CHAPTER 1

Discovering CLICS: A Stronger Approach to Analysis

For today’s learner, time and attention in the workplace, and in life, are at a premium. For organizations depending on those learners and the learning professionals tasked with supporting them, this is even more true. For those of us responsible for the design and development of learning, we’ve all probably heard something like this from our stakeholders:

•  “Our people don’t understand our new processes or what they need to do differently. Can’t we pull some training together quickly?”

•  “We need a new onboarding program that will make new hires proficient at their jobs in 30 days.”

•  “If we don’t train people as soon as possible, we’re not going to hit our sales targets. We need to start training now!”

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. But, in order to actually help learners achieve lasting learning, it’s essential to start at the beginning—how learning actually happens in our brains and is reinforced in our environment. This book provides the context, workplace examples, and supporting science that you’ll need to approach analysis in a new way, using CLICS as a framework to guide your thinking, questioning, and assessment of the situation that may (or may not) require a learning solution.

The CLICS Framework

CLICS is a domain-based framework, grounded in social and organizational psychology and neuroscience concepts, that defines how our brains learn most effectively. The framework has implications across all phases of the learning solution process, which affects the overall learner experience as well as actual learning itself.

The primary goal of CLICS is to maximize the likelihood of sustained individual learning in an organizational context (Figure 1-1). Achieving this goal was the singular reason we created CLICS, with the five indicated domains, each underpinned by science foundations. The learner-relevant and workplace-relevant considerations help to balance the fact that learning solutions must consider both the audience for which they are intended as well as the environmental ecosystem into which they are deployed.

Relationship to Analysis, Design, Development, and Delivery

CLICS is intended to help learning professionals and stakeholders analyze the essential elements that impact how learning occurs in our brains and is reinforced (or not) in the environment—long before executing the design, development, and delivery of a potential learning solution.

In the analysis phase, our job is to ask questions that clarify the issues at hand. The goal is to not only define the root causes but also understand what the desired outcomes truly are. The starting point is a robust understanding of the needs of the learners as well as demands felt by stakeholders. The strong analysis creates clarity about what should be included in any recommended solution, whom it is intended for, and why they need it.

While this book focuses on the front-end analysis and definition of need, the CLICS framework is equally applicable when making decisions about the design, development, and delivery of learning solutions. Once in the delivery phase, organizations then have an opportunity to measure efficacy and impact, ultimately guiding modifications or confirming that we’ve created a solution that CLICS.

Broad Workplace Impact

At the core of CLICS is the recognition that learning solutions do not exist in a vacuum, and learning happens via structured learning events as well as on the job. Incoming information flows at an ever-increasing speed and volume, and it’s often hard to distinguish the signal from the noise. That means part of the role of an effective analysis is to clearly define where learning is part of the solution, and not contribute to the “noise” by adding programs or content that don’t positively affect the challenges at hand. In addition to being efficient with a learner’s time, we should strive to set them up for success by maximizing the likelihood of real learning.

Within CLICS, the five domains connect and relate to one another as they examine the workplace context of how learning will happen, including the systems and environment into which learning should be integrated. Each domain considers both learner-relevant factors as well as workplace-relevant factors, because without both, the analysis would be incomplete (Figure 1-2).

No learning solution exists in a vacuum, so the environment into which that learning solution will be deployed is just as relevant as the content itself.

CLICS Domain Definitions

To get started, let’s look at high-level definitions for each of the CLICS domains. Each domain will be described in greater detail in subsequent chapters.

Capacity

Capacity concerns the volume of information competing for the learner’s working memory. Working memory is finite and can quickly reach capacity. When working memory is overloaded, extraneous information becomes “noise,” requiring our brains to invest resources to look for the signals in the noise. Said another way, if everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. Capacity planning provides us with a clear set of parameters as part of the analysis, determining what is essential to retain and what might be considered optional.

A sense of overload can occur within a given learning solution, as well as from the external cognitive load being placed on the learners. For example, avoiding major training initiatives for tax professionals during tax season is a clear recognition of their capacity constraints that should be honored.

Layering

Layering concerns the optimal framing, structuring, sequencing, and repetition of concepts to ensure deep learning. This domain accounts for not only the sequencing of concepts included within the immediate need being analyzed, but also an understanding of related concepts the intended learners may, or may not, have previously encountered. Said another way, layering addresses the prerequisite knowledge that learners need before integrating new concepts.

Intrinsic Enablers

Intrinsic enablers are the motivating conditions required to enhance intrinsic motivation, to generate personal relevance and foster lasting learning. It’s about finding those critical elements of value for the learners that cause them to flip the switch internally from being told to learn something to seeing the value and choosing to learn. Content that is relevant to actual job performance is typically embraced because of its intrinsic value to the learner.

Coherence

Coherence is the cognitive ease with which information fits together and amplifies related ideas. This domain incorporates the fit of concepts with one another as well as how the new concepts will relate to past learning experiences. An analysis sets the stage to ensure that the learners are not receiving conflicting guidance and that they understand any subtle nuances across competing ideas.

