Not many – judging by some stats. The amount spent on eLearning has grown by around 60 percent over the last three years. Within five years it is forecast around half of all college classes will be based on eLearning. More than 40 percent of global Fortune 500 companies already use educational technology to instruct employees.

According to a report from IBM, companies utilizing eLearning tools have the potential to boost productivity by up to 50 percent. The analysts say return on investment in terms of added productivity is as much as 30 to 1. What else does eLearning do? It boosts staff retention rates, increases revenue per employee and helps companies to remain competitive. What’s more, eLearning is more convenient, less costly and better suited to flexible modern working patterns.

So why does anyone use any other form of training? Is it simple inertia? Do employers have cozy contracts with traditional instructors they do not want to break? Or is it about quality? Are there too many concerns about certification standards applied to eLearning courses?

Maybe it’s about interaction. Pupils in HR and every other profession need to build relationships with tutors and fellow students. Is that a weakness of eLearning? What is it that eLearning does NOT get right?

According to the Business Briefing “Learning and Analytics,” it could be about the inability of companies to establish robust statistics that clearly demonstrate direct links between eLearning and business improvement. “Without analytics,” it suggests, “you are at risk of driving your learning strategy blind, and never realizing the results you expect to gain.” By combining traditional training reporting with business data from other systems (such as CRM and ERP) through use of an integrated HR management system, it is possible to quantify the commercial benefits of any eLearning activity in real time.

A different perspective is offered by another report which suggests the problem is ‘content chaos’. Too many people want too many eLearning courses. The result? “Learning departments everywhere are straining under the burden of ever-increasing eLearning courses, online simulations, videos, manuals and podcasts.” So companies cannot keep up with changing levels of demand.

Or maybe it’s because eLearning has yet to take full account of the social media revolution. Could eLearning’s shortcomings such as interaction, course content feedback and quality standards be overcome by skillful use of social media techniques?

What do you think? (Reprinted from Linked-In HR Group)

MY THOUGHTS

Is there value to e-learning? Certainly. Is it the best training format for every person, situation, or course of study? Not. Does it depend on the nature of the training content? Definitely. Would e-learning be a better fit for mechanical engineering theory than acquiring good communication skills? Obviously, though online courses can serve as a primer for later hands-on learning of communication skills. Far more learning ground could be covered by e-learning for engineering.

Online learning can be an effective way to introduce theory and cover reference materials. Still, I believe that live person demonstrations, training, and coaching should complement and support most forms of online learning by relating theory to practical applications. The student learns via application of theory in real life situations, and learning is realized through experiencing the lesson. Professionally-guided delivery of content that is live, participatory, informative, and entertaining is what facilitates learning the best. This is providing that trainers and educators are continuously improving their knowledge and skills. Optimal transfer of knowledge and skills is the objective, and innately a real-life process. The old adage, “learning by doing,” still reigns supreme today.

Product Innovation Strategy

It all starts at the top. If there is not a clear and crisp product innovation strategy that supports the business strategy, problems begin. Some key challenges are: Do we have one? Is it clear? Is it the right strategy? Is everyone aligned? Are people walking the talk? Are there realistic expectations on new product revenues?

Lack of a product innovation strategy tailored to support the strategy of the business is often cited as a most common problem.

Portfolio Management

This is the strategic allocation of resources that ensures innovation efforts advance the product innovation strategy.  This is also the prioritization of projects in the pipeline to ensure that resources are being tactically deployed on the right projects for the right reasons.

Some key challenges are: too many projects and not enough resources to get everything done, difficulty in deciding which projects to select (when evaluating multiple projects that are competing for the same resources), difficulty in optimizing the portfolio of projects (i.e. short-term versus long-term, high-risk versus low-risk), poor alignment on priorities, and resources that are simply stretched too thinly.

Idea-to-Launch Process

This is the road map or playbook that takes each project from idea to launch including all of the activities and decisions that must occur in order to be successful.

Some key challenges are: not enough high-quality ideas; not having a standard playbook that can be used repeatedly for projects; leadership that cannot articulate the importance of their idea-to-launch process; employees who have not received training or have not developed a knowledge foundational base on and around innovation best practices; not tailoring the development process to support the business strategy and project needs; being unable to say no to projects and/or the need to be realistic with actual time and resource expectations that otherwise lead to unrealistic speed-to-market pressures; expectations for resource commitments to work on projects that are not in the official process; too many minor projects that negatively impact the resources available for innovation projects; and the inability to yield effective decisions in a timely manner (i.e. everything is a high priority thus creating ‘gridlock’ which in turn results in significant delays).

It is no wonder given the above why achieving and then sustaining success is so difficult for many companies.

Climate and Culture

This is the way the organization works: the typical behavior, norms, values and leadership style that enables or hinders product innovation performance. Some key challenges: difficulty in striking a healthy balance between ‘discipline and focus’ and ‘flexibility and judgment’, driving projects to successful completion while managing cross-functional teams (i.e. shortage of trained project leaders, staff turnover, gaps in necessary skills, lack of training and/or experience), management of failure, and poor support from other parts of the organization. In other words, creating and supporting a climate and culture that supports innovation company-wide.

How is your organization performing at product innovation and how does it compare to other companies? Without clear metrics and a way to compare them it can be difficult to know whether you are doing good or bad at product innovation; whether your investment in R&D is producing the desired results, and what areas of your performance might need to be improved or strengthened. The good news is, organizations can change, the question is do they want to?

Reprinted from article by Dr. Scott Edgett and Michael Phillips

If you’ve seen a Robin Williams stand-up performance it all appears to be improvised, in-the-moment delivery of comedic material. In reality, his bits are mostly well-rehearsed ahead of time and plugged into thematic flows when it fits. This is what I call “planning to be spontaneous”.

As summertime approaches, some people will allow the time to pass them by, thinking that when the moment is right they will spontaneously hop in the car and drive somewhere they’ve never been, or go out dancing for the first time since they wore bellbottom jeans. Sadly, it often results in a rueful September over the missed opportunities of summer. Lack of planning is the reason.

There is a reason the calendar was invented – to document appointments, schedule meetings, and take time out from the routines of life to arrange some fun. Putting anything on your calendar is the first step to making it real. Still, you must commit to it and not buy into excuses as to why you can’t plan on being spontaneous. Have at least one fun and adventurous activity a week throughout the summer.

Don’t let the recreational side of life pass you by because you run a business, have a family, or can’t bring yourself to change your habits. Plan your time so you can be spontaneous.