Transformational Technology – Designing Interactive Online Career Development Services

By Tannis Goddard

Technology offers the potential to transform the way we deliver career development services. Rather than fearing that technology will replace face-to-face services, we have the opportunity to consider the transformative communication capabilities of new technologies and how these can expand the horizons and reach of our services.

This edition of the ContactPoint Bulletin discusses cyber and distance counselling, which is about looking at different approaches for creating a mattering and productive relationship with our clients that is sustained through time and space using a variety of communication mediums. Having been involved in designing and delivering online career development interventions for 10 years, I am a firm believer in the potential of this approach and that as a field we need to carefully consider how we:

• decide to integrate technology as a delivery medium within programming
• design the delivery model and
• support and evaluate its implementation.

This article will provide a brief process framework to assist in the design conception for integrating technology into career service programming. This framework is derived from our internal experience designing and deploying online services and the lessons we are learning as we support other organizations to do the same.

Designing and integrating online services within career development programming requires careful analysis of many factors to create a model that will achieve overarching service goals and meet the career learning needs of targeted clients. The design also needs to ensure that service is accessible and fits within policy context, that practitioners are skilled and ready for delivery with managers prepared for online supervision, and that the implementation is effectively evaluated to determine necessary changes in approach. The more time invested in a strategic design, the less time required for change; however, given the rapid pace of technological and workplace change, ongoing development and enhancements must be expected. Below are a series of questions that will support you in designing a delivery model. 

1. Purpose, Goals and Policy Context

• Why go online? Is it to provide services to a larger geographical area; to extend the hours of access for clients; to add a reflective and narrative component through a-synchronous text communication; or to take generic career development materials and tailor them more specifically for specialized populations?
• Policy context. Consider key policy matters, within your local delivery model. Are there any policy mandates that would hinder the use of technology (i.e. the way the services are funded and invoiced; how performance measures are set and evaluated) and are there some that will help (i.e. speed of service; geographical reach; focus on services across a life span)?

2. Access & Readiness

Evaluating access and readiness needs to be applied across a number of factors including:

• Local delivery model – Is your local industry context embracing the use of technology to support clients?
• Technology Infrastructure – Do your intended clients have sufficient access to IT bandwidth and computers?
• Organization buy-in – does your organization have management and practitioner support, if not can you help create it?
• Practitioner skills – Transferring career practice to a text-based medium requires the ability to be selective in strategy with a strong ability to convey emotions and relevant information succinctly online. Are your practitioners reflective and able to be purposeful in selecting their counselling strategies and do they have exceptional written communication skills?

3. Technology Selection

Your technology choice needs to allow you sufficient ability to create a learning model that fits with your overall goals and budget and that meets your security standards. The scope of your implementation will impact your choices. For example, if your goal is to maintain support between face-to-face meetings, establishing a model for strategic email use may be sufficient. If you want to create a model that enables clients to log in 24/7 to work on learning units and strategically interact with a practitioner, you might want to consider options such as a learning management system (Blackboard, Moodle, eVolve). These types of systems provide a variety of tools to help you create a learning experience tailored to your goals. When making your selection, you will need to consider if you want to buy and host your own technology (requires technical set up; computers and ongoing maintenance) or if you want to purchase a license to have your software hosted and maintained externally.

4. Learning Design (theoretical framework – pedagogical considerations)

Once your goals are established and technology in place, considerations need to be made regarding how you will put the online service together. Questions to ask yourself include:

• What type of content do I want online?
• How do I want my participants to engage with this content, what learning and development activities do I want them to complete? What career development and learning theories are guiding my design?
• When and where do I place strategic interactions with a practitioner to support the learning process and through what mediums (ie: a-synchronous text communication; synchronous chat; Skype Calls etc). Online services require strategic placement of this interaction – without face-to-face visual cues, creating a space to ensure this connection happens is essential in the design.

5. Implementation Systems & Processes

Successful integration of technology into career services requires a well-thought-out implementation process. Questions to consider include:

• How will the service be marketed and promoted?
• Which clients will be offered online services and how will suitability for the medium be explored?
• When online services are selected, how will clients gain access to the system? What materials may be provided in paper-based format to explain the service and assist the client in logging in and being successful?
• What follow up processes will be in place if clients do not log on?
• What will determine successful participation and completion online?

6. Practitioner Development & Ongoing Supervision

Even with buy-in and strong practitioning and communication skills, ongoing development and supervision are essential in the transition to online services. Practitioners need a supportive space as they learn to transfer their familiar face-to-face experiences into this new realm with opportunities to link to other practitioners engaged in this work and safe spaces to explore their experiences. This support may be best given with a combination of practice communities and 1-1 supervision of online practice from an experienced online practitioner.

7. Evaluation & Continuous Improvement

Although up-front planning and design will aid in developing an appropriate and targeted service, it is critical to build in an evaluation and continuous improvement process. The use of online delivery as a distance career programming model is very new and each context within which it is delivered will be different. Ensuring that time and resources are allocated for collecting usability experience and service impact will enable you to determine what areas of change or enhancement may be required in your design to achieve your goals.

The intention of this article is to assist with the initial design conception for the development of distance online career counselling services. It is just a starting point to help guide organizations and governments in the initial conception of services. As we continue to explore this method of delivery as an industry, we will undoubtedly develop and enhance our best practices.

As the President of Training Innovations, Tannis Goddard has designed innovative career services for 20 years, including a decade devoted to researching, designing and delivering interactive and facilitated online career services. Tannis is the winner of BCCDA’s Award of Excellence; is completing her PhD focusing on the design and evaluation of online career development services; and spearheaded her organization’s development of eVolve – a learning management system designed for distance career services. In May 2013, Tannis will be an invited lead in Australia hosting the first ever International e-Career Symposium focused on policy, design and practice of cyber and distance career counselling.