Corporate eLearning

I’m a big believer in the power of eLearning, but I get tired of hearing that eLearning cuts costs in comparison to face-to-face instructor-led training (ILT).

Speak to any learning officer within an organization and he/she will surely tell you that two of the biggest challenges they face are getting their employees to retain the knowledge they received during the initial training sessions, and beyond that to apply that knowledge to practical skills and daily tasks.  It's not an easy thing to answer, and there are no simple solutions.  But here are seven tips toward achieving that objective.

MOOC (massive open online courses) become popular more and more. Lots of people are involved in a discussion about MOOC. E-Learning portals publish news and press releases related to MOOC every day. Millions of students learn courses and leave their feedback. One of most popular discussions related to MOOCs is about if is this possible MOOCs replace traditional higher education. 

No matter how much businesses spend on learning and development, there are times when the training fails to deliver the desired results. If the employee training fails to provide the intended information immediately to your workers, remember that you are not alone on this.

Executive leadership development shares similarities with other learning programs. For example, it must direct itself to the specific needs of its audience, and learner reflection is important to increase retention for on-the-job application. For the senior learner, application of knowledge and skills is tantamount to success of their company. A support structure should be in place with regular reminders to help the senior leader apply new knowledge and behaviors in how they lead to affect change

Many organizations have similar approaches in providing learning opportunities. Staff is encouraged to participate in online programs or webinars, attend a conference, and in some cases, take advantage of a tuition assistance program. Others still provide ad hoc programs offered by different business groups providing learning opportunities on internal processes or technical training. This approach doesn’t support or foster a learning environment. If you offer such opportunities, but don't have a plan that identifies how learning aligns to organizational goals – and how individual goals contribute to reaching them – then there’s an opportunity to create a learning strategy.

Does your organization use customer-centered learning? Would you like your organization to uplift sales by 10%, increase cross-selling/up-selling by 11%, and getting new staff up to speed faster by 17%?

How important is employee training to your company’s success? Is it seen as a strategic enabler of the company’s business goals, or as a costly endeavor that offers little bottom-line return?

Social media allows friends, family, and co-workers to easily stay connected. Those same tools can be used to establish a community of practice (CoP) where participants connect to nurture and learn from one another.

As a Training specialist working in the Metropolitan Detroit region, it has been my experience that Adult learners bring a lot more to the table than the need for entry level skills development. Trainers are being introduced to a trainee population who come from a variety of backgrounds, faced with multiple challenges of equal importance.

What does it take to move the meeting meter from education to training to learning to social to performance to … living successfully?

Much has been written about the technology of training. The story-line is often the same: companies are champing at the bit for the opportunity to exercise the latest training technologies in an effort to reach employees effectively while reducing costs.