See my recent thoughts on Cathy Moore's Map It!

Questions asked (including but not limited to):

1. Tell me more about the meeting you had with the company stakeholders and the feedback received.

2. What is our ultimate goal for these sessions?

3. We offer these sessions quarterly, is that working?

4. Let's look at the attendance data to determine whether we present virtually or in person.

5. Yes, but what is the ultimate goal for these sessions and how can we measure this? (I might have asked this more than once).

Result: This educational series has been offered in the organization for many years. It was suspended during the second half of 2021 because of the pandemic and clinical workload. As we gear up for 2022, we are looking at how we present this series. I work with the physician in charge of the series to organize logistics around the sessions.

There is a larger group of stakeholders that determine organizational education needs and relevancy. There were differing ideas between the physician and this group on how the sessions should be structured and for what audience.

I met with the physician separately. First, I listened.  She had a lot to unpack. Then I asked, "what is our ultimate goal for this series?"  Because I was not emotionally involved, I was able to see that if we determined a clear goal then some of the logistics and strategies (and differing opinions) would work themselves out. After much discussion and questions, we determined three clear goals.

We looked at the attendance numbers and I found more relevant data in the LMS.  I wrote a report for the physician to take back to the other stakeholders for further discussion.

Insights: Personal attachments to education and differing personalities and opinions can increase the need to "dig deeper" to find the root cause and/or write a clear goal.  The LMS data provided answers clear input for how the sessions should be provided to staff.  Even if not one of the final decision-makers, it is important ask the right questions and determine clear objectives.

UPDATE (Dec 2021):  I was included in a larger task force to create an annual education plan to address knowledge and skills gaps impacting patient care. This educational series is part of the plan. Because I continued to ask how we would evaluate successful learning, I was asked to coordinate the evaluation components of the multilayered plan.  Ha! Evaluation template created.

Questions asked (including but not limited to):

1. What happened that you reached out with this request?

2. What information do you want to share?

3. Who are you trying to reach with this information?

4. What is the current branding for this new area?

5. How are you wanting to share this information?

Result: An initial information gathering session was held between the stakeholders: myself, the onboarding manager and two marketing managers. Once the "big picture" was established, I met with the marketing manager separately. We went through the onboarding sessions I teach as well as additional informational tools used to reinforce the learning. We created a task list for each of us and will reconvene when portions are complete. We will evaluate and present to the other managers.

Insights: By asking the right questions, it was determined that the initial "problem" was that our current staff did not know about the new product. They were not answering 'customer' questions properly.  However, onboarding is for new employees. Education for two audiences is needed.

In the review of our sessions, we found a few other minor discrepancies in content that need to be addressed, including two tools that need to be updated and refreshed.  We determined that branding policies need to be fine-tuned before we can incorporate them widely into the onboarding materials. Finally, the marketing manager and I realized we need to increase our communications to ensure onboarding materials stay current with the organizational changes.