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Blogs, services, podcast, training courses

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Human Performance Tools, LLC is a small company based in New England that helps large and small organizations across North America transform their error management culture by using these methods:

1. Analysis and Assessment - Individual or Team

2. Human Performance Improvement Training content design and delivery

3. Assistance with your Human Performance improvement effort - coaching your team through the process, or leading the effort

Our products are specifically tailored to your needs including:

One-on-one or team consulting

Innovative Human Performance training

Program strategy creation and revision

Leadership and employee surveys

Work Observation Program

Metric design

Speaking engagements

No organization is too big or small to realize the benefits of human error management and event prevention. We have Human Performance trainers on our team all over the United States, so location is never an issue. When your team needs some assistance or you need help from the ground up, we are waiting for your call.

We also help individuals in Performance Improvement fields have access to training content via the blog, answer troubling questions (usually via email), network, and find careers in the field using a growing network of recruiters.

Feel free to click around and explore the site.

Our unique value proposition:

Our owner comes from over 20 years in the electric utility industry and 10 years devoted to Human Performance learning and management. With an educational and professional background in Instructional Systems Design and Workforce Education Development your training products will have creativity, innovation and most importantly, student engagement. All of our trainers have extensive backgrounds in training delivery and human performance improvement.

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Human Performance Tools, LLC is a small company based in New England that helps large and small organizations across North America transform their error management culture by using these methods: Analysis and Assessment - Individual or Team Human Performance Improvement Training content design and delivery Assistance with your Human Performance

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Learning & performance solutions

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Resources for human performance improvement

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Human Performance and Productivity Resources

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Guide to human performance. Has articles, links, ebooks and more resources for human performance/productivity, performance management/improvement.

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HPT Guide

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When people think of improving the performance of workers in a work setting, they often think providing training of some sort or another is the answer. While some of HPT's origins come from the instructional design field, HPT offers so much more than just instructional interventions. The following is a list of non-instructional interventions that Human Performance Technologists often incorporate into an overall performance solution for an organization:

These are some of the more common tools / solutions that can be utilized to improve workplace performance. Let's take a look at a couple of these in more depth and understand how they work and why they would be appropriate in some cases.

Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS)

What is an EPSS?

The Electronic version of Performance Support Systems are one of numerous tools of the technology age that provide workers with almost instant access to information vital to do their jobs. Nailing down exactly what an EPSS is turns out to be somewhat unclear, as it is a very new concept within the HPT field and it can have many different variations. EPSSs are a result of the many technology changes in the past 2 decades. Check out this document for a definition and some examples of EPSSs used in business.

In this next example of Electronic Performance Support Systems, Sue Larke provides another variation of how to define EPSS. She give some great case studies where EPSSs used as an HPT intervention provide information and knowledge to workers when and where they need it in order to improve their ability to do their jobs effectively.

More and more jobs are coming to rely on technology and as such, the more performance support systems are becoming technology-based. When work needs require quick access of information, training is not always the answer, as it had been in the past. EPSSs can be designed, in many cases, to give workers instant access to procedures, tables, charts, and other information the need to do their job efficiently and effectively without having to memorize the data. This is especially helpful when the data is subject to change or requires calculation or other manipulation on a case-by-case basis.

How does Corporate Culture affect individual worker performance? IN A BIG WAY!

It is possible that corporate culture has more effect on workplace performance than any other single factor. Certainly corporate culture is pervasive, affecting most if not all workers in an area. Culture can be localized, say within a department or division, or it can be organization-wide.

Understanding how corporate culture is impacting performance is very important, but can be quite elusive if not analyzed carefully. Another aspect of HPT skills is the means and methods to get at the root of performance problems brought on by problems or inconsistencies within the culture of the organization. Dan Tanguay provides an excellent illustration of how important this process of analysis is, how it can be accomplished, and how effective addressing such issues can be in his article on Cultural Analysis.

Culture within an organization has a huge impact on productivity, motivation, and teamwork. When productivity problems exist, the HP professional looks at culture as one are of consideration. Using the right tools and methods, if problems exist within the culture that are hindering performance, the HP professional can often help. They can shed light on issues that may be impacting how employees feel about the company and themselves and how these affect their work accomplishments.

The following article by Linda Ackerman provides a good summary of how corporate culture influences productivity and accomplishment. Two case studies are provided in the article that provide useful application of corporate culture changes being implemented. Corporate Culture

Much more could be said about analyzing, managing, and changing corporate culture to enhance worker morale, motivation, and thus performance. The following website provides an interesting set of tools for the HP technologist to use to affect culture within an organization: http://www.durationsoftware.com/tools/culture.htm

What is a Job Aid?

