build on your knowledge and experience to grow your skills and facilitate learning with others.

There are several ways to do this:

• Share your knowledge and experience: By sharing your knowledge and experience with others, you can help them learn and grow. This could involve mentoring junior team members, leading training sessions, or presenting at industry events.
• Seek feedback: By seeking feedback on your performance, you can identify areas where you can improve and learn from others. This could involve conducting self-assessments, soliciting feedback from colleagues, or participating in performance evaluations.
• Continuously learn: Keep your knowledge and experience up-to-date by continuously learning. This could involve taking courses, attending workshops, or participating in professional development programs.
• Networking: Networking with professionals in your field can be a great way to learn from others and build connections. This could involve joining professional organisations, attending industry events, or connecting with peers on LinkedIn.
• Collaborate and participate in team projects: By collaborating with others and participating in team projects, you can learn from others, gain new perspectives and ideas, and build your problem-solving skills.
• Share your successes and failure: Share your successes and failures with others in your team, you can help others avoid mistakes, and they might get inspired by your success stories.

By building on your knowledge and experience, you can facilitate interaction and learning with others and help create a culture of continuous learning and growth within your organisation.

Steps to seek feedback

Follow these steps to seek feedback from individuals or teams to identify improvements for future learning plans:

1. Develop a feedback mechanism: Develop a feedback mechanism, such as a survey or questionnaire, that can be used to gather feedback from individuals and teams on the learning experience.
2. Schedule regular feedback sessions: Schedule regular feedback sessions to gather feedback from participants on their learning experience, such as after each training session, at the end of a course, or on a regular basis (quarterly, semi-annually, or annually).
3. Encourage open and honest feedback: Encourage open and honest feedback by creating a safe and comfortable environment where individuals and teams can provide feedback without fear of retaliation or consequences.
4. Analyse the feedback: Analyse the feedback to identify common themes, patterns, and areas of improvement.
5. Implement improvements: Make changes to future learning arrangements based on the feedback. Adjust the content, methods, or timing of the training to better meet the needs of the participants.
6. Communicate the changes: Communicate the learning plan changes to participants, so they know the improvements made based on their feedback.
7. Continuously gather feedback: Gather feedback from individuals and teams to ensure that the learning arrangements meet their needs and are effective.

Seeking feedback from individuals and teams is essential in identifying and implementing improvements in future learning arrangements. Analysing the feedback, communicating it to relevant parties, and using it to make improvements will help ensure that the learning arrangements meet the needs and expectations of the learners. Continuously seeking feedback will also help to ensure that the learning arrangements remain relevant and effective over time.

Review learning plan

A review of a learning plan is usually formal and involves the manager and worker. It is always a good idea to have any relevant policies or procedures on hand during review meetings.

When framing the discussion around learning review, it is important to seek feedback from the individual on how they believe they have performed. The conversation should always be two-way and constructive. When seeking feedback from the individual, some questions may include:

• What is the current state (where are things up to, what is left to be done, how far has the individual come)?
• How do you believe you went? (Give the individual the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate achievements as well as identify anything that did not go well)
• Identify any areas for additional learning or support.

When reviewing a learning plan for teams and individuals, a manager must provide the worker with considered feedback. After all, the point of a learning plan is to allow the worker to extend their skills, and they will want to hear how you think they are going. Therefore, a manager must consider how they can provide constructive feedback to the worker to acknowledge the work they are achieving and to help guide them.

When a manager provides feedback to a team or individual worker, the opportunity to motivate them should not be underestimated. Giving feedback in the right way can inspire a worker to become more engaged and work harder to achieve outcomes. Where a manager fails to provide feedback, they miss an opportunity.

When discussing learning plans, an excellent two-way feedback session should result in the team or worker understanding what they have done well, what may be improved and what is next for them in terms of their learning. Feedback provided by both individuals and managers should be documented within the learning plan.

Feedback may also be used to understand from the team or worker how the learning process, the education side, and the business process may be improved for future learning arrangements. This means asking the recipient of any training how they felt about the training and whether it was worthwhile. Some businesses do this via a feedback form the worker must fill in after training. The feedback form may contain questions such as:

• Was the training worthwhile?
• Did the training meet or exceed your expectations?
• Would you recommend the training to others?
• Was the presenter engaging?
• Did the presenter know their content well?
• Was the venue appropriate?
• Do you have any specific comments to assist in improving the training?

Case Study

The case study below demonstrates the importance of following up and monitoring learning and development plans. It shows the manager's role to monitor and adapt learning as needed, which can motivate a worker.

One month has passed, and Henry Thomas and Isha Khatri are meeting to discuss how Isha is going with her learning opportunities to lead curriculum development and shadow Jay.

Henry and Isha have a copy of Isha’s learning and development plan and performance plan with them at the meeting.

At the commencement of the meeting, Henry asks Isha how she feels she has been going with her learning opportunities. Isha tells Henry that she enjoys learning about both aspects of her role and that Jay has supported her in curriculum development.

Henry prompts Isha to tell him about some specific curriculum development work she has been dealing with, including its current status and how Isha has dealt with it. Isha tells Henry about her latest work, advising that the current task she is working on is further from completion than she had hoped it would be at this stage. Isha advises Henry that she enjoys the work. However, she finds it more time-consuming than expected as she has to seek clarification from Henry on various matters. She is not confident about resolving them on her own. Isha confides in Henry that she is becoming disheartened in her ability to develop a curriculum which is a requirement if she wants to become a team leader.

