Getting started with e-learning

Corporate learning is evolving and more companies are looking for ways to maximise learning effectiveness by placing corporate initiatives in the context of employees' needs. Learning has become the connective tissue between corporate mission and those employees charged with carrying it forward.

Industry expert Elliott Massie has said that e-learning is the use of technology to design, deliver, select, administer, support and extend learning. The growth of the Internet, with its ability to deliver constant access to efficient and effective training, has set the stage for personal and professional learning to reach unparalleled heights. Contrary to more traditional approaches, e-learning is not a one-size-fits-all endeavour.

Many companies have realised that the cost of instructor-led training is not a viable and effective option to train a number of learners at the same time. A globally dispersed workforce can view an e-learning course without having to travel.

E-learning is the ideal tool for 'level-setting' employees at multiple locations with basic skills. It has the ability to simplify the certification training process. Mentors should be available to answer questions as these come up during the training process. Your provider of choice should also address the needs of those learners who desire live, instructor-led training. Virtual training can be a great way to provide learners with a live experience while enabling them to stay at work rather than travel to live training events.

A major foundation of effective corporate learning development is the availability of high-quality learning content for the full range of enterprise needs. The ideal blended learning model is one that integrates a wide range of functions that empower learners to participate in several formal and informal learning activities.

A true blended solution includes online courses, online access to reference materials (books, white papers, etc.), instructor-led training, mentoring by topic experts and other information resources. These should be readily available, utilising a search function to quickly allow access to the learning asset at the moment of need.

Well designed e-learning content does a good job of addressing technical and business skills. However, it is important to set learning goals mapped to your strategic corporate goals, ensuring that what you teach your workforce will benefit your company. You should make a conscious effort to find content that applies to all levels and all functions within the employees base, ensuring that your learning investment is directly correlated to desired business outcomes.

It is also important to think about informal learning resour-ces and to find a learning partner with the depth of informal content to meet your needs. Examples of this content include access to unabridged online books on a range of subjects, including IT, business and desktop skills and other targeted subjects and live mentors to assist learners with questions. It is critical to make sure that your e-learning partner has the resources to meet your company's varied learning needs and corporate goals.

What are the technologies you will need to create an effective programme? There are many important components to the technology (learning management systems, courseware, simulations, job aids, virtual meeting and rapid design tools) that deliver your e-learning courses and help you manage your learning programmes, including finding what you need easily, tracking/reporting on what learners have accomplished, compatibility with standards and customisation of the user interface.

It is not enough to buy courses and provide them to your workforce. There are many aspects of the learning programme that need to be managed and implemented to increase the success rate of your initiative. These include programme design, establishing course objectives and strategy and defining success criteria, curriculum design, deciding on course selection based on competencies and training initiatives, planning, developing a deployment strategy, marketing and communication, determining target audiences, launching programmes and creating continuous promotions.

It might seem that measuring the success of a learning programme is as simple as keeping accurate records of who took what course and what scores were achieved. However, measuring your programme's success against your corporate objectives is more difficult. It is important to work with a partner who has a pre-defined way to measure and execute against return on investment goals. You are looking for a return that is tangible, a measurable result delivered from a well implemented, ongoing and strategically targeted training process.

Your company only stands to benefit from getting started with e-learning - from a cost, time and learning perspective. As an employer, you now have the ability to influence more. Thanks to e-learning, you can influence and tailor informal learning to meet the needs of your biggest asset - your human capital.

For more information on e-learning, e-mail Intel-act on info@intel-act.com.