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By Bryant Nielson, Editor-in-Chief On July 27, 2010No CommentsBefore you even begin the selection and implementation process for your LMS, you should first turn your attention to the analysis and assessment of various aspects of your organization, its structure, and its learning needs. We will treat this analysis and assessment as steps one through four of the ten-step LMS implementation process. Plus, you’ll also need to assess your own learning and development organization’s needs in regard to the system, but we will discuss that as a separate step in your process.
To start with, you’ll want to analyze and assess the audience in general. This may seem easy, but some organizations have a diverse population in terms of technical experience, corporate or organizational learning experience, and even willingness to use online or hosted systems in regard to their personal development. In order to assess your audience, you may want to consider a survey that asks the organization’s members about their technical experience, their willingness to register for courses online, their ability to take courses online, and also their perceptions of learning management system tasks, activities, and functions. Click here to continue reading
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By Bryant Nielson, Editor-in-Chief On July 19, 2010
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We’ve discussed eLearning in terms of internal development versus external licensing as two separate approaches. For many organizations, a separate approach using one or the other method may work. But what about an organization that has some leeway in regard to its eLearning programs? A combined approach using both internal and external eLearning content might be the way to go.
First of all, what is a combined approach? There is no number, such as 50% of content, or “demarcation line”, such as all regulatory training should be outsourced to a vendor. A combined approach will work with the organization’s budget, infrastructure, staff, and audience to come up with the right combination of internal and external content.
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By Bryant Nielson, Editor-in-Chief On July 12, 2010
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Licensing external eLearning content can provide you and your organization with definite benefits, along with some potential drawbacks. Again, as we discussed on the benefits and obstacles to developing internally, your role is to determine where the greatest benefit lies. But as we are discussing external licensing, remember that it can be a temporary approach. As we will see, the infrastructure requirements are much less than developing your own eLearning. First, let’s examine the benefits of the external licensing approach.
In terms of cost, we will examine both time and money. In relation to time, externally licensing your eLearning content can be quick and efficient. Once you decide on the vendor and sign the contract, delivery may be relatively quick. And there is no run-up to full staffing, like you would need to do with internal development. Cost is another potential benefit. Remember that the cost of both approaches will depend on your infrastructure, the number of users, and the current technological condition of the organization. But suppose that most of these factors are in place: a per-head eLearning course may not be a major cost at all, especially up front.
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By Bryant Nielson, Editor-in-Chief On July 5, 2010
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When your organization needs eLearning programs but doesn’t have an internal program in place, external licensing of eLearning may be a good choice. Many eLearning and LMS providers offer external training that you can use as part of your organization’s learning and development program. Let’s take a basic look at external licensing, as well as discuss what you’ll need to create your eLearning program using this approach.
First, what is external licensing of eLearning? In the simplest terms, external licensing means that you choose and “purchase” courses and programs “off the shelf” from vendors. These vendors, in turn, host the learning, deliver it to your organization, and manage the content for you. We will examine benefits and potential obstacles of external licensing in our next discussion, but you may already see yours developing here.
So what does the external licensing “recipe” require? First, in terms of personnel, you’ll need your staff to choose and review courses and programs. This means that your staff should have, at the very least, assessed the audience for learning needs and outcomes. With this knowledge, your learning and development staff will be able to narrow down their choices of online courses and programs. Along with staff, you may need SME’s or stakeholders to review the courses, as well. After all, you probably do not want to roll out an eLearning program that does not meet the approval of SME’s or stakeholders.
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By Bryant Nielson, Editor-in-Chief On June 27, 2010
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Internal development of eLearning brings both benefits and a few potential drawbacks to learning and development as well as the organization as a whole. As with any business decision, your job is to determine if and when the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks. Or, you may determine that drawbacks will be no more than a blip on your radar. Let’s look at the benefits of internal development first.
One of the primary benefits of developing eLearning internally is the control that comes with it. As the developer and owner of the content, your organization has the ultimate control of each and every word, activity, test question, and evaluation. This means that if your organization sometimes has rapid or constant changes in policies, procedures, products, or regulations that affect training content, you’ll be able to implement those changes quickly and efficiently. Plus, you can tailor your content to your audience so that it makes a long-lasting impact on the learner.
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By Bryant Nielson, Editor-in-Chief On June 20, 2010
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eLearning is becoming an essential in learning and development, especially for organizations with diverse workforces. Keep in mind that a diverse workforce, in terms of learning, could be a group of employees who are physically together but learn at different paces. A diverse workforce could be geographically and culturally different, as well, meaning the employees can be remote from the headquarter organization in many ways. But with the advent of eLearning comes the decision about whether to develop eLearning programs internally or to outsource them to vendors or eLearning providers. Before you make a decision for your organization, it may be a good idea to look at each approach, define it, and determine the benefits and drawbacks, both in general and for your organization. First, let’s take a look at internal development.
Internal development of eLearning is the process of developing, designing, deploying, evaluating, and changing courses and programs within your own organization. It sounds simple, and from outward appearances it is. In fact, any time we see the term “internal development”, we think of control, ease of access, and probably less cost. Most of these thoughts are true, and we will look at benefits and drawbacks of internal eLearning development next. But let’s break down internal development into its necessary components, so that you can determine if you have the infrastructure to take it on.
