Monday
Apr162001
201 - e-Learning and Human Resource Executives
April 16, 2001
*** Elliott Masie's TechLearn TRENDS ***
e-Learning, Training and e-Collaboration Updates
Published by The MASIE Center http://www.masie.com
Host of TechLearn 2001 - Oct 28 - 31 - Orlando, Florida
e-Learning and Human Resource Executives
Over the past several weeks, I have addressed several conferences where more
than 1,000 Human Resource executives and directors were in attendance. As
the conversation turned to e-Learning, the HR executives provided some key
perspectives and lines of questioning. I kept a running list and diary of
those dialogues to share with our TechLearn TRENDS readers:
* e-Learning in a Time of Layoffs: Several vice-presidents of HR talked to
me about their new need for e-Learning as a part of their strategy for
implementing and surviving significant layoffs and reductions in force.
They saw e-Learning poised as a fast reacting tool to help them cross-train
and re-deploy the staff that remained. In addition, they were planning to
offer access to e-Learning collections and courses as part of termination
packages. One HR leader from a large telecommunications group said that
she was turning to e-Learning as a way of providing training while staying
off the radar screen of expenditures that could be perceived as reducible.
* Skills Assessments and Inventories: A good number of comments about
e-Learning focused on what the future of skill assessment and skill
inventories might look like. While there is still an open question
about how much companies might be willing to pay for skill inventories,
there was strong interest in finally being able to have skills (and
recently verified competencies) available as part of an ERP system and a
driver for learning and training investments.
* Digital Collaboration and Communities Highly Ranked: When I took a few
informal polls about the types of e-Learning that the HR leaders were
personally excited about, the words digital collaboration and communities
got lots of votes. The HR perspective was extremely favorable towards the
development of communities of learning, communities of practice and
communities of support. In addition, there was a fever for using virtual classrooms.
* Covering the Teleworker: Many of the HR executives have been faced with
the challenge of making sure that learning opportunities were being evenly
offered to staff working as teleworkers. A fair number of folks drilled
down into ways in which e-Learning could be harnessed for teleworking.
* The X Generation Learning Style: Conversations got quite heated when we
turned to the generational differences in learning styles. One company
sent a team of 5 HR associates who were under the age of 26 as a way of
getting a different perspective. These folks were emphatic about moving
away from the metaphor of the classroom for e-Learning offerings. They
thought that their peers wanted to visit Knowledge World, access on-going
content and not feel at all like they were in something that sounded like
or looked like a class. They were shocked that we did not have lots of
multi-player, on-going simulation learning experiences.
* Business and Soft Skills Development via e-Learning: I triggered a
number of heated debates about the effectiveness of e-Learning for
behaviorally targeted courses in the soft skills/business skills arena.
While many groups are successfully using e-Learning in this knowledge
domain, there were pockets of resistance about how to deeply impact people
through e-Learning. The most common solution seemed to be in the Blended
approach.
* High Potential Leaders: One of the arenas where HR executives were
shopping for ideas and even products was in how to use and leverage
e-Learning as a development and retention tool for high-potential
employees. A number of companies have high-potential programs that
identify future executives and focus development attention on this group.
A good number of Fortune 500 companies are shopping for new models for
blending e-Learning into their high potential employee programs.
There was an overall sense of excitement, tempered by uncertain economic
times, when it came to implementing e-Learning in their enterprises. One
intriguing data point!. At an event with over 600 HR executives, I asked
the group to indicate how they learned to do their jobs. NOT ONE PERSON
indicated that they learned to do their job in a classroom. They were
struck by the disconnect between where the bulk of learning really takes
place in an organization and where the majority of learning resources and
efforts are targeted. Adding e-Learning to the mix of corporate offerings
is one way in which the HR executives see expanding the reach and reality
of training expenditures.
(Note: We are adding a major HR Executive Briefing to TechLearn 2001.
