Chief Learning Officer - October 2007 - (Page W4)

Advertisement Continued from previous page… it hosted by a Tier 2 provider that must connect to major Web backbones via a Tier 1 or other third-party provider? Physical, Network and Data Security How does it compare with your organization’s requirements? Who owns, works on and has access to the hardware/equipment? Service-Level Agreements (SLA) How does the provider’s SLA, history and references compare with your organization’s requirements? System Performance What type of performance (especially userresponse time) can be expected for simultaneous users at different Internet connection speeds? What other customers are your current size, and are they satisfied with performance? What other customers are of the size you project to be in three years, and are they satisfied with performance? Network Administration What kinds of performance monitoring, utilization metrics, network tuning and capacity planning services will be provided? System Administration What types of performance monitoring, system metrics, system-tuning and capacity planning services will be provided? Data Integration with Other Software Applications How will data be shared/integrated with human resource information system/enterprise resource planning (HRIS/ERP) systems and other learning databases? How are these integrations handled? Software Updates Are they required or optional? Are they subject to customer scheduling and approval? What procedures and costs will be involved for updating any inter- faces and any custom reports that might be necessary? Technical Support Options Does the provider also offer both Tier 2 support (for administrators) and front-line Tier 1 support (for end-users/learners)? Content Support Services and Vendor Management Does the provider resell, pre-integrate, host and provide maintenance services for courseware content on its own servers or merely link out to the content provider? Learning Services What supporting and complementary services does the vendor provide (such as program support, integrations and instructional design)? Together, these questions provide a litmus test that will help you when comparing vendors and selecting an on-demand LMS. CASE STUDY: Cabela’s Integrated E-Learning Platform and Retail Training Solution Company Overview Cabela’s is a $2 billion retailer that provides a wide variety of sporting goods designed to meet all the needs of outdoor recreation, fishing, hunting and camping. The company’s business has been built on its direct mail and Internet distribution channels. Over the last two years, it has focused heavily on opening retail locations. Business Challenge During the last two years, Cabela’s has opened 18 store locations in the United States and is opening nearly eight new stores each year. Each store has about 400 to 500 employees who must understand a wide variety of products. The optics section alone (binoculars and other related products) has dozens of highly complex items. Cabela’s is an employee-centric company that offers certified degree-granting programs for all employees. The company’s director of HR was responsible for developing a training and certification solution to support this rapid growth. The company needed an LMS, a set of custom content, a way to develop and edit such content and a system that would enable employees to enroll in and complete degree programs. Selecting an Integrated Solution Provider After looking at many systems, the company realized it needed an integrated solution provider that could offer a well-designed LMS and provide content development assistance, tools for internal content development and a platform that enabled employees to enroll and participate in degree programs from Western Nebraska Community College. The company also wanted a solution for measurement and reporting so that each store could track employee training and certification among each of the product categories. Cabela’s chose to work with GeoLearning, one of the best-of-breed integrated solution providers. GeoLearning provided: • The learning management platform. • Content development assistance to help build the initial library. • An integrated content management system and tools (a third-party product supported and integrated by GeoLearning). • A reporting and analytics system (KnowledgeAdvisors) • A collaboration system to facilitate the completion of certificate degrees (Q2 Learning’s eCampus). These products and services were all important in Cabela’s total training solution, but they were not available from any one vendor. Although the company might have tried to select each individual component, it saved valuable time by working with a best-of-breed solutions integrator such as GeoLearning, which took responsibility for the selection, implementation and support of each component of this solution. Lessons Learned When you are constrained by resources and need to build a complete end-to-end training solution, it is often more costeffective and efficient to seek a solution provider that: • Has experience working with many technology providers. • Can offer content development services. • Is willing to take responsibility to be the single point of contact for the entire solution. Sponsored by GeoLearning

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - October 2007

Editor's Letter Table of Contents Letters to the Editor Taking the Lead Trends Best Practices Effectiveness Guest Editorial Elements of Social Media Arrive on the Learning Scene Trend Micro: Making Learning More Modular CLO Profile Learning’s Role in Talent Management INTTRA: Using Global Learning to Better Enable Talent Management Operationalizing Communities of Practice U.S. Army: Sharing Lessons from the Field Looking Back, Moving Forward Leveraging Business Data to Develop Strategic Learning Solutions Chrysler LLC: Metrics, Score Cards and Automobiles Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources Connecting the Dots: Recognizing Talent Development Differences at Nonprofits Nonprofits in Health Care: Learning at ENH Case Study Business Intelligence Case Study In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - October 2007

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