Episode 43
Looking forward through learning analytics with Mary Francone and Tiffany Jarvis
October 15, 2020
Fitting the practice of learning analytics into the overall business ecosystem has enabled financial services firm Edward Jones to meet learners at their points of need and use learning to move the needle on business metrics. Leaders Mary Francone and Tiffany Jarvis break down the agile methodology that has supported their entire learning strategy, using data to make in-the-moment decisions about what to do next. In this episode, we learn how the L&D team at Edward Jones is equipping its workforce for the future.
Analytics in Business: Key takeaways from Episode 43
Using agile work methodologies, Mary’s team follows the model of testing, measuring, and letting the data dictate the next moves. They check in with learners on a daily basis and iterate on learning products to ensure they’re as effective as possible. Waiting until a learning program is completely perfect to release it to the audience is no longer a realistic strategy—business moves too quickly. Having all stakeholders involved in the process helped the team to demonstrate value and gain early champions for their work.
Regularly taking people away from their jobs for extensive training events is no longer a sustainable practice at Edward Jones. Instead, the learning function has focused on meeting learners where they are, disrupting their work as little as possible, and equipping them with the tools they need to be successful. Tiffany described this as putting the right breadcrumbs out so people can find what they need when they need it.
The value of L&D comes through when the business is achieving results. To that end, start with the business measures for any learning initiative. Work backward from there—what behaviors are needed to drive the business measures? How do we understand if those behaviors were adopted? Test against the business measures and iterate until you get it right.
Consider the whole ecosystem. What do learners need after training to ensure they’re able to apply what they’ve learned? Use surveys to help you understand the big picture. Monitor other business trends for early indicators of an issue.
Everything Tiffany and Mary shared can be accomplished with Excel spreadsheets—no complex data science or tools required to get started! Build connections with other business partners to get the data you need, and help them see how they can benefit too. Understanding the overall business picture will be important so you can show value in the areas that other business partners are working on.
Tiffany says, “Humans are squishy.” It’s incredibly difficult to point to one event that was wholly responsible for movement in a business metric. Because of this, analytics have to take the entire ecosystem into account. Along those lines, look forward to what skills will be needed in the coming years, and start developing those skills today.
Mary advocates reading broadly and deeply—not only within the L&D field, but also on topics like analytics and technology more generally. She’s a strong champion of continuous learning and is known for sparking conversations based on new ideas she comes across.
Bonus Content - Looking Forward
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