Training and operations
General von Steuben’s training technique was to create a "model company," a group of 120 chosen men who in turn successively trained other personnel at regimental and brigade levels. His system of progressive training began with the School of the Soldier and continued through the School of the Regiment. This corrected the previous policy of simply assigning personnel to regiments without thought of where they may fit best. As I referred to earlier, each company commander was made responsible for the training of new men, but actual instruction was done by selected sergeants.
In today’s world, the School of the Soldier can translate to understanding the training needs of each individual employee, which ties into the evaluation of your personnel. What do they need to get the job done? What are their career goals? Do these goals require obtaining or maintaining certification? Please see Sidebar 2 for ideas on how to evaluate and understand individual training needs.
- Take surveys to evaluate individual training needs.
- Review core competencies and job families to understand what training would support employees at this individual level.
- Outline curricula tracks to support competencies or certification needs.
- Solicit mentors and champions for informal learning sessions.
- Send target e-mails that promote a course or group of courses targeting groups, and outline the benefits of e-Learning.
- Host presentations or Webinars to introduce your e-Learning program and help get them excited about it.
- Incorporate incentives and rewards for top performers.
- Have your managers communicate the importance of e-Learning, and how it will be tied into performance evaluation and department objectives.
The School of the Regiment in terms of this article could be used to represent a corporate division or branch. Basically this translates to understanding what is needed, not only at the individual level but also within a department, branch, division, and organization as a whole. Each level has its own unique and required skill set that needs to be addressed.
Strategy, planning, and measurement
Taking these three points (goals, personnel, and training and operations) into consideration will help you identify a strategy. Once a strategy has been put into place, promoting your program through marketing and communication is what puts it into motion. I believe this is critical if you want to keep the level of awareness where it needs to be to see the usage you are expecting. An open house event is a nice place to start, but cannot be the end. Remember the adage, “out of sight, out of mind.” Steady, consistent communication takes dedication, but is well worth the outcome.
To create a communication plan, identify specific tasks that will help support the goals dictated within your strategy. Assign dates to your tasks. Tie what is on paper into your calendar so that you stay on track. Host regular reviews with your team to make sure goals are being met.
Once you have fully cycled through your strategy, you will want to integrate it. Integration, simply put, is going through the cycle all over again. Each time you cycle through you integrate e-Learning more and more into the fabric of your organization until it one day becomes second nature.
Bearing all of this in mind, the only time training is relevant is when it helps one to do their job more efficiently, and hone in on their professional skills. You want your employees to be more valuable today than they were when they were first hired. Can you imagine, for example, a nurse or doctor who stopped learning after graduating from their formal university training program? The results would be disastrous! How do you then measure this efficiency, or return on investment?
Measuring a return on investment as it pertains to e-Learning has always been tricky and elusive, but is also something you may not want to ignore. Because of its elusiveness, many are tempted to measure only initial dollars saved over alternate methods. You can’t stop there! In addition to measuring dollars saved and results, you also need to examine and measure benefits the program provides to the organization. Consider the following when examining factors for ROI.
Dollars
How much are you currently spending on alternative training methods?
- Outsourced ILT – paying a vendor to train
- In-house ILT – cost of development, materials, instructors, facilities
- Number and type of available courses
- Employee time away from work
- If off-site at a location outside the city, travel expenses should also be considered
Compare this to the cost you would spend with an e-Learning content provider.
Benefits
- Being able to propel your organization towards its goals in the most cost efficient, wide-reaching way possible.
- Establishing a recognizable standard.
- Establishing a sense of continuity and stability.
- Bringing value to your employees, increasing performance and prosperity, that in turn brings value to your customers and the organization as a whole.
- Offering employees a way to keep up with technology and re-invent themselves whenever necessary.
- Being able to provide a larger volume of available content without having to spend development dollars
- Convenient, anytime access
- Courses that are at the learner’s own pace
Measured results
- What is the number of active, participating users compared to the number of available subscriptions (i.e. the “adoption rate”)?
- What is the number of courses being accessed and/or completed?
- Have you noted an increase in productivity (surveys, manager observation, individual testimonials)
- Has there been a marked decrease in turnover since the program first began?
- Are established goals being met?
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are several points that summarize the content of this article and explain what it takes to revolutionize your e-Learning culture.
Culture left to itself is chaotic. The driving force behind any recognized, profitable organization is a culture that has been established based on principle visions and goals. Organizational development is a major cornerstone of successful culture. E-Learning is the most efficient, effective way to reach across gaps and provide accessibility. Constant communication is the key to maintaining a necessary level of awareness. Integration, or cycling your program to weave it into the fabric of your organization, is the key to permanent acceptance. Always remember to look beyond initial savings when measuring ROI.
Keeping all of these important points in mind I believe is a blueprint for success, not just in e-Learning but also in the business realm. Would you agree that to be successful a business needs to first be aware of its culture? They would then need to cultivate it, streamline it, and nurture it. The most accessible and financially efficient tool to achieve this goal is e-Learning.