Henry congratulates Isha on her work so far and praises Isha’s ability to seek assistance as required in real-time. While Henry is grateful that Isha seeks clarification when needed, he believes that Isha could benefit from formal curriculum development training so that she may resolve some of the issues on her own accord. In turn, this will speed up her results. Henry advises Isha that he sees great potential in her future as a team leader as she aspires to be. He recommends that she undertake formal training that Henry has identified better to support the centre's interests.

Isha is grateful for Henry’s feedback and feels motivated to continue in her pursuit of becoming a Team Leader.

Watch

Activity 2A

Providing feedback

Watch the YouTube The secret to giving great feedback The Way We Work, a TED series by cognitive psychologist LeeAnn Renniger to understand how you can use the following four-part formula to give any difficult message well:

1. Provide a micro-yes
2. Give a data point
3. Show impact
4. End on a question.

Complete Activity 2A worksheet to document each step in your own words and outline its benefits.

Document management system

Keep records and reports of competency standards achieved by individuals and groups.

To establish a record management system to document, report and retrieve records:

1. Develop a competency management system: Develop a competency management system to track and document the competencies of individuals and teams.
2. Establish a process for documenting competency: Establish a process for reporting competencies, such as through assessments, evaluations, certifications or certificates of attendance. This should include the criteria and standards used to determine competency and the methods and tools used to evaluate it.
3. Record and track competency: Record and track the competency of individuals and teams. This can be done through a database or spreadsheet and should include information such as the individual's or team's name, the competency, and the date it was acquired or achieved.
4. Regularly update records: Regularly update the records to reflect any changes or updates to an individual's or team's competency.
5. Create reports: Create reports that summarise the competency of individuals and teams. These reports should be designed to meet the specific needs and requirements of the organisation, such as providing an overview of the competency levels of the workforce or identifying any gaps in competency.
6. Store and secure records: Store the records in a secure location, such as a digital repository, and ensure records are only accessible to authorised personnel.
7. Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements: Ensure that the process and the records comply with legal and regulatory requirements.

Maintaining accurate and up-to-date records of competency is essential for organisations. It allows for identifying staff competency and gaps in competency and developing learning and development plans to meet the needs of individuals and teams. Regularly updating the records, creating reports and securing the records will help ensure that the organisation has a clear understanding of the competency levels of its workforce, which can help it meet its goals and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

Document competency

A well-designed learning plan will allow for documenting of competency. Competency may be assessed via goals and measures assigned by the workplace in line with workplace policies or by completing and passing external courses. The required level of competency and how it will be assessed should be clearly set out in the learning plan.

Using the example of the goal and measure provided earlier in this Learner Guide, consider how the competency expectations are clearly articulated in the goal and how they can be measured. Note in the below table, a column for competency has also been included. It is beneficial to include a specific area to document competency against goals. This, in addition to the feedback provided by the manager—and, where relevant, any certificates of other qualifications received—will ensure that teams and individuals clearly understand how they have performed.

Where any certificates or other qualifications are required to have been received, it is best practice to require staff to submit a copy of those records to be placed on their file as evidence of completing the training.

Activity 2B

Documenting competency in learning plan templates

Consider the learning plan templates you designed earlier for both a team and an individual. Do they contain a specific area to document competency against goals? If not, review your templates and design a space for documenting competency.

Ultimately, learning should be ongoing for all individuals, and therefore, learning plans should exist for the duration of their employment. Ongoing learning will ensure the latest learning and stretch the team or individual into areas beyond their current positions, making them more valuable to the business holistically. Elements that should make up future learning arrangements include:

• The changing goals, priorities and strategies of the business
• The operational requirements of the team or individual’s position
• The competency level of the team or individual
• The interest of the individual
• Time, resources and budget of the business.

Example

An example of when it is appropriate to provide training to a worker to stretch them beyond their current position is when they

are promoted to a higher level within a business. Often workers are promoted due to their great work and contribution to the business. However, they may lack certain skills at the higher level, which they will need to be trained into. For example, this often happens when a worker goes from a team member into a team leader or management position.

In this instance, the worker should be supported to undertake any relevant team leader or managerial-type training to ensure they can perform to the standard expected of their new position. This will benefit the worker and, ultimately, the business.

Activity 2C

Monitor team learning and development

You will need to access your completed Activity 1C and 1D worksheets, which identified your team's experience, needs and learning goals.

In this activity, you will monitor your team’s performance against the learning goals achieved to date

To complete this activity, you will need the following:

• Two to three people to help you to act as your team members
• Activity 1C and 1D worksheets
• A copy of the Little.ly Business Plan available on their website

You will assign roles to the people acting as your team members. Your role is to seek feedback about their performance and provide feedback. Refer to Activity 2C worksheet for further instructions. This activity is good practice for your assessment. This is a learning activity, and no submission is required.

Activity 2D

Monitor individual learning and development

You will need to access your completed Activity 1C and 1F worksheet, which identifies an individual’s experience, needs, learning goals and individual development plan.

In this activity, you will monitor an individual’s performance against the learning goals achieved to date.

To complete this activity, you will need the following:

• One person to help by acting as a team member identified in Activity 1C and 1F
• Activity 1C and 1F worksheet
• A copy of the Little.ly Business Plan available on their website

You will facilitate a meeting with an individual to monitor their performance against the learning goals. Refer to Activity 2D for further instructions. This activity is good practice for your assessment. This is a learning activity, and no submission is required.