E training implementation Strategy

A lack of structured approach in E-training may make it a cumbersome process. This article will try to demystify the essential steps required to smoothen out the process.

1.       Goal setting or Objective setting is the foremost important step to develop a concrete E-Learning Strategy.  Gap analysis is required to get a comprehensive picture of the viability of the project. Gap analysis checks out the present functioning of different parameters against the ideal or planned functioning of those parameters. Top down or Bottoms up approach need to be taken to get a transparent feedback and need analysis from the employees. Top down approach is effective when the management is fully aware of the gaps to be bridged and just want to roll out the project. Bottom up approach is effective at times when the management is not aware of the exact short comings or gaps existing at the executioner’s level. The goals and objectives need to be integrated with the contents and technologies.

2.       Content building according to findings of ‘Need Analysis’ and ‘Goal Setting’ is the next step for E learning implementation. The content needs to be flexible and customized according to the different training needs of the hierarchy. It needs to be figured out how much of the content can be sourced within the organization and how much to be outsourced if required. The content needs to have an inbuilt evaluation mechanism to judge the progress of the trainees. The content needs to be revaluated and modified according to the needs of the hour.

3.       Technology decision will greatly influence the authoring tools that the team uses to create courses. There may be several different processes depending upon the tools chosen, audience’s needs and existing source materials. There are unlimited options for course development. Several methods or a combination of methods can be chosen to achieve the objective.

4.       Financial Analysis (ROI) – The Return on Investment will be the most important factor in determining whether the e-training is really worth of its cost. Integration with Performance Management System or CRM will help in monitoring the change of output of the trained employees. The e-training project requires a gestation lag and it pays off in the long run. It brings down all the logistics and technical expenses and is charged mostly on pay per user basis. 

The above four steps are the basics of e-training implementation. However there are may be plenty complexities to be addressed. It’s often recommended to seek support or advice of professional experienced E-training providers.

How to choose your Ideal Sales Training Course?

In today’s world with intense competition, the marketers are finding it difficult to find out quality training within affordable budget. Selling skills improvement on a regular basis is the key to outshine competitors.

There are plenty of mushrooming ‘trainers’ in the market who claim to provide the best ROI. But unfortunately many of them fail to grasp the complex business cycles and core objectives of their client.

So, what are the definite guides for choosing an ideal training partner?

a)      Objectives on Process change: “Selling is a process. Only when it’s not a process, it’s a problem”. The quality of the process is highly dependent on the level of skills. So before choosing a training program, the marketers need to figure out the ‘changes in process’, they are looking for, through the particular training. The objective of every Sales Training should be directed towards the smoothening out of the Sales process rather than complicating it.

b)      Experience of the Trainers is a reliable parameter. Experienced sales trainers, who have witnessed business of various industries along with effects and counter effects of different ‘Selling Techniques’ can definitely guide a marketer more efficiently.

c)       Flexibility in Approach: The trainers should fit in the requirement of your organisation in terms of content, time and logistics. Customised Sales Training approaches should be always given more preference than on conventional old age methods.

d)      Pricing: Conventional training methodologies are always costlier than SAAS/ Online method. Attrition among the ‘learned’ sales force adds woes to the organisation. Conventional training expenses remain more or less same in case of training the newly joined replaced sales force. SAAS training charges are on per user basis. So people are gradually shifting towards online/SAAS based training for their sales force to reach a vaster geography simultaneously with reduced cost! 

e)      Evaluation of effectiveness: ROI from a Sales Training needs to be transparent. The training module should ideally integrate with your existing ERP/CRM or Performance Management System. This enables the decision makers to identify the learning gaps of Sales persons on individual basis. The impact of Sales training needs to hike the sales figure. Although it may take gestation lag of maximum 2- 3 months but Sales Skills Improvement bound to come.

So, whenever you are thinking of training your Sales people, please evaluate your training partner against the above five parameters. We are definite; it’ll help you in identifying your right Trainer!

Developing employee skills, a critical challenge against rising costs

The global market is changing fast. The marketers are really getting a tough time to keep up the learning pace. It’s not like the old days anymore, while you train your employees once a quarter and sit back for evaluating progress. Now the competition is quite high in every sector. If your competitor picks up a trick faster than you, you’ll only come to realise it, after losing quite a bit of market share!

Conventional training approaches are becoming a costly affair. It is limiting the process to be in ongoing mode. Training consultation fees, logistics & technical supports make it very expensive. Above these, conventional training is time consuming and restricts the speed of roll out. Attrition among the ‘learned’ sales force adds woes to the organisation. Conventional training expenses remain more or less same in case of training the newly joined replaced sales force. 

The marketers have already started to address this unique situation through Online Sales Training methods.  For example: Ernst & Young condensed 2,900 hours of classroom training into 700 hours web, 200 hours distance and 500 hours classroom– a 35% cost and 52% time saving (Hall 2000). 

BT delivered e-business training to 23,000 employees in 3 months at a cost of £5.9m, compared to £17.8m over 5 years for classroom training – a 67% cost saving and a 95% elapsed time saving! (Taylor 2002).

Consumer insight suggests that many people find e-learning rather dull, boring and a lonely experience.  Others see it as tedious and unexciting.  There is a general lack of community feeling – each learner learns on their own. While e-learning offerings may succeed in educating and informing, most fail to engage participants and don’t help them develop practical – and practised – skills.  This is particularly true in the sales training arena.

Online training reduces the roll out time quite fast. It’s anywhere anytime approach provides flexibility to the trainees.  SAAS training charges are on per user basis. So it reduces the complexities of attrition. It provides an opportunity of integration with the ERP, LMS or CRM platform and hence brings measurability on the effectiveness of the training. 

Customised online/SAAS training, providing inclusive and compelling, well delivered skills and workshops will definitely fit the demand of this new trend!