A couple weeks ago I pointed out how we’re seeing more companies than ever - especially very large ones - rely heavily on Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS) as a complement to structured learning.

The idea is that employees want to learn only the information they need to perform a given task — and no more.

And, they want the information at the time the task must be performed — and no sooner.

Shortly after that post, Brent pointed out an article
in which Charles Jennings, global head of learning for Reuters, talks about a much-needed shift in training:

“Too many learning professionals are obsessed with transferring information into employees’ heads, even though they know that the amount of information is growing very quickly and that the nature of that information is changing.

“These changes mean that knowledge workers actually need less knowledge to do their jobs … Formal training is less effective as the amount of information increases and its shelf life becomes shorter.”

The article goes on to discuss the virtues of EPSS systems and how they enable real-time support. Reuters uses SupportPoint as a context-sensitive help system. We’ve been helping companies build content for these kinds of systems for over a decade, but it seems like we do it more every year.

So it’s good to know we’re not alone in advocating heavy use of EPSS systems which, according to Jennings:

Allow us to employ what I call ‘just in case’ learning. That means that the information is there in case you need it. A simple transfer of knowledge is no longer appropriate. We need to know less and learn more.”

Well said. In fact, Jennings’ term Just in Case learning is a bit less cumbersome than my term, At the Time learning - but the intended meaning is the same.

The photo above is from the excellent discussion thread at Tufte.com.