Support from the E-learner’s Manager
Recently, an impartial study conducted at a given multi-national organization revealed that employees enrolled in e-learning felt little support from management for accessing e-learning during working hours. In fact, the implied message was that e-learning, while being provided by the organization as a way to develop professional skills so employees could be better at what they do, should be completed on the employees own time (at home, on lunch hour, etc.). It was clear that learners were discouraged before they even began the e-learning process; the organization is interested in supporting employee learning by investing in an e-learning program, yet the message that learners receive seems to be inconsistent with that objective. Trust mechanisms have to be built into the online learning experience. A learner should have the confidence that his/her manager supports and encourages e-learning efforts.
Managers, with the support of the organization, need to be willing to let their people learn. Working with their teams, time can be structured into the schedule to allow for their employees involved in e-learning initiatives to take a regularly allotted time to devote to e-learning. An example could be every Tuesday from 11:00 am to Noon … this way, both employee and employer can contribute to e-learning, with the employee choosing to invest some of his/her own time over lunch as an add on to the one hour prior to lunch. A simple activity plan with built in check points will ensure that a schedule like this works and is followed.
The objective is for both managers and employees to see and experience the benefit of providing paid time to develop skills that will assist moving the team and organization forward.
This is post 5 of 7 of the E-learning Success Model … view the others by following these links:
- A Model for E-learning Success
- Understand the E-learner
- Onsite E-learning Champions
- In-Class Orientation for E-learners
- Support from the E-learner’s Manager
- Provided time to E-learners during Work Hours
- Let E-learners Have a Role in Choosing their E-learning Courses
Where does Learning & Development fit?
Picture: The Company (continued)
Of course there are more questions that require answering and areas to investigate to gain a complete picture of the company. Not discussed in the previous post is determining where learning and development as an organizational activity fits. Is it a stand alone department that has a seat at the organizational leadership team table or is it a sub-group that reports to HR or I/T? Clearly the answer to this question will necessarily colour L&D goals and objectives.
Stepping back for a moment to the concept of culture, what role do the shareholders of the organization play? Determine if the C-level team within the organization consider the shareholders a key component of the structure and consider the delivering of profit to shareholders as trumping everything else, or if the shareholders are seen as one component of many when decisions are made.
What do you know about the company metrics? If the organization operates in an environment that has very focused metrics and runs a by-the-numbers shop, be sure to investigate just what that means. Are costs and margins razor thin as a result of the industry that the organization is involved in, resulting in tight controls and little flexibility, or are the key metrics viewed in a more holistic manner, meaning that they are an important part of the whole, but not the only factor considered when training initiatives are advanced. And this brings us to the “B” word: budgets.
An important question that needs answering before any program development can take place is the budget question. How much will be available (in dollars and other resources)? Through the process of investigating some of the issues mentioned previously, it will become apparent as to what type of monetary and resource constraints (or not) you will be working with. Up front you should know if you will be operating on a shoestring budget, a negotiable as required budget, or the best of all possible worlds, an unlimited budget. Knowing these broad parameters at the beginning of any program development is important, because going in on a wing and a prayer will ultimately lead to the failure and frustration that it is critical to avoid (see the post on trust). The sooner you can hone in on a number, the better you will be able to sell those to whom you report on the program itself. There is no room for ambiguity here. As much as those of us in the learning world want to say that it’s all about the learner, we can never forget that the learner will never get what they need without the support of the organizational leaders.
Picture: The Company (continued)
Of course there are more questions that require answering and areas to investigate to gain a complete picture of the company. Not discussed in the previous post is determining where learning and development as an organizational activity fits. Is it a stand alone department that has a seat at the organizational leadership team table or is it a sub-group that reports to HR or I/T? Clearly the answer to this question will necessarily colour L&D goals and objectives.
Stepping back for a moment to the concept of culture, what role do the shareholders of the organization play? Determine if the C-level team within the organization consider the shareholders a key component of the structure and consider the delivering of profit to shareholders as trumping everything else, or if the shareholders are seen as one component of many when decisions are made.
What do you know about the company metrics? If the organization operates in an environment that has very focused metrics and runs a by-the-numbers shop, be sure to investigate just what that means. Are costs and margins razor thin as a result of the industry that the organization is involved in, resulting in tight controls and little flexibility, or are the key metrics viewed in a more holistic manner, meaning that they are an important part of the whole, but not the only factor considered when training initiatives are advanced. And this brings us to the “B” word: budgets.
An important question that needs answering before any program development can take place is the budget question. How much will be available (in dollars and other resources)? Through the process of investigating some of the issues mentioned previously, it will become apparent as to what type of monetary and resource constraints (or not) you will be working with. Up front you should know if you will be operating on a shoestring budget, a negotiable as required budget, or the best of all possible worlds, an unlimited budget. Knowing these broad parameters at the beginning of any program development is important, because going in on a wing and a prayer will ultimately lead to the failure and frustration that it is critical to avoid (see the post on trust). The sooner you can hone in on a number, the better you will be able to sell those to whom you report on the program itself. There is no room for ambiguity here. As much as those of us in the learning world want to say that it’s all about the learner, we can never forget that the learner will never get what they need without the support of the organizational leaders.
What does organizational trust have to do with training?
Trust; it’s easy to lose, and once lost, difficult to regain. Credibility is much like trust, you work hard to gain it and maintain it, but if you do something to lose it, it can be very difficult to get it back. So how do trust and credibility relate to training initiatives in the corporate world? Offering the latest and greatest training fad program may be wonderful for morale … for a while, but once the luster has worn off, and the support provided by the organization begins to wane, learners begin asking questions. If the organization isn’t committed to following through with training by implementing changes internally that reflect the principles being trained, then trust can fall by the wayside. If you begin to hear phrases like, “we did that course last year … see, there’s the binder on my shelf”, you can be rest assured that trust and credibility may be an issue in the organization.
So how do you overcome this easy to fall into trap of allowing people to take training programs, fill their shelves with binders, and point to them as if they were hunting trophies? Well, if an organization is contemplating a training program, it comes down to walking the talk. And that may mean training from the top down, not the bottom up as is frequently the case with many organizations. If you can picture an organization that follows the bottom up training philosophy, you may well be looking at an organization that’s struggles with internal trust and credibility issues.
