Elearning - February/March 2009 - (Page 43)

web2.0technologies ROUNDTABLE from page 25 about business cases that will deliver tangible value. >>Do not get caught up with buzzwords and technologies like wiki, blogs, RSS and collaboration center. Evaluate your one or two high-value use cases, and then look for technology to solve the problem. >>Start small with one or two critical-use cases. Demonstrate clear value and ROI before broader roll-outs. >>Define clear success criteria, like adoption rate to LMS, retention rate to LMS, and increase in percentage of self-initiated learning (ownership of career growth). >>Don’t forget the fun factor, which is essential for adoption and retention. >>Measure the success criteria and their impact on business objectives (revenue, customer satisfaction, productivity and compliance) before initiating wide-ranging initiatives. Willis - Understand that there are legitimate tensions between those that view these new notions as enabling productivity and transparency and those that view them as introducing risk and/or loss of control. Others may not embrace these new ideas as you have. But don’t let that stop you, because — in the now-famous words of Euan Semple: “The 100 percent guaranteed easiest way to do Enterprise 2.0 (Learning 2.0)? Do nothing. And then your bright, thoughtful and energetic staff will do it for you. Trouble is, they will do it outside your firewall on bulletin boards, instantmessage exchanges, personal blogs and probably on islands in Second Life, and you will have lost the ability to understand it, influence it and integrate it. “The second easiest way is to find ways of allowing this to happen inside the firewall, which can be as simple as sticking in some low-cost or free tools and then making sure your existing organization can get out of the way. “The third easiest way is to do the second-easiest way and then engage those who would have done the easiest way and get them to help you. “And the hardest way: You don’t need me to tell you that!” Whitney - First, separate the social platform from its LMS. Each delivers highly independent value. Second, get started with an important, but contained initiative. Third, be prepared to launch and market the use of the social platform and reward users. This often can be as simple as recognizing people within the system for sharing quality content. And fourth, measure use and impact and make adjustments on a regular basis. 3 Link business goals with current pain points. Conversely, you also need to identify your current challenges, and show how they reflect your existing inability to meet strategic business goals. Whitney - We just closed our best quarter and best year ever and remain cautiously optimistic about 2009. We are seeing our successful buyers focus much more on communicating their business impact ‘Buy the functionality you need to get started with a small (but important) initiative, learn fast and grow.’ —Jeff Whitney, OutStart How has the economy impacted your business and prospects? What advice do you have to buyers of technology in this market? Ciampi - We are seeing positive momentum in several strategic initiatives such as aggressive penetration into SMB market. Our advice and three best practices to demonstrate ROI for your key learning and development initiatives: Understand your business imperatives. Evaluate your company’s annual reports to pinpoint specific challenges that can be resolved through learning and talent development programs. After isolating those challenges and areas of focus, interview key stakeholders for those areas. Dig deep to understand their strategic objectives and pain points. Identify high-impact initiatives. Next, look at your strategic corporate goals — such as revenue growth, reduction in customer churn, or productivity improvements — and determine which highimpact learning initiatives best will align to those objectives. to senior management in three key areas: business agility; customer, partner, and employee enablement and ROI. Business agility is all about providing the knowledge people need to understand and adapt to rapidly changing business requirements. Enablement provides employees, partners or customers with the knowledge they need to perform their jobs more successfully. And, our successful buyers are focused on showing rapid and significant ROI. Wilkins - Interestingly, our current pipeline is at the highest level it has ever been, and we continue to close very significant accounts. We believe that social media and networking (and LMS’s that incorporate these features) may be at least partially recession-proof. Social media can reduce costs, increase sales, improve productivity and scale, improve relationships, and deliver many other very significant bottom-line results that are at least as valuable in a downturn as they are during boom times. With reductions in budgets and staff, “doing more with less” is a business imperative; social media delivers on this promise. Elearning! February/March 2009 43 1 2

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Elearning - February/March 2009

Elearning - February/March 2009 Contents Editor’s Note News Social Networking Popular Learning Needs Technology On Competency Management IT Employment Drops Trendlines Deals Learning Roles in Talent Management Informal E-Learning and Web 2.0 Cover Story: Learning Your Way to Profits Collaboration Trends, Strategies 12 Wishes for LMSs, LCMSs Tips: Recession-Proofing Your Job Case Study: Military Training Case Study: City of Arlington, Va. New Products Pop Quiz Last Word

Elearning - February/March 2009

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