Next-Gen LMS Sparks Talent Development for America’s Youth

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Takes Learning to a Whole New Level

By Kathleen Waid, Senior Director, Client Services, Expertus

Kathleen Waid, Senior Director, Client Services, Expertus

We’ve all seen sobering statistics about legacy learning management systems. While those platforms once promised to facilitate organizational learning, now they seem to stand in its way. For example:

• 33% of learning professionals think legacy systems actually impede learning
  (The eLearning Guild)
• 45% of learning professionals assign a grade of C, D or F to their LMS
  (TrainingIndustry.com)
• 30% of large companies are replacing or upgrading their learning platform
  (Bersin & Associates)

So – what should you do if you’re one of the many organizations that are heavily invested in a legacy LMS? What steps will move you in the right direction?  Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBS) recently faced this very issue.

LMS Lessons from Big Brothers Big Sisters

BBBS is the nation’s premiere youth mentoring organization. Effective learning is essential to its mission, as president and CEO, Charles Pierson, explains:

“Our ultimate goal is helping our ‘Littles’ (at-risk youth) find their talent spark and develop it into a rewarding career. Providing dynamic, best-in-class training is the number one way we can accomplish this.”

A Big Challenge

BBBS had already invested heavily to enhance its legacy learning platform for delivery of employee online and distance training programs. Yet the system still only reached a fraction of the organization’s 630,000 internal and external audiences (employees, volunteers and mentees).

Two options were on the table:

• Continue pouring time and money into an antiquated system – creating custom modifications and workarounds, and adding social learning tools to extend the platform’s useful life – with no guaranteed outcome.

• Replace the existing software with a cloud LMS that integrates formal and informal learning with social and collaborative capabilities – and is designed to scale and adapt as organizations grow and evolve.

One Solution

After carefully weighing pros and cons, BBBS decided to switch to a cloud-based platform. Next, an extensive vendor search led to the ExpertusONE™ SaaS-driven LMS.

To minimize risks, the new system was first tested in a highly successful pilot program – and then rolled-out nationwide to all constituents.

The Expertus implementation team worked in tandem with BBBS throughout the migration to ensure that existing LMS data and content were properly integrated into the new environment, for a seamless learning experience and error-free training administration.

The new BBBS learning portal (branded “Impact U”) engages learners in a rich, personalized user experience – all driven by a single, robust underlying LMS engine and a catalog of 300+ courses. Highlights include:

• Instant “anytime, anywhere” access to relevant courses, resources, transcripts and status information – all within a unified, coherent web environment.
• Intuitive navigation and simple-yet-sophisticated search capabilities, so learners find what they need quickly and easily.
• Social learning and collaboration tools that reinforce continuous learning, support problem solving and foster relationships across internal and external communities.

At the same time, the new implementation addresses the operational requirements of BBBS’ decentralized, nationwide learning organization. For example, fluctuations in demand are no longer a factor in system responsiveness, because the cloud infrastructure scales as needed for uninterrupted, real-time training delivery. (For more details, download the full BBBS case study.)

Big Results

Only 6 months after full deployment, BBBS has declared its LMS replacement an “incredible success,” citing three key metrics:

• 84% improvement in overall performance readiness – for both internal and external audiences.
• 80% of learners say that they now know how to work better with BBBS.
• Significant costs (time, money and resources) to customize and update the old LMS have essentially been eliminated.

Already, the learning community is recognizing the value of BBBS’ approach. CLO Magazine recently selected John Kulikowski, BBBS Director of Learning & Development, as a 2012 Learning in Practice GOLD Award winner for his Learning Technology leadership.

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Conclusion

While risk is part of any technology implementation, the rewards can be immediate and profound. With a cloud LMS, learning operations can become more efficient and effective. But most importantly, moving to the cloud can have a meaningful, measurable impact on learners. And that translates into business value.

At BBBS, where it’s all about guiding our country’s youth toward productive futures, a better learning experience for all could make a genuine difference in someone’s life. Learning doesn’t get more valuable than that.

Note fom Kathleen: To learn more about the “Impact U” story, download the full case study or watch BBBS’ brief promotional video about the LMS rollout and response. To learn how your organization can apply cloud learning – or to see a personalized demo of ExpertusONE in action – contact me anytime at kathleenw@expertus.com.

Let Nothing Stand Between Learners and Learning

It’s Time to Bridge the Gap

By Ramesh Ramani, Founder and CEO, Expertus

Ramesh Ramani, CEO, Expertus

Today’s LMS market is ripe for disruption – and in my opinion, it’s long overdue.

Information technology has advanced at a dizzying pace in recent years. At the same time, a new young wave of workplace contributors has arrived on the scene, bringing “anytime, anywhere” expectations and social media cultural behaviors that defy every aspect of the traditional enterprise landscape.

What does this mean for LMS vendors? We must radically redefine the “learning management” concept at its core. It’s about meeting learners on their terms – at the moment they need support for diverse performance, development and knowledge-sharing activities. It’s about flexibility to serve a learner’s unique needs, as they shift over time. And it’s about rethinking all aspects of the classic LMS infrastructure, so that cumbersome systems get out of a learner’s way.