Social Connections

Social connections relate to the interpersonal support structure (be that physical, emotional, and psychological) necessary to learn optimally and to be effective. Analysis in this domain seeks to understand the skill or concept being taught, as well as what degree of social connection will help a learner absorb the new information.

To increase the likelihood of sustained learning, analysis in this domain seeks to uncover social opportunities to demonstrate and receive feedback when on the job, creating stronger emotional ties to the content itself.

How to Apply the Framework to Business Challenges

As learning professionals, we can experience many potential reasons why a stakeholder may come to us to define, design, develop, and deliver a new learning solution. Here are relevant examples of potential challenges that often trigger a needs analysis:

CLICS Framework: Learning Analysis Question Tool

Throughout the book we will analyze three practical examples of where a stakeholder has asked the learning team for help. We’ll use these scenarios to walk through the relevant questions from each domain of the CLICS framework.

We’ll start by considering:

•  The stakeholder’s expressed need

•  Characteristics of the intended learner population

•  Sample questions to be asked and elements you’ll want to consider as you evaluate the elements impacting each domain of the CLICS framework

Here you can see the structure of the CLICS Framework: Learning Analysis Question Tool, or CLICS Tool (Figure 1-3). Remember, during analysis, you’re not yet defining a solution. Instead, you’re gathering the necessary details that could support a solution. This is all about gathering information and defining the requirements of the challenge presented by your stakeholder.

Three Practical Examples

As we move into the individual chapters for each of the five domains of CLICS, our goal is to enable you to practice each element of the framework. We will share example scenarios that demonstrate how to apply CLICS to common, real-world situations.

In each of the CLICS domain chapters, we’ll put the framework into action by exploring three common types of learning and change requests we typically face when serving the learning and development needs of our organizations.

These common situations will involve the following challenge areas:

•  Situational

•  Priority-driven

•  Competency-based and role-based

Scenario 1 (Situational)

Improve business results: Revenue generation. Who has ever had a frustrated stakeholder come to them with the urgent request to create “training” to help improve performance and produce better results for the business? Chances are probably high that you have. Yet who hasn’t wondered when this happens, “Is another course really the right solution?” Or, more to the point, “Are we even addressing the right challenge to solve the right problem?”

In this first scenario, your stakeholders are looking to improve business results and drive increased revenue. This common example usually comes with an existing assumption of what process or tool needs to be trained to drive those improved revenue results.

Additionally, these requests usually include some language like, “We really need you to train the <insert job role here> on the new process or tool next month, and have everyone up to speed with the new way of doing things about two to three weeks after go-live of that new process or tool.”

Here are some company details. When working through this scenario in the subsequent domain chapters, it will be helpful to keep in mind some basic information about the company that will inform responses to the CLICS Tool: Core Questions.

Scenario 2 (Priority-Driven)

Change management: Hybrid work. For many years, the idea of “work where you are” has been a common theme for workforce and workplace planning. The global pandemic accelerated efforts to move toward the formalization of policies and procedures that support working models where an employee may not be physically colocated with peers in the same office or even in the same city.

These new ways of working drive significant and broad-reaching change throughout an organization with potential impacts not only on how employees work with one another, but on how they serve their clients. Potential changes connected to hybrid work models are more relevant than ever.

In the second scenario, you’ll encounter a priority-driven example of change within an organization. Stakeholders have approached HR requesting training to prepare employees for a new way of working. This is a broad-reaching situation affecting multiple roles throughout the organization, requiring upskilling for the systems and procedures that will make such a change possible.

Change initiatives with as broad a scope as this can quickly become unmanageable as the scope balloons to capture more requirements and audiences. In these situations, it is more important than ever to keep watch on the dependencies and connections between systems, processes, and people to ensure cohesive planning and communications from end to end.

Scenario 3 (Competency- or Role-Based)

New leadership development: Inclusivity. We hear just about every day the words diversity and inclusion, so much it can be easy to confuse the two, but each has a distinct difference. Khalil Smith, Akamai Technologies’ Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity, and Engagement, said it well:

Corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts have now expanded to include belonging—a sense of fit, alignment, and psychological safety. Seeking other’s perspectives and understanding differences increases the likelihood of authentic and actionable inclusion. The price of ignoring this is increased voluntary attrition, or even worse, people who quit and stay.

In the third scenario, you’ll be stepping in as an L&D professional with a global financial services organization. Historically, there has been a positive history of diverse representation, given the mix of the workforce in the organization’s offices and its global presence. However, current events have brought the organization to an inflection point, and the CEO and board want to examine the organization’s values and practices to ensure inclusive practices are in place. This will mean a complete update of all leadership curricula to account for the new focus.

In addition, you’ll be supporting the newly hired chief diversity officer as she plans and implements an overhaul of the current organizational values through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion. This will include learning to support any new systems and processes that emerge as part of the changes.

Looking Ahead

Now you have an understanding of the CLICS framework and are ready to see how we apply the five domains in chapters 3 through 7. First, though, we will review some of the foundational scientific concepts behind CLICS and why its considerations should matter to you.