NogginLabs Contributes to Contact Professional Publication
10 June 2003
What happens when you want the all the efficiencies of e-learning but nothing off-the-shelf seems to fit? Many companies facing this dilemma are embracing custom e-learning solutions. The corporate training sector has seen a marked rise in demand for custom e-learning. Let’s take a closer look at some of the crucial distinctions between custom and off-the-shelf e-learning.More and more, companies are recognizing that if they want improved performance among employees, they need training that accurately simulates their unique workplace. NogginLabs recently designed a custom call-center training course for banking conglomerate, ABN AMRO. ABN wanted a call-center course that would not only teach basic customer service skills but would realistically integrate company specific product knowledge. ABN AMRO, like many other companies, valued the branding of their systems that was possible with custom courseware. In addition, their solution was delivered at a reasonable cost and time frame due to development tools that reduce development costs.
So why do so many companies choose off-the-shelf courses over the custom variety? Off-the-shelf can be sensible in various situations. For instance, if a company’s CRM is generic, the training for the system is best purchased off-the-shelf. Also, some companies are looking for training on general knowledge or principles, and in such cases they may be able to find off-the-shelf e-learning that provides this information. However, many companies can benefit from customization.
One of most common misconceptions about custom e-learning is that it is always more expensive than off-the-shelf. Off-the-shelf solutions may involve substantial licensing fees. Such fees should not exist with custom solutions. Licensing fees add up so that over time, a custom solution can actually be more cost effective.
Once a company decides that they want custom e-learning courseware, they embark on a process that is different from the implementation of off-the-shelf courseware. Custom solutions typically involve an intensive period of information