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By Bryant Nielson, Editor-in-Chief On June 14, 2010
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Learning and Development departments, as well as corporate universities, can sometimes fall victim to the “ivory tower” syndrome, that is, losing touch with the “real world”. Typically the ivory tower is no one’s fault; it simply happens because all of your resources are so focused on the task at hand. The tower can even develop when you are still in the process of rolling out your corporate university, so some of the ideas here can be used during the initial build as well as in the future. How can you avoid getting caught up in the ivory tower?
The first way to avoid the ivory tower is to keep analysis and assessment consistent. Even if there is no major development going on at a given time, you should be evaluating courses, instructors, technology, delivery methods, and even the Learning Management System at all times. Continuous assessment of how you’re performing will help you determine where to put your resources, even if the corporate university is still in the setup phase. Plus, assessment will help you discover the university’s efficiency, costs, and benefits. And this will come in handy when it’s time to prove ROI.
Another way to keep in touch with the “real world” is to maintain contact with your sponsors and stakeholders, throughout the entire rollout process and beyond. This group is made up of people who are doing the work, supervising the work, and even planning the goals behind the work. If you alienate this group or simply lose contact with them, you run the risk of losing contact with the world outside of the corporate university office.
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By Bryant Nielson, Editor-in-Chief On June 7, 2010
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In today’s environment, technology is king. We know this because first of all because technology is cost effective and efficient, but also because, let’s face it, technology is popular. Smart phones, MP3 players, and social media almost make it a necessity to include a technology plan in the roll-out of the corporate university. Obviously this use of technology will help the university to stay fresh and cutting edge, but what’s better is that effective use of technology will save money and help you show more ROI.
The first step is to examine the organization’s existing technology infrastructure. To put it plainly, some organizations may not have the technology to offer the most advanced technology. You may know what your organization is capable of, but even if this is the case you should get your IT department involved in the planning stages. Use some of the examples we are about to discuss in order to begin a dialogue – and find out what you can and cannot do. Keep in mind that the “cannots” may turn into “cans” in the future – and the speed at which technology moves usually means that the future is closer than we think.
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By Bryant Nielson, Editor-in-Chief On May 31, 2010
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A corporate university must have some sort of unified delivery system for scheduling, online courses, classroom course schedules and descriptions, tracking, and instructor and facilities scheduling. It would be difficult to plan so heavily for the roll out of the corporate university only to find out that there is no way to deliver. So the next best practice is to purchase or build a Learning Management System (LMS).
Choosing an LMS is an important step for any Learning and Development organization. In fact, some organizations may already have a functioning LMS when they make the transition from training department to corporate university. But if you do not have an LMS, the setup phase of your corporate university is the time to buy, build, or “freeware” a system. You definitely don’t want to have to backtrack in order to catch up on scheduling, curriculum paths, and course tracking after the university is up and running.
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By Bryant Nielson, Editor-in-Chief On May 24, 2010
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You’ve put quite a bit of time and effort into the planning of the corporate university and you may have already spent some of your budget money. The next best practice to consider is the structure of the corporate university, which includes policies, procedures, and standards. Let’s examine some common elements of a university structure.
First of all, a key point to keep in mind is that a corporate university is not like a regular university. Regardless of the name, your corporate university is still based on creating value and not just delivering academics. If your planning process gets too complicated, step back and look at the university entity with this key point in mind. But in the meantime, you should definitely create a structure that includes policies, procedures, and standards.
What policies will the corporate university and its learners have to adhere to? For example, will you set a class size minimum for delivery? If not, you may find that instructors are engaged to teach classes for two people versus 12, which may not be cost effective. What about an honor system code for training, especially online training that may be reportable, such as compliance. It may seem silly to think this way, but some learners will “cut corners” if given the opportunity, so putting them on guard to begin with is a good way to start. On the other hand, does the corporate university plan to become a cost center and charge for training or no shows? If so, what are the rates for this going to be and how will you determine the rate for each course offering? Consider how far in advance a learner needs to cancel his or her course registration. If you’ve set class minimums, you may need to consider a timeline policy to avoid engaging instructors when there are too few learners. In relation to grades, is the university going to determine a passing score for courses, such as 80%, or will courses be offered on a pass-fail or attend-did not attend basis? And also keep in mind that any new hire offerings may need to fall not only under the university but also human resources if participants have to pass to keep their jobs.
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By Bryant Nielson, Editor-in-Chief On May 17, 2010
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The worst thing you can do when setting up a corporate university is to get it rolled out and then find that you have too much or too little staff. In today’s economic climate, you’re probably leaning toward having too little staff, but regardless of whether you can hire one person or ten you’ll need to plan carefully. Let’s examine best practices related to staffing your corporate university.
First, examine your current staffing model in relation to the current training offerings and organizational needs. Is it working? For example, how much time are instructors spending in the classroom versus the “ideal”? Do you have online courses sitting on a shelf waiting to be developed? Who is developing classroom training, if at all? Is the current staff overworked or pulled in numerous directions to the point that they are not accomplishing much of anything? If you could staff to your ideal in the current department and climate, what would that staff look like? Although it’s fun to create wish list for staffing, you’ll need to maintain your realism, as well.
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