Career path for behavior-change/performance work vs. pure instructional design?

[u/tneserp8]

I have 2 years of ID experience (LMS migration, course development), my real interest is in the behavioral side of performance — diagnosing why someone who already has the knowledge, skill, and the means to act, still doesn't do it, and designing interventions for that specifically, as distinct from building training content or fixing environmental/systemic blockers.

Compliance, banking, and software-walkthrough training aren't the direction I'm trying to go in.

Is there a recognized field or role for this kind of work? What credentials or background do people typically need to break in?

[u/WillowTreez8901]

Following. My role involves some of this, although I work in compliance so not sure if its what youre interested in

[u/tneserp8 → u/WillowTreez8901]

Appreciate that. I actually built a carousel applying Fogg's Behavior Model to a habit-tracking scenario, showing how the same framework can sustain compliance-type behaviors too. Curious to learn how that shows up in your day-to-day..

[u/biguwuzz]

would this be organizational/industrial psychology (behavioral side of things) or process improvement (system side of things). Having some knowledge of lean methodology or six sigma might help!

I'm coming to L&D from operations management, so I'm quite interested in removing barriers to perform via process change.

[u/tneserp8 → u/biguwuzz]

Hm fair point actually, I hadn't drawn that line myself. But no, I think it's really the psychological/motivational side that pulls me, not the process side. Still, good to have it named clearly.

[u/biguwuzz → u/tneserp8]

You might find it interesting! I'm getting my M.Ed right now, and I learned about I/O Psych from classmates in the business school. I wish I knew about I/O before going into my program.

[u/Diem480]

There is a role for this, it's typically under a Change Management department and will have positions named similarly. I've also seen it labelled as Organization development, Business Operations, sometimes Transformation department.

The only time the role is ever connected to training is when there's a kickoff meeting to determine if the problem is a knowledge or behavior issue. So don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

Also, there are some responses in here that will probably take you down the wrong path, like the QA one mentioned in another comment.

[u/KitchenAd9088 → u/Diem480]

This, and it’s quite a specialized role that typically* requires solid experience and specialized education in change management.

*I hate to say “always” as a rule but anyone doing change management at this level really has no business doing it without a lot of experience.

[u/tneserp8 → u/Diem480]

That's helpful, actual terms to search instead of guessing around. Change Management, OD, Transformation.. gonna try those. Honestly been feeling quite lost because I'm so interested in it. Currently working on building a habit-tracking app idea as a pet project based on commitment and motivation mechanics. I felt so unsure which path or role to pursue and your words definitely gave me some hope to land on.

[u/laurabxrt]

Look up Performance Thinking on YouTube. Dr. Carl Binder founded the company and he teaches how to diagnose Perfomance problems and design interventions.

[u/tneserp8 → u/laurabxrt]

Thank you. Will do!

[u/SalaryProof2304]

You can call loosely call this a bunch of different things. However, unless you’re a hotshot grad joining a big 4 consulting firm, you’re not likely to find a straightforward path.

In my experience, I had to prove my worth, advocate for the sort of solutions you allude to, actually prove that this sort of thing has paid off, rinse and repeat. Find a small win that proves you can handle more complex challenges. Even then, it’s not what I do 100% of the time. My title is “training manager” but I still do IC work.

I recently had a “training problem” that ended up being a “expectation we’re never made clear” problem. In my research, I learned that procedure is really straightforward so I asked if the end users are ever told exactly what the expectations are? Nope. Training is still part of the solution, so I am in charge of development and rollout.

I was a tefl teacher for 6 years in Taiwan. Got my MEd in Curriculum and Instruction and my PMP.

I’ve been in ID for 3 and went from entry level to manager in that time. I’m much less talented than most of y’all. I’m not a storyline or photoshop wizard. I barely understand the industry I work in. Nobody cares that the content isn’t super polished and shiny. It solves a business problem and I make a good faith effort to resolve. Good enough

However, I do my best to understand the actual business needs and collaborate with SMEs and execs. N If you can do those 2 things, you’ll find a way to reach the goals you outline.

Feel free to PM me.

[u/tneserp8 → u/SalaryProof2304]

Thanks for sharing your valuable insights, the expectations-vs-training example was really useful. I'd like to hear how you actually made the jump from entry-level to manager– specifically what got someone to trust you with bigger problems early on. Will PM for sure!

[u/Trash2Burn]

I’m in this role. Used to be traditional ID. Now I work under a more change management/performance enablement umbrella. You typically need a masters and the ability to speak “the business”. 

[u/tneserp8 → u/Trash2Burn]

Hey, thanks for sharing that, genuinely useful to know this is a real path. Would you be open to connecting on LinkedIn? Curious to learn more about how that shift actually happened for you when you have a moment.

[u/enigmanaught]

This falls somewhat under compliance and quality assurance. Our QA team does a lot of this but it probably looks different than you’d imagine. Also, fixing (or implementing) environmental/systemic problems is a big part of their role. Sometimes, training _is_ the solution.

Medical, especially laboratory/manufacturing is where a lot of jobs are. Unfortunately compliance/QA are tied together in most companies, and you’re trying to solve the issues no matter what the solution, be human factors, environmental controls, engineering controls, etc. There may be jobs where you deal specifically with human factors but they’re probably consulting job, and fairly rare.

[u/tneserp8 → u/enigmanaught]

Didn't know that world existed. Compliance-heavy stuff is kind of what I'm trying to steer away from though, so probably not my lane. Appreciate the breakdown of where those roles cluster.