Promoting Your E-Learning Investment - marketing electronic learning programs to employees

Although organizations invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop and introduce e-learning to employees, they often neglect a key element of success- marketing and promotion.

Unless e-learning is mandatory, using basic marketing techniques to attract and retain users is critical to ensuring e-learning's success in your organization. For example, you must

* introduce the new e-learning program to the organization (the launch)

* promote it and register initial users (internal marketing)

* develop ways to maintain and increase usage over time (maintenance marketing).

Simple marketing and promotion techniques can contribute substantially to the success of your e-learning initiative, especially in increasing and maintaining employee participation. Consider how the following techniques could be used in your organization to increase the use of e-learning.

Integrate online courses into employee development and performance improvement plans. Incorporating e-learning into a structured process can be helpful-and easy-for managers and supervisors. They can offer suggestions for personal development activities at performance reviews or annual goal-setting meetings. Another advantage: Online learning is trackable, measurable, and time-specific.

Hold brown-bag lunches or bring in pizza while holding a short seminar for managers, supervisors, and HRD professionals on how to incorporate e-learning into their own development plans, and how they can use it in employee development and performance improvement. Show the attendees how e-learning can be integrated into developing, coaching, and mentoring activities.

Incorporate e-learning into your new-employee orientation program.

At the least, give new employees an overview of your organization's e-learning philosophy, the options available, and how to sign up and get started.

Take advantage of your company's email system to promote e-learning and its benefits. You can use email to promote specific courses, provide useful tips, outline benefits, and share suggestions for incorporating e-learning into employees' personal development. Constantly look for ways to position and communicate e-learning as a critical solution for dealing with business issues in your organization.

Set up a help line. If employees have questions or difficulties (accessing a course, forgotten password, and so forth), make it easy for them to get answers. Print business cards with help-line contact information, and distribute them to all employees.

Develop simple brochures and flyers, and send them to employees via internal mail. Design the flyers so that employees can fill them out and return them with registration information and course selections. (Some organizations do that quarterly or when new courses are added to the curriculum.) Using a mix of communication vehicles-email, flyers, posters, telephone messages, newsletters-is more effective than using just one method repeatedly.

Create recognition programs and use them liberally. Recognition can be personal, departmental, or company-wide. Some organizations provide modest incentives for completing a course or curriculum; others print and award simple certificates of achievement or completion. Still others recognize employees through internal newsletters, memos, bulletin boards, or emails.

A personal way to recognize completion is to send a short note or email to managers, notifying them of employees completing courses. Consider putting a copy of the note in the employees' personnel files. The key: Use your imagination, and link recognition to what works best with your employees.

Further, the online open house is a great time to register new users and hand out additional information. Promote e-learning as a way to find solutions to business issues and problems.

Hold an "online open house." Invite all of your company's employees to get more information about e-learning and its benefits. Some organizations distribute formal invitations, while others send "online tickets." Some companies reward attendees with popcorn, chocolate, ice cream, or other inexpensive treats.

Consider making some online courses available to the family members of employees. Examples: online SAT or ACT prep courses for college-bound teenagers or personal finance courses--anything that can be taken from home. Your organization can offer those as value-added service to employees and family members--and they make a great benefit to attract prospective employees.

Conduct frequent course evaluations to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of your online learning initiative. Those can be formal evaluations or simple phone calls to random employees once they've completed a course. Survey employees to find out what topics interest them, and consider ways to incorporate those interests into your online offering.

If you work in a larger organization, look for more ideas and resources from other departments such as marketing or communications. Also, call on your e-learning vendors for additional help and internal marketing support.

Most of these suggestions are simple and inexpensive to implement. But they can be critical to the continued participation, acceptance, and overall success of your Web-based training initiative.

Will Hipwell is director of marketing at GeoLearning in Des Moines, Iowa; willh@geolearning.com.

T101 contributor Will Hipwell wishes he had more time for "driving 90 mph with the top down." What would you like your tombstone to read? asks our Contributors Questionnaire. Will's reply: "Here lies a man who drove (and lived) at 90 mph."

E-Learning - international developments in electronic learning

You can thank the Russians for e-learning. Well, in a really twisted way

For those of you unfamiliar with the Great Space Race (and hula hoops), Sputnik was the world's first man-made satellite, launched in 1957. In response to this Soviet flight breakthrough, the U.S. government formed the Advanced Research Projects Agency to boost technology advancements in Department of Defense activities.

