The ELearning Fieldbook [Electronic resources] : Implementation Lessons and Case Studies from Companies that are Making eLearning Work نسخه متنی

Case 3: Cingular Wireless

Company Facts and Figures

Industry: Telecom

Scope of Services and Products: Provides wireless voice and data communications

Estimated Number of Employees: More than 34,000

Year e-Learning Introduced: 2000

Offices and Locations: U.S. and Puerto Rico; Headquarters in Atlanta, GA

Estimated 2002 Revenues: US$14.7 billion

Web Site: www.cingular.com

Number of e-Learning Programs in Entire Curriculum: More than 200

Introduction

The Learning Services Team at Cingular Wireless was faced with a challenge—create an orientation process for the newly formed company that would not only help new employees feel welcome and a part of the Cingular team, it would also provide a consistent experience regardless of work location, job function, or hire date.

Cingular Wireless was formed in 2001 through a joint venture between the wireless divisions of SBC and BellSouth. Each parent company had its own unique culture and new hire program. One goal was to create a single new hire experience that reinforced the combined company culture and business strategy.

The solution Cingular chose was the blending of traditional Human Resources (HR) first-day meetings with a series of activities, events, and e-learning courses designed to meet both business needs and organizational compliance and regulatory needs. The launch of this new orientation process was scheduled to coincide with the transition of employees from the two parent companies into one company—Cingular Wireless.

The first step Cingular Wireless took, after identifying key stakeholders’ criteria for success, was to conduct a full needs assessment that included surveying internal and external groups regarding their new hire orientation experiences. Cingular collected data on the key elements in a successful orientation from both a new employee and business perspective. They looked at what contributes to creating a great first impression, and what contributes to creating a less then ideal experience.

Why e-Learning?

Cingular Wireless selected an e-learning approach to achieve:

Consistency of message

Common employee experience

Timely dissemination of information and resources

Reliable tracking and reporting capability

Flexible completion time frame

“What we learned is that the experience starts from day one and that sometimes when an employee has to wait days or weeks before they begin an orientation, the experience is not as great as it could have otherwise been,” says Betty Cotton, Manager of Employee Development. Another finding of the company’s research was that new employees often feel overwhelmed with the amount of information they receive during traditional HR orientations, with little time to digest the content.

It was determined that a blended approach with a strong e-learning focus would be the best solution. This solution would allow orientation and training to start immediately, provide consistency of message, a common employee experience, and timely dissemination of information and resources. Says Cotton, “Employees are located in various Cingular offices across the country, and we were aiming for as close to a consistent process as possible for our employees to experience their orientation and learn about Cingular.”

New employees are introduced to the orientation and guided to the various orientation components through an interactive Web site called Joining the Team. The Web site and all e-learning courses are completed within the first 30 days of employment and are accessed and tracked from Cingular’s learning management system.

How Was the Program Aligned with the Business?

A number of key business drivers are directly related to the new program. “At the time Cingular was formed, we had 12 different brands, and our operations were very decentralized,” says Rob Lauber, Executive Director of Learning Services. “One of the strategic initiatives of the company going forward was to create a consistent employee and consistent customer experience that would reinforce a new employee’s belief that they made the right choice in joining Cingular.”

Cingular recognizes that their long-term growth and ability to provide exceptional products and services is directly related to their ability to attract and maintain a skilled and diverse work force. In training, this equates to providing adequate access to the knowledge and skills associated with a person’s job. A key element of e-learning is that content is delivered consistently at all locations and available at any time.

“Culturally we were trying to make sure that we got the same kind of messages and the same kind of experiences across to employees regardless of where they were located and regardless of the function that they worked in,” says Lauber. Another reason Cingular Wireless decided to convert much of the orientation content to e-learning is because new hires are coming in at different times throughout the month, and this way orientation could start immediately for the new employee.

