E-Learning 1.0

Four Blended Learning Blunders and How to Avoid Them
By Mark W. Brodsky

Blended learning can be a powerful strategy for businesses who want to build employees’ skills. It can also be a recipe for disaster. If you or someone you know is responsible for ensuring a successful blended learning strategy, read on.

The use of blended learning—the thoughtful combination of training methods—is on the rise. An increasing number of companies that rely on traditional training are seeing the need and benefit of building in the electronic component. At the same time, organizations that rely on technology-enabled solutions are seeing the need and benefit of infusing traditional methods into the mix.

Blended learning can be a powerful strategy for businesses who want to build employees’ skills using the techniques most suitable for the task. It can also be a recipe for disaster. Blunders and misfires threaten at every turn. If you or someone you know is responsible for ensuring a successful blended learning strategy, read on. This article highlights four of the most troublesome blended e-learning blunders and suggests ways to avoid them.

Blunder #1: Failing to think ahead

Blended learning isn’t a new concept. For years we’ve been combining classroom lectures with facilitated exercises, case studies, role plays, and audio and video recordings, not to mention coaching and mentoring. However, when the primary mode of delivery is e-learning, adding other methodologies to help optimize learning and performance is often an afterthought.

Many times it’s only after an e-learning initiative falls short that thought is given to additional training methods that might be blended in to fix the problem. That’s reactive blending. The alternative, proactive blending, considers the strengths and limitations of technology-delivered training at the concept and design stage. When you take a proactive approach, you pay attention to what the e-learning does and doesn’t do well and then build an integrated solution using the appropriate mix of applicable training methods.

Blunder #2: Failing to develop clear training objectives matched to the appropriate methodologies

To ensure the success of your training objectives, 1) conduct a thorough performance analysis on the area to be improved--such as service, customer satisfaction, productivity, and/or sales—2) clarify your training objectives including the skill and knowledge gaps that need to be addressed, and 3) select the most appropriate learning methodologies to accomplish your objectives.

For example, a national credit card company conducted a performance analysis of declining customer satisfaction scores from contact center calls. The company found its customers’ primary concern was how long they had to wait to speak with a representative. Among the main contributors to this performance issue included the contact center’s ineffective staffing levels, equipment, and processes, none of which are issues that can be solved directly through training. But the company also found that training the representatives on resolving customer issues quickly and effectively would contribute greatly to improving customer satisfaction.

Once you establish training objectives, work backwards from the performance analysis results and analyze further the knowledge or skill gaps needing development. Additional analysis of the service improvement objectives at the credit card company indicated the need to develop better knowledge of the company’s products, services, and procedures. However, examining performance barriers exposed the need to develop in representatives better decision-making and customer interaction skills. By improving those skills, the company’s reps would meet customers’ needs more consistently and completely, balancing a focus on service with a focus on productivity.

Next, you must match the training objectives to the most appropriate training methods, a task that sounds easier than it is. Those with strong backgrounds in e-learning tend to view every training objective as a nail to be hammered with e-learning. Others might be classroom aficionados who see little merit in e-learning because they don’t understand it or have had a bad experience with it. They might implement e-learning begrudgingly or ineffectively only if they’re directed by management to include it to reduce training costs.

The appropriate mix of methodologies for the credit card company included simulation-based e-learning for both representatives and their supervisors to close the gaps in their decision-making and customer interaction skills. Simulations were the right choice because those skills are complex and best learned by practicing in a safe environment. Added to the simulation-based e-learning were facilitated exercises and discussions as well as ongoing performance coaching. The facilitation helped reinforce key learning points from the e-learning and enabled employees to prepare and share their action plan for implementing the newly acquired skills. This optimized on-the-job transfer of skills. The ongoing coaching helped ensure performance consistency and further improved and sustained performance over time.

Blunder #3: Failing to integrate and prepare the right blend of expert resources

Surprisingly many organizations fail to bring the right people with the right expertise together to ensure that the blended learning truly focuses on the participant and his or her performance improvement.

It’s important to ensure that

• design and development expertise is up-to-date and developers are experienced in utilizing and blending training methods
• those developing content are well versed in the subject matter or seek considerable input from subject-matter experts. Quality content is crucial--a great mix of training methods will never compensate for inferior content
• IT staff is knowledgeable about the e-learning project requirements as well as the organization’s technical infrastructure and can integrate and support the e-learning application appropriately
• end users are involved in the development process, including representation from the target training group and line management accountable for the performance results
• implementers have the expertise to identify and develop organizational support requirements for the training initiative and address all related change management issues.

Because facilitation is often a part of an organization’s blended e-learning strategy and can greatly influence (negatively or positively) the outcome of your training initiative, the topic warrants additional discussion. Time and attention must be devoted to preparing trainers in advance for their new role as facilitators--a role that might be quite different from what they might be accustomed to in providing stand-up training.

Within the context of e-learning, a trainer’s role will change from that of a knowledge provider to a facilitator and performance coach. Before the e-learning occurs, trainers may help align initiatives with key organizational processes like performance management; during the training, they may help learners develop action plans for applying their newly developed skills on the job. The facilitator may also conduct on-the-job coaching possibly aided by skill assessment results attained in the e-learning that indicate the participant’s skill areas needing further attention and development. This combination of facilitation and performance coaching before, during, and after the online session will help ensure the development of learners’ skills and the achievement of performance objectives.

Blunder #4: Failing to execute a blended implementation approach

Some organizations focus too much on the e-learning component and forget to blend in other learning elements during and after the initial training. An implementation strategy with a cohesive performance action plan is needed to ensure on-the-job skill application. That action plan must include how and where other methodologies will be used throughout the initial training and it must address the right blend of coaching, monitoring, and measuring after training for ongoing and sustainable performance improvement.

One large financial services organization wanted to launch training to develop their representatives’ sales skills, enabling reps to improve their sales conversion ratio and monthly revenues. The company determined that the representatives needed to learn how to work more effectively with customers to assess their interest in the bank’s products, identify and build the need for products, and gain commitment to make the purchase. There was also a lack of consistency in the coaching methods used by supervisors to support and develop the representatives’ sales skills.

The appropriate blend for this organization featured simulation-based e-learning for representatives and coaches blended together with facilitated group discussions and ongoing coaching to ensure consistency and on-the-job skill transfer. They used a very specific coaching method designed to provide representatives with focused feedback around a pivotal sales behavior. And the reps received feedback in less than 60 seconds.

The coaches received ongoing coaching as well. Working with a master coach, they were assessed every 30 days to calibrate their own coaching skills and examine the improvement in the targeted sales skills and results that occurred from the sales training and employee coaching sessions. The master coach provided the coaches with additional opportunities to refine their skills, including job shadowing, user group conference calls, and focus groups.

Blissful blending: a final thought

The most direct path to a successful blended e-learning initiative is to recognize that true performance improvement can only occur when you balance the e-learning component with all other elements and take the time to do it right. If you assemble the puzzle with all the right pieces, chances are good that you’ll achieve your desired end result.

Published: November 2003