The challenge of retaining information learned in formal training is a persistent issue for organizations. Employees often struggle to recall specific steps or procedures when they return to their daily tasks, leading to delays and potential errors. This gap between knowledge acquisition and practical application highlights the need for immediate execution support. Performance Support (PS) addresses this by providing guidance precisely when and where employees are performing their work. These resources are designed to be immediately accessible, ensuring employees have the necessary information at the moment of need.
Defining Performance Support
Performance Support is a strategy focused on minimizing the cognitive burden placed on an employee to recall information from memory or prior training sessions. Instead of relying on mental retrieval, PS embeds immediate, specific guidance directly within the employee’s operational workflow. The aim is to enable employees to successfully complete a task correctly and efficiently the first time they attempt it. This approach shifts the focus from knowledge transfer to maximizing performance and productivity in real-time.
The Foundational Framework: The 5 Moments of Need
The strategic implementation of Performance Support is determined by understanding the five distinct moments when an employee most requires assistance. This framework provides the theoretical basis for identifying precisely where and when embedded support will be most effective within the daily workflow. By mapping the work environment against these five moments, organizations can ensure resources are deployed to address specific contextual requirements.
New
The first moment of need occurs when an employee is learning a new subject, skill, or procedure for the first time. This typically involves foundational knowledge transfer and the initial steps of competency development.
More
The need shifts to “More” when the employee requires an expansion of their initial knowledge, seeking deeper understanding or additional detail about a topic they have already encountered. This moment often involves moving beyond basic competence to achieving greater proficiency or specialization.
Apply
The “Apply” moment is when the employee is actively executing a task or procedure based on what they have previously learned. This is the execution phase where the learned information must be converted into physical action within the work environment. Support at this stage is focused on procedural guidance to ensure successful completion.
Solve
When an employee encounters a problem, an unexpected deviation, or a process failure, the “Solve” moment is triggered. This requires immediate, diagnostic support to troubleshoot the issue and return the process to its intended state.
Change
The final moment, “Change,” is activated when a process, tool, regulation, or system undergoes modification, requiring the employee to update their existing knowledge and procedures. Support here ensures employees can adapt quickly and seamlessly to new operational requirements.
Performance Support Versus Traditional Training
Performance Support and conventional training methods serve fundamentally different strategic purposes within an organization’s learning ecosystem. Traditional training, such as classroom instruction or lengthy e-learning modules, focuses primarily on future performance by facilitating knowledge acquisition. It is designed to prepare the employee for tasks they will perform later.
Performance Support, by contrast, is engineered to support immediate performance and task execution in the present moment. Training is often a “pull” resource, requiring the learner to proactively seek out information and step away from their workflow to engage with it. PS is designed as a “push” resource, embedded directly into the work environment so guidance appears automatically or with minimal effort. This strategic difference means that training builds a foundation of knowledge, while PS facilitates the successful application of that knowledge.
Practical Performance Support Tools and Delivery Methods
The effectiveness of Performance Support relies on the format and technology used to deliver the necessary guidance contextually. Tools range from simple, low-tech options to sophisticated systems designed for deep workflow integration. Simple job aids, such as brief, step-by-step checklists or reference cards, are effective for sequential tasks. More complex guidance can be delivered through decision trees or searchable knowledge bases that allow employees to find specific, targeted answers quickly.
Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS) represent a higher level of integration, often appearing as embedded help systems directly within software applications. These systems can provide contextual pop-ups, guided tours, or “walk-throughs” that overlay the application interface, guiding the user through a specific transaction in real-time. The most effective delivery methods ensure that the support is accurate and accessible with minimal clicks, making the guidance feel like a seamless part of the work process.
Key Benefits of Performance Support
A successfully implemented Performance Support strategy yields several measurable outcomes that contribute directly to organizational performance.
The benefits include:
- Increased speed to competency, allowing employees to become proficient in new tasks much faster than relying solely on memory or formal training.
- Improved employee efficiency and overall productivity due to the acceleration of skill deployment.
- Substantial reduction in human error, as real-time guidance confirms the correct procedure at the point of action.
- Greater consistency in task execution across the workforce, ensuring everyone follows the same embedded steps.
- Reduced frequency and scope of formal retraining required, as minor updates can be communicated directly within the workflow.
The Strategy for Designing Effective Performance Support
Developing effective Performance Support requires a disciplined, strategic approach that begins with a deep understanding of the employee’s work environment. The initial phase involves identifying the critical tasks that are performed frequently or are high-risk, as these yield the greatest return on support investment. This is followed by a thorough analysis of the workflow itself to pinpoint specific friction points and moments of confusion where the need for support arises.
Once these moments are isolated, the appropriate support resources must be designed to be concise, accurate, and task-specific. A fundamental step is integrating the resources directly into the work environment, making them instantly accessible from the application or physical location where the work is performed. Throughout the process, an emphasis on user-centered design and continuous testing ensures the resources remain relevant and usable for the target audience.