The pilot aims at upskilling officers in the Criminal Investigation Unit (abbreviation in Dutch: OvD-R). It's a solution offered to police officers who are currently employed (or who will soon be employed) in the role of OvD-R. The knowledge and skills needed for criminal investigations are critical, and so the solution focuses on incident management and coordination.
Saskia Huussen, Project Manager & Consultant at Xprtise: "The police started several pilots last year to innovate training and to bring more learning into the workplace. At Xprtise, we were asked to set up and run one of these pilots, specifically for the training of officers in the Criminal Investigations Unit (OvD-R), which was not yet in place. We made it 5 Moments of Need®-proof - entirely focused on achieving higher performance. We take into account the five moments when police officers need information and where it is that they learn. And we make the learning much more personal by including adaptive learning, where we can target the specific skills and knowledge an individual officer needs to keep up. In the workplace learning solution, they access the knowledge and up-to-date information just when it is needed. In November 2020, the first work-groups were set up, and six successful pilots have now been completed."
From traditional training to innovative learning methods
The Police Academy offers staff many opportunities to continually learn and develop. As knowledge and skills can get rapidly outdated, the police address this by linking formal learning to informal. The employee is supported with digital learning and resources to help them retain their competency. These are crucial and can be updated immediately so that the officer on the street instantly benefits. Training must be about continuous education: lifelong learning! And in so doing, the Police have these goals:
- Move from traditional to innovative learning methods
- Establish control of the operation
- Close the gap between starter competence (first training as an officer) and professional competence
- Train more efficiently and effectively
- Define roles in incident and crisis management with clear responsibilities and duties.
At the site in Ossendrecht, these innovative methods use a combination of training and workplace learning; training alone is no longer enough for the police. Eva Vahrmeijer, Trainer at the Police Academy: "The new way of training - where workplace learning is an underlying thread - should help our students take control of their learning process. They can prepare for the training by practicing demand-driven on important topics. During and even after the training, they can pull up the right information as they encounter these situations in their work. A prerequisite for the success of this new approach is that the content is fully and completely up to date. That's what we need the content experts for in the field."
"This new way of training should help our students take control of their own learning process."
Independent learning at a time that suits
The traditional two-week course (one week of theory and one week practical) has been reduced to a week thanks to the pilot with the workplace learning solution. Both AskDelphi (a Performance Support software) and Drillster (an adaptive learning and testing program) were used. Saskia: "We've taken a lot of the theory out of the training course. With the help of Drillster, employees can learn and practice these lessons independently - at a time when they want to. So, with the basic knowledge taken out of the course, no time has to be spent on this during the training week. The focus in training can now be on the critical tasks, while other tasks are learned independently before and after using Drillster and AskDelphi for support on the job. Instead of a week, it now only takes a day and a half for the theory, while practical training time takes up the rest. In-person training time is thus used much more efficiently."
Connecting starter competence and professional competence
The police often distinguish between professional competence (updating knowledge and continuous learning) and starter competence (when you are first trained before you can work as a police officer). Saskia: "What we do is connect the two much more. Are you skilled? Then you are also able to start! When you do your work, it doesn't matter if you're just starting or if you already have a lot of experience." By applying the five moments of learning from The 5 Moments of Need® methodology, police officers continuously learn. When something goes wrong, for example. Saskia: "They can fall back on AskDelphi when they have forgotten something or find information they do not need very often. Through Drillster, they can learn when something changes in a protocol or if laws and regulations have been updated.At those times, clearly, you don't want to do classroom training."
Liselotte Schellings, Operational Specialist and participant in the OvD-R training: "This way of working and learning is great for me. Before I started on the OvD-R program, I read and learned a lot through AskDelphi. So, that's how I knew what to expect. During the training, you can apply what you have learned directly, and even now - after the training - I use the system to look up protocols and ways of working. It's great to have something concrete to fall back on."
Maintaining the solution
For this learning approach to be successful, maintaining the system is very important. The system must be soundly set up, with knowledge and information always reliable and up to date. Saskia: "Maintenance of the system can pose a risk if it's not taken care of. Someone needs to take ownership of the workplace learning solution, who will make sure that a good structure is set up and that all information is always up to date. Police officers need to be confident they can rely on the system at any time."
Positive feedback
The pilot is up and running with content experts from within the police. This has ensured the users are behind the solution, supporting the workplace learning approach and content. Saskia: "It was nice to have a number of work-groups in the pilot. This meant we could easily adjust, quickly solve thingsand,for example, update questions and content in Drillster." The pilot has been received very positively by the OvD-R program participants.
- 75% of users indicate that AskDelphi makes it easier to work following frameworks and procedures
- 78% are convinced that they will use AskDelphi in their work
- 90% think you learn quickly using AskDelphi
- 77% like to keep knowledge up to date with Drillster
- 100% indicate that Drillster helps them prepare for training
- 100% find Drillster easy to use
At present, the police are reviewing the outcomes of all the different pilots and what they mean for further innovation and learning programs in the future.
First insights from the pilot are:
- Using a workplace learning solution contributes to the standardization of work processes as these are central to the workplace learning solution
- Participants get a lot of value from an up to date knowledge system but also stress that it needs regular updates and maintenance
- A balanced teaching approach (training courses and work-based learning) seem to give the best result
- A work-based simulation, with performance support and adaptive learning, is a powerful learning approach. Participants indicate that they have learned a lot in this pressure cooker format.
Curious about the possibilities for your organization?
Are you curious about the possibilities of workplace learning and the 5 Moments of Need® for your organization? Would you like to receive more information? Please contact Alfred Remmits at info@xprtise.com or on 06-53312590.
