By Stephen Walsh, Partner, Kineo
Every manager in every business is feeling the impact of the credit crunch on their budget right now. Those responsible for L&D are probably feeling it more than most. And it’s not the training requirement that’s getting cut, of course – it’s the cost of delivering it. So how will you deliver more for less in 2009? Rapid e-learning can help organisations become more agile and achieve more with limited budgets. Here are four reasons to invest now in rapid e-learning and reap the rewards.
1. Rapid e-learning drives out cost
Four ways in which rapid e-learning provides cost reductions over traditional e-learning methods:
| Traditional e-learning |
Rapid e-learning |
| High development costs due to large teams, expensive programming and development, and laborious processes |
The development cost of rapid e-learning is often less than 50% of the cost of traditional bespoke e-learning development due to the use of authoring tools and streamlined processes that get to prototype faster |
| Timelines are typically 3–4 months for standard projects, with many sign-off points along the way. Longer projects mean more people time, increasing costs |
Speed is one of the major advantages that rapid e-learning delivers. Most rapid e-learning can be developed in weeks, not months. Shorter projects mean lower internal costs for SMEs, project managers and reviewers, and the use of collaborative tools like Mohive assists greatly in accelerating development and review phases |
| Maintenance costs can be high even if you want simple changes – commonly you’re locked in to your original supplier, and this can be one of the hidden development costs |
Rapid development tools and their ease of use mean that internal staff can update content quickly and cost-effectively without having to go back to the vendor. Unlike generic e-learning content licences, there are no ongoing licence fees. |
| Process heavy, based on traditional software engineering document-driven approaches – you pay for this process but probably don’t need it |
Rapid e-learning moves quickly to prototypes, usually in a matter of days. This cuts out a lot of the time and cost that come with heavy documentation, when a lighter touch gets you to the solution more quickly
|
2. Rapid e-learning can accelerate performance
Cutting training costs may be at the top of the agenda, but if it’s at the expense of your learners’ performance, then it’s a false economy. More than ever, you need your people performing to their best. For rapid e-learning to be an attractive investment proposition, it needs to show that it can deliver performance levels as good as, if not better than, the alternatives.
Rapid e-learning delivers here too:
Better learning experience: Brandon Hall research showed that learner performance was enhanced through e-learning compared to classroom methods in terms of:
- learners’ attitudes toward the e-learning format and training in general
- learners’ scores on tests, certifications or other evaluations
- the number of learners who achieve ‘mastery’ level and / or ‘pass’ exams
- learners’ ability to apply new knowledge or processes on the job
- long-term retention of information
There when you need it: Rapid e-learning can make it to the point of need faster than face-to-face and traditional e-learning solutions, providing information where and when the learner needs it. What’s going to aid performance more: waiting for an instructor-led session on a specific process or challenge, or e-learning available right when the learner needs to up their game?
More efficient for learners: E-learning takes less time than classroom alternatives as:
- learners can go at their own pace, not at the pace of the slowest member of a group
- time in classrooms can be spent on questions / topics introduced by other delegates that are irrelevant to the needs of the individual learner
- there is less social interaction time
- it takes less time to start and wind up a learning session
- there is less travel time to and from a training event
- learners learn what they need to and can skip elements of a programme that they don’t need
3. Rapid e-learning gets the job done faster
Organisations are looking for a more agile approach to providing training solutions. Timeframes are shortening while business areas are looking to support new product launches, compliance requirements and reorganisation plans with effective learning – and the emphasis is on time.
Here’s where rapid e-learning rises to the challenge. What do you say to the business request that we need training on a new set of products, ready and rolled out in two weeks? With rapid e-learning, you can do your best Barack Obama impression and cry: ‘Yes we can!’
The use of rapid e-learning mean that I can say “Yes” to customers I may have had to say “No” to in the past due to the time, money and effort required to develop material in the traditional way.
This is because we can use repeatable design patterns, and authoring tools like Mohive accelerate the prototyping, development and review periods. It’s not uncommon to be producing quality rapid e-learning in a timeline of two weeks or less. So when you need to show you’re agile, it’s a great way to be a hero in your business.
4. Rapid e-learning can reach the niche
At a time when many organisations are cutting back and teams becoming more lean, the reality is that audience sizes for many training requirements may be falling. That doesn’t have to rule out e-learning. It’s a well-worn statement that e-learning only really works at scale and that for audience sizes less than 500 it’s not going to present a good business case compared to other investment options. That’s probably true when you’re working with a traditional e-learning cost base. Rapid e-learning, however, involves a much lower upfront investment cost, and much of the effort can be taken on in-house with the right support and tools. A much lower cost per hour means that the cost barrier is removed. You can now look at quite small, niche areas in the business and consider e-learning as a solution.
As one Kineo client at VirginMedia puts it, ‘The use of rapid development tools mean that I can say “Yes” to customers I may have had to say “No” to in the past due to the time, money and effort required to develop material in the traditional way. We can now cater for many smaller audiences, tighter deadlines or slimmer budgets (sometimes no budget!) without losing the impact and quality that a more traditional development model can offer.’
Industry expert Clive Shepherd has drawn a good analogy using the concept of the long tail. He points out that the ‘big ticket’ projects that require a significant investment are actually worth less in total value than the many smaller, more niche opportunities that exist in specialised areas in a business. So think of rapid e-learning as a niche player on a grand scale, tapping into those thousands of opportunities that might lie below the radar and were previously considered out of e-learning’s reach.
So if you’re looking to deliver more for less this year, it’s time to look closely at rapid e-learning.
Kineo was the winner of e-learning company of the year at the November 2008 E-learning Age awards and has partnered with organisations including BP, M&S, Google and Vodafone to deliver more for less.