According to Rossett and Gauier-Downes (1991), a Job Aid:

is a repository for information, processes, or perspectives

is external to the individual

supports work and activity

directs, guides, and enlightens performance

Donald Clark (2000) adds the following description of a job aid:

Job aids include anything that when added to the work situation improves job performance by guiding, facilitating, or reminding the performers in their accomplishment of job tasks. This method of providing an alternative to improving job performance opened the door to other interventions to changing job performance.

There is distinct overlap between job aids and performance support systems. There is also some degree of overlap as to whether job aids are used as instruction or non-instructional interventions. Consider the following job aid game as an example if an instructional intervention, even while Stolovitch and Keeps (1999) consider job aids to be interventions of the non-instructional type. Clearly, how the tool is used determines when and where it should be used.

Clark goes on to describe job aids as instructional interventions, stating that "Job aids are considered instructional interventions because they also mediate knowledge and skills problems. However, job aids are not really intended to produce learning, as they are a substitute for learning. Learning that does occur as a result of using the job aid (surely considerable at times) is incidental."

One of the better reference sites to explain, illustrate, and provide practice on job aids can be found here. Be sure to click on the "Jump to" menu and try out the "Job aid or Not" demo!

Another interesting reference on job aids is provided a student in the Department of Educational Technology Department of San Diego State University.

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When people think of improving the performance of workers in a work setting, they often think providing training of some sort or another is the answer. While some of HPT's origins come from the instructional design field, HPT offers so much more than just instructional interventions.

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A Resource for Human Performance Technologists

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A Resource for Human Performance Technologists

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HPT Toolkit

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We have established that knowledge-skill deficits may be best improved with well-designed instructional interventions. But how do we "fix" data, instrumentation, and incentives (Gilbert, 1978)? What can we do to influence inputs, conditions, processes, and outputs (Langdon, 1999)? And what about the human factors like physical capacity and individual motivation?

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Blogs, articles, books, organizations, videos & audios

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The following are aticles organized by the 7 key areas of HPT and a Misc. area. This too is a very incomplete listing - intended to be expanded over time. 1- Management of Organizational Performance 2- Organizational Design/Alignment 3- Process Improvement 4- Analysis, Evaluation, Measurement 5- Motivation, Incentives & Feedback 6- Instructional Systems 7-Science of HPT:...

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Conferences, resources, education

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Home | International Society for Performance Improvement

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The Engagement Effect: Human Performance Improvement

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The Engagement Effect: Human Performance Improvement

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Solutions, resources, & toolsets

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What is Human Performance Improvement?

The Human Performance Improvement process is very similar to Human Performance Technology. HPI provides you with a systematic process to follow on what can often be a not-so-systematic path.

In addition to identifying human performance gaps and their possible solutions, this standardized approach offers the ability to measure the success of your efforts and eliminate the guesswork that follows when a performance gap must be evaluated.

HPI is results-based and systematic. Rather than focusing on a 'wants-based' or 'needs-based' approach, HPI follows a 'results-based' approach to improving performance, distinguishing it from many HRD (human resource development) activities. The process is driven by a business need and a performance need, justified by the results of a cause analysis.

The Human Performance Improvement process is very similar to Human Performance Technology. HPI provides you with a systematic process to follow on what can often be a not-so-systematic path. In addition to identifying human performance gaps and their possible solutions, this standardized approach offers the ability to measure the success of your efforts and eliminate the guesswork that follows when a performance gap must be evaluated.

HPI is results-based and systematic. Rather than focusing on a 'wants-based' or 'needs-based' approach, HPI follows a 'results-based' approach to improving performance, distinguishing it from many HRD (human resource development) activities. The process is driven by a business need and a performance need, justified by the results of a cause analysis.

HPI for Your Business

The HPI process helps you to articulate your business goals, link these goals to human performance, diagnose the current state of performance in the organization, find the root causes for performance deficiencies, implement solutions, and evaluate the results of the interventions.

Being business focused means having a clear understanding what your organization's strategic priorities are and using those priorities to guide your management decisions.

The process of analyzing performance begins with a analyzing your business, which allows you to focus on the goals for your business.

While you may believe that your business goals are clear and understood by everyone within your business, this assumption is often wrong. If your business is typical, most of your employees will have difficulty stating what your business goals are and identifying how their work assignments affect those goals.

HPI Begins With Your Goals

A business-focused approach to applying HPI to your bottom line begins by identifying what the key business goals are for the client or organization. You business goals could include:

Goals for the entire organization,

Goals for a department within your organization,

Goals for a specific team or unit, or

Goals for a function.

In a large and complex organization, there are usually a variety of business goals at different levels of the organization.

Individual Performance and Business Goals

Performance by individual's results in output for your business or organization, but HPI begins at the end of the process, considering the business output or goals of the business, and then applying those goals backwards to the departments, teams, and individuals who will work towards satisfying those goals. The process of identifying your business goals is critical to applying HPI to your business.

