Save the Children’s

Performance Management

Learning & Development

The aim of this tutorial is to provide a quick and easy
route to understanding the rationale and the process of
agreeing the PM Learning and Development planner. It
will be particularly useful for new managers, but is
designed also to be used by all staff.

See also tutorial shows for the individual work plan and
performance reviews.
Save the Children’s
Performance Management
Introduction
Effective managers develop their staff

Not only because they care about them, but also because their performance will
improve, which is good for them and good for Save the Children. Managers will
also sometimes need to help staff recognise learning, training and development
as an exciting opportunity, not as a waste of time or a form of judgement.

The learning and development part of the Performance Management process:

• identifies any learning, training or development requirements a member of
staff has to support her or him in achieving work plan objectives;
• assists managers and HRD staff in co-ordinating resources to fulfil those
needs;
• assists managers and HRD staff to monitor progress and evaluate the
effectiveness of learning activities.
Save the Children’s
Performance Management Introduction
The process is important, managers should allow adequate time for:

• Planning - for effectively learning and development meetings with their

member of staff.

• Activity - conducting the meeting; agreeing and completing outcomes on

the learning and development plan.

• Follow-up:
• ensuring the arrangements for learning and development activities are
in place;
• monitoring progress against plans;
• evaluating the effectiveness of activities;
• giving feed-back to HRD staff where appropriate.
Save the Children’s
Performance Management
Key Principles for L&D
Key principles for learning and development:
Save the Children's managers and staff recognise that:

• We all need to learn and develop. We need to overcome resistance to development -

both organisationally and individually.

• The purpose of learning and development is to improve our individual and collective
performance. Learning and development is an investment ,not simply a cost – we all
need to make sure we get a good return on that investment.

• We all have a responsibility to develop ourselves.

• We all have a responsibility to help others develop. On-the-job learning and

coaching/feedback from others are some of the most effective and low cost ways to
learn, and we can use them every day.

• Development involves acquiring new knowledge, skills, approaches and/or attitudes.

• We all learn in different ways – and that’s OK.

 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The L&D Process
The Learning and Development Process
Identify To plan for, carry out and follow-up any
learning
needs learning, training or development event or
Review Agree activity, the following process is followed.
outcomes learning
objectives
This applies equally to a long term
training programme or an individual self-
development plan. The Performance
Decide on
learning and
Management system learning and
Evaluate and monitor
progress on learning &
development development plan follows this process.
strategies
development activities

Agree
learning and
development
plan
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The L&D Process
The Learning and Development Process
Identify
learning
Learning needs are the gaps an individual
needs may have in knowledge, skills, approach or
Review Agree attitude that would hinder the effective
outcomes learning achievement of work objectives - sometimes
objectives
referred to as the competency gap.
Some of the following examples are aimed
Decide on at improving particular aspects of
learning and
Evaluate and monitor
development
performance which are not up to standard
progress on learning &
development activities
strategies for some reason. Others are about
acquiring new skills or knowledge.
Just as valid are those which are about
Agree
learning and creativity - for example, developing better
development ways of dealing with problems or
plan
discovering ways of dealing with existing
tasks.
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The L&D Process
The Learning and Development Process
Examples:
Identify
learning
needs Knowledge - a project officer might need quickly
to understand the structure, organisation and
Review Agree
outcomes learning value of a partner organisation he/ she may be
objectives working with.
- a new manager may need to understand how
teams develop and work.
Skill - an experienced driver may be required to
Decide on
learning and carry out a new maintenance procedure.
Evaluate and monitor
progress on learning &
development - an administrator may need to use spreadsheets
strategies more effectively.
development activities
Approach - a manager may acquire a larger task,
and need to delegate more to team members.
Agree
learning and Attitude - an experienced and efficient
development administrator may need to learn to deal more
plan diplomatically with local government staff.
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The L&D Process
The Learning and Development Process
Learning objectives state what the individual will
Identify
learning
know, be able to do, how the approach or attitude
needs will change after an appropriate learning or
development activity. As with work objectives,
Review Agree
outcomes learning they should be SMART:
objectives
Specific Measurable Agreed RealisticTime-scaled
Clear, concise and singular. For example,
Decide on 'general development of communication skills'
Evaluate and monitor
learning and is too broad. What type of communication skill
development is involved? Verbal or written? If written –
progress on learning &
strategies
development activities what particular aspect of performance needs to
change e.g. reports, memos or letters?
Agree The learning objective should be scrutinised to ensure
learning and that it will be clear when the objective is met. Often
development
plan this will be the achievement of the related work plan
objective, e.g. submission of an acceptably structured
report.
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The L&D Process
The Learning and Development Process
Identify
learning
Agreed
needs
Success will be assured by agreement by the
Review Agree manager to provide development resources and
outcomes learning support, and the member of staff fully to commit
objectives
to the learning activity.

