To successfully implement e-learning, companies should take stock of their current learning efforts. Here's how.

As the director of strategy and ventures for IBM Mindspan Solutions, I recently attended eight weeks of working meetings with training managers and HR executives from around the globe. Although the organizations representing various industry segments had different training department structures, they each faced the same challenge: How to move from a successful e-learning pilot to a full-scale implementation of e-learning? Listening to customer concerns, accomplishments, and obstacles revealed that before e-learning can move forward, organizations must take inventory of their current learning efforts.

Catalogue current options

An e-learning implementation drives three major changes: revising the curriculum, evaluating the training function, and assessing HR policies and organizational culture. To develop a strategic plan and address these changes, it's important to collect data on the existing training.

Revise curriculum. An organization that's adding e-learning to its training mix must revise existing curriculum to create blended learning solutions. A simple starting point is to take a basic inventory of current learning solutions, which requires answering the following questions:

• What courses or materials are available?
• Are courses current and relevant?
• Does the core business value these courses?
• How often do courses run?
• Who owns the intellectual property: the company or a vendor?
• Is there a sequence to the courses: prerequisite to follow-up courses?
• How frequently does content change?
• What is the delivery format?
• Who are the learners?
• Is the course appropriate for international audiences?
• Who can teach the course?
• Who owns responsibility for offering courses?
• How are courses developed and updated?
• Do multiple courses offer the same information?

For each course, this data will help answer the question: Should the company use, lose, or update it? Once the courses are inventoried and maps are drawn to show course sequencing, it's important to validate whether courses meet learners' needs. (See Sample Course Inventory Template).

Evaluate the training function. The role of training departments and training professionals is changing as organizations become more focused on the bottom line. How organizations structure, staff, and manage training differs dramatically. To get a clear picture of the existing training function, answer the following key questions:

• How are staff and budget determined?
• What drives staff training and development plans?
• How does the company decide whether to build or buy training?
• When is work outsourced? Why?
• How is training measured? What are success criteria?
• Where does the training function report to?
• How does the company investment in instructional technology?
• How is training perceived in the organization: a place to put marginal performers out to pasture, a resource for improving performance, or a traditional service that creates good will?
• How is the training organization funded? Possible models include the following options:

Assess HR policies and organizational culture. Successfully integrating e-learning may require changes in HR policy and organizational culture. To assess those issues, answer the following questions:

• Are learning plans tied to an employee’s career development?
• Are employees accountable for personal career development?
• What role(s) do managers play in employee development?
• How is participation tracked?
• What is the typical consequence for enrolling in a course but failing to attend?
• What is the organization's attitude about time spent in training? Does it vary by department?
• Do some departments or job functions have legal or compliance issues?
• What departments are the biggest proponents of training? Why?
• Is there support from the CEO?
• What are the major obstacles to implementing new programs, including time, money, geography, and so forth?

After collecting data, select a core team of five to seven people to analyze and synthesize the information. The core team should include senior training and HR professionals who work closely with upper management and have strong analytic skills.

The core team should examine data for patterns, themes, and relationships. For example, do the most successful programs share common characteristics? What is the average course length? What course delivery formats are being used? Where is most of the course development work being done: in-house or outsourced?

Next, reassemble the information to find new meanings. Is there a relationship among popular courses and the core functions they serve? Where are most of your e-learning courses being developed? What courses are being used across the entire organization?

Once the inventory is complete, it's time to meet with management to validate whether current offerings are valued and support the organization’s mission. Team members need to feel comfortable probing for clear answers regarding expectations. More important, they need to be open to criticism rather than defensive.

Before meeting with management, the core team must develop a list of questions to keep interviews focused. You won't have time to ask everything, so choose questions carefully. Avoid asking detailed questions about specific courses if the person hasn't attended the course. Also keep away from irrelevant questions, such as budgeting questions if the person doesn't control the budget. The goal of this exercise is to validate how well the current curriculum is meeting business needs and expectations. This is an opportunity to learn more about perceived and real gaps. (See Sample Management Interview Schedule.)

After the core team has completed three to five interviews, compare notes to look for themes, unexpected responses, and problematic questions. Use information from these early interviews to revise the questionnaire. Clarify confusing questions, add a new question to probe for unexpected insight, or remove a question that's not producing worthwhile data.

Determine new offerings

Once you've catalogued the existing training function, you should be able to answer the following questions:

• What are the key curriculums offered by your organization?
• Which curriculums need to be updated or eliminated?
• Who would you rank the curriculums in order of importance? By geography? By division?
• Which curriculums have the greatest enrollment?
• Which managers champion training?

Now that you have a handle on the big picture, you can start implementing new e-learning options. The challenge is to think big but start small.

First, make a list of courses that would benefit from having portions or the entire course delivered via e-learning. Choose a course that will allow you to make mid-course corrections. Other critical factors to consider include educational, economic, and organizational benefits.

An organizational issue to consider is whether the organization would benefit from classes that foster collaboration and community building. Economic benefits may include travel expenses and possible reuse of the course. Education benefits to consider are whether

• learners would benefit from self-paced learning
• class time would be more productive if learners were able to complete pre-work prior to the face-to-face class
• sound, images, and simulations would increase knowledge transfer.

Once you've narrowed the list, choose a project with at least three of the following characteristics:

• There's a direct impact on business goals.
• There's an internal champion.
• Targeted learners are technologically prepared.
• The project will showcase e-learning.
• You can secure resources and cooperation.

Now that you've identified the course to develop, you're ready to move forward. Take note of what works in your pilot course. Use that knowledge to develop future courses. Repeat the above process as you address each new audience and curriculum.

Published: July 2001