How can you measure your success?
Let’s go back to your party. Look around the room and remember how success is defined for each stakeholder. What tools can you use to achieve this success, and what kind of metric can you assign to measure it?
For learners, successful courses are relevant, engaging and up-to-date, and teach them exactly what they need to know to achieve their goals. Learning paths are one way to achieve relevance and target each learner’s needs. Measurement of e-Learning program success for learners parallels traditional measures of learner success: performance improvement, test scores, and formal and informal learner feedback.
Managers are also interested in learner success. One metric for measuring success in the eyes of managers is annual employee reviews. Are employees achieving higher review ratings after completing the e-Learning courses? Managers should also have access to reports of employee performance, either through direct access to the learning management system (LMS) or through regular reports from the LMS administrator.
Human Resources is often in charge of tracking learner progress through the program, and may be particularly interested in employee completion rates of compliance or certification courses. They may already have metrics in mind. For example, perhaps compliance courses must have 100% completion rate with test scores of 95% or higher. A LMS automatically tracks these details and provides reports of all activity.
IT might measure the success of the program by tracking the number of calls to the Help desk that pertain to the e-Learning program. It is unrealistic that the number of calls will be zero, but counting the calls will clearly indicate how much impact the e-Learning program is having on the department. You can achieve a successful program in the eyes of IT by working with a reputable vendor for your LMS and courseware, and by involving IT in decisions about platforms, software, and system requirements.
Subject matter experts define success by the accuracy of the course materials. Involve them in the process by asking them to review the content at multiple stages, such as after you have drafted the script or storyboard, after completion of course development, and then regularly throughout the life of the course as changes occur in the product, process, or subject.
Discuss success factors with stakeholders. They can be great assets to your program. Once you have a clear sense of what e-Learning success looks like in your company, and how you can achieve and measure it, gather the tools that will help you achieve success.
E-Learning tools and services
Selecting the right tools, services, and vendors can increase your probability for success. Research your options with the needs of your stakeholders in mind.
If access to reporting is important, choose a LMS that is easy to use and available to multiple users. Make sure its features meet the needs you really have! It’s easy to be seduced by promises of integration with all company systems, virtual reality interfaces, social networking features, and bells and whistles, but if it doesn’t contribute to success as your stakeholders define it, search further. There are many straightforward, easy-to-use learning management systems that require minimal or no installation. These are perfect for companies that are just venturing into e-Learning, and indeed often successfully serve the needs of organizations for many years. Ask potential vendors for references in a similar industry or of a similar size, then call and see how well the LMS meets their needs.
When you select pre-developed courses, make sure the content is complete, accurate, and at the appropriate level for your learners. Consider whether the tone and presentation matches the culture of your organization. Before you purchase, review the courses yourself, and ask a few people in your organization who are most familiar with the topic to review them as well.
If you will develop courses in-house, select an authoring tool that fits your skill set and desired result, as well as your budget. Ease of use in an authoring tool is relative to the skills and needs of its user. For creative instructional designers, the time spent learning a powerful tool pays off with effective, engaging courses. Many vendors offer free trial periods for their authoring tools. Take the time to develop a small project with each one, using your own content. Call their technical support and see how responsive they are (if they aren’t responsive before you buy, what can you expect after they have your money?).
Working with an outside vendor to create custom courseware often provides the opportunity to create more or better courses than you can create yourself. Make the most of that opportunity by selecting the right custom content vendor. Choose a partner who values pedagogy and learning and who speaks knowledgably about appropriate use of interactivity. Ask to see examples of courses they have created. Call references and ask how well they deliver on time and on budget. Have the vendor sign a non-disclosure agreement, then share some of your content with them and ask them to describe how they would design the course. The right vendor will be an extension of your team, so be as diligent in your selection as if you were hiring an employee.
Conclusion
As you work with each stakeholder in your organization to define success, be aware of the techniques and tools you can use to achieve that success and put in place the metrics for measurement. A successful e-Learning program is within your reach!