Military and academic experts powwowed on new ways to communicate, way before dot. Whatever was cool. The new push for technology spawned packet-switching networks, protocols, email, and LANs that fed into the Internet and an e-revolution.

Governments worldwide are still big players in Net initiatives, and that greatly affects progress in e-learning. Here's a look at some trends in dot.gov and digital learning.

Uptake Down

A new report from Andersen Consulting claims that, overall, global governments are slow to adopt Net services.

The governments of Australia, Singapore, Canada, and the United States are leaders in providing online information, but they rarely surpass 20 percent maturity, according to the report. The French government offers the most comprehensive online services, and more than one-third of its sites are interactive; compare that to 8.3 percent of U.S. sites.

The report identified privacy fears and an overall lack of Net savvy as main reasons for the slow uptake.

FYI www.andersen.com

More Broadband, Please

One of the most active areas in U.S. government e-learning efforts is the push for increased bandwidth. The partnership of academia, industry, and government is continuing with Internet3, but the U.S. government's own Internet project is called Next Generation Internet.

The key distinction between NGI and Internet3 is that NGI is led by and focuses on the needs of such federal agencies as the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, NASA, and National Institutes of Health. However, because of the great deal of overlap between universities and federal agencies in terms of network infrastructure, applications, and the researchers working in both communities, there's also a great deal of synergy between the two projects.

According to 12 researcher Alex Latzko, all of the research should begin making an impact relatively soon. "This [12] technology will be available within the next year. Some of it already is. If you've got fat enough pipes, you can watch a lot of the streaming video (that's] available."

The big question for e-learning proponents is still, "When will we be able to stream TV-quality live training to the masses painlessly via the Web?"

You can sign up for free 12 news updates at www.internet2.edu. NGI updates are found at ngi.gov.

Wired U Gets Gov Backing

Citing Britain's rich reservoir of experience and expertise, government officials in the United Kingdom say that it's time to establish a new virtual university to catch up with American e-universities.

The new institution will focus on instruction, not research, and it may help realize a promise made by Prime Minister Tony Blair to enroll at least half of the country's young people in higher education by the time they're 30.

Sir Brian Fender, chairman of the Higher Education Funding Council says, "I am quite clear about what this will look like. It will not be a correspondence course; this is the Open University of the 21st century." He estimates that the initial cost of the e-university will be $604 million ([pound]400 million).

Consortia of institutions will be invited to bid on creation of the new virtual university, which will offer bachelor's degrees and a new two-year degree under development. Britain's pioneer Open University is likely to lead the bidding, but the government hopes that research groups will also become involved. Partnerships are also being considered with non-British institutions.

Source Chronicle of Higher Education

Back to the Future

Radio as effective e-learning? According to David Walker and Gajaraj Dhanarajan, you betcha, if governments are interested in reaching disadvantaged groups.

In "Education for All: The Mass Media Formula," they write: "If education for all is to be achieved, then the potential for radio as an effective delivery device to disadvantaged groups will have to be harnessed. This can only be achieved with the commitment of governments to allow for the development of community broadcasting. The benefits that radio can bring to the welfare of a nation are potentially great. It is economically the best solution for reaching a large number of people with information and educational content. The tools for education for all and the infrastructure and skills for delivering education are readily available if governments are willing to allow radio to proliferate at the community level."

What's needed for that to happen? Government deregulation of the airwaves, for one thing. But that may be a challenge in some areas. According to Walker and Dhanarajan, there are proposals in India, for example, to circumvent government regulations of community radio by rebroadcasting Web- streamed audio via speakers mounted throughout villages.

Source www.TechKnowLogia.org

@Work covers Internet trends, news, and tips. Send items of interest to atwork@astd.org.

Vital Questions

In November, the Web-Based Education Commission is scheduled to present a congressional report that focuses on 13 policy issues influencing the Web's impact on improving learning. Here are some questions that the commission is scheduled to address:

* What content and teaching strategies best use the Internet for learning?

* What are the true costs of maximizing the Internet for learning?

* How will definitions of content quality conceived in a narrowband world have to be adjusted for broadband technologies?

* How should we evaluate the success of new Web-based approaches?

