Multiple advantages of developing a learning portal

To achieve effectiveness in the learning organizations it is quite important to move further than just managing training delivery and controlling the cost of learning activities. As technology is becoming a huge part of the learning experience it’s vital to achieve a high rate of LMS adoption – and that requires a user-centered learning portal or website, that creates learning 2.0 destinations that fits the interest of specific learner segments.

When implementing an LMS, most training managers say their most important objective is to deploy and measure training and increase user return visits. On the other hand, in reality, most LMSs are too cumbersome for the typical learner. The best solution is delivering information in the flavor, format and context that appeal to younger audiences for whom training is often designed. This can be done by developing a learning portal that acts as a front end to your LMS, offering the relevance, immediacy and usability of a Web 2.0 website.

Apart from increasing user friendliness, learning portals tender other advantages. Portal technology means reduced support load on your IT staff, and decreased cost of ownership for the business.

A portal provides multiple advantages for multiple users of the system. It improves the user interface of the system at the front end, while providing administrators maintain a high degree of control at the backend. Though the goal is not to provide everyone with all information, it is to make the right information more accessible, when and where it’s needed. Even for a centralized learning system, it’s imperative to adopt a role-based approach to user access. This allows for capabilities such as informal learning, thus fulfilling the objectives of the organizations and the training managers.

In recent discussions with leading CLOs and Training Directors, Expertus asked, ‘What are the top learning challenges when you don’t have a learning system portal?’ The answers ranged from poor usability, inefficient search capability, unfriendly user interface, slow registrations, and sporadic customer training (check for the case for customer training portal development), to expensive and unnecessary customizations.

One important frequent response was the need for learning organizations to cater to new modes of learning delivery and informal or corporate social learning.

To learn more about this concept and to learn 6 ways to unlock the value of your learning technology, download the white paper.

If you need advice on how to increase the training efficiency of your learning organization, feel free to contact me.

Reduce your training costs with blended learning

In a recent survey by Expertus, it was found that the most important strategy that learning organizations are exploring to reduce the cost of training delivery is to migrate instructor-led training either to ‘blended learning’ or to look into elearning development. The benefits here are obvious – cost reductions in travel, facilities, equipment, and trainers.

However, organizations should not focus only on cost reduction. They must also work to leverage the other benefits of blended and elearning development such as, availability, reusability, efficiency, and above all, scalability.

Elearning can be available 24/7, but the organizations don’t have to offer their entire content as classic elearning modules. Properly designed and broken down into small pieces to use, e-learning can be used when there is a need for time-of-need training, alerts, or performance support. Organizations should consider looking at smaller learning modules, although it might demand some training content conversion into reference materials, lists, diagrams, stories, or lessons learned.

A great deal of value can be secured if certain information is made available quickly, and in an easy-to-digest form. One option might be to implement some training outside the LMS. If you can not configure the LMS to access the content quickly and easily, then put the developed content outside. Eliminating the requirement to track it will make it easier for learners to access and absorb the content faster.

For more details on this and for more ways of increasing your training efficiency, please download our recent webinar recording or read our white paper, Eliminate Waste and Reap the Rewards: Nine Ways to Trim Operational Expenses to Fund Strategic Learning, both available at http://www.trainingefficiency.com/.

If your organization is thinking about repurposing your ILT content into ELearning, creating content without compromise or if you’re interested in increasing the efficiency of your learning technology infrastructure, contact me.

Make your LMS speak business

Measuring the impact of learning on business performance is one of the long sought goals of many learning organizations for years together. Most of us also agree at the point that the integration of e-learning with other enterprise systems is the way to go, to achieve this goal. But what is that which is hindering in achieving this?

When training executives were surveyed recently, we found that 64 percent of respondents felt their learning technologies did not effectively interact with other applications, such as CRMs.

Since the 1960s, when mainframe online systems first hit the market, Software applications of all kinds have needed to speak with one another. Today, companies want to take advantage of their learning technologies to get quantifiable business results and learning business intelligence through the integration of LMS, e-learning, CRM, HRMS, portals and business intelligence software.

Ultimately, what is that which is hindering the effective communication of learning technologies and other enterprise software systems? The answer: business processes and learning initiatives are not aligned.

To enable the software systems speak the same language there are quite a number of protocols, tools and technologies available on the market today. But at last, to achieve communication between systems, it takes two other things.

1. Evaluate your learning proposals vis-à-vis your business objectives and current processes. With that assessment, a long-term strategic plan can be put in place to build communication channels for software systems and various groups of employees.
2. Depending on that plan, acquire, maintain or upgrade your technology infrastructure.

With this approach your learning tools are enabled to be completely utilized and your learning technologies do a lot of talking that everybody hears.

If your organization is grappling with LMS integration issues or if you’re interested in increasing the efficiency of your learning technology infrastructure and your overall training efficiency, contact me.