The Effect of Performance Support and Training as Performance Interventions

For decades, training has been one of the most common interventions used by organizations to improve the performance of their employees and teach them new ideas and skills. But owing to the cost of developing and delivering training, organizations have adopted alternative ways to enable employee performance while reducing the cost and minimizing the time users spend away from the job. One alternative is electronic performance support systems (EPSS). The present study examined the effect of EPSS and training on user performance, time on task, and time in training. Results revealed that participants receiving only EPSS and those receiving training and EPSS performed significantly better on a tax preparation procedure than participants who received only training. Training-only users also spent significantly more time completing the procedural task than their counterparts in other treatment groups, leading to a negative correlation between time on task and performance. The implications of these findings for the design and development of performance support and training interventions are discussed. (Contains 6 figures and 2 tables.)