FYI www.webcommission.org

UpDate

Canadian Net users have their American counterparts best when it comes to online surfing according to Nielsen NetRatings. Recent numbers place the average Canadian online 10 times monthly to visit 18 different sites, compared to U.S. numbers of 18 and 10.

Really Big Site Coming to a computer screen you: a super-sized Website boasting every online resource offered by the U.S. government.

Dubbed firstgov.gov the portal will enable people to link to government sites that help them access free educational content, start a small business, and track Social Security benefits, among a crowd of other activities. It's part of an effort to create a "high-speed, high-tech, user-friendly government," according to President Clinton. The site will be created by a team led by Internet entrepreneur Eric Brewer at no cost to tax-payers. Launch is set for all 2000.

FYI firstgov.gov

Really Big Brother

Forget about taking an e-learning course in Myanmar anytime soon.

The country, formerly known as Burma, has prohibited Net use. According to the Associated Press, unelected military leaders passed a law that imposed a seven- to 15-year prison sentence for unauthorized modem ownership.

Email is allowed, but only a few hundred elite have access. The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications is providing a new email server that will offer email accounts to approximately 600 more users. There are 48 million people in Myanmar; only 50,000 have computers.

The State of the States

State governments are getting in on the e-learning action. Here's a sampling:

Colorado: Governor Owens, joined by academic institutions and the technology community, announced the formation of the Colorado Institute of Technology.

Montana: Ecollege.com gave the Montana University system a $517,000 grant to help five state colleges increase online classes and higher education degrees.

North Dakota: The state's Department of Health is offering online classes for emergency medical technicians, enabling many professionals and rural volunteers to complete much of their classroom training offsite.

West Virginia: Governor Underwood asked other Southern Regional Education Board governors to adopt an "electronic rate" for courses and programs offered over the SREB's Electronic Campus. The electronic rate would be in lieu of in-state and out-of-state tuition for e-learning.

Source Government Technology

L-I-N-G-O Update

Here's this month's jargon watch for our techie readers; all definitions are adapted from the Ultimate Silicon Valley Slang Webpage (www.sabram.com).

Big Banging. Creating a product, such as software, that incorporates features from two or more other products.

Five and Dime. The U.S. area code 510 that covers the telecom-intense east San Francisco Bay area.

Lasagna Syndrome. When software has too many overlapping dialogue boxes.

Meeting Engineer. A person who spends more time attending meetings than doing other work.

Screen-Saver Face. A facial expression that reveals someone is bored to the point of brain shutdown.

E-learning doesn't mean any harm. It just wants to help

Solve this training and development riddle: What do some t&d professionals view as both an opportunity and a threat? The answer: e-learning.

While some trainers view it as preying upon their insecurities, others understand that e-learning is a tool to help learners gain a comprehensive knowledge of a specific field--an elusive task due to rapid product development and evolution. As a result, those trainers realize that learning needs to be a tactical process that enables employees to get information in a just-in-time, just-enough, and just-for-me format. To that end, t&d professionals must adapt their instructional approach to help people learn and retain information as quickly, conveniently, and effectively as possible.

E-learning makes that change possible by improving learner access to training, providing just-the-right training to learners with heterogeneous backgrounds, and helping t&d professionals get training out in a more timely fashion to the people who need it. Thus, an effectively developed e-learning initiative is the trainer's ally in helping employees gain the knowledge they need to perform. Some organizations, however, still hesitate to implement an e-learning initiative. If your organization is one of them, here are a few suggestions on how to start up the e-learning discussion.

Identify winners

Your first step is to perform an analysis to reveal the people who stand to benefit from an e-learning initiative.

Unserved users. Despite recent events, employees in many companies still travel to traditional classroom training that takes place in a few centralized locations. That creates two user groups: the geographically blessed--users who work in the right location to have relatively open access to training--and the unblessed, users for whom training is a major disruption involving substantial

time, travel, and cost. E-learning levels the playing field between the geographically blessed and unblessed.

Overserved users. As stewards of learning, instructors must make the best use of employees' time and teach them the required job competencies. Good instructors acknowledge that some learners will have been exposed previously to significant parts of the course material. E-learning's prescriptive assessments and searchable components allow instructors to provide learners with only the chunks of information they need, in a fraction of the time of traditional training.