Once you have identified your goals, it's important to verify that you have set a realistic target. Your business goals should be:

Quantitative, meaning you should have a definite understanding of when the goals have been met, and time limited, meaning that you have a definite schedule when you can ascertain whether the goal has been achieved.

Individual Performance and Business GoalsPerformance by individual's results in output for your business or organization, but HPI begins at the end of the process, considering the business output or goals of the business, and then applying those goals backwards to the departments, teams, and individuals who will work towards satisfying those goals. The process of identifying your business goals is critical to applying HPI to your business.Once you have identified your goals, it's important to verify that you have set a realistic target. Your business goals should be:Quantitative, meaning you should have a definite understanding of when the goals have been met, and Time limited, meaning that you have a definite schedule when you can ascertain whether the goal has been achieved.
Gap Analysis Aims At Improving Performance
The process of analyzing performance always begins with business analysis, which allows us to identify the gaps in performance. HPI takes into account the Influences that affect your business, the Tasks that form the daily workload in you business or departments, the Processes that are needed to deliver the Outcomes desired, and the final Goal that your business seeks to satisfy. The difference between the beginning point (current performance level) and the endpoint (desired performance level) is the performance gap.

Business Analysis

The first step in Gap Analysis is to determine your business goals and clarify the relationship of the goals to the performance your employees' performance. The HPI analysis must start by identifying the key business goals, and then consider the performance gaps that can be addressed to help your business work towards those goals.

Performance Analysis

Once you have determined what organizational goals are not being met because of a performance gap, you can take steps to close that gap. This will result in the desired performance state.

Working To Identify Performance Gaps

The gap analysis process is accomplished through discovery and inquiry:

Who is the customer, or who is affected

Identify business goals

Whose performance is the problem

What is the actually performance level

What is the desired performance level

Determine what performance is critical to achieve those goals,

Determine which performance outcomes have significant gaps,

Figuring out what has caused those gaps.

Prioritize Your Performance Gaps

Note that although you may have identified a performance gap, it doesn't mean it's worth closing that gap. The best value to your business is to focus on performance gaps that will make an impact in reaching your business goals.

The next step is to determine the priority of the gaps:

How important is the identified gap?

How often does the gap occur?

How costly will it be to resolve the gap?

Cause Analysis
Overcoming Assumptions
It is important to understand what your goals are, and to see how the steps you are undertaking will work to complete the goals. It is critical to suspend solutions until the true root cause(s) is identified. We do not presume that training is the solution for a given performance gap. Cause Analysis is used to determine why the performance gap exists, then we chose the most effective intervention.
Defining Cause Analysis
Cause analysis starts at the end of the business process, identifying the goals of your business and then identifying the contributions of the departments, units, and individuals that produce the outcomes that satisfy those goals.

Once the goals and outcomes have been identified, Cause Analysis considers the processes that produced the outcomes, the tasks that make up the processes, and finally the initial influences that affect the accomplishment of each task.

Causes of Performance Gaps

The cause behind a performance gap might be training, but often there are other causes:

A lack of knowledge or skill on the part of workers can often be corrected with some coaching, job instruction, a job aid or a support tool

A lack of resources to do the job (human, physical, financial)

Aproblem with the structure or process of the work flow

A need for more information - which might be in the form of just being able to access the information when needed, just when it is needed

A lack of leadership or a change in leadership

A lack of consequences or information regarding the consequences of poorly done work

Motives or expectations

Inadequate feedback

Lack of capacity by an individual to perform, due to poor hiring practices, selection practices or promotion policy.

Cause Analysis Tools

Observation is a powerful method of identifying key performance, because it enables you to see how one employee or department has better results than another employee or department. This is a similar process to identifying what the core competencies are within your business.

Other tools we use include:

Structured brainstorming

Fishbone diagrams

Five Whys

Surveys

Interviews and focus groups

Review of performance data and other data

Records review (e.g. performance appraisals, hiring process, maintenance records, etc.

Levels of Causes

Performance gaps can occur in three levels of the organization:

Organizational Level

Process Level

Job/Performer Level

Systems Thinking

One of the cornerstones of HPI is the concept of systems thinking. Organizations are complex systems! Taking a holistic view of the entire system is critical if performance improvement is to be achieved. Merely tweaking various parts of the system will yield only marginal or unsustainable results.

Geary Rummler and Alan Brache have defined the three levels of performance, along with the three factors that determine effectiveness at each level.

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The Engagement Effect: Human Performance Improvement

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The Human Performance Improvement process is very similar to Human Performance Technology. HPI provides you with a systematic process to follow on what can often be a not-so-systematic path. In addition to identifying human performance gaps and their possible solutions, this standardized approach offers the ability to measure the success of your efforts and eliminate the guesswork that follows when a performance gap must be evaluated.