As a leading e-learning specialist, at Microsoft and elsewhere, Mosher has been involved in training for 33 years. “I observed that three months after the course, participants did not perform at the expected level,” he recalls. Phenomena such as the 70-20-10 principle (70 percent of knowledge is acquired informally) and the forgetting curve (only 17 percent of knowledge is retained after two weeks) make it clear that the deficits cannot be attributed to the training itself.
Performance support complements formal Training
Mosher has subsequently concentrated on supporting employees directly at their workplace. tts likewise advises its customers with this focus and supports them with performance support as a total solution. With the contextual relocation of content employees can call upon the exactly the right guides that they need for the current work task at the “moment of need”. This relieves the burden on helpdesks and leads to better performance by employees at their workplace. By learning in context, know-how is moreover retained for longer.
Performance support was originally deployed in IT training but it can be deployed in numerous other areas – from executive training through to sales management. “So long as they fulfil the principles of contextual and adaptive designs, performance management systems can be deployed in most areas, to transform good managers into super-competent managers and employees into top performers – what’s more, with a minimum of support from others,” Mosher says in conclusion.