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Human Performance

Published November 2007

Job Aids: The Instant Talent Producer

 

  Harold D. Stolovitch, Ph.D.

When we hire talent, we expect superior results. After all, the origin of the word is an ancient Greek monetary unit, and the definition in the dictionary includes "a capacity for achievement or success."

This aligns with Thomas Gilbert's term "worthy performance": valued accomplishments that far outweigh the cost of attaining them. Given the current race to acquire talent, the venture can become very expensive.

A Modest Alternative or an Add-On to Obtain Worthy Performance

As banal as it sounds, I propose we revisit with fresh eyes a longtime, steady and remarkably effective worthy performance producer: job aids. They have been around for centuries (e.g., the sun dial), providing assistance and guidance in attaining near-expert results with minimal expertise. Generally, the cost to produce them is low, and the valued accomplishments can be remarkably (although often unnoticeably) high.

What Are Job Aids?

Simply stated, job aids are external memory devices. Dr. Marc Rosenberg runs a delightful seminar activity in which participants rummage through their wallets and purses to identify frequently used job aids. At one seminar, they included an international telephone access card with numbers for 60 countries, a restaurant tipping guide, a Jewish holiday calendar with sundown times, a Celsius-Fahrenheit converter, an emergency "If … then" phone list, a city pocket guide with places and bus routes and a pill box with timer alarm. All share four characteristics:

•    They guide even the least talented to achieve near-expert results (i.e., dial the right access number in Kiev; find the desired spot in an unknown city taking the right bus).
•    They offer an external memory.
•    They are talent levelers, requiring minimal capability for consistently maximal results.
•    They are usually cheap to design, develop and disseminate.

I'm not exaggerating the valuable performance contributions job aids can generate from not necessarily "talented" individuals. Here are seven types of job aids that provide much greater value than cost:

•    Step-by-Step Procedures: Probably the most common type of job aid, they list series of steps that lead to desired outcomes. These are best used to guide error-free performance, especially if missing a critical step ruins the result, or if a procedure is infrequently performed. They are excellent when there are similar procedures to perform with subtle variations.
•    Worksheets: These paper or electronic assistants guide information entry and/or calculations en route to completing a task. They are great for repair estimation or tax calculations. Performers enter data and, voila!, they produce a sophisticated, valuable result.
•    Directory Displays: When you enter a building, there's a directory that guides you to the right office. You find directories on cards, charts, in elevators and on highway signs. Known codes and symbols lead virtually anyone to a perfect result.
•    Decision Trees or Tables: These can guide from simple to highly complex decision making. A decision tree looks like … a tree. It spreads out "branches" each time a choice must be made. It has three components: nodes that pose questions, branches that state conditions or considerations and decisions (what to do).
•    Checklists: These common job aids are like to-do lists. They help to ensure pilots verify everything before takeoff, security guards inspect a worksite or trainers order the right supplies for a course. Checklists can guide sophisticated task performance such as proposal writing or preparing a legal writ.

Talent or Job Aid?

The goal is worthy performance. Talent might be the key, but job aids provide results. Keep up the talent hunt but also develop useful job aids for everyone. You never know when they'll make the performance difference.