So last week, we presented the challenges  that faced one of our clients, a manufacturer and distributor of health care supplies and services. This week we will share the solution and resulting impact.  Remember, the challenges were identified as :

• Keeping workers safe.
• Training with greater efficiency.
• Boosting training effectiveness.
• Tracking and documenting training.

THE SOLUTION

• Adapt eLMS online training. In 2007 this company formed a partnership with Kibler & Associates  and KMi Inc. to adopt KMi’s eLMS online learning management system. The initial task was to move training and record-keeping to an online portal. At inception, it was accessible to two thousand employees in forty locations. Integration with the existing HR database ensures the user list is always up-to-date.
• Develop effective online content. The first courses were safety tutorials and refreshers for warehouse activities. These have been strengthened by dozens of custom courses covering all aspects of warehouse knowledge: from Forklift Safety, to Hazmat training, to Units & Measures.
• Devise custom tracking and notifications. The standard eLMS reporting tools have been extended in two directions. First, custom reports and metrics have been added that highlight training metrics and compliance reports that are mission-critical to this company. Second, custom notification tools do things like: email the admins in a warehouse when an employee fails a course twice in a row.
• Expand the tool-set. The classic LMS functions of online coursework have been strengthened with new tools. For example, employees can be tested to ensure they understand handbooks and safety documents, and a wage calculator helps employees measure earning potential in various internal career paths.

IMPACT

In its first two years of operation, the online Training Academy for this company has become a central part of the company’s training programs. As of February 2010, more than 2,700 employees have completed nearly 17,000 courses. In every quarter new online training has been added to a growing part of the company’s operations.

So far, the impact has been outstanding.

Safety

• Accidents on the job were reduced by 55% in 2009. And this was done with only a limited release of online training to thirty warehouses. More safety courses may reduce injuries even further.

Efficiency

• This company  retains their best workers. Those who left the company during the period had an online course failure rate more than 50% higher than those who stayed.
• Workers are learning their jobs faster. Managers in the field have reported a savings of two to five days in getting new employees up to speed.

Effectiveness

• Every worker is being trained according to enterprise-standard procedures instead of learning processes peculiar to a single facility or trainer.
• With testing uniform across the company and mandatory passing scores, this company can be certain all workers have understood the training.

Compliance

• In response to a pair of major accidents in 2009 the firm was able to immediately show that OSHA’s training expectations had nevertheless been met.
• A wrongful termination suit was easily countered by using eLMS training records to show the employee took thirty-four attempts to pass three courses. A well-documented training history was a valuable part of the defense against this EEOC claim.

CONCLUSION

This experiment with online training on the eLMS platform has been closely watched by this company. After two years of success, they’ve resolved to take it further and make it grow. More than a dozen new courses are planned for the next two quarters covering a broader array of topics: from lifting and bending safety to SAP tutorials. Employees are safer and better-prepared to do their jobs. Managers have reported increased productivity, and can bring training to their people 24/7. And these same managers can track training progress and verify compliance at the touch of a key.

This move towards effective online training emphasizes how this company continues to lead their market, and is better-prepared for the challenges ahead.

Can you imagine what applying these solutions might do for your company? KMi will work with you to understand your specific challenges and objectives, your audience, and the success metrics you wish to track and document. Please contact Margie Herron at mherron@kmionline.com for a free assessment of your needs and solution development plan.

• eLearning is usually less expensive to produce: of course, this may be dependent on the production value and tools you use and the particular content, but, once developed, an eLearning course can be leveraged for years without additional costs.
• The user determines the pace: As a self-paced learner from way back, this is one of its most attractive benefits for me. I can move through any online training solution at my own pace and access it just when I need it. Cool! 
• The learner can move through the learning faster -- As a user, I can bypass information I already know and focus on the information that I need to know. Beats sitting in a classroom and listening to repetitive material every time!
• eLearning provides a consistent message : Many of our clients are global organizations. They need their messaging to be the same whether it is delivered in Singapore, Paris or San Francisco. And, they need it to reflect just that global diversity as well. We just produced an online customer service course. One of the key learning objectives was to establish a consistent and repeatable process for customer support across their global platform. Providing the training as web based eLearning was exactly the right format for this project.
• Implementing eLearning can provide training from any location, any time, and just in time: One of the most obvious applications of this benefit was a sales training series we did for a health system hardware provider. They recognized that their sales people had little advance time to prepare for sales calls because they had such a broad range of services and products. So we created a custom series that reps could access just prior to their sales meetings to educate and update them on products and services. It was a resounding success. 
• eLearning can be updated easily and quickly: I recall developing a series of product training courses, which were updated monthly. The course were template based and allowed for easy updating of product spec changes. This meant that the field always had the most current product information. Imagine doing that through classroom training!
• eLearning leads to increased retention and a stronger grasp on the subject: This is because of the many elements that can be combined in custom eLearning to reinforce the message, such as video, audio, quizzes, interaction, animations, virtual role plays, scenario-based decision-making. Users can also revisit material as they need. Online soft skills training is usually a content area that seems challenging, however, we have produced many highly effective manager skills training courses such as Coaching in this format. Taking advantage of the tools available can produce outstanding learning! 
• eLearning can be managed and delivered for large or small groups of students: Using a SCORM Learning Management System such as KMi's, eLMS, allows the administrators to market courses, provide pre-assessments, evaluations, surveys, reporting, success tracking, blogs and all kinds of other features to enhance the learning experience.