The Business Case For ELearning [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

The Scope of Productivity Improvements

Productivity changes are often measured in terms of what they mean for the organization. In such analyses, organizations often cannot or do not calculate the benefits downstream to customers and upstream to suppliers. With skills and learners in focus, managers who deploy effective Internet learning systems can achieve an impact beyond the reach of their organizations. In this scenario, productivity can be viewed as a longer, connected chain of people who have a broader business impact.

To make product lines successful, many organizations have to increase the skills and knowledge level throughout a value chain rather than just within the organization. For example, an equipment reseller can help its customers improve productivity while also helping to improve the productivity of the equipment manufacturer downstream and upstream.

The art and science of implementing an integrated learning strategy to improve a company's productivity often lies in looking beyond the current definitions of Internet learning. Success lies in focusing on new measurement tools and new metrics.

Collectively, the three componentscommunications, training, and assessmentnurture a system that allows organizational competence and work-force output to be measured and enhanced. In 2003, Cisco Systems realized a $142-million financial benefit from this type of comprehensive e-learning program. In addition, employees who change jobs can acquire the necessary competence up to 40 percent faster through e-learning than employees who use the classroom to acquire the same knowledge or skills.

The Advantages from an Employer Perspective

From an employer perspective, each e-learning component corresponds to an organizational advantage. Following are advantages:

E-communication translates into strategic alignment. The use of e-communication enables strategic alignment between organizational priorities and the work force within an organization or ecosystem through knowledge sharing. The virtual intimacy and proximity created through presentations over Internet video not only helps to level the playing field between headquarter-based employees and remote employees, but it also allows a sense of connectedness in mission, purpose, and strategy among employees irrespective of geography, division, or function. For instance, policy changes delivered system-wide through video streaming concurrently to all sites reduces the risk of rumors getting out of hand.

E-training translates into formal acquisition of skills development. Skills development can best be achieved through a formal training program. Such a program can be delivered in the classroom or online. Both classroom-based and online training have their place in an organization. Blending the two methods, choosing which method for which audience and which topics, is also plausible. Delivering training via electronic means saves time, reduces costs, and helps leverage the skills of specialized talent to larger numbers across the organization regardless of location.

E-assessment translates into results. If assessment is not done, you are training for its own sake, not for the benefit of the individual or the organization. Why are you investing in training? What business results do you want to achieve with a knowledgeable and competent work force? Are you sure your work force has the knowledge and skills the company needs today? Who has the skills? What if the skill needs change as fast as the technology or the products and services change? How do you keep up? How do you gain confidence in the competence of the work force? E-assessment, when complemented with a responsive e-training and e-communication program, offers a means to determine the efficacy of the knowledge-dissemination effort across an organization. Tools such as online or proctored exams, simulations, or scenario problems can be used to assess skills and knowledge. Electronic testing proves especially useful to deliver performance-simulation questions to candidates. These simulations more accurately reflect and predict skills, competence, and performance. The metrics generated through the assessment process are not only used to report on individual success, but they are also the basis for determining organizational success (for instance, the overall business impact of investing in an integrated system of communication, training, and assessment).

The Advantages from an Employee Perspective

From an employee perspective, an integrated approach to e-learning offers certain advantages as well:

E-communication translates into increased awareness. Arguably, an organization is only as good as its front line, the employees who interact with customers. Employee success derives in part from clear, consistent, and successful communication throughout an organization. For example, the ability to download a sales presentation on product features and benefits the night before a presentation, or an hour before it, or even during a customer meeting, allows sales people to deliver more accurate (and perhaps current) information, and it gives the sales people confidence about their claims (especially if product features have been altered since the last presentation).

Access to tools such as video on demand enables customer support personnel to view short clips demonstrating troubleshooting or installation tips on their workstations. The list of topics that are important to employees and that need to be consistent across the organization is endless: Organizational change, goals, products, priorities, consistent messages from executives to employees, and ethical-conduct reinforcement represent just a few of these topics. Effective and productive employees need to know about their job, the intentions of the company, the goals of the department, and perhaps even a particular customerthese are some of the reasons why e-communication is an essential success tool for every employee. It is why e-learning is a must for any organization that is geographically dispersed, regardless of the size of that organization.

E-training translates into skills. The major advantage of e-learning is widespread access to training content. An advantage of e-learning from an employee perspective is that it extends the opportunity for mastery and for self-paced learning. Learners can repeat and practice certain tasks or factual information whenever necessary or desired (and according to their own schedule and availability). They can go back to the content as necessary for their job or for their customer. The kinds of training and content made available should reflect the needs of the intended audience and the outcome desired. This is usually best determined (and most appreciated) by the audience and management, not by a training organization (who are skilled professionals in their job, but not usually in sales or engineering or whatever they are building content for).

E-assessment translates into career development. Employees value objective metrics that enable them to demonstrate improvement in their skills. Online exams, simulations, proctored exams, and certifications are valued by most employees as a measure for compensation or advancement decisions. Employees want to be confident in their competency, and they want a means to demonstrate it to the organization, not just their own manager. Consistent metrics in the organization's evaluation process means employees have broader visibility and greater chances for advancement, promotion, and recognition.

The pyramid metaphor offers a useful model for organizations to apply a comprehensive approach to learning, competence, and measurement. Anything short of a comprehensive approach will make real productivity advantages suspect. If productivity benefits are uncertain, or suspect, e-learning will remain, at best, an endeavor with questionable value and disappointing results, mired in endless return-on-investment (ROI) exercises.