What is the reason behind the steadily growing interest in e-learning?
Why are companies ready to invest hundreds of thousands of zlotys in solutions
whose roots can be traced back to the “dot-com bubble”
that burst several years ago? Why is the dehumanization of
the educational process, which by definition should have a human
element, a current trend in the training market? Why should we
engage in a multi-month e-learning implementation process without
a guarantee that it will bring specific business benefits?
Questions of this type, even if not verbally articulated, linger like
a thorn in many discussions about e-learning implementation. The raised
doubts are a significant barrier to organizations taking a serious
interest in starting to use electronic learning mechanisms.
However, these fears stem from still considerable misinformation and
confusion in the electronic training market.
The reality of the Polish market
Let us therefore consider together why companies choose
e-learning. One can venture at least three diametrically different
answers to this question.
The first version is: „companies
do not consciously choose e-learning – it depends solely on the resourcefulness
of consultants representing vendors how and to what extent the company
will implement remote learning mechanisms”.
In the second version, one can hear: „companies
choose e-learning because they are unaware of the scale of problems
associated with its implementation”.
Finally, the third version says that: „companies
choose e-learning because they are not only aware of the existence
of a problem in the organization, but are also convinced that
remote learning mechanisms can effectively combat it”.
I would like the third version to be the only true one. Unfortunately –
experience shows that all three play a major role in
shaping the demand for e-learning on the Polish market.
The question posed in the title leads us astray. It is worth taking
the trouble to redefine it so that the considerations lead to specific
and valuable conclusions. Let us therefore start over by asking:
Why should companies choose
e-learning solutions?
The answer seems simple – the foundation for implementing
an e-learning solution (a solution – and not an IT system!)
should be a well-identified problem in the organization. There are very many problems
that can be solved using broadly defined remote learning mechanisms.
Among them, we can certainly find:
- accelerating time-to-market for a product (time-to-market)
- reducing customer service costs
- optimizing merger and acquisition processes
- shortening the implementation time of a new technology in the organization (e.g.,
implementing a CRM system or a corporate financial system) - increasing the efficiency of mobile sales staff, etc.
The problems indicated above slightly diverge from the full list of boilerplate
advantages of e-learning mentioned by consultants of companies
providing various classes of solutions. The beauty of e-learning does not lie
in the fact that 30 of its advantages can be listed, but in the fact that it is
able to effectively (meaning – reflected in the company’s financial results)
impact a specific (sometimes single) problem of a given organization.
Let us look at how e-learning allows solving one of the
issues listed above.
Accelerating time-to-market
for a product
Imagine a financial sector company operating in a highly
competitive market. This company intends to introduce a new
service to the market. It is almost certain that in response, other companies operating on
the market will offer a very similar product.
Consequently, the lifetime of products introduced to the market is
limited and amounts to about 2 years.
Since the company employs a large number of agents (about 2,000 people), the process
of training them takes a lot of time. Logistical barriers (associated with
a limited number of trainers, the necessity for trainers to travel
to distant locations, etc.) determined by traditional forms
of training delivery cause this process to take 3 months.
To speed up this process, the company decided to implement
training electronically. An e-learning course was prepared
providing complete knowledge about the product, target group,
sales models, problem-solving for issues that may arise in its
environment, etc. Only and exclusively local sales managers
were centrally trained via traditional means so that they could solve
any problems related to the misunderstanding of certain content
delivered electronically.
The e-learning course was prepared in advance – thus making it
possible to immediately make it available to all agents upon the decision to
introduce the product to the market.
This approach allowed shortening the training delivery time to one
month.
Were the costs of implementing a training process carried out this way
lower than the traditional alternative? Perhaps not – in any case, the case
study I am currently outlining (concerning a Canadian insurance
company) does not address this issue. Cost reduction is not
what matters here, but the opportunity to grow the business and improve the company’s
competitiveness.
Shortening the training time extended the product’s lifetime on the market –
instead of 21 months of effective sales, the product could be sold
for 23 months. Knowing the average monthly sales volume, it is very
easy to calculate the profits that the implementation of an e-learning solution
can bring to the organization.
In the case of the aforementioned Canadian company, it was several million
dollars.
A characteristic feature of the e-learning market resulting from still considerable immaturity
is the implementation of solutions for remote teaching without an “idea”
for their use. We still see companies that first invest in
an IT system, then in training content, and only then
wonder how to generate a return on investment.
Such an approach is fundamentally flawed and often leads to implementation
failure.
The starting point for investing in e-learning should be well-defined
needs. The greater they are – the better, as e-learning
can optimize specific processes to a greater extent (counted in concrete amounts!),
such as a merger. Unfortunately, despite
this being an ideal time to implement e-learning, organizations
very often do not want to talk about e-learning in such situations.
The reason usually given is… lack of time. It is a pity, because time
is precisely what e-learning can provide. But that is another topic.
You will be able to
learn more about e-learning during the conference “E-learning as a new teaching method”,
which will take place on November 16, 2004, in Warsaw. The organizer
of the conference is CAMILE Conference Communication s.c.
The conference will also cover
the topic of new e-learning teaching methods, present
current solutions in this field, and methods of creating e-learning training courses for corporate employees, students, and continuing education participants.