Time-challenged users. Requirements such as consistent times and dates for classroom programs exist due to availability of instructors, classrooms, equipment, and learners. Yet, the idea of being away from the office for one, three, or five consecutive days is inconsistent with most people's job requirements. With e-learning, however, learning gets integrated into your overall work. Learning becomes far less event-based and more of a continuous process that opens up training, especially in smaller organizations, to people who can't leave work.

Talented instructors. Good classroom training programs--for example, behavior-based programs such as Internet working or leadership development--will always be in high demand. The number of capable, talented instructors, however, is limited. Leveraging technologies (such as virtual classrooms) enables organizations to provide more learners access to the most talented, experienced, and effective instructors.

E-learning programs also provide a new role opportunity for instructors: mentor. Trainers can work one-on-one, in small groups, or over the Web or telephone to help learners assimilate and apply learning effectively. That role frees trainers from spending time on information transfer so that they can focus on more interesting and relevant issues with individual learners.

Training and business managers. One challenge that management continues to face is how to ensure that their employees have the skills they need to do their work well and help the company prosper. It has been difficult, especially for large companies with people in many locations, to ascertain the required skills and ensure consistent, effective training. E-learning provides the consistency that a classroom cant. That's why it's critical that e-learning content and instruction be consistently good. Managers will support high quality e-learning programs but distrust ones whose primary benefit is cost savings.

Finance. E-learning can save money. To gain the buy-in you want, you'll be expected to show cost savings. But be sure that your primary objectives are designed with other internal customers in mind. If you serve those customers well, the results will rake care of your CFO.

Next steps

Gather a sampling of the potential winners. When approaching managers, target those who

* have a large number of employees in disparate locations (sales, for example)

* have the highest training bills

* are consistent supporters of training but lack the budget to send as many employees to training as they'd like.

Build user support by describing the new training programs that would be available, the career benefits, and how you need their help to make it happen. Working together, create a strategy that blends e-learning into the existing training program.

After you've gotten the winners on board, identify pilot opportunities:

* Is there a pocket of your organization that never receives training?

* Are there IT experts who won't go to class because "they know it all already"?

* Is your HR department looking for noncash ways to reward employees for their loyalty during the economic downturn?

Outline specific needs (and wants) for training. Focus on win-win opportunities in which you're solving a significant problem for employees.

Don't feel that the solution you recommend has to be 100 percent e-learning. You can use e-learning as an effective tool to make your classroom training more productive. For example, classroom training is least productive when not everyone in the class has the necessary prerequisite skills. Stopping to address the needs of inexperienced or underqualified learners is aggravating for trainers. Leverage e-learning, and you can provide (and possibly use assessment to enforce) prerequisite skills training--making time in the classroom more productive.

Because e-learning requires changing learning processes, it may take some coaching before people get used to it. Use these tips to get your organization excited about the possibilities of e-learning. Then, you can start figuring out how to pay for the pilot.

Patrick von Schlag is the director of business strategy for Global Knowledge, a world-wide provider of IT training and education solutions; www.globalknowledge. com.

Preventing e-learning failure: ten common pitfalls and how to avoid them

A growing number of organizations are embracing e-learning as an advantageous, if nor altogether superior, approach to delivering training. In fact, some observers estimate that by 2005 as much as 90 percent of all training will be delivered electronically.

But in their rush to implement e-learning, organizational leaders are making unfortunate mistakes--missteps caused by being unacquainted with the proper uses and requirements of e-learning or by miscalculating the resources and expertise needed to ensure a program's success. Given that e-learning is still new and unfamiliar territory for many organizations, it isn't surprising that mistakes occur. Adding to the confusion are the large number of e-learning suppliers and the wide variation in technology, functionality, and services that surround the design and implementation of an effective e-learning program.

Here's how you can avoid the most common pitfalls that are associated with implementing e-learning.

Pitfall 1: Believing that e-learning is a cheaper training alternative. E-learning has many advantages: scalability, broad geographic reach, and unmatched delivery speed--just to name a few. But those advantages don't make e-learning less expensive than other training delivery methods. In the words of Elliott Masie, a recognized proponent of e-learning, "We need to dispel the notion that e-learning is a cheaper alternative."

Masie's observation counters the assumption that if all training is put on the Web, implementation costs will be reduced. In reality, making content and courseware available to learners incurs many costs for planning, infrastructure, installation, bandwidth, and systems integration--not to mention the ongoing communications and marketing required to ensure that intended learners use the system. Organizational leaders often overlook those costs and make purchasing decisions based solely on the cost of course content. In such instances, the e-learning program can be severely undercapitalized and run significantly over budget.

