Learning Works, Catalyst and 360 Degree Feedback

The McMillan Partnership

Management development is an expensive business, not least because managers represent a substantial overhead for an organisation, and any time they spend away from the workplace costs money. This is why any system which can improve the effectiveness of management development and which can give managers accurate feedback on their performance is important.

The McMillan Partnership is a management development organisation which has introduced three tools which are designed to improve managerial effectiveness, tools which have been developed with a simple philosophy in mind - users should be able to:

• identify their development need;
• select the most appropriate development activity to meet that need;
• manage the implementation of changed performance into the workplace.

Each of the three tools we examined for this edition of Interactive addresses at least one of these three principles.

The challenge for many providers of management development - whether they are part of a company's own development service or an external supplier, like a college or training company - is to know what learning resources are available and to know whether or not they meet specific needs. Learning Works short-cuts this problem by offering on-line access to a database of learning resources available to support management development, via the Internet. I did a search on the topic of Change Management and was offered a list of 97 resources, each one individually described and evaluated - as a tool for saving time the service represents good value for any organisation, as a single user can gain access for a £20 signing on fee and an annual subscription of £100. But McMillan also offer corporate users the chance to offer access to the service to a wide range of staff for a £100 signing on fee, a £500 subscription plus a £1 a time user fee.

The second of the tools we reviewed was Catalyst. This is a software application designed for a client's own Intranet. Individuals can access it direct and select a competence profile that matches their particular role in the organisation, and then assess themselves against the detailed competence statements on a graduated scale. The competences are determined by the organisation - they could be of their own devising, or they can use the standards contained in NVQs, or they can use both. The structure of the programme matches the Unit - Element - Performance Criteria structure of NVQs and any occupational area or level can be used.

Having matched the individual to the defined competences, any mismatches can be identified and the system then offers a choice of possible development opportunities under three main headings:

• Learning activities (which are work-based, and include coaching, mentoring, placements, etc.)
• Learning resources (by enabling users to choose resources they want, when they want them, McMillan claim that this can save money by making resource acquisition user driven)
• Courses (from planned, in-company events to external courses like a NEBS Management Certificate)

Until now you may say, what does this offer over a standard pencil and paper exercise? And you'd be right to do so, but now comes the clever bit. The development solutions chosen are added to a Personal Development Plan; once completed users then have to define the reasons for using each activity (learning objectives) and how they will determine whether or not they have worked (success criteria). Dates are then set for completing the learning activities and the system sends emails to alert users that they an event is due (eg that they are due to go on a course tomorrow) and on completion asks if the success criteria have been met.

At individual level the system acts like a personal tutor, encouraging, monitoring and seeking feedback; at corporate level the system can set targets for patterns of activity (eg, 70% of all activities must be work-based) and monitor achievement. It can also monitor who is using the system, how well people are meeting their achievements, and identify any specific learning needs which might indicate a problem in meeting business goals.

Of course it's not cheap. A 300 user system costs £10,000, and it clearly only makes sense in a large corporate environment, although there are interesting possibilities for customising it to act as an electronic personal tutor for college students. However, the simplicity of use, the ability to configure the system easily to meet user needs, and the extent to which it serves the needs of both individuals and employers means that it could easily offer real savings in a large corporate environment. Imagine the time which it would take to support 300 employees draw up their own PDPs, monitor their performance and analyse their learning needs and the effectiveness of the available learning opportunities and the system would offer a serious payback within months to a committed user.

The third tool uses the same user-defined competences but instead of just inviting individuals to assess their own performance, it invites others to do so as well. Operated from the McMillan Partnership website, the system allows individuals to have their performance evaluated by their subordinates, peers and/or superiors, and the (anonymised) data is then presented as a series of radar charts which can then be discussed with them by a training consultant as part of a performance review and development programme. The programme is offered as part of a full management development service by McMillan.

Clearly the three systems offer a wide range of benefits to managers, employers and to training providers, and there's no doubt that the company's ambition - to be market leader in its field - is well served by these three programmes.

The McMillan Partnership http://www.mcmillanpartnership.ltd.uk

Review from 'Progress' published by NEBS Management, June 1999