Chief Learning Officer - December 2007 - (Page 65) VENDOR: OUTSOURCING Gold PulseLearning CA (formerly Computer Associates), one of the world’s largest software companies, recently decided to outsource the program management, project management and content development of instructor-led courses. The main objectives behind this move were to reduce overheads, increase productivity, reduce time-to-market and enable CA management to focus on longer-term business strategy. CA also wanted to move toward blended learning solutions to place more emphasis on self-paced and Web-based development. PulseLearning was selected by CA with the stated goal of accelerating clients’ educational mandates through measurable solutions based on specific objectives. Specifically, PulseLearning defined its commitment to CA as follows: • Support CA in its focus on core business requirements. • Help CA improve profitability through cost reductions and time-to-market. • Accelerate CA’s ability to make substantive improvements in learning processes. • Provide scalability for CA to achieve its change agenda. • Respond flexibly to CA’s business challenges. Before engaging PulseLearning to develop their training solutions, CA had a 14- to 16-week development cycle. This consumed time, money and resources, and was at odds with the business goals that the company was pursuing. Tasked with devising, implementing and managing development processes that reduced time-to-market, PulseLearning created two new development processes. The selection of which process to employ was based on the availability of SMEs and the development cycle of the application software. “Before outsourcing training development to PulseLearning, CA developed 270 days of training with a staff of 50 people in-house,” said Mike Yakiemchuk, vice president of education for CA Technology Services. “Today, with PulseLearning’s assistance, CA has developed 411 days of training for the same cost. That represents a 52 percent increase in productivity that can be attributed directly to the success of the outsourcing arrangement. “CA also benefits financially from the outsourcing relationship with PulseLearning by moving away from a significant fixed cost with in-house resources to an on-demand pricing structure, which means we only pay for resources as and when we need them.” As part of a broad change in the corporate structure, CA outsourced learning content development services to PulseLearning. To date, CA has seen a 50 percent reduction of development time, with attendant savings on cost and resources, and a 50 percent reduction of time-to-market. All training solutions are available within four weeks or less of a software product release. “The challenge of working with CA and helping them to meet their business and learning goals has been immense,” said Jim Breen, chief executive officer of PulseLearning. “It has required us to be creative, flexible and to adapt more than we ever had to with any other client. But the challenge has also been hugely rewarding; just as it has proven a success for CA, it has brought home to us the market requirements for outsourcing and how best they can be achieved through real partnership.” Silver ACS Learning Services As part of its long-standing teaming with a “big four” professional services firm, ACS Learning Services supplies the outsourced design, development and governance of learning technology, content development, talent management and administration services for the firm. ACS team members build and support all the learning and development systems, design, tools and processes the firm needs. This undertaking entailed development of a robust competency management and performance management and development system to support the firm’s global decentralized administration model. The first stage of the project combined access to performance management with learning management through a single portal interface. Using this new system, the firm now manages their technical learning with enterprise mandates against performance goals and milestones. The project brings this capability to all 114,000 personnel worldwide. ACS also provided solutions to leverage the firm’s existing infrastructure to better assess and manage the organization’s talent. ACS conducted research that took them around the globe, capturing the linkages and gaps between the firm’s “future state” client service professional and current state profiles. The result was a new role profiles and competency framework and the technical requirements for platform integration and enhancement, which enabled decentralized administration of performance cycles, annual plans and competency assessments; reporting to enable administrators to monitor status and ensure compliance; a reliable competency management interface; role analysis based on the employee’s current or aspirational role; and an embedded analysis tool that identifies developmental needs. Periodic feedback reports are integrated into the individual’s internal firm “passport,” so the individual and the organization have a clear view of employee potential and a pathway to success. Other services provided by ACS include documentation of measurement scope and approach, identification of tracking/reporting requirements and audit procedures, communication and training, and change management strategy. 65 December 2007 I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer http://www.clomedia.com
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