The online aspect of the orientation eliminated potential delays in training and the costly travel expenses associated with traditional classroom courses. Also, the use of the Web site and e-learning courses reduced the number of classroom instructors needed from the HR department. “We wanted a process that would require fewer HR professionals to deliver and maintain,” says Lauber. “The process would also encourage more interaction between the new employee and the hiring manager.”

Key Business Drivers

Help employees contribute to Cingular’s growth and profitability

Communicate Cingular’s policies and procedures and help new hires recognize the importance of complying with these policies and procedures

Reinforce the new hires’ belief that they made the right choice in joining Cingular

Provide a consistent message and employee experience regardless of location, job function, or hire date

Provide a flexible orientation process that supports the

HR staffing model

Another key business driver is the ability to track and report on employees’ completion of compliance courses. “This was a major factor in our decision to use e-learning versus CD-ROM in deploying the orientation program. Tracking completion through the learning management system provides an excellent way for managers to ensure that their employees have completed the orientation and compliance courses and also take corrective action if they have not. Although CD-ROM would allow for more media-rich online content, completion could not automatically be recorded and tracked.

How Was the Program Designed?

The Learning Services team, along with HR and management, know it is important for new hires to be welcomed to the company by people and not a computer. So the new employee is greeted and welcomed to Cingular Wireless by co-workers, their manager, and local HR and leadership. Following these introductions the employee receives a tour of the work facilities and is guided through the process for logging into the learning management system and enrolling for, and starting, the online components of the orientation.

The online elements of the orientation are located on a Web site called Joining the Team. This site is designed to introduce new hires to Cingular’s culture, commitment to diversity and professional development, safety, and benefits. The site also serves as a central point for the entire orientation experience. New employees can go to job aids, activities, and many Cingular resources, such as the HR portal Web site and Cingular communications. Most importantly, the Joining the Team site introduces and directs new hires to the online compliance training courses they will be required to complete. “The Joining the Team site is a great way to communicate the importance of the compliance training and easily direct our new employees to these courses for completion,” says Cotton.

Each compliance training course is designed to be no more then 30 minutes in length. The courses present very concise and direct content, which makes it easier for new employees to assimilate information at a time when so much is coming their way. Plus, smaller courses can be completed in the time frame of a busy work day.

During the orientation experience, new employees also learn about the internal structure of Cingular Wireless through an online, interactive tour called Inside Cingular. This tour introduces new employees Cingular’s business strategy and leadership team. Photos of the executive team are included so new hires can put faces with the names they will hear or see often.

Media and Tools

Lectora by Trivantis: Online training authoring tool

Macromedia Flash

Centra e-collaboration tool to communicate and share online components with leaders, management, and HR

Docent: Learning management system to deploy online courses and track results

Zoomerang to develop, administer, and gather participant feedback

Throughout the orientation, there are opportunities to engage with managers, coworkers, and HR. “Employees are given tips and encouraged to perform certain activities around networking with their manager and peers,” says Lauber. For example, a new employee and his or her manager is expected to meet face-to-face to discuss job expectations and work responsibilities.

All course design for the orientation program was completed internally. Two vendors were used to develop media, such as graphics and Macromedia Flash animations, and also program both the Web site and compliance training. For the online components, Cingular required vendors to use Lectora, an authoring and publishing software program by Trivantis. Says Cotton, “We wanted the ability to easily update and maintain the content in-house.”

How Was the Program Deployed?

The Learning Services team identified a deployment strategy that was simple, fast, cost-effective, and allowed for tracking of participant’s completion. During the design phase, the team concluded that a CD-ROM approach was not the best delivery method because:

Duplication and distribution would be costly

Tracking of scores and completion would prove almost impossible

Timely distribution of CD-ROMs would be challenging

Access to a CD-ROM could be more challenging for many employees than access to an Internet site

Version control for course material would be difficult

Deployment through Cingular’s learning management system was identified as the best option. This option allowed new employees to easily and quickly enroll, access, and track all of their courses from one location. Plus, it was easy to connect new employees to the online evaluation that was developed and deployed through Zoomerang. These evaluations allowed for quick access to participants’ reactions and feedback to the orientation.

