Posted by There is an assumption, with too many vendors, that anyone reaching out to them for a learning system, regardless of type, has a strong foundation for an e-learning (aka online learning) program.
Equally, they believe these individuals, with their unique roles and responsibilities, have or know that this foundation is crucial.
Instead, many folks are unaware—they have just been told or see they need a learning system, often listed as an LMS or maybe a talent/employee development platform.
The problem with that is there is no foundation in place.
The LMS or another type of learning system—let’s say mentoring—is gaining steam, more so than before.
Even if their company has multiple learning systems, assuming that the person overseeing the program/department/division has a foundation is significantly erroneous.
The vendor focuses on whether or not the buyer has another learning system, such as an LMS, their use case, and other information.
What they never ask is whether or not the person (often an admin, who is unlikely to know these details – unless they are also the same individual who runs the entire program) knows e-learning, if they have a strategy in place, a foundation – the core and the list goes on.
Instead, they zero in on whether the buyer/prospect has other systems they need to connect to, often focusing on HRIS, payroll, or similar systems.
That is excellent information, but it doesn’t answer the core question—does the prospect have an e-learning program or a foundation for it? This goes beyond just a quick strategy.
Does this person, say the head of L&D, understand or know why e-learning was established and what its impact was on that foundation?
Nowadays, vendors go right to the CEO, or the CEO is the key decision person, and follow that route.
Again, this person will not know about e-learning strategy or the foundation of building a top-tier e-learning program.
They do not have a background in L&D (including OD).
They will not have a background in training.
My guess is that they have no idea what Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction are, let alone the ADDIE model or Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation—granted, many people in L&D have no idea either, and HR?
Forget about it.
This post will provide you, whoever you are, with the foundation.
I will present the steps in detail.
How do you start, where do you go, what essentials do you need, and why are they relevant?
I will not go into assigned learning – that doesn’t come into play for a foundation.
However, I will ask you to do a few assignments—and here is the twist: I will ask you to send them to me, and I will review them and provide constructive feedback, ensuring you’re on the right track.
In May, we will also have a special webinar to discuss this further and where anyone can ask questions.
Think of this post as a workshop with no fees.
You can access the assignments on Tuesday.
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The Foundation
Upfront here – I have developed and succeeded everywhere I worked with an e-learning program.
My e-learning program has proven successful in various settings, whether tailored for employees, customers, or associations. Its adaptability ensures it can meet your specific needs.
I have done it with start-ups, mid-market – enterprises, and large enterprises.
I have either built from nothing, or the company had something in place – and I tore it down, rebuilding it from what I believe would deliver.
ROI is a bunch of liverwurst best suited for not eating.
What you want is IOL – Impact of Learning. IOL measures the actual impact of the learning program on the business, such as improved productivity, reduced errors, and increased customer satisfaction. This is what truly matters in the context of e-learning.
This will tell you far more and enable you to present a dashboard to whoever you need to show it is working.
Granted, if you are the CEO, you can ditch the dashboard.
However, I strongly recommend going with IOL since it aligns with the company’s metrics and approach for that year.
From the customer side, a combination of associations and even non-profits, which can’t use the financial perks in the department themselves, have seen a significant increase in revenue. This program has the potential to turn your financials from red to black.
Turning black to red in profit.
How much?
At one place, I generated nearly a million dollars in less than a year.
It is doable, but in the above scenario, you have to know some financial metrics—that anyone can learn—including markup.
I am a massive believer in Blue Ocean.
It works, but as anyone knows, it isn’t just a flip of a switch.
I present this information only because I have the knowledge and experience for what I am about to publish.
Being in the trenches and building success is what you need.
Otherwise, you are just floating along, hoping it will work.
This is what the post will cover, even with employees.
And yes, you can provide whomever that this working, and not that you are wasting their money.
Step 1 – The Questions
A foundation requires you to think from the standpoint of what you want to do.
Not just get a learning system – that isn’t the first step to the foundation.
Instead, it asks questions to establish this.
They are not in any order because everyone thinks differently—especially our right-brain folks (me included).
Assuming you are not in L&D or Training and thus have the background and insight between good and bad around training and/or learning – it is surprising how many vendors think L&D is the only game in town for employees – it isn’t, and L&D and Training have different modalities.)