E-learning can be cost-effective, especially with a large number of users in multiple locations. But don't expect a meticulously planned, effectively implemented, well-marketed system that meets or exceeds expectations to come cheaply. Like most investments, money must be spent to make money.

Pitfall 2: Overestimating what e-learning can accomplish. Despite a growing reliance on e-learning, instructor-led training still predominates. According to a recent Development Dimensions International survey, 68 percent of leadership development training is classroom based; other studies report an even higher percentage.

Such statistics suggest that e-learning will never supplant instructor-led training. One reason is because people are social learners. We like to learn in groups, exchanging thoughts and ideas and interacting with peers face-to-face. Classroom-based instructor-led training provides that experience; Web-based training generally doesn't.

Pitfall 3: Overlooking the shortcomings of self-study. The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere is one of e-learning's greatest advantages. The self-study that characterizes that flexibility, however, poses a number of challenges.

In self-study (or asynchronous learning), learners follow their own schedule and aren't held accountable for their learning to an instructor, as in a classroom setting. That freedom of access is attractive, yet it has a major drawback: Unless learners are highly motivated, they may nor complete the training. Observers have estimated that learners don't complete 50 to 90 percent of Web-based courses.

Although self-study is an effective and appropriate platform for certain kinds of information--for example, on cognitive and process topics--the method runs counter to how most adults have been conditioned to learn: in classrooms, with other students, being taught by teachers who held students accountable for their learning. That system didn't condition most of us to learn in isolation what we need to do our jobs better.

A related issue to self-study is whether training should happen on company time or on the learner's time. Learners may not be motivated to finish a course if they're expected to do it while maintaining their same workloads; organizational leaders may be unwilling to implement e-learning fully if they think it will reduce productivity.

Pitfall 4: Failing to look beyond the course paradigm. E-learning courses exist for most job-relevant technical and soft skills. But the proliferation of courses has led many decision makers to believe that e-learning is all about courses. Actually, e-learning can take many other forms. For example, asynchronous threaded email discussions and synchronous chat rooms can be used to build communities of learning. Live e-learning platforms (virtual classrooms) can support open-ended discussions and small-group projects. Web-based knowledge management depositories and electronic performance support systems can provide just-in-time and just-enough online advice. Even 19th-century apprenticeship and 20th-century internship learning models can be facilitated across distance through emerging online and wireless communication technologies.

One of the most powerful non-course e-learning approaches is electronic learning support. With an electronic performance support system, an organization can leverage the Internet or its intranet to make targeted learning available to learners when they need it, where they need it, and with just the right focus. Learners use an EPSS much in the same way they use a reference book, going to it for information on an as-needed basis. For instance, if you need help planning a meeting, you can read tips for meeting success beforehand. Or if you have a conflict with a coworker, you can immediately access information on how to address it.

An example of an advanced EPSS is DDI's OPAL (Online Performance and Learning), which includes practical tips and guidelines, 577 job aids and learning tools, and 164 topics separated into 13 topic groups and linked to 40 competencies--all accessible through a search engine that facilitates searches by synonyms. The breadth of content is supplemented by self-assessment and multirater feedback capabilities, features that greatly expand the functionality of a standard EPSS. Those tools allow learners to identify their strengths and development needs by assessing their own performance as well as by soliciting feedback from others--easily, electronically, and confidentially.

You can't overstate the value an EPSS provides in maximizing training's impact. Industry experts estimate that only 30 percent of training actually transfers to the job. Though low, that figure isn't surprising given that training delivery and learning application aren't always in sync. Take, for instance, a manager who goes through interviewing skills training but doesn't have an opportunity to conduct an interview for several months. By making learning available when and where it's needed, an EPSS places learning opportunities and information as close to the individual learner as possible.

If you see e-learning merely as a course dispenser, you'll miss the opportunity to use an EPSS as part of a blended learning approach. Blended learning describes the combination of Web-based training with classroom instruction, but other components can be part of the blend as well. Knowledge management systems, email, videoconferences, guided chat rooms, and even phone conferences can contribute to an optimally effective blended learning strategy.