. Realistic
Decide on
learning and
Evaluate and monitor
development
progress on learning &
strategies
development activities Time-scaled
The manager should ensure that the relevant
Agree resources will be available in an appropriate
learning and time scale and that the member of staff has
development
plan relevant aptitudes and necessary
background knowledge to commence a
chosen development activity.
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The L&D Process
The Learning and Development Process
Identify The process of identifying and agreeing
learning
needs appropriate and cost/time effective activities is
an important one. There are many methods to
Review Agree
outcomes learning choose from and as stated in the L&D
objectives principles, often on the job learning can make a
more significant contribution to success than off
the job training.
Decide on
learning and Another important consideration at this stage of
Evaluate and monitor
progress on learning &
development the process is how people learn best. Many
strategies people have preferred 'learning styles' which
development activities
come from our personality and experience. It is
worth being familiar with these styles and the
Agree
learning and learning and development methods that suit
development them. More details are in following pages
plan
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The L&D Process
The Learning and Development Process
Identify Manager and staff member will scrutinise the
learning
needs objectives and proposed development
activities, together with the time scales to
Review Agree
learning
agree the complete plan.
outcomes
objectives

Decide on
learning and
Evaluate and monitor
development
progress on learning &
strategies
development activities

Agree
learning and
development
plan
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The L&D Process
The Learning and Development Process
Identify It is essential for managers and staff to monitor and
learning evaluate any learning and development activities on
needs
the plan, both to check that learning objectives are
Review Agree being met and that Save the Children's investment
outcomes learning
objectives
in terms of money and staff time is not wasted.

Monitoring
As with work objectives and the individual
Decide on work plan, managers should monitor progress
learning and
Evaluate and monitor
development
on learning and development plans in
progress on learning & supervision and not leave this stage to the six
strategies
development activities
monthly performance reviews.

Agree
learning and
development
plan
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The L&D Process
The Learning and Development Process
Evaluation
Identify Learning and development activities can be
learning evaluated in a number of ways. Assessment
needs
of the process of a learning event, for
Review Agree example, training course, is usually evaluated
outcomes learning
objectives by training specialists at the immediate
completion of the event. This enables
adjustments and improvements to be made in
the future. A check is also made at this time
Decide on on whether the participants considered their
learning and
Monitor and evaluate
development objectives to be met.
progress on learning &
strategies
development activities
However, for members of staff, their managers
and the organisation, the vital evaluation is
Agree whether the learning has been transferred to
learning and
development
the work and whether the task objectives have
plan been met. These aspects cannot realistically
be assessed until some time after the learning
event.
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The L&D Process
The Learning and Development Process
Identify
learning The column - 'outcomes and review' on the
needs
learning & development plan is used to record
Review Agree the outcomes of the plan for the L&D activity. A
outcomes learning date or dates should be agreed and recorded for
objectives
reviews. Any necessary revisions should also be
agreed, recorded and resubmitted to HRD.

Decide on
learning and
Evaluate and monitor
development
progress on learning &
strategies
development activities

Agree
learning and
development
plan
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The L&D Process
The Learning and Development Process
Identify
learning
needs

Review Agree
outcomes learning
objectives
It is sensible, therefore, to plan for
monitoring evaluating and reviewing
Decide on
learning and development at the time
Evaluate and monitor
learning and the objectives and plans are agreed.
progress on learning &
development .
strategies
development activities

Agree
learning and
development
plan
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The Learning Cycle
The Learning Cycle

Concrete Learning from experience is a process

experience and, like all processes, it is possible to
break it down into its constituent parts.

