Human Resources Training and E-Learning

Human Resources Training and e-learning E-learning used as a training forum is becoming more and more accepted among big business today. This can be seen in the following articles. E-learning: trends, predictions and IBM's leading edge approach: Computer giant networks its employees to integrate formal and informal learning online (2007) and Grand designs for e-learning -- can e-learning make the grade for our biggest corporates (2007) by Lars Unneberg.

The first article discusses how e-learning is more than just a fleeting fad or phase and how some people are more highly developed in their thinking, adoption and implementation of e-learning strategies than others. The major trends in e-learning today cover key areas such as content, infrastructure and stakeholder management as well as providing some recommendations for learning professionals.

It is thought that this is due to technological advances within the workplace where computers and e-mail are common-place, the fact that the world is moving online or simply due to the perceived cost benefits that come with an e-learning approach. No matter what the reason, this form of learning is set to become a permanent fixture on the training and development agenda (E-learning: trends, predictions and IBM's leading edge approach: Computer giant networks its employees to integrate formal and informal learning online, 2007).

Some people are more highly developed in their thinking, adoption and implementation of e-learning strategies than others. There are many factors that affect training effectiveness when it comes to e-learning.

Unsurprisingly it has been discovered that the factors that influence trainees' learning performances the most are: learning motivation, computer self-efficacy, contents of the training program, face-to-face meeting between instructor and trainees, how easy the site is to use, support from supervisors and consistent learning environments (E-learning: trends, predictions and IBM's leading edge approach: Computer giant networks its employees to integrate formal and informal learning online, 2007).

It is thought that in order to make e-learning successful recommendations for action are as follows: manage the change as e-learning moves from being a departmental concern to an enterprise-wide activity, understand that e-learning will change radically but will be the norm within five-year, be knowledgeable about the 'software-as-service model as this is likely to be the dominant setup, flexibility and agility are essential, manage the risks and embrace change within reason (E-learning: trends, predictions and IBM's leading edge approach: Computer giant networks its employees to integrate formal and informal learning online, 2007).

In the article by Unneberg (2007), the author says that big business is realizing the effectiveness and cost benefits of wide-scale use of e-learning. Big enterprise thinks of itself as having been badly served by e-learning. With no established channel for entry, e-learning programs have often seeped into big organizations through back doors left open by early adopting evangelists. Finance is a good instance here, where compliance managers, rather than training managers, have often been the purchasers of e-training.

Even as this has served to highlight the raw potential for e-learning within large operations, seeing potential and harnessing it are two entirely different things especially for big corporations that are frequently ill suited to deal with rapid change. In 2003 rapid e-learning began to gain major attention as a way of producing e-learning. This was due in big part to the reduced time and cost of creating e-learning and the ability to address timely training issues without requiring significant investment of resources.

Over the past several years, the rapid e-learning market has developed to represent a significant portion of e-learning content. By 2005, rapid e-learning represented 36 per cent of all e-learning produced. In addition, market trends show that this segment will continue to grow and will potentially reach 50 per cent of all e-learning produced by 2008 (Unneberg, 2007). Main Issues The main issues that were discussed in the article E-learning: trends, predictions and IBM's leading edge approach: Computer giant networks its employees to integrate formal and informal learning online (2007), were trends for the future: Infrastructure.

As many predicted, there has been a concentrated move away from learner administration towards learner support. Early e-learning systems were developed with a focus around helping the trainer to deliver courses in a timely and coordinated manner. However, this focus on administration did not automatically make for a good experience for the learner. As a result organizations have recognized that this imbalance must be redressed.

In fact, it has been noted that the key is not just to be learner supportive but learner seductive and that web tools such as blogs, wikis and other networking applications will play a major role in this seduction. Content. Whilst the majority of content itself is good, the way in which it is presented or designed makes it highly unappealing for users. This may be due to the disconnect between the trainers who create the courses and the software designers who produce the programs.

Few organizations can afford to provide seamless access between these two groups and so often trainers must rely on self-authoring content management systems. As a result, the course can only be as good as the trainer's web expertise. Audience.

Because e-learning has been around for so long and was introduced to the training and learning environment with so little guidance as was the case with the web in general, many training departments will have created e-learning courses not because they needed them but because they could do it and it sounded "forward thinking." The upshot of this misguided enthusiasm is that many learners will have previously had a bad experience with e-learning and therefore have, understandably, developed a bias against this delivery method.

This should be taken into account when developing an e-learning course or program. Deployment. Whilst e-learning needs to be part of the skills transfer but does not necessarily have to form all of it. This relates back to the idea that face-to-face still plays a valuable role in training. Stakeholder management. This has been an important learning curve for people involved in designing and delivering e-learning programs and stakeholder management has moved further up the agenda in recent years.

It has become increasingly apparent that e-learning should not be imposed on people and employees concerns about what is in it for them should be properly addressed. Similarly, senior management must be involved in e-learning initiatives in order to clearly convey the business benefits of the e-approach. Corporate expectations.

As new technologies materialize there will be higher expectations from senior management regarding e-learning capabilities and therefore training professionals need to manage these expectations whilst ensuring that web 2.0 tools are incorporated into e-learning systems and processes (E-learning: trends, predictions and IBM's leading edge approach: Computer giant networks its employees to integrate formal and informal learning online, 2007). In Unneberg's article the main issues that were discussed were the things that need to be considered when implementing a successful rapid e-learning initiative in a large organization.

One of the cornerstones of traditional rapid e-learning in any organization is that implementing rapid e-learning will reduce the time spent on creating content. Industry guidelines suggest that traditional e-learning projects can take ten or more weeks from conception to final publishing. The second of three cornerstones in traditional rapid e-learning is the use of subject matter experts as the primary source of authoring for the content.

These SMEs will be the ones to produce the content, therefore any program that is put in place should address their needs and requirements, and ensure they are able to efficiently create e-learning. SMEs are usually sought after to provide content for e-learning since they tend to know the subject matter best and are able to use the right messaging and terminology. The final aspect of traditional rapid e-learning involves the software tools used to create the content.

There are currently numerous desktop and server-based solutions on the market that provide a variety of functionality, ranging from converting Microsoft PowerPoint files into Flash, to advanced web-based software systems that make it easy for SMEs to create interactive sequences without requiring advanced technical skills. Selecting the right piece of software will go a long way to ensuring a successful rapid e-learning program. Arguably the most important aspect of any enterprise rapid e-learning implementation is project management. This not only includes the implementation.