Understanding Human Performance

Before defining what is and is not a job aid, it's valuable to get some perspective about human performance. Ethan Sanders and (2002) developed a model for ASTD (based in part upon Thomas Gilbert's behavioral engineering approach) that breaks down the critical areas that are factors in human performance for identifying the cause of a performance gap and for determining what solutions to use to close that gap. According to their model, the six critical categories are:

Structure/process: This category includes company policies, reporting relationships, work sequence, work flow, job description, and organizational mission and vision. Structure/process deals with how the work and performers are organized.

What's a Job Aid, Anyhow?

If you're new to job aids and don't have an extensive background in instructional design or performance consulting, you probably have only a vague sense of what people mean when they refer to a job aid. You probably know what the concept of a job aid is, but you might not be exactly clear what is and isn't a job aid. Let's take a look at what constitutes a job aid.

Job aids can take many forms, and they utilize a range of formats and media. Some examples of possible job aids are the following:

• a three-dimensional scale model or a replica
• a picture
• a checklist
• a manual or information guide
• a computer help screen or pull-down menu
• a to-do list
• presentation notes
• a buzzer or bell or alarm that goes off as a reminder of when to do something

What Isn't a Job Aid?

You've seen information on what a job aid is. Now, let’ take a quick look at what a job aid isn't. There is a tendency to confuse on the basis of format. For example, because many job aids may consist of a form (such as a checklist or a worksheet), it's easy to assume that anything that looks similar must also be a job aid. Remember that something isn't a job aid because of how it looks; it's a job aid because of its purpose. If it makes information accessible for a specific task, then it's a job aid. But, if it instructs someone by telling them how to do something they didn't know how to do, then it's a form of training and would be dealing with knowledge or skills. If the checklist doesn't exist to remind a worker what to do but instead is a document that must be filled out to meet job requirements, then it isn't a job aid but falls within structure/process (as a work requirement to prove someone did the work). Something that helps someone to do work better isn't necessarily a job aid. Providing employees with laptop computers to take on the road might improve performance but this intervention (a laptop for each employee) is a tool, not a job aid. There are plenty of tools and resources that help performers do better work, but those same tools and resources don't necessarily qualify as job aids. If it isn't about providing information or aiding recall specific to a task, then it isn't a job aid.