Before I joined iTS Leadership a few months ago to focus on taking After Action Review (AAR) into the NHS, my knowledge of AAR was extremely limited, at best. You may be in a similar position, feeling curious about it, but unsure if it’s relevant or useful to you in your role. By sharing my experience of discovering the power of AAR, I hope to encourage you to embark on your own AAR journey with us.
What is AAR?
Put simply, AAR is a structured process of rapid action learning from a shared experience or event, facilitated by a trained AAR conductor. Until recently AAR has somewhat flown under the radar in the UK, but now that the NHS has included it as a recommended tool in its revised Patient Safety Incident Response Framework(PSIRF), it is fast gaining traction.
To support the rollout of the new PSIRF, iTS Leadership has been accredited by the NHS to deliver AAR Conductor training programmes in healthcare Trusts across the country and it’s been a fascinating period of discovery for me so far. Seeing the impact on the staff attending the Conductor Development Days, it’s quickly become apparent that I’m not the only one discovering that AAR is a truly intuitive, interactive and secure way of learning and communicating between teams and colleagues.
“Even better than I expected”
After initially observing and then assisting with the delivery of two or three Conductor Development Days, I have felt so encouraged by delegate engagement, feedback and the overwhelming positive atmosphere in the learning space. In some cases, this has been like nothing I have experienced previously in any training environment.
One of the most ‘value defining’ moments I have witnessed came when a delegate approached the facilitators at the end of the day to thank us: “My colleague from last week’s session said what an incredibly useful way of learning this day offered but I can honestly say it has been even better than I had expected and I can’t wait to share this with my team and other departments.” This sentiment is echoed time and again by clients.
Creating transformational shifts
One of the critical success factors of AAR is its ability to promote psychological safety within a team, giving each participant a voice and ensuring every AAR is a safe space. The same is true of the training days too, and this is something else which we both observe in delegates and hear from them in their feedback.
Sometimes we see delegates arrive for our Conductor Development Days feeling anxious and intimidated, maybe due to certain preconceptions or even previous negative experiences. But, as the day progresses, we see these same individuals become engaged and invested in the process, and leave the session as champions of AAR, determined to be AAR advocates as soon as they walk out of the room.
Where next?
Personally, I feel such pride to be a part of the iTS Leadership team, and consider myself privileged to be learning my craft from such a skilled group of world-class professionals. The blend of course content and activities not only informs and educates, but creates sessions which are emotional, honest and thoroughly enjoyable.
We’re already starting to see the difference AAR is making in the NHS and I feel that AAR as a Rapid Action Learning tool delivers incredible value to organisations in a wide range of industries, including in financial services, where I’ve spent the majority of my career so far.
I personally cannot wait to see where the AAR journey takes both us and our clients alike!