Pitfall 5: Viewing content as a commodity. Because writing and instructional design quality can vary greatly, one of the most significant factors contributing to the effectiveness of e-learning is the quality of the content. The sequence of the material and ease of use are also important. But buyer beware: Though the content offered by some providers is backed by extensive expertise and research, other offerings reflect little investment of time and effort.

Media also can vary in quality and impact. For instance, videos can be relevant and instructive, or they can be boring or poorly produced. When selecting content for use across geographic areas, you must consider its suitability to the audience. Content that's appropriate and effective for American audiences might be inappropriate and ineffective for learners in Europe or Asia. It's possible for a video to span geography and cultures, but success requires diligence, experience, and testing.

E-learning courses also need to be evaluated in terms of how they fit into the organization's entire training program. To maximize training's impact, the e-learning needs to complement and reinforce the learning delivered through other initiatives. A course that's inconsistent with other learning or inferior in quality can lessen the entire program's impact.

Pitfall 6: Ignoring technology. While ensuring that their e-learning content is of high quality, some decision makers overlook another critical component: technology. When implementing a Web-based learning system, several technological issues to understand and consider are the operating system, Web browser, tracking system, learning management system, database, and video servers.

The complex witch's brew of hardware and software found in most organizations demands that people with technical expertise be involved in the selection and implementation of e-learning. Too often, decision makers are so enamored with a course's potential that they make hasty and ill-advised purchasing decisions. They fail to ask the right questions, rake an inventory of the organization's technology, or secure the commitment of technical experts by involving them early in the decision-making process.

Pitfall 7: Failing to involve IT. When learning is Web- or computer-based, among the most important partners to involve in the selection and implementation are members of the information technology group. Their involvement is critical; IT, after all, is responsible for making sure the organization's computing environment is functioning properly and that no security problems arise. Your IT professional can provide the necessary technical specifications and help establish a realistic implementation timeline. (Too often, IT is asked to meet deadlines that it had little or no input in setting, and that it can't possibly meet.)

Sometimes the IT group isn't consulted until a newly purchased system needs to be installed-a disastrous situation if the installation proves to be technically complex or the e-learning system is incompatible with the organization's technical infrastructure. Such situations, which are fairly common, imperil e-learning initiatives and poison the relationship with IT.

Pitfall 8: Fixating too much on technology. Technology makes e-learning possible, but it's people-and their performance-that make it necessary. Accordingly, the most important question to ask when considering elearning is, "What will be the impact on the people using it?"

Despite the degree to which it has saturated and altered the workplace, technology can still make people uneasy. The reason is simple: With the adoption of new technology comes change, and change makes people uncomfortable.

Ironically, with e-learning, as with all learning, change is the goal. An effective e-learning program changes the culture, workplace behavior, retention, and, ultimately, the organization so that it can become more competitive. That's a tall order. To achieve it, the people who champion, implement, and use the program need to be involved from the beginning. Throughout implementation, solicit and respect their opinions, address their concerns, and incorporate their feedback into the final delivery.

Pitfall 9: Assuming that learned knowledge will be applied. Sometimes, just acquiring knowledge is sufficient-for instance, when the objective is to learn a new pricing structure. But often, elearning is used to impart skills (knowledge that changes behavior and is applied on the job), which can be more difficult to achieve.

Learners need opportunities to practice new skills and become comfortable with applying them. That's one reason skill practice is an important complement to an e-learning program. But even more important is attaining the buy-in of learners so that they'll be motivated to apply the learning. Unless you take steps to ensure that buy-in-such as including learners in the selection and implementation of courses or tools, providing adequate communication, and so forth--no amount of training stands much of a chance to affect performance.

Pitfall 10: Believing that because you implement e-learning, employees will use it. Just because e-learning is available doesn't mean it will be used. Many reasons explain that phenomenon: weak content, poor implementation planning, no alignment with learner or business needs, lack of management support, poorly blended components, no time or place for training, absent or ineffectual marketing, no organizational value placed on continuous learning, and so forth. Whatever the reason, the end result is the same: The training doesn't meet its intended goals, and valuable organizational resources are wasted. With that in mind, approach the following areas with care:

* Planning. An effective e-learning system begins with a sound, thorough planning process that establishes a vision, determines objectives, and includes all key constituencies--learners, managers, IT partners, and e-learning providers. The involvement of users in planning and implementation is paramount to e-learning success.