To help ensure the orientation process was successful, the Learning Services team needed to market the process and get buy-in from senior leadership, management, and HR. This was achieved through multiple marketing and communication techniques that took place before, during, and after the deployment of the orientation program.

During the design and development phase, Web conferences deployed by Centra were held with the Senior Leadership team. These conferences were an opportunity for the Learning Services team to provide updates on the status of the overall development effort, which helped set expectations, answer questions, and ensure that the team continued to move in the right direction. In addition, open houses were scheduled to coincide with regional leadership meetings to ensure that there would be maximum participation in the orientation program. “We traveled to regional offices and call centers and provided an opportunity for the leadership teams to see the welcome video, interact with the online Web site and courses, and ask questions about the orientation process,” says Lauber.

Marketing Approach

Joining the Team resource guide given to managers

Centra Web conferences to update leaders, managers, and HR

E-mail announcements

Articles in company online newsletter

On-site demonstrations

For management, the purpose of marketing the orientation process was not only to gain buy-in, but also to communicate the critical role managers play in the orientation process. A resource guide was developed to help managers guide and support new employees through the process. This guide provided checklists, job aids, and information sheets, along with recommended schedules for completing the orientation within the 30-day time frame.

Finally, for HR, buy-in was essential because of the important role they play in the orientation process and, for most, the new program represented a significant change from the way orientation was conducted in the past. To achieve this buy-in, members of the HR team were identified to participate on the orientation implementation team. Their role was to help develop the deployment strategy, review and provide feedback on content and support materials, and communicate the process within their region. This collaboration not only helped determine recommendations for deployment and strengthen the orientation content, but it also helped HR get excited about this new process.

What Was the Business Impact of the Program?

Cost effectiveness was an important impact of the program. “To deliver the nine compliance courses to the entire organization costs about $1.45 per employee, says Lauber. “That’s about $0.16 per course per employee to deliver, which represents a 90 percent cost reduction in content delivery if we had to deliver it in an instructor-led classroom format,” explains Lauber. Costs were also impacted by a reduction in employee hours required for HR to support the delivery of the program. “Given the large number of the employees that we hire in a given period, it would have been extremely difficult to meet our goals with the number of HR staff that we have,” adds Lauber.

Although the program is longer than the original orientation, it is spread out over four weeks allowing new employees the opportunity to absorb the material at their own pace. “Previously, we had received feedback that our orientation had too much information, people could not remember it, they could not process it, and often times they would leave the orientation feeling as though they had been overloaded with content,” says Lauber “So by going in this new direction, employees learn in a way that is more consistent with how adults usually process information, and they always can go back and refer to the material as many times as they need to.”

Learner Perspectives

"Very enlightening and educational"

"Online training allowed me to backtrack if I needed to access information again."

"User friendly"

"The orientation was very informative and thorough."

Summary

Purpose: To build a blended learning solution that provides a consistent orientation experience for all new Cingular Wireless employees as soon as they begin employment, regardless of their job type or work location

Program Structure: The orientation program included:

Interactive online tour

Self-paced e-learning courses

Face-to-face networking

Online evaluation

Number of Learning Hours per Learner: 8 to 12

Total Number of Hours of Learning in the Program: 8 to 12

Number of Learners:

Varies based on the number of new hires

Completion Requirements:

All new employees must complete the orientation within the first 30 days of employment

Media and Tools:

Lectora by Trivantis

Macromedia Flash

Centra

Zoomerang

Deployment Mechanism:

Central Web site portal for all courses

Docent learning management system

Lessons Learned

Test underlying infrastructure as thoroughly as possible to ensure that all aspects function as intended.

Run a sample group through complete program to validate communications, system inter- action, and user acceptance. This helps catch problems before launch that can be easily fixed, as well as maintains learning’s credibility.

Involve management early on in decision making process so that they are advocates for the program.

Operate a question and answer line so that managers, subject matter experts, and HR delivery team can answer questions and quickly eliminate confusion.