eLearning - December 2008/January 2009 - (Page 12) News E-learning, High Growth Documented in Report Six successful, fast-growing companies — CGI, Kohl’s, Apotex, Global Engineering Services, Kao Brands and Zaxby’s — recently participated in a comprehensive study detailing how their use of elearning attributed to their “high-growth company” status and led to very significant business benefits. The results, which can be read in a 38-page report, called out the following: >> Learning technology enables growth. High-growth companies show a significantly greater utilization of learning technologies when compared to all other companies. >> Learning and development is a key business investment. High-growth companies see investing in resources to develop new management and professional talent as a top priority. >> Governance drives alignment with business goals. Paying attention to governance is essential for making effective and well-informed decisions in a fast-paced environment. >> Best practices are leveraged to progress through e-learning maturity stages. Training leaders must anticipate the challenges they will face as e-learning becomes more deeply integrated into the organization. The in-depth Bersin & Associates report details the successful learning strategies of high-growth companies, including how they deliver fast and effective learning throughout their organizations. For more information on the report, visit the Website www.skillsoft.com. ‘Selling’ E-learning In a Recession So how does e-learning help in a recession? >> When oil prices are high, e-learning reduces staff travel costs to training events. (And e-learning has the added advantage of being the green alternative!) With staffing levels stretched, e-learning reduces time spent out of the office at courses. With recruitment frozen, and possibly even redundancies, e-learning can be a cost-effective means of filling the skills gap. >> >> >> >> >> >> With a smaller, busier workforce and possibly less time to dedicate to training, e-learning ensures a faster route to achieving successful learning outcomes. With new regulation on the cards for some sectors, e-learning is the best way of getting employees up to speed as quickly as possible. With competitive advantage being more important than ever in an economic downturn, an e-learning platform on which to build intellectual capital can be the answer. With new technology inevitably marching forward at a good pace, teaming up with a company like Epic will ensure you continue to meet the high expectations of workers for technology-based learning. Concern Grows Over Social Networking According to research conducted by FaceTime Communications, 60 percent of IT managers are more concerned about the use of social networking in the enterprise than are concerned with e-mail use. Nearly one-third of those surveyed are in organizations that have policies against employee access of social networking sites at work, and 20 percent said they are concerned about social networking, but their organizations have not yet established a policy. “As the line between work and personal life blurs, Web gateway security becomes more complicated. Employees are no longer just shopping online — they are accessing Facebook, MySpace and other Web 2.0 applications from their work PCs to collaborate and interact with friends and co-workers,” says Kailash Ambwani, president and CEO of FaceTime. In a Gartner, Inc., report titled “Social-Networking Sites Present Real Business Risks and Benefits,” Peter Firstbrook says: “There are corporate advantages to allowing social-networking sites, the most compelling of which are attracting employees and providing a progressive work environment.” Firstbrook recommends that “organizations should only block social-networking sites after conducting a careful analysis of the risks and benefits.” FaceTime has published detailed information on social networking and Web 2.0 applications on its www.GreynetsGuide.com public resource database. 12 December 2008/January 2009 Elearning! If you would like more information on how e-learning can benefit you, or would like examples of how Epic have helped clients redevelop their learning strategy, e-mail marketing@epic.co.uk. Keeping Computers Healthy and Productive Many computer consulting firms nationwide are now offering what the industry calls “managed services,” a sort of health insurance for small business computer needs. For a flat monthly fee, IT gurus like Chip Reaves handle all regular maintenance and take care of any computer problems. “Technology consulting firms like ours used to get paid when computers broke down,” says Reaves. “Now, more and more, our franchise owners are telling us clients prefer to pay a predictable monthly bill to keep computers healthy.” Companies that are large enough to have I.T. departments can deal with the occasional computer crash, but businesses with 25 or fewer employees tend to contract out their computer repair and maintenance. Reaves’s company, Computer Troubleshooters, is the world’s largest provider of managed services and offers a unique “no-downtime guarantee.” Its Website is www.comptroub.com http://www.skillsoft.com http://www.comptroub.com http://www.GreynetsGuide.com
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