Everyone talks about the new “knowledge economy.” But what does that mean, and how do you manage something as intangible as “knowledge?”
The answer may lie in a new breed of software that forms a “learning management system” that helps track who knows what, who needs to know what, and how to give each person the training he needs, when he needs it.
Today’s new applications can keep track of the knowledge and skills of not just internal employees, but those of suppliers and even customers.
Learning management system
How does the system work? Consider company X, which manufactures widgets. This year so far it has produced three different models of widgets: A-Widget, B-Widget and C-Widget.
According to your learning management system, all staff members have been trained on the entire product line. But you notice that the Hong Kong distributor hasn’t yet received any training on the C-Widget. That represents a real problem, since many of your Hong Kong customers have been asking about the C-Widget and you’re getting ready to send a large shipment of C-Widgets to Hong Kong to meet the customer demand.
You might never find out that the Hong Kong distributor isn’t up to speed on the product using the old way. Or, you might find out too late — for instance, when the distributor is opening up the boxes with a puzzled look on his face.
Either way, the customer isn’t likely to see any C-Widgets on store shelves until the Hong Kong distributor knows exactly what he’s distributing and how it works. By then, there could be a competitive C-Widget on the market, or the demand could have fizzled for your product. Imagine if the C-Widget was a new software application or a new style of cellular telephone that everyone is going crazy for. It’s easy to see how important time-to-market can be.
Precious time
Those precious days or weeks between the time you realize training is needed and when the person gets that training can cost your company millions of dollars.
With learning management software, you’re alerted ahead of time about training gaps and the employee (or supplier, distributor or customer) can even be pointed in the direction of the appropriate training.
What that “appropriate training” may be depends on the needs of the company and staff.
You may offer the training in-house via the company’s intranet. The learning could also be an external course, an Internet discussion forum, or even mentoring. It all depends on what the “learning gap” is.
While the upfront investment in terms of purchasing software, entering the information into your system, and training users can be large, Don Copeman, the vice-president of sales and field marketing at Saba, which markets its own version of learning management system software, says there can be a substantial return on that investment.
Here are some of the monetary and less tangible returns on this investment.
Reduced cycle times
As in the widget example, one of the most tangible returns on investment is the efficiency with which the product gets to market with the assurance that everyone is up to speed.
Optimize staff performance
Let’s say you plot the knowledge and skills of your corporate superstars. Once you know what they know, that can be used as a “learning yardstick” against which other employees can be measured. You can then hire people who match, exceed or come close to that profile, or who can train internal staff accordingly.
“You are literally driving your company towards the performance of your best performers,” says Copeman. “That’s going to mean all kinds of revenue gains or efficiency gains, depending on what’s most important to your company.”
Productivity increases
Overall performance enhancements are likely to follow when people are guided to the training they need in order to close their skill gaps. Employees can go into their profile, see what skills they are missing and be directed to the learning they need.
“It empowers people to take control of their learning and optimize their own performance,” says Copeman.
Big-picture planning
When you are reorganizing your company or consolidating a merger, it is useful to have a picture of the overall skills and skill gaps in the organization. Then you know what you need from the new acquisition, or what you don’t need from staff.
Customer retention
When a customer understands your product very well it can be a barrier to switching suppliers.
Consider what happened with Word and WordPerfect. The main barrier to buying or dropping the software depended on who was trained on it. No one wanted to switch from a product he was familiar with.
Employee retention
“It’s costing companies a fortune, particularly in the technology sector, in losing people and having to retrain people,” says Copeman. “A small impact on employee attrition rates can save a company a tremendous amount of money.”
With a learning management system, employees are empowered. They can map their skills and competencies against jobs they aspire to and take the necessary training.
New revenue streams
Your training courses, developed in-house, can be sold externally, creating a new revenue stream.
“Cisco, for example, has identified it as a new revenue stream to the company,” says Copeman.
With a learning management system, all of your training information can be consolidated. This includes administration of the programs, learner registration, certification tracking and the actual courses themselves. These functions are often located throughout the organization, taken care of by different departments. With the right software application they can be brought into one system.
Tracking training methods
When the overall training picture is clearly visible, it becomes easier to determine the best media for each course. For instance, you may find that a CD-ROM works better than classroom training for certain types of courses. By having an understanding of how training is being used, and by whom, you can ensure that technology is used to maximum efficiency. “It’s all about understanding the costs associated with training; who are the people with the gaps so you can push the training to ensure your courses are all filled. It’s all about managing learning in the organization,” says Copeman.
Don Copeman will provide more information about learning management systems at the Canadian Human Resource Planners symposium, co-sponsored by Canadian HR Reporter, on October 18 in Toronto. For more information see the Calendar section on page 17-18.
