Week 12 Reflections

Week 12 Reflections

Think about the term “Human Performance Technology”. What do you think of? Do you have a picture in your mind of what that means and of what someone who works in this field does? Now, I know that we have been studying this field for a little bit now in class so most of us do have some level of basic understanding of it at this point. I know that when I first saw that we were going to be studying this topic in this class, I really didn’t have any concept in my mind of what it might be. From the articles that we read this week, it seems that I am not the only one who was like that. In fact, according to Pershing, J. A., Lee, J. & Cheng, J. (2008), “In some European countries the term human performance technology is regarded as yet another American buzzword, lacking substance” (p. 9). They may have a general and vague idea of what HPT is but for many it seems that the term and idea have no more weight that the idea of being an “Instagram influencer”. For this post, I just wanted to get into some of the general issues that HPT runs into.

First, many of those who are in an organization that uses HPT do not even know what exactly it is and why they need it, and this comes down to lack of fundamental marketing skills in this field (Pershing et al., 2008). This is absolutely key because the organization and the individuals in it need to be sold on the unique value of HPT if they are ever going to buy into the concept and support it as it needs to be supported in order for it to be effective. Pershing et al. suggested that “One way to achieve this is through clarifying in simple ways what the field of HPT is and explicitly demonstrating the unique contributions of HPT to organizations” (p. 15). This may sound simplistic, but HPT needs to buy into the state of Missouri’s state slogan. Missouri is famous for being the “Show Me” state. I do not know how the State got this moniker, but my Grandmother was from Missouri and liked to bring this up a lot. When it comes to marketing HPT and getting buy in for its importance, HPT needs to operate under the mentality that everyone else is from the “Show Me” state of Missouri and make demonstrating the value that HPT brings one of the top priorities if not the top priority.

Second, another issue that HPT faces is that far too often HPT just becomes the source of quick-Band-Aids for resolving performance issues rather than doing the work to understand and address the root causes of issues and create remedies that are not just temporary ones. “The practice of seeking simple solutions, too often with the clients’ encouragement, is very likely to produce substandard work” (Pershing et al., 2008, p. 15). It must be understood that this can be the fault of either HPT itself or the client or both. The problem could be that the client wants a simple solution and fast or already has a solution that they are set on and are unwilling to listen and consider other recommendations. The problem could also be that HPT doesn’t feel like putting in the due diligence and the hard work when there is an easy quick fix dangling in front of them or they would be willing to do the necessary work but are just tired of trying and failing to convince the client to do things in a proper manner. This goes back to the job that HPT has to market itself and its methods. It is especially helpful if HPT can sell some of the leadership up the chain on its importance because they will then have an ally to champion its cause and give push-back when clients want to skimp on the process.

One thought that I had when reading this week about how much trouble HPT has with selling itself to the business world is that the name itself may be an issue. When you see a job title, especially in the business world, it usually not difficult to grasp a basic understanding of what the job entails. Using the words “Human” and “Technologies” in a job title is just confusing for most people. I had to take this class just to understand what was really meant by “Technologies” in IST. Maybe we like to use oblique jargon in the educational field, but that just does not work well in the business section. HPT ought to be changed to a term that fits with modern business jargon. When you consider what HPT does, it really is doing the work of a consultant. In fact, in the business world the first inclination when a problem needs to be addressed or help is needed in some way is for the business to bring in a consultant or consulting firm. HPT is doing the work of a consultant when it comes to performance issues. So, I believe that the field would be better served if it changed its name to “Performance Consulting” and the individuals doing the work would be “Performance Consultants”. I think that this would give the field a lot more clout and recognition in the business world. If all they did was change their name, they would start to be viewed differently and in a way that the business world already understands and accepts. This is just my opinion though as a brand-new student of HPT. 😊

Pershing, J. A., Lee, J. & Cheng, J. (2008). Current status, future trends, and issues in human performance technology, part 2: models, influential disciplines, and research and development. Performance Improvement, 47 (2), 7-15.