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A Job Aid is not training, although when employees use job aids frequently, the acquisition of new knowledge and/or skills sometimes does occur. While both training and job aids are designed to support performance, they do so in very different ways. Training is designed to develop new knowledge/skills that an employee recalls and applies on the job. Job aids don't do this. In fact, job aids are designed specifically to reduce reliance on such recall of knowledge and skills. You probably already use several job aids in your work. Typical job aids include:
Technicians usually don't rely on recall to perform complex alignments. While training might introduce a technician to an alignment procedure, well-designed training wouldn't attempt to develop recall ability of the procedure. The technician would use a job aid (perhaps a technical manual or checklist) to actually perform the task. Job aids are particularly effective (and needed) when certain working conditions are present: - A job task is very complex.
Training alone often cannot ensure good performance under these conditions. Job aids are a perfect supplement to training in these cases and occasionally can even short-circuit the need for training altogether. (When job aids can effectively replace training, the performance boost is almost always less expensive.) Most often, job aids are used as supplements to other forms of performance support. |
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