Do you have any experience with training employees (again, this post is around employees, but you could slide this into any of the together types – oh, and the questions below are universal. The money angle is not, hence an assignment)
a. Do you know why e-learning was created?
Most people think yes, and I often find no.
Ignore searching the web; it is full of garbage. I have included a couple of posts I did about why it was created and what are the pros/cons and benefits) – What is WBT? The History behind e-learning.
b. If yes, what is your comfort level? If not, okay
- What do you want to accomplish with this e-learning program? Understanding the purpose and desired outcomes will guide your decisions and actions throughout development. What are your goals, not just now but long-term (think three years, and recognize that external factors may change. A lot of people focus on one year, which is fine, but if you can, think long-term. You can always modify as you go along)
- What will you need to do this?
- If this is the first time an e-learning program will be built – you can ignore the following questions. If there is a training or L&D department(s) in place, where they have provided whatever level of training (sans e-learning, and I often ran into the pre-existing side, especially with employees)
- Are there any metrics/data they can provide to you? (I often was shocked that there wasn’t anything except worthless evaluation statements on what people thought about the training they were presented with)
- If there are metrics, can you see the information? Where is the information located? (The usual answer here is yes. If they have the metrics – regardless of what they collected, the challenge is where it is and whether you can get it. I have run into HR on this, and it is as though HR is keeping it for whatever reason, usually for doing nothing with it)
- Are you doing a full rollout to every employee? OR will this be to specific departments, groups, or entities in another country (assuming you have this part)?
- Will you eventually do a full rollout (assuming the specific angle is taking place)?
- Does a senior executive support what you are doing? (They must have buy-in, especially if you roll this out to every employee. Ideally, you want the support. I see people focusing on the head of HR – at the VP or SVP level. This was acceptable when I worked at an association; the CEO – whatever their title happened to be supported this initiative. At a non-profit, I met with the CEO and COO; they had buy-in – and the non-profit was not tiny – we had 46 agencies )
You should have started to build your foundation.
Write it all down. You can go back and modify or tweak as you complete the following steps because something else will pop into your head. Therefore, saying, “AHA, I need to change an item or item from the original questions I wrote makes sense. “
If you are doing a rollout, regardless of whether it is small or large
- Will I have a certification program?
- Will I need to provide sales training?
- Will I need to provide training/learning for safety or not?
- Will I need to have compliance and/or regulatory training? (The answer here is usually yes for companies, but the answer is often no in an association (trade and member).
- What other items do you want as part of your e-learning program besides an LMS, another type of learning system, multiple LMSs, or learning systems? (Content, Learning Technology, Authoring tool – which creates content, but you may already have videos for whatever reason – and thus it is different than an authoring tool – plus you may want to hire someone to develop the content)
Ha, if you think that is all you need, and now you have a foundation in place—congratulations—you are wrong.
Write all this down. Uh, your responses above.
You can add it as a separate section, which is part of the overall. I recommend this because otherwise, you will dull your eyes when reviewing and miss some info.
Final Questions
How many employees will access the Learning System and view or take content?
If it is a small rollout, how many?
Assuming it won’t be or just be assigned learning, will employees be able to access other available content?
Will they be able to access content across the board, or will it be limited only to their job role and the skills needed or best suited?
Now, you have most of the foundation.
Why did I say most?
Because of those assignments, you will need to complete and send them back to me.
This is the area I will review and provide responses to you.
Like your old professor, you wondered whether time stopped because you swear they were alive before the dinosaurs; give me some time to respond.
If I get 500 assignments, I need time to review them.
I will not shove this into AI, so let us provide the feedback.
Nor do I recommend you shove the questions into AI and let it respond for you.
It is a bad idea, and due to hallucinations, you could get wrong responses if you do not review, so hey, complete them with that wonder brain of yours.
Bottom Line
I’ll see you soon.
And if an assignment or two is not your style,
Then why do you have your employees do it
In your learning system?
E-Learning 24/7
Great article Craig. Too often folks focus on jumping right to buying. There can be a lot said for working with a consultant who knows the industry and can help you properly shape your questions and needs so you don’t just buy what your buddy got, what is popular, or you were “wowed” by fancy new feature. This can be said for all aspects of learning, be it “LMS”, virtual learning spaces, our authoring tools / LCMS.