* Alignment. For users to accept learning, it must be relevant. That means it must align with organizational values and goals, have the visible support of senior management, and be effectively and accurately linked to other HR systems such as performance management or succession management. E-learning also has perceived value when it offers the knowledge and skills needed to support important organizational initiatives, such as a new product or technology development.

* Blending and integration. Because of the unique factors involved in the development of human performance, no single solution--be it classroom instruction, self-study, or electronic performance support--in and of itself can be a complete solution for skill development. The magic happens when an organization does a good job of selecting multiple options for learners based on their needs, preferences, and environment.

* Motivation and support. What will motivate learners to use e-learning? How will they be held accountable for completing training? Leaders must be able to answer those questions if they expect people to use e-learning.

* Marketing and communication. It's critical to build excitement and enthusiasm among learners for the launch of an e-learning initiative. Ongoing marketing and communication are required to keep learners engaged and motivated.

* Evaluation and refinement. Many believe that the implementation of e-learning marks the end of the initiative, but it's only the beginning. Once in place, the e-learning system must be evaluated, its effectiveness determined, and improvements and refinements incorporated on an ongoing basis.

As e-learning becomes more prevalent, it will be viewed for what it really is-another set of options for delivering or reinforcing training. Until that time, however, organizations need to be mindful of the special requirements and considerations that accompany the implementation of and reliance on e-learning.

When the pitfalls described are encountered, they often lead organizations to abandon e-learning. But the organizations that will prove most effective at integrating e-learning into their training strategies will be those that learn from their mistakes and continue to leverage technology to deliver the most effective training possible.

RELATED ARTICLE: EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES

In the rush to implement e-learning, some people are making unfortunate mistakes. Here are pitfalls to avoid:

1. Believing that e-learning is a cheaper training alternative. Like most investments, money must be spent to make money.

2. Overestimating what e-learning can accomplish. E-learning will never completely supplant instructor-led training.

3. Overlooking the shortcomings of self-study. Unless learners are highly motivated, they may not complete the training.

4. Failing to look beyond the course paradigm. One of the most powerful noncourse e-learning approaches is electronic learning support systems.

5. Viewing content as a commodity. Content is one of the most significant factors contributing to the effectiveness of e-learning.

6. Ignoring technology. It's crucial to understand the technological issues when implementing e-learning.

7. Failing to involve IT. People with technical expertise must be involved in e-learning's selection and implementation.

8. Fixating too much on technology. Ask, How will e-learning affect the people using it?

9. Assuming that learned knowledge will be applied. Learners need opportunities to practice new skills.

10. Believing that because you implement e-learning, employees will use it. It's not quite that easy.

Pete Weaver is senior vice president and chief technology officer for Development Dimensions International; www.ddiworld.com

e-Learning News You Can Use

Look out, world! Governments, often stereotyped as slow and behind the times, are signing on to e-learning.

Once used by a handful of people in state and national governments, e-learning is being viewed more strategically as an overall tool that can help government employees and constituents keep up with the fast pace of the knowledge economy. Sure, governments may be a bit behind companies that have been doing e-learning for years, but they're ahead of many other companies that are still figuring out how to get involved. Here are some examples.

The World Bank. The international lending organization is made up of representatives from 180 member nations. Its learning arm, the World Bank Institute, has contracted with e-learning supplier Enspire Learning to design an interactive online training course for the World Bank Institute's Macroeconomics and Policy Assessment Skills Program. Simulations and multimedia tools will help keep World Bank staff and economists worldwide engaged. The online course will launch in winter 2002.

The Commonwealth. A voluntary association of 54 nations that were once linked together in the British empire, the Commonwealth countries work towards international goals. At their spring 2002 meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Commonwealth Ministers of Education directed the offshoot group Commonwealth of Learning to begin designing a virtual university that will serve primarily the small countries. The university will enable those nations to share information, form partnerships, and plan joint programs.

U.K. public sector. Giving a boost to the e-learning standards movement is Steve Molyneux, a member of the United Kingdom's e-learning strategy taskforce and head of the Information and Communication Technology Research Centre at the Department for Education and Skills. Molyneux is calling for a public-sector e-learning standard that would save U.K. taxpayers money and lead to the implementation of a virtual university for civil servants. He asserts that U.K. government spending for e-learning is now being wasted because systems are incompatible.

U.S. military. In August, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a mammoth strategic plan to adapt the way the entire military is trained, in order to better prepare for joint operations. Just one of the many proposals is to develop a networked, live virtual environment in which troops can practice collaborating on various tasks. Suppliers had not been designated at press time.