The answer may lie in a new breed of software that forms a “learning management system” that helps track who knows what, who needs to know what, and how to give each person the training he needs, when he needs it.
Today’s new applications can keep track of the knowledge and skills of not just internal employees, but those of suppliers and even customers.
Learning management system
How does the system work? Consider company X, which manufactures widgets. This year so far it has produced three different models of widgets: A-Widget, B-Widget and C-Widget.
According to your learning management system, all staff members have been trained on the entire product line. But you notice that the Hong Kong distributor hasn’t yet received any training on the C-Widget. That represents a real problem, since many of your Hong Kong customers have been asking about the C-Widget and you’re getting ready to send a large shipment of C-Widgets to Hong Kong to meet the customer demand.
You might never find out that the Hong Kong distributor isn’t up to speed on the product using the old way. Or, you might find out too late — for instance, when the distributor is opening up the boxes with a puzzled look on his face.
Either way, the customer isn’t likely to see any C-Widgets on store shelves until the Hong Kong distributor knows exactly what he’s distributing and how it works. By then, there could be a competitive C-Widget on the market, or the demand could have fizzled for your product. Imagine if the C-Widget was a new software application or a new style of cellular telephone that everyone is going crazy for. It’s easy to see how important time-to-market can be.
Precious time
Those precious days or weeks between the time you realize training is needed and when the person gets that training can cost your company millions of dollars.
With learning management software, you’re alerted ahead of time about training gaps and the employee (or supplier, distributor or customer) can even be pointed in the direction of the appropriate training.
What that “appropriate training” may be depends on the needs of the company and staff.
You may offer the training in-house via the company’s intranet. The learning could also be an external course, an Internet discussion forum, or even mentoring. It all depends on what the “learning gap” is.
While the upfront investment in terms of purchasing software, entering the information into your system, and training users can be large, Don Copeman, the vice-president of sales and field marketing at Saba, which markets its own version of learning management system software, says there can be a substantial return on that investment.
Here are some of the monetary and less tangible returns on this investment.
Reduced cycle times
As in the widget example, one of the most tangible returns on investment is the efficiency with which the product gets to market with the assurance that everyone is up to speed.
Optimize staff performance
Let’s say you plot the knowledge and skills of your corporate superstars. Once you know what they know, that can be used as a “learning yardstick” against which other employees can be measured. You can then hire people who match, exceed or come close to that profile, or who can train internal staff accordingly.
“You are literally driving your company towards the performance of your best performers,” says Copeman. “That’s going to mean all kinds of revenue gains or efficiency gains, depending on what’s most important to your company.”
Productivity increases
Overall performance enhancements are likely to follow when people are guided to the training they need in order to close their skill gaps. Employees can go into their profile, see what skills they are missing and be directed to the learning they need.
“It empowers people to take control of their learning and optimize their own performance,” says Copeman.
Big-picture planning
When you are reorganizing your company or consolidating a merger, it is useful to have a picture of the overall skills and skill gaps in the organization. Then you know what you need from the new acquisition, or what you don’t need from staff.
Customer retention
When a customer understands your product very well it can be a barrier to switching suppliers.
Consider what happened with Word and WordPerfect. The main barrier to buying or dropping the software depended on who was trained on it. No one wanted to switch from a product he was familiar with.
Employee retention
“It’s costing companies a fortune, particularly in the technology sector, in losing people and having to retrain people,” says Copeman. “A small impact on employee attrition rates can save a company a tremendous amount of money.”
With a learning management system, employees are empowered. They can map their skills and competencies against jobs they aspire to and take the necessary training.
New revenue streams
Your training courses, developed in-house, can be sold externally, creating a new revenue stream.
“Cisco, for example, has identified it as a new revenue stream to the company,” says Copeman.
With a learning management system, all of your training information can be consolidated. This includes administration of the programs, learner registration, certification tracking and the actual courses themselves. These functions are often located throughout the organization, taken care of by different departments. With the right software application they can be brought into one system.
Tracking training methods
When the overall training picture is clearly visible, it becomes easier to determine the best media for each course. For instance, you may find that a CD-ROM works better than classroom training for certain types of courses. By having an understanding of how training is being used, and by whom, you can ensure that technology is used to maximum efficiency. “It’s all about understanding the costs associated with training; who are the people with the gaps so you can push the training to ensure your courses are all filled. It’s all about managing learning in the organization,” says Copeman.
Don Copeman will provide more information about learning management systems at the Canadian Human Resource Planners symposium, co-sponsored by Canadian HR Reporter, on October 18 in Toronto. For more information see the Calendar section on page 17-18.
