June 27, 2011 at 3:01 PM by Jenee
Challenge:
A leading Canadian University recently identified a need to supplement business school curriculum with additional courses. They found that students were lacking basic competencies needed to be successful in their post-secondary education. Many students lacked fundamental business skills and were struggling with office tools necessary for completing business assignments. As a result, professors were forced to delay delving into the theoretical side of the subject matter and instead spent time teaching skills they felt students should already have learned.
Solution:
The solution was to implement Serebra’s learning management system and offer additional courses online. In this manner, students could take the courses they needed on their own time and at their own pace.
In addition, if certain students struggled with particular areas they could spend time going back through the relevant online courseware. From the beginning, the courses were never intended to replace the instructor-led courses but were rather implemented to supplement and complement what was being taught in class.
Why Serebra:
The University was first attracted to Serebra Campus for its user-friendly interface. Students taking the online courses were business students and not experts in information technology. As a result, it was important that the learning management system be fluid and intuitive. Serebra Campus offered just that. In addition, Serebra offered a catalogue of over 7,000 courses from which to choose the right mix for the university. Ultimately, the school created a library of 27 courses, which covered the topics identified by the business professors as being key prerequisites and complementary skills to the courses they were teaching in person.
Benefits:
By implementing an LMS and online courses, the University’s business school saved both time and money while enhancing the quality and effectiveness of student education. Students in the business program were offered over 40 hours of additional credentialed training that focused expressly on tools and techniques. As a result, valuable instructor hours were no longer consumed teaching supplementary skills that could be more sensibly delivered online. Instead the focus of live, critical classroom time returned to core curriculum and key learning objectives. In this manner, students became better equipped for their studies overall, while also spending time independently to enhance their professional skill sets. Allowing all students in the business program access to the complete library was highly cost-effective and far less expensive than using a professor to teach the subject matter. In addition, Serebra’s LMS allowed administrators and professors to see which students were taking what, when and whether the courses were successfully completed.
Overall, students, administrators and professors benefited from the program. Serebra is pleased to have made a difference to business education in Canada!
June 15, 2011 at 3:29 PM by Jenee
Developing an effective marketing campaign for your corporate training
Having an effective online corporate training program isn’t just about installing a Learning Management System (LMS) and uploading courses. If you build it, they won’t come. You need an internal marketing plan to get your staff engaged, motivated and on board with the program.
A successfully marketed training program will ensure your investment is fully maximized. You’ll increase the number of staff taking and completing online training. By training people in the skills they need, they’ll be more capable, efficient, and productive at their jobs. In addition, they’re likely to feel more motivated and appreciated at work. It’s a win-win for all!
Here are a few strategies we recommend to help you increase awareness and acceptance of your program, while ensuring maximum use of online training.
Plan early
It’s important to think about marketing early on in the process – not after your LMS has been built and the courses are all set to take. We recommend you start thinking about an internal marketing strategy at the project initiation stage. This gives you plenty of time to map out an effective plan and to execute efficiently and effectively.
Develop your own training brand
Your company has its own unique brand, culture and product – your training program should reflect that. We highly recommend customizing your LMS with your company’s look and feel, giving your training program its own personality. Branding your educational portal will help make the program part of the company culture and can go a long way to helping learners adopt online learning. Plays on learning or training words mixed with terms related to your company or industry are always a good way to start!
Make it relevant
No one wants to feel like they’re wasting time or doing a task that’s not helpful to their job. Be sure to select courses that are going to make a difference to your learners. Offer them skills that will make them more knowledgeable and capable at what they do. It’s also important to regularly update your courses to ensure they remain up-to-date.
In addition, and probably most important, show employees taking online learning directly impacts career growth and development. Clearly demonstrate to your staff that online learning impacts performance reviews, promotions, bonuses, and opportunity within your organization.
Have a cheerleader
No program can be truly successful without someone championing it and pushing it along. The same goes for online learning. Find someone (this might be you!) who is passionate about learning and have them act as your in-house learning cheerleader. By simply demonstrating passion, that person will help make the program successful – passion is contagious! To really go above-and-beyond, have them become the “guru” of e-learning in your organization and:
- Contribute to forums, speak at conferences, and at team meetings.
- Know as much about the program as possible so he or she can answer questions, solve problems, and serve as a resource to others.
- Host lunch-and-learns or other information sessions to help people learn more about your training program.
Develop useful and interesting collateral
Pre-campaign: Items such as teaser emails, posters and a monthly newsletter will help get people interested and accustomed to the idea of online learning.
Launch: To make a big deal of the start of your company’s online learning program try some or all of the following:
- Launch email announcing the start of the program – be sure to include a call to action. Invite people to get learning!
- Podcast from your CEO or senior executive supporting the initiative.
- Desk drops announcing the launch of the program.
- Demo session to remove the fear factor.
Online learning is still new for a lot of people. They need to see that it’s simple, easy to use, and convenient. We suggest a hands-on demonstration to kick things off. Invite everyone to a free lunch and show them first-hand how easy it is to take courses online!
Ongoing: Once you’ve got things rolling, keep up the momentum!
- Newsletter – keep engagement up with interesting content:
- Articles that demonstrate evidence that online learning works.
- Offer tips for making online learning easier and more beneficial.
- Include testimonials from staff.
- Social networking functions embedded within learning management systems also provide a great place to mine for testimonials, student thoughts, and new ideas.
- Write about success stories.
- Provide “top picks” of courses taken by staff.
- Announce winners of any contests or draws.
- Offer incentives!
- Contests, credit and reward programs, and random draws can all increase training and keep learners engaged.
- Give people incentive to finish courses early, put in more hours, take more courses, or recommend courses to others.
- We’ve had clients give away BBQs, iPads, Airmiles, and computers. Be creative!
- Ongoing demo sessions – lunch-and-learn sessions or webinars are good options.
Maximize your LMS features
- Social learning, compliance modules, and “send message” tools can help keep your staff engaged.
- Consider taking internal social media comments and including them in your monthly newsletter.
Maintain executive-level support
- This can be done effectively by producing quarterly program reports showing the success of the program.
- Positive feedback you receive from staff should also be passed along.
- Show the executives how increased training is improving productivity and company morale, and ideally saving money.
