How we work
Superior processes lead to superior results.
The GMarie Group team of learning professionals ’ project managers, instructional designers, e-learning developers, audio experts, graphic artists, multimedia specialists, trainers and facilitators ’ has the ability to provide fully customized learning solutions from concept and content development through to delivery. We also can (and do) partner with customers at any phase in this process to meet specific needs.
We have been sharpening our skills and processes for the last 20 years with the goal of delivering consistent, outstanding results on the toughest, most complex learning projects. The GMG Analysis Toolkit™, GMG PM Toolkit™, and GMG ID Toolkit™ is our proven framework that we continually adapted over years of practical experience and industry best practices. We use the GMG Quality Assurance Promise (link) with every initiative to make sure you receive the best in instructional design and performance improvement.
What we do
Solution Design
Sometimes it’s obvious what needs to be done. Other times, it’s not.
We offer customers an efficient process for analyzing performance gaps and selecting delivery options so they can determine the best solution to achieve their desired business results. The GMG Analysis Toolkit™ drives our process for helping customers create a roadmap of program elements linked to learning objectives, and shows how each of these is linked to on-the-job performance.
Customers choose analysis as a stand-alone approach to understand performance by role and validate a training need, or as a front-end phase for the overall design and development effort.
For examples of how analysis leads to targeted learning solutions, click the images below. In each of these cases, we worked with customers to analyze the most critical needs, and recommended solutions to ensure the best return for their training investment:
How we do it
Analysis Options
Most commonly, GMG provides high level and detailed design outlines of training programs for customer comment before we start production of materials. These outlines ensure we are aligned with our customers about intended outcomes, approaches and overall flow of the training course or curriculum.
For customers who request our consultative help in identifying training needs related to an organizational challenge or opportunity, we offer a front-end analysis option. For this type of analysis, we gather data from the organization in the form of surveys, interviews, focus groups or content reviews and present findings and recommendations back to our customers.
High Level Design Outline
We recommend high level design analysis for projects where more clarity is required to identify the knowledge, skills and motivation to support employee performance in the work environment. In this report, we analyze current vs. desired state and recommend options to address the gap in ways specifically matched to your company’s environment. The high level design document connects desired behaviors by role to business goals, and establishes clear objectives for the learning program to be created.
Detailed Design Outline
In projects where the business case and learning objectives are clear but the program elements have yet to be defined, we recommend a detailed design outline.
The detailed design provides an overview of the course flow based on learning objectives, with content topics, timing, exercises, interactions and assessments described in brief. The detailed design looks at audience, job roles, tasks, technology environment and media elements to produce recommended options for content treatment and delivery model. It ensures that decision makers have an opportunity to review and change program elements prior to incurring any production or development costs.
Identifying the Need: Findings and Recommendations Report
GMG recommends front-end performance analysis when a formal, systematic approach is required to more fully understand opportunities or problems in the organization.
“Increased sales” or “reduced costs” are business goals. Actual performance depends on several factors that impact behavior, including expectations, incentives, capacity, motivation, tools ’ and of course, those areas that a training program impacts directly ’ skills, knowledge, and information resources.
In an analysis phase, GMG uses a variety of methods to collect data for study about a particular performance-related topic or question. We analyze this data to determine an appropriate cross-functional solution system and prepare a findings and recommendations report to assist customers with addressing the specific needs of their organization.
What we do
Production
Already have a completed design? Our team will develop solutions to your specifications, matched to your company and culture.
Professional Quality Learning Materials
Whether classroom based, virtual or online, our designers create learning programs based on sound principles of adult learning design. We work with customers to find the right balance of context and challenge, building interactive exercises and skill practices that are relevant to what the learner will experience on the job.
How we do it
Live or Virtually Facilitated Learning Events
GMG designers produce high quality materials to support facilitators in creating memorable learning experiences. Typical products include custom facilitator and participant guides and PowerPoint® presentations, scenario-based exercises or role-plays, and group discovery and synthesis processes. Often we include media pieces such as audio or video clips, or hyperlinks to Internet based content. We use our own development templates in Word® and PowerPoint®, or we can use your internal templates and guidelines. We can also build development templates for you.
