Opportunity Issue 107

TRAINING
The right lens
It’s all about having the right lens to
measure value, Hanly says, and New Leaf
Technologies’ Training Intelligence System
is one of the tools meeting this requirement.
“If you experience administrative burdens
and inefficient ways of analysing data
effectively, then this system can guide
you and allow you to align your training
interventions to promote a human capital
advantage and achieve your strategic
training objectives,” he says.
“You must remember, it’s far easier
to drive behaviour than it is to change a
belief, and by making use of the Philips
or Kirkpatrick model of evaluation you'll
shape a clear lens on training effectiveness.
This is all directly measurable through the
Training Intelligence System.”
This enables the user to undertake analysis
to better understand learner behaviour
and update existing training methods if
required. These cues can then be used to
create personalised and more effective
learning paths that enable learners to
learn, practise and obtain feedback and
remediation far more effectively through
informed data-led decisions.
Hanly says a common mistake is that
businesses tend to view an outcome
through a single platform. For example,
they might want to find out how
many learners logged in, or how many
passed a particular module. But this
does not consider all the information
the organisation has in its operational
technology stack in its software ecosystem.
“Why not rather connect the dots of
training with your CRM/ERP and HRM
system? Doing this will give you the full
picture and tell you the right story visually
in real time.”
When organisations start to use data
at a strategic level, it can lead to more
informed decisions being made. It might
be aware of data lying in different systems
and steps can be taken to integrate these
platforms to arrive at a more holistic view
of what's going on.
At the highest level of analytics, a
business can start looking at past trends
and start modelling future behaviour
predictively. “Suddenly you have
contextual and impactful training that will
enhance your organisation’s capability and
give you the edge you need against your
competition,” Hanly says.
An essential component of this effort
is a comprehensive, coordinated strategy
that engages with departments, SMEs and
the business holistically.
Reactively executing demands from
other departments or heads of department
is a negative strategy and L&D professionals
should rather position themselves as the
drivers of performance.
“To achieve this, you need to have a very
clear lens on business goals and objectives.
This is why data within the L&D space has
become so critical.
“At the end of the day, the goal of learning
and development is to develop or change
the behaviour of individuals or groups for
Michael Hanly,
MD, New Leaf Technologies
the better, sharing knowledge and insights
that enable them to do their work and
improve their performance. The effective
use of data will cultivate the type of culture
that can help them perform better.”
About New Leaf Technologies
New Leaf Technologies provides learning
software and services to corporations,
training companies and educational
institutions throughout Africa and
the Middle East. Its products include
aNewSpring, a cloud-based Learner
Experience Platform (LXP); New Leaf LMS,
an enterprise-grade Learner Management
System; and Wisenet, a sleek student
management system. The company also
offers over 20 000 off-the-shelf courses
and tailor-made course content, shareable
through these platforms, as well as a
turnkey design and production service, to
create holistic e-learning experiences.
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