Human Performance Technology

1. Identify a performance problem in your area of work 

I haven't worked in over 3 years now but I do remember when I worked at several different places and how there were performance problems that would arise. At one point in my life I worked for a retail store chain. While I was employed there I was a Guest Service Manager. I had specific duties that I had to do and certain tasks that I had to make sure to complete and tasks that I had to make sure that other employees completed as well. On Halloween one year, several employees decided to call off work and I couldn't get anyone else to come in and fill the shifts in certain departments. There were only 4 of us working that night and I was beside myself as how to make sure that every department had proper coverage. When certain employees are trained for specific departments and you try to have them work in another department that they are not familiar with, there will naturally be issues and/or performance problems. Being that I was the only manager on duty I had to stay at the front and run the register while the other employees worked on the floor in other departments. I had no choice but to put one employee to cover books and the cafe, one in music and lifestyles, and another in video. I honestly felt so sorry for the employee that was working in the cafe and books because she didn't have much training in the cafe and had only been working there for about a week. Orders got messed up, that area was a mess, and customers were complaining. 

a. Identify non-instructional solutions that may help solve the problem

One solution is that I should have made sure that the employee had proper training before I put them over there or I should have put another employee over there that had adequate training. Another solution that I should have used was to have made sure that the previous MOD had found replacements for those employees that were calling off of their shift that way my shift wouldn't have been so short staffed. Another solution is that when the recipe book was lost I should have made sure to have wrote down how to make the most ordered drinks so the employee would have the recipe right at their fingertips, instead of having them call me every time they had an order that they didn't know how to make. 

2. Define performance support systems 

This would be some type of "thing" that helps the "performer" or employee get the task done effectively and efficiently. This can be something on the lines of note cards, a training manual, video clips, another person, or anything that the performer/employee can use to help get their task completed.  

a. Explain how a performance support system might (or might not) help solve the problem you identified above.

I mentioned earlier that I should have provided the employee with written recipes and directions on how to make the drinks so the customers could have gotten their drinks in a timely order and fashion without any errors. This would have greatly helped the employee because it would have been a time saver because she would have had the recipes right their in front of her without having to call me on the speakerphone or having me stop helping customers to make the drinks for them. With the employee taking time away from her customers to call me and ask how to make the drinks, valuable time was lost with the customers and the customers were also upset yet they were understanding at the same time. But all of this could have been avoided if I had provided the employee with a performance support system.  

3. What knowledge would help solve the problem you identified above? 

I think that a combination of undiscovered and common knowledge would have been the best bet to have helped solve the problem that was in the cafe. Common knowledge is the knowledge that all the employees needs to actually know and undiscovered knowledge is knowledge that basically get over-looked because there is something in the way that is preventing knowledge being learned.

a. How would that knowledge need to be collected and managed to help facilitate problem solving?

Making sure that the employee and every employee is trained in all areas of the store so that problems of not being trained properly do not arise again in case there was another mass "calling off of the employees". Had I checked that the cafe shift was covered and a recipe book in place then this was a problem that could have been avoided. But when you are in a management position where I was and get literally get hundreds of emails a week, you rarely have time to check and read every single one and being that I hardly had to worry about the cafe, I rarely read any emails regarding the cafe.   

4. What informal learning experiences have you participated in at your organization? Could those informal learning experiences be shared with others? Could the knowledge gained in those settings be codified and managed? And should it be managed or should the informal experiences be replicated or broadened for others?

I have seen things I wished I wouldn't have and I have been in situations that were unimaginable however, I have also had the best times of my life in any of my working experiences. Mandatory employee meetings was something that happened once a month and they always lasted for about 2 hours each time. Sometimes there were some employees that never showed up and if they didn't show up for the meeting, they got wrote up. No matter where I work, if I was learning something new or if there was a meeting to attend, I would always take notes. Those notes would generally help me get through any jam I might be in or if I ran into any problems whatsoever. One time we were trying to come up with some "different and exciting" ways to get more customers into the cafe, so we experienced with different drinks and came up with quite a few that were actually really good and were able to sell wonderfully. These drinks didn't have your typical names like White Chocolate Mocha or  Vanilla Caramel Latte. These drinks were named after movies or stars in the most popular movies at the time. Some of the drinks we came up with were Alien VS. Predator, Shark Tale, Friday Night Lights, and The Grudge. I will admit that these drinks had strange names and didn't look appetizing but they actually tasted great and the customers really enjoyed them. These recipes were something that we wrote down and was shared with several other stores in the district and they too made many sales off of these drinks. I am not sure that these drinks are still made or not but it was a great learning experience for all those involved. So needless to say...YES this learning experience was shared with others and that knowledge was able to be codified and managed. I feel that this particular experience was something that was just a fluke and I also think that the cafe workers now are more than qualified to "creating" their own signature drinks for special releases or midnight parties. All the employees have to do is think outside the box and get a little creative.