Laying the Foundation for Successful IT Partnering
By Ed Mayberry

Until recently, the training and development function has enjoyed a high degree of control in developing and implementing its predominantly classroom-based training solutions. Today, as technology is leveraged for training delivery, training departments must rely on information technology (IT) expertise to help implement training solutions. Partnering between IT and training is invariably critical to the success of technology-related training solutions.

However, each organization differs in its culture, political environment, and past history of collaboration between IT and training. Following is a primer on issues that should be considered in creating mutual understanding between training and IT--whatever their current relationship may be.

The development cycle

When developing any training solution, a four-phase approach--research, design, develop, and implement--is often used. It is the implementation phase in which leveraging technology comes into play, and if training and training content are to be delivered via the company's information system, you must rely on the expertise and assistance of your IT department. You'll likely require server space, software installation, customization, application development, maintenance, and ongoing support, which are beyond the core area of expertise for many trainers and call for IT assistance.

When developing IT requests for training solutions, the following four phases should be addressed: proposal, development, implementation, and updates and maintenance. "Proposal" involves the request for a solution to resolve a performance gap or problem. This phase includes negotiation regarding the deliverable between the IT and T&D. "Development" involves the actual creation of solutions and materials; training should oversee this phase and negotiate the solution's functions and features. IT should agree to software installation, customization, and application development. "Implementation" involves bringing the product to the client, including beta-testing and debugging tasks. Finally, "updates and maintenance" represent the tedious and labor-intensive portion of technology-related solutions, maintenance, and ongoing support. This phase will also require ongoing negotiations and identification of responsible parties.

The challenges

The importance of successful partnering with IT is not a mere formality; it's a necessity for moving training into the new arena of technology-based delivery. This is especially true in situations in which the training function must reach a diverse and highly distributed workforce. Training can identify the problem and design solutions, but IT must identify usability, infrastructure, maintenance, and support issues. At the same time, it's relatively easy to build training solutions, but it often requires a great deal of energy to maintain and offer support to encourage their use.

Identification is the primary element of successful communication. It requires an overlap of attitudes, values, and beliefs between the speaker and his or her audience. Appeals to emotion, ethics, and logic represent means of encouraging identification. However, use of the three appeals depends on the audience. Training must identify which appeal works best with IT developers in order to partner and create new solutions.

At the same time, the relative enthusiasm of IT toward training and its initiatives must be taken into account. Positive audiences are accepting toward the speaker's viewpoint, and communication requires less proof. Neutral audiences neither accept nor reject the speaker's viewpoint, but proof and more formalized argumentation may be necessary. Finally, negative audiences are either overtly or covertly opposed to the speaker's viewpoint and demand additional facts, proof, and formalized arguments. The IT audience has specific perceptions and personalities that shape the success or failure of partnering.

Failing to partner

Unsuccessful partnering is a lose-lose situation in which communications between training and IT break down, and the organization's employees lose an advantage over the competition. It's important to understand some common communication problems and their solutions. Following is a look at the most common problems and recommended solutions.

Conflict resolution

If your problem is not one of the above, or it remains unresolved, consider the following four conflict management strategies:

Withdraw--When the issue is minor and conflict outweighs the benefit.
Compromise--When a temporary agreement is required.
Compete--When you're interested in a short-term gain.
Collaborate--When you want to empower and educate participants.

Collaboration is the preferred strategy wherever possible, but all four strategies have their purpose, so don't be afraid to put them to use.

In closing, I offer three suggestions. One, don't tell IT the solution; instead clearly state the problem and sell them on your solution. They need to feel that they are part of the solution. Two, forget about egos and look at solutions. Keep an open mind and be flexible and practical; there may be other solutions to the problem. Finally, don't burn any IT bridges. If your company is like ours, you need to maintain a relationship with IT, even if you don't get what you want.