This briefing will provide unique sessions for senior HR managers on the
changing role and face of training, as well as provide input to the larger
TechLearn community about learning from their perspectives. Go to
http://www.techlearn.com to register for TechLearn 2001 to be held in
Orlando, Florida from Oct 28 to 31th.)
e-Learning, Training and e-Collaboration Updates
Published by The MASIE Center http://www.masie.com
Host of TechLearn 2001 - Oct 28 - 31 - Orlando, Florida
e-Learning and Human Resource Executives
Over the past several weeks, I have addressed several conferences where more
than 1,000 Human Resource executives and directors were in attendance. As
the conversation turned to e-Learning, the HR executives provided some key
perspectives and lines of questioning. I kept a running list and diary of
those dialogues to share with our TechLearn TRENDS readers:
* e-Learning in a Time of Layoffs: Several vice-presidents of HR talked to
me about their new need for e-Learning as a part of their strategy for
implementing and surviving significant layoffs and reductions in force.
They saw e-Learning poised as a fast reacting tool to help them cross-train
and re-deploy the staff that remained. In addition, they were planning to
offer access to e-Learning collections and courses as part of termination
packages. One HR leader from a large telecommunications group said that
she was turning to e-Learning as a way of providing training while staying
off the radar screen of expenditures that could be perceived as reducible.
* Skills Assessments and Inventories: A good number of comments about
e-Learning focused on what the future of skill assessment and skill
inventories might look like. While there is still an open question
about how much companies might be willing to pay for skill inventories,
there was strong interest in finally being able to have skills (and
recently verified competencies) available as part of an ERP system and a
driver for learning and training investments.
* Digital Collaboration and Communities Highly Ranked: When I took a few
informal polls about the types of e-Learning that the HR leaders were
personally excited about, the words digital collaboration and communities
got lots of votes. The HR perspective was extremely favorable towards the
development of communities of learning, communities of practice and
communities of support. In addition, there was a fever for using virtual classrooms.
* Covering the Teleworker: Many of the HR executives have been faced with
the challenge of making sure that learning opportunities were being evenly
offered to staff working as teleworkers. A fair number of folks drilled
down into ways in which e-Learning could be harnessed for teleworking.
* The X Generation Learning Style: Conversations got quite heated when we
turned to the generational differences in learning styles. One company
sent a team of 5 HR associates who were under the age of 26 as a way of
getting a different perspective. These folks were emphatic about moving
away from the metaphor of the classroom for e-Learning offerings. They
thought that their peers wanted to visit Knowledge World, access on-going
content and not feel at all like they were in something that sounded like
or looked like a class. They were shocked that we did not have lots of
multi-player, on-going simulation learning experiences.
* Business and Soft Skills Development via e-Learning: I triggered a
number of heated debates about the effectiveness of e-Learning for
behaviorally targeted courses in the soft skills/business skills arena.
While many groups are successfully using e-Learning in this knowledge
domain, there were pockets of resistance about how to deeply impact people
through e-Learning. The most common solution seemed to be in the Blended
approach.
* High Potential Leaders: One of the arenas where HR executives were
shopping for ideas and even products was in how to use and leverage
e-Learning as a development and retention tool for high-potential
employees. A number of companies have high-potential programs that
identify future executives and focus development attention on this group.
A good number of Fortune 500 companies are shopping for new models for
blending e-Learning into their high potential employee programs.
There was an overall sense of excitement, tempered by uncertain economic
times, when it came to implementing e-Learning in their enterprises. One
intriguing data point!. At an event with over 600 HR executives, I asked
the group to indicate how they learned to do their jobs. NOT ONE PERSON
indicated that they learned to do their job in a classroom. They were
struck by the disconnect between where the bulk of learning really takes
place in an organization and where the majority of learning resources and
efforts are targeted. Adding e-Learning to the mix of corporate offerings
is one way in which the HR executives see expanding the reach and reality
of training expenditures.
(Note: We are adding a major HR Executive Briefing to TechLearn 2001.
This briefing will provide unique sessions for senior HR managers on the
changing role and face of training, as well as provide input to the larger
TechLearn community about learning from their perspectives. Go to
http://www.techlearn.com to register for TechLearn 2001 to be held in
Orlando, Florida from Oct 28 to 31th.)
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