U.S. federal agencies. To unify e-learning initiatives across the federal government and reduce redundancy, the U.S. government has developed a one-stop shop for selecting and delivering e-learning. The Gov Online Learning Center * www.goleam.gov uses Geolearning's hosted LMS and content from Skillsoft, NetG, and Karta Technologies. The portal will be available 24/7, including round-the-clock technical support. Number of people served: 1.8 million.

U.S. agencies are getting into a different type of e-learning in a more grassroots way, perhaps because the concept and technology are newer. Agencies are using collaboration software to form communities of practice, bringing together federal workers to discuss an issue or solve a problem. One high-profile example of this: the U.S. State Department, which is using eRoom Technology's collaboration software to meet and develop economic policy.

www.learningcircuits.org for more government e-learning.

Reality check

You might as well stay home with your chicken soup and soap operas.

If you're as sick as a dog but drag yourself in to work, you may not be the model employee you think you are. AdvancePCS, provider of health improvement services, conducted more than 25,000 interviews and found that employees who show up with headaches, stomachaches, or similar complaints are costing employers more than US$180 billion a year. The culprit is "presenteeism" (as opposed to absenteeism)--a state in which employees are at work but unable to perform fully. According to the study, presenteeism accounts for more than two-thirds of health-related lost-labor costs.

* Source/CCH Human Resources Management Net News

Send press releases or short articles on news, trends, and best practices to News You Can Use, T+D, 1640 King Street, Box 1443, Alexandria, VA 22313-2043. Email nycu@astd.org.

More

The World Bank

* enspirelearning.com/pr_07_10_02.jsp

The Commonwealth

* col.org/consultancies/02virtualu.htm

U.K. public sector

* vnunet.com/news/1134171

U.S. military

* www.learningcircuits.org/2002/aug2002/newsbytes.html#aug1

U.S. agencies (Online Learning Center)

* govexec.com/dailyfed/0602/062802b1.htm and geolearning.com/news/dsp_article.cfm?NewsID=57

U.S. agencies (communities of practice)

* fcw.com/supplements/dwkm/2002/sup-meet-08-05-02.asp

RELATED ARTICLE: Bizz the buzz about small business

Did you know that half of the new companies launched in the United States and Canada fail within three years? If you're concerned about the viability of your small business, read on. These tips can help you decide whether your business is good to go or whether it's time to cut your losses.

Be prepared. When you start a business, you should include in your business plan criteria under which you'd fold. Then keep your eyes open: don't ignore warning signs because you're emotionally attached.

Watch the cash flow. If you're struggling to balance income and expenses every month, it could mean that your cash flow is too tight to keep the business running. Everyone has short months, but be alert to that trend.

Examine the qualitative. Some warning signs won't appear on a balance sheet. For example, an increase in customer complaints or a steady loss of customers may hint at problems with products or services.

Be honest with yourself and others. Don't delude yourself that things will turn around any minute when the d ata says otherwise. And repeat this 100 times: "I will not play with the numbers."

Don't panic if you spy some of those warning signs, but do evaluate your business's chance of success carefully. For second opinions, consult your lawyer and accountant. They can tell you if they think the business is in real trouble. Another good advisor? Your spouse.

Look for excess. Do you have lots of employee turnover or large price cuts? Both are warning signs that something may be wrong.

Read your mood. If you're stressed and unenthusiastic about going to work in the mornings, it might not be worth fighting to keep the business afloat.

* Source/www.bcentral.com

Survey Says

What qualities do effective leaders have? That's the question the Society for Human Resource Management asked in its 2002 Global Leadership Survey. Responses demonstrated that organizations worldwide value similar characteristics. Most important traits for a leader, based on overall results:

performance, 85 percent

character, 82 percent

adaptability, flexibility, and persistence, each 78 percent

The numbers were a bit different for the United States, which has been rocked recently with corporate scandals.

Character took top billing, followed by performance, flexibility, and ethical standards.

The way leaders were developed:

external leadership development training (universities, professional organizations, and so forth), 57 percent

internal leadership development training, 51 percent

temporary stretch assignments to develop new skills, 48 percent

international assignments to gain diverse experiences, 47 percent

The report is available for SHRM members * shrm.org/surveys/results.