Kimberly Seeger, CPLP, connects people with innovative solutions to Learn Something Extra! She collaborates with Fortune 500 to entrepreneurial organizations to design and deliver enthusiastic, performance-driven solutions. Seeger served as president of the ASTD Baton Rouge chapter and will facilitate a session in Denver at the 2012 ASTD International Conference and Exposition. She also has presented at the ASTD Chapter Leadership Conference, Virtual Conference, and several chapter events as well as regional and state SHRM conferences. Seeger holds an masters degree in human resource education and workforce development from Louisiana State University. Her undergraduate degree is in human resource management and management information systems from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She is also the author of 111 Questions to Design Learning.

Q. How would you describe your project revenue and business portfolio?

A. Learniappe is about helping people learn something extra. For the past 20 years, my business has experienced an evolution with delivery methods; however the foundation of helping people learn is applying what we know about adult learning best practices.

Twenty years ago or so, my first official job at age 16 was as a server at Kings Family Restaurant. After a few months, I was asked to help open a new store and train the new servers. At that time, I trained one person at a time by shadowing and coaching. We may have been young, but we all had restaurant experiences.

As a technical software trainer for ExecuTrain when the world was migrating from DOS to Windows, I facilitated workshops for dozens of applications and hundreds of different instructor-led courses. Our training team accelerated learning process included a book and sometimes less than one hour of practice time. (I do not recommend this!) We were successful at learning new applications quickly because we were able to relate to similar features in other programs. For example, saving a file in Lotus 1-2-3 and WP 5.1, were different yet had the same purpose and result. Do you remember the steps?

Because of these experiences, the majority of my business portfolio is designing, developing, and delivering technical skills. Technical skills include software (custom and standard), innovation, workflow processes, performance management, and lean or Six Sigma leadership tools and processes. The past few years, organizations are developing their internal capacity to deliver; therefore I support their teams through the process. Most people feel their learning challenges are unique to them and their organization; however I have found that peoples experiences are similar. We talk about the who, what, how, why, and when of their challenge to make connections between the new and existing skills.

To complement acquiring technical skills, people also need support and strategies for improving communication and growing leadership competencies. Together, we will develop both technical and people skills to create a confident and competent workforce.

Q. Do you have go-to techniques or processes that you have found particularly helpful with your projects?

A. Absolutely! Every minute invested in planning saves hours in implementation. We start with questions. Lots of questions! [See Seegers book, 111 Questions to Design Learning, for more on asking questions.] Before creating ideas for solutions, we need to investigate needs and evaluate desired outcomes. Most of the time we use a visual storyboarding process to document input. For my logical and sequential partners, we develop a spreadsheet with the ability to sort and filter. Defining intentions or learning objectives is the core of success. As we activate plans, we continue our learning and apply improvements.

Throughout ongoing conversations, our focus is on the desired impact. We continue to ask, what difference will this make to the individual and organization?

Formal education and certification has provided me a foundation for theories, tools, and processes. Some are complex and when utilized are extremely meaningful. Typically, my partners and clients live in a fast-paced world with multiple demands so they hire me to simplify, translate, and recommend solutions that relate to their learning challenge or opportunity.

The tools and processes I have found most useful are

  • SolutionPeoples Four Stage Innovation Process (KnowBrainer and iKnowBrainer) helps with problem solving, designing solutions, strategic planning, and creative thinking.
  • Everything DiSC assessments provide individuals a descriptive language about behaviors and priorities for meaningful conversations. Assessments are embedded into communication, service, leadership, and technical learning solutions.
  • 9 Elements to Design Learning (link opens to PDF) is a process adapted from research-based theories for designing learning. When all elements are incorporated into a solution, we will improve learning transfer.

On the horizon are innovative virtual learning tools. I have been facilitating synchronous virtual learning for several years. About a year ago, I was subcontracted by a digital media company to design an e-learning asynchronous project management software solution for a global audience. I learned something extra about development tools. There is tremendous opportunity with technology to provide just-in-time mobile learning solutions.

Q. Do you have any advice for training professionals who are thinking about expanding services to include technical training?

A. Advice is based on what you know now and what you need to know or do to affect your current opportunity. I welcome opportunities for conversation about learning. Remember, we will start with questions!

  • Are you curious?
  • Do you enjoy experimenting and discovering on your own?
  • Can you simplify a process and explain it to others?
  • How could you collaborate with subject matter experts?
  • What experiences can you build on?

Additional information can be found on my website.