Imagine a circle with four stages at the

Testing four points of a compass.
Observations
implications of
and
concepts
reflections
in new situations

Formation of
abstract concepts
and
generalisations
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The Learning Cycle
The Learning Cycle

Concrete There are two ways to have an experience.

experience One is to let the experience come to you
(reactive); the other is to seek it deliberately
(proactive).

Testing The opportunities to learn are increased if

Observations
implications of
and the normal everyday things that happen to
concepts
reflections us are supplemented by extra experiences
in new situations
we create.

For example - you attend a weekly meeting

that tends to be very dull. You could decide
to view it as a learning opportunity and start
Formation of to experiment with different ways of
abstract concepts changing the meeting.
and
generalisations
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The Learning Cycle
The Learning Cycle

Concrete To learn from an experience, it is vital to

experience review what happened during it. In the very
dull meeting, for example, you might try
having a different person take the chair for
different agenda items. Your review might
Testing focus on the differences you observed
Observations
implications of
and between the way each chairperson
concepts
reflections undertook the task.
in new situations

Formation of
abstract concepts
and
generalisations
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The Learning Cycle
The Learning Cycle

Concrete Concluding involves viewing the raw

experience
material from the review for
conclusions, ‘answers’ or lessons
learned. It helps if the conclusions are
specific rather than general. After the
Testing Observations
implications of
and
meeting, you might conclude that the
concepts
reflections best chairperson:
in new situations

• clarified the objectives of the

discussions;
• asked for people’s ideas;
• summarised at frequent intervals;
Formation of
abstract concepts • kept to time.
and
generalisations
 Save the Children’s
Performance Management
The Learning Cycle
The Learning Cycle

Concrete Planning involves translating some of

experience
the conclusions into actions, things to
do better or differently. An example
might be to write a few notes for the
discussion at the next meeting on your
Testing Observations
implications of
and
conclusions about the best chairperson,
concepts
reflections and working out how to develop others
in new situations
in the practices described above.

Formation of
abstract concepts
and
generalisations
Save the Children’s
Performance Management
Learning Style Descriptions
Further research on the Learning Cycle identified four main
learning styles.
Often, people have a preference for one or two learning styles. None is ‘better’
than another. However, it is useful to understand a person’s preferred style
when considering options for learning activities.
The four learning styles are:

• Activist
• Reflector
• Theorist
• Pragmatist
Save the Children’s
Performance Management
Learning Style Descriptions
Activists
Activists like to take direct action. They are enthusiastic and welcome new
challenges and experiences. They are less interested in what has happened in
the past or the broader context. They are primarily interested in the here and
now. They like to have a go, try things out and participate. They like to be the
centre of attention.

Activists like:

• to think on their feet

• to have short sessions
• plenty of variety
• the opportunity to initiate
• to participate fully
Save the Children’s
Performance Management
Learning Style Descriptions
Reflectors
Reflectors like to think about things in detail before taking any action. They take
a thoughtful approach. They are good listeners and prefer to adopt a low profile.
They are prepared to read and re-read and will welcome the opportunity to
repeat a piece of learning.

Reflectors like:

• to think before acting

• thorough preparation
• to research and evaluate
• to make decisions in their own time
• to listen and observe
Save the Children’s
Performance Management
Learning Style Descriptions
Theorists
Theorists like to see how things fit into an overall pattern. They are logical,
objective people who prefer a sequential approach to problems. They are
analytical, pay attention to detail and tend to be perfectionists.

Theorists like:

• concepts and models

• to see the overall picture
• to feel intellectually stretched
• structure and clear objectives
• logical presentation of ideas
Save the Children’s
Performance Management
Learning Style Descriptions
Pragmatists
Pragmatists like to see how things work in practice. They enjoy trying out new
ideas. They are practical, down to earth and like to solve problems. They like to
have the opportunity to try out what they have learned/are learning.

Pragmatists like:

• to see the relevance of their work

• to gain practical advantage from learning
• credible role models
• proven techniques
• activities to be real