Design the Work First: Rethinking Human Performance and Training

We previously introduced the knowledge-enabled operating model and the idea that knowledge readiness is more than moving information from one place to another. It should encompass designing work so people can use the right knowledge at the right moment. Addressing multiple aspects of an organization’s operating model (including its knowledge infrastructure) is central to helping practitioners use the right insights at the right time to support decision-making.

In our experience, though, when utilities roll out new technology, change a workflow or respond to regulatory requirements, the familiar response is to build more documentation and schedule more training. Those tools matter, but they are often used to solve problems that start elsewhere. If the workflow is confusing, the system allows too much variation or the right action depends on memory under pressure, more training will not solve the issue efficiently.

Instead, organizations should start by asking whether the work itself is efficient and whether systems and workflows are designed to support the users. Training can then do the work it is best suited for: building judgment, confidence and readiness where the process or system cannot fully guide the user.

Design the Work First: Rethinking Human Performance and Training

Month