Despite an abundance of industry chatter, vendors have been slow to address these critical requirements. And that is precisely why we welcome the challenge.

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

To appreciate the new world order, let’s first take a quick look back:

Most first-generation LMS platforms were built more than a dozen years ago to support corporate training operations. Target users were managers and administrators who developed and delivered training programs. Training participants (“learners”) were secondary. For learners, interaction with an LMS occurred behind the firewall – often in response to compliance directives. Learning scenarios typically involved searching for a prescribed course, registering, attending and completing related training activities.

These highly structured LMS mechanisms spawned their own complex support environments – massive course catalogs, manual workarounds to compensate for functional limitations, and user groups to demystify arcane interface issues.

I was part of the learning community in those early days – and so was Expertus. While LMS vendors focused on building software, we focused on services to optimize those systems, and make them relevant in real-world enterprise settings. As our competence grew in integrating, customizing, upgrading and maintaining legacy learning systems, our vision for the next-generation solution became increasingly clear.

That vision is what is now reflected in our cloud-based continuous learning platform, ExpertusONE.

Today’s Problems Can’t Be Solved With Yesterday’s Approaches

Our design philosophy is simple: In the enterprise universe, success revolves around people – employees, customers and business partners. For them, change is the only constant. Therefore to deliver value, our product architecture and functional design must be people-centered – intuitive, agile, flexible and scalable.

How does this translate into LMS characteristics? It’s evident in many ways. For example:

• Simplified user interface
• Streamlined roles and privileges
• Sophisticated search capabilities
• Integrated collaboration tools
• Dynamic, personalized learning plans and
• Support for content delivery in all desired forms/formats

Perhaps this user-centered focus is why ExpertusONE is being embraced by global 500 companies. Perhaps it’s why social enterprise industry analyst Jim Lundy chose Expertus as a 2012 “Hot Vendor” in the Learning, HCM & Talent Management category. And perhaps it’s why e-learning and LMS market advisor, Craig Weiss, recently placed us at the top of his “Extended Enterprise LMS” directory list.

This relentless, user-centered focus is a bold approach. And it’s certainly more easily said than done. But I hope you’ll join us in demanding nothing less than the best user experience from learning platforms, going forward.

With the future of enterprise productivity and performance at stake, we believe nothing should come between learners and learning.

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Note from Ramesh: What are your thoughts about this learner-centered design philosophy? And what potential do you see for cloud computing to transform enterprise learning? To discover more about how cloud computing is playing a pivotal role in corporate learning, workforce development and performance management, visit our website. Or email questions and comments to me at rameshr@expertus.com.

Social Learning & The LMS – Are You In or Out?

By Gordon Johnson, VP Marketing, Expertus

On TV’s Project Runway, supermodel Heidi Klum makes the choice obvious. Fashion designs are either “in” or they’re “out.” But in the world of corporate learning, the lines between formal and informal learning are increasingly blurred – along with the roles that learning management systems and social tools play in that mix.

Gordon Johnson, VP Marketing, Expertus

Recently, at a popular Twitter chat session known as #HRTechChat, host Brent Skinner posed several important questions:

Is social media really the new LMS? Or is that an exaggeration? Where does social media fit in here?

I replied with what I think is the best answer for today’s environment:

If social technology has a place in learning technology, it’s in the learning delivery tool, not the LMS.

In the heat of a Twitter chat stream, comments often can be overlooked.  But this prompted a brief spirited exchange. After the chat dust settled, Brent reflected further on my point, and offered his own interpretation in an HROToday / TalentManagementTech.com blog recap: “Sometimes, Social Media Isn’t Even Cool.”

Among other observations, Brent noted this:

” … It’s not very cool at all to expect social media to be the learning management system itself. An LMS needs order and structure, of which social media offers little … Guerilla learning might be a clever idea … but formal training still happens within the framework of structured environments. Only afterward does the informal, on-the-job, trial-and-error training begin (perhaps bolstered by social media).”

Now I’d like unpack that idea a bit more, myself:

Although it’s essential to integrate learning technology with an LMS, the greatest value comes from integrating it into a training program and the program’s learning delivery tool.

A Slice of Social Learning Life
Here’s an example. If you’re like me, you’ve probably participated in a traditional instructor-led course where you’ve met fellow students that share common challenges. Did it spark a useful exchange of ideas, tips and techniques that were mutually beneficial? At the end of the class, did you swap email messages and intend to follow up, but never really took advantage of the opportunity to continue the dialogue?

Well, what if the connection never dropped? What if you could seamlessly integrate that kind of rich, relevant social learning experience as the logical next-phase of the learning program? What if your interactions from that training class kept building over time – providing additional opportunities to reinforce learning, knowledge and competence?

That’s where the deep value lies in the marriage of social tools and learning technology. The LMS will still perform its function in the background – but now with socially adept technology that extends the life of a program, participants benefit from enhanced, continuous learning support.

Continuous Learning in the Real World
To us, continuous learning is more than a concept. It’s the foundation of a next-generation LMS we call ExpertusONE. And it’s transforming the way some of the world’s most innovative companies engage, educate and empower their workforce, customers and partners.