Online or Blended Learning
Our technology team produces content in all standard authoring tools according to your needs and technical requirements. Our own mobile-ready courseware shell is instructionally sound and conforms to standard AICC and SCORM requirements for interoperability with Learning Management Systems. Since our technology partner TraCorp is a SCORM/AICC LMS platform provider, all courseware including interim versions are tested on the TraCorp LMS. TraCorp provides SCORM or AICC compliant interim releases throughout the development process for testing on your internal LMS.
Expert Project and Program Management
We take pride in offering a field marshal at the helm of the project to liaise between customers and our team of designers and developers. Our project management philosophy is to keep our customers up to date and informed so appropriate action can be taken to keep the project on course. Our project management processes include active participation by the contracting customer ’ at a frequency convenient ’ to provide status for all key project stakeholders. We provide documentation in any format customers request to engage open dialogue, surface any project risks, and review the past week’s accomplishments along with next steps. Such meetings are often used to make timeline decisions during a project’s development in order to provide efficiencies.
Our Quality Commitment
We know your training projects represent your organization and we work hard to ensure that all materials we produce are error-free. We have a full-time quality assurance manager who is responsible for monitoring customer style guides and supervising a team of reviewers/editors. All content we produce passes through an internal quality review prior to being released to our customers.
What we do
Post – Production Launch & Delivery
We support live, virtual and online delivery ’ on our platform or yours.
We provide training program planning and coordination, train-the-trainer, training delivery and facilitation for all types of subject matter in live or virtual environments. We can also help integrate Web-based solutions into your LMS or LCMS.
How we do it
Delivery and Train-the-Trainer Services
Many of our instructional designers are also facilitators, experienced with classroom and virtual delivery environments. At the request of our customers, some of our instructional designers have moved into the facilitation role, either co-teaching with internal subject matter experts or seeing a program through its pilot phase.
For instructor-led, blended, or virtual sessions that GMG produces, we offer simple walk-through sessions for the internal facilitation team once materials are ready, or we can design progressive certification sessions that may include co-teaching and feedback processes.
For longer term delivery needs across a range of content areas, we have built a network of globally experienced facilitators who are available to deliver programs on a contract basis. To ensure proper communication and testing for online delivery, The GMarie Group uses the TraCorp LMS to test all online programs prior to packaging files for deployment to a customer’s SCORM or AICC compliant LMS system. We also provide test files and a test checklist for testing on the customer side.
To ensure the smooth launch of online programs, The GMarie Group uses the TraCorp learning management system to test all courses prior to packaging files for deployment to a customer’s SCORM or AICC compliant LMS system. We also provide test files and a checklist to provide feedback from testing on the customer side.
Content Maintenance and Updates
Customers of The GMarie Group can choose whether to update course materials themselves or contract with us to maintain them. All course materials we produce are stored on the GMG/TraCorp Project Management site with the ability to easily manage updates and changes. Global companies have been using this secure site successfully for over 10 years to review, identify and schedule changes to their training programs.
What we do
Tracking and Evaluation
Gaining measurable results for customers fuels our own improved performance.
We encourage our customers to measure program results and have a variety of methods to assist with the design and development of evaluation plans.
How we do it
Evaluation of Training
We use Kirkpatrick’s four levels of evaluation to guide development of assessment instruments. Most of our learning program designs include assessments to test the learner’s knowledge of subject matter. Upon request, we also design coaching guides to support post-training follow up and encourage feedback on the application of learning on the job.
Pilot Program Studies
Pilot programs provide rich information for improving learning outcomes or comparing alternative approaches. The GMarie Group works with customers to ensure that pilot programs are designed to provide the data desired by defining goals, candidates, and the pilot environment as well as a strategy for analyzing and communicating data results.
We welcome the opportunity to work with our customers to bring the rigor required to produce quality data from the pilot process.
Learning Management System Implementation and Tracking
In cases where a customer’s learning management system allows, we can also work with customers to capture rich data from SCORM interactions to provide formative evaluation data for online learning programs.
The GMarie Group’s technology partner, TraCorp, offers its own Learning Management platform that tracks training for over 1,000,000 learners in commercial and government organizations worldwide. This partnership does more than allow The GMarie Group to offer a reliable platform for online delivery. It also ensures that our instructional designers stay up to date with the latest developments in technology enabled evaluation capabilities that can be used to improve programs and courses.