303

July 23 & 24, 2009
Boston, MA
A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job
Cynthia Renner
Unum Insurance
Presented at the eLearning Guild
Regional Instructional Design Symposium
Boston, July 23 - 24
The Challenges
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New Job – what are tasks, skills
Geographical dispersion
Different assignments
No budget
Time limitations
What we did know
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Title: Field Assistant II
Administrative & technical support for
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Sales Manager
Service Manager
Non- exempt: limited training delivery hours
Session 303 – A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job –
Cynthia Renner, Unum
Page 1

July 23 & 24, 2009
Boston, MA
Initial description
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Support Sales Managers
Coordinate meetings, special events
Gather data for daily, weekly, monthly, customized reports
Manage projects
Manage expenses
Analyze Challenges:
What would you do?
1.
New Job – what are tasks, skills
2.
Geographical dispersion & different assignments
3.
No budget & time limitations
Analyze Challenges:
What would you do?
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Groups of 3 or 4
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Use:
Our job – FAII or
One of your own
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How would you address challenges?
Session 303 – A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job –
Cynthia Renner, Unum
Page 2

July 23 & 24, 2009
Boston, MA
Analyze Challenges:
Worksheet
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What do you know about the job?
Analyze Challenges:
Worksheet
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What are your challenges?
Analyze Challenges:
Worksheet
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What additional information do you need to start your design?
Session 303 – A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job –
Cynthia Renner, Unum
Page 3

July 23 & 24, 2009
Boston, MA
Analyze Challenges:
Worksheet
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Who can provide this information?
Analyze Challenges:
Worksheet
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What time frame requirements?
Hiring schedule
Evaluation of training
Analyze Challenges:
Worksheet
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Other issues to be resolved?
Session 303 – A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job –
Cynthia Renner, Unum
Page 4

Analyze: What we did
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Clarified initial description
Who was doing tasks now
Agreed on time issues
Agreed on approach
July 23 & 24, 2009
Boston, MA
Analyze: Who we talked to
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Managers who created job
Senior administrative support who were doing parts of job
Home Office support who were doing other parts of job
Analyze: What we found out
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Clarified initial description –frequency and %
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More important tasks:
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Reports
Less important tasks:
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Manage expenses
Coordinate meetings, special events
Manage projects
Agreed on a 3-cycle approach
Session 303 – A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job –
Cynthia Renner, Unum
Page 5

Design Challenges
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37 employees
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New hires
Promotions
Different hire dates
Different time zones
Different initial responsibilities
July 23 & 24, 2009
Boston, MA
Develop Challenges
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No budget
Tools:
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Intranet
SharePoint
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Document libraries
Discussion boards
Virtual Training – WebEx
Learning Management System (LMS)
WBT
Design/Develop Challenges:
What would you do?
1.
2.
3.
37 employees – different backgrounds
Time flexibility - hire dates, time zones
Different initial responsibilities
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What tools to use? How?
Session 303 – A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job –
Cynthia Renner, Unum
Page 6

July 23 & 24, 2009
Boston, MA
Design/Develop Challenges:
Worksheet
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What are your challenges?
Design/Develop Challenges:
Worksheet
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What tools can you use?
Design/Develop Challenges:
Worksheet
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Are there materials that can be repurposed?
Session 303 – A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job –
Cynthia Renner, Unum
Page 7

July 23 & 24, 2009
Boston, MA
Design/Develop Challenges:
Worksheet
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How will training be delivered – online, classroom, virtual, blended?
Design/Develop Challenges:
Worksheet
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Who can help with development -
SMEs?
Design/Develop Challenges:
Worksheet
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Who can help with delivery –
Mentors, facilitators?
Session 303 – A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job –
Cynthia Renner, Unum
Page 8

July 23 & 24, 2009
Boston, MA
Design/Develop: What we did
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Set up SharePoint site
LMS
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18 courses – orientation to Company
6 courses – Orientation to Field support
14 courses – specific to FAII
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Reporting, systems
One Virtual Training – WebEx
WBT – QuicKnowledge & Internal
Design/Develop: What we did
Demos
& Practice
Implement Challenges
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Most of the 37 were hired within a two-week period
Limited number of Mentors
Session 303 – A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job –
Cynthia Renner, Unum
Page 9

July 23 & 24, 2009
Boston, MA
Implement: What we did
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Virtual class
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4 th week
Recorded
Limited number of Mentors
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Shared mentors
Mentor guides
Priority was those new to the company
Evaluation Challenges:
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Timing of evaluations
Repeat the needs analysis cycle
Evaluation: What we did
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6 th month survey
Focus group
Other areas emerged as important
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More on reporting
Project management
Session 303 – A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job –
Cynthia Renner, Unum
Page 10

Let’s do it again
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Changes in tasks
New reporting systems
More project management
July 23 & 24, 2009
Boston, MA
Repeat the cycle
A DDI E
Guide
Mentor
Links
Virtual class
A DDI E
Demos
Practice
AD D IE
Experiential Online
Virtual class
Most recent additions
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3 New courses
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More in depth report analysis
More on reporting systems
Project management interactive practice
Session 303 – A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job –
Cynthia Renner, Unum
Page 11

Be a Project Manager
July 23 & 24, 2009
Boston, MA
What I learned
What I’ll do differently
A Design Challenge: Designing for a
Newly Created Job
Presented by
Cynthia Renner
Unum Insurance, Portland, ME crenner@unum.com
The eLearning Guild
Regional Instructional Design Symposium
Boston, July 23 - 24
Session 303 – A Design Challenge: Designing for a Newly Created Job –
Cynthia Renner, Unum
Page 12