For example, at one of the world’s largest software companies, ExpertusONE facilitated fast, cost-efficient delivery of product training & ongoing learning support – before and after a major global rollout. To read more about this implementation and the impact it made on our customer’s organization, download the case brief (PDF format).

With cloud computing as a foundation, it can be surprisingly quick and easy to apply this concept in an enterprise setting. So, hopefully soon, the vast majority of corporate training programs will be supported by technology that enables dynamic, continuous learning.

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Note from Gordon: To learn more about the ExpertusONE dynamic learning platform works, visit our website. Or to see it in action, contact us for a personalized consultation and demo.

Related Note: For information about #HRTechChat (typically on Wednesdays at 4pm ET/1pm PT) follow host Brent Skinner on Twitter @BrentSkinner, or visit his HROToday blog.

Moving Up – Taking Learning to the Cloud

How to Align Training, Technology and Collaboration with Business Goals

By Ramesh Ramani, Founder and CEO, Expertus

Ramesh Ramani, CEO, Expertus

Today, due to tightened budgets and diminishing returns, your senior leadership is likely challenged to demonstrate the value of training and related learning investments. They’re being asked to directly correlate specific workforce, partner and customer learning initiatives with desired strategic business outcomes.

Until a few years ago, technology and process constraints made this task incredibly difficult – if not outright impossible. However, today it’s possible to map learning relevance with business success – even in a world of changing demographics, preferences and generational styles.

The lines between training and learning are blurring. And cloud technology solutions are a perfect foundation for a strong, seamless bond across formal learning management and informal, collaborative, social knowledge-sharing activities.

Overcoming Our Challenges

Traditionally, organizations have grappled with 2 dimensions of the learning challenge:

• Technology limitations that inhibit support of seemingly simple business goals – for example, the concept of distributing the right information, to the right people, at the right time.
• Alignment of learning activities with business goals - a more challenging issue, because, among other things, learning programs aren’t the only factor that influence business performance.

What’s more, in today’s flat world, growth-oriented businesses more frequently depend on an extended-enterprise network to generate global product and services sales. But traditional remote training is not scalable enough to keep pace with today’s fast-changing business needs.

Developing the Solution

This is why learning in the cloud can be a game-changer for your organization. It instantly delivers content to a global audience. It fosters enterprise-wide collaboration. And it helps you link learning with performance – which ultimately drives innovation and achieves your targeted business goals.

Tip #1: Reduce Response Time by Embracing Agility

With a cloud-based learning platform, your company can be more responsive to fluid business conditions – dynamically and painlessly scaling resources, content and access up or down without burdening your internal IT organization and infrastructure.

A cloud-based learning solution can also be enabled to detect workload changes and automatically provision appropriate resources for your various user communities. This helps your business react more swiftly to competitive threats; drive simultaneous worldwide product roll-outs; and pursue more new opportunities, while containing costs and managing risks.

Tip #2: Drive Productivity with a Content Distribution Network

When augmented with other technologies, such as a Content Distribution Network, a cloud-based learning platform becomes a powerful tool to make appropriate localized content simultaneously available across many geographies – a level of optimization and efficiency that was previously impractical.

Now employees from across your organization can fully leverage learning tools, knowledge sharing, research, resources, within a seamless, real-time, unified ecosystem. They can also leverage the best practices and lessons-learned from your organization’s top performers. The result? Users will know more, be more productive and can work collectively to drive innovation – a key to sustainable competitive advantage.

Tip #3: Improve Learning Adoption with Prescriptive Content

Advanced data delivery is another cloud computing characteristic that promotes learner adoption. Because cloud learning makes prescriptive information and other resources available to each user precisely when needed, learners can better manage their time, and are likely to be more satisfied with the learning experience, overall.

Tip #4: Accelerate Innovation with Advanced Analytics and Reporting

Cloud-based learning solutions also facilitate new, powerful business analytics and reporting tools that can help your company gauge effectiveness and adjust it accordingly – by location or by business function. For example, the success of product launch support in one country can be retooled for another location – and this can be implemented very quickly without additional planning cycles.

Services such as these enable your company to target specific learning needs and objectives with minimal investment and risk. Viable applications include:

• Product/service roll-outs – Dramatically shorten rollout cycles by delivering comprehensive training, education and knowledge transfer virtually, on a global scale.
• New hire training – Provide on-boarding and ongoing mentoring programs virtually, to dramatically time-to-proficiency and enhance employee engagement.
• Business impact meetings – Bring key managers and experts together to accomplish targeted business objectives – through collaborative brainstorming and problem solving sessions.

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Conclusion

For some, cloud computing is still a nebulous concept for many to grasp. But it’s becoming a hot topic in boardrooms around the world – and for good reason. It’s already transformed many aspects of information technology. But it’s much more than a concept. Cloud-based platforms like the ExpertusONE dynamic LMS are playing a pivotal role in transforming corporate learning, workforce development and performance management.

Note from Ramesh: How will cloud learning and talent management impact your business? For more ideas, read my complete article, as featured in CLO Magazine. Visit the Expertus website. Or  email questions and comments to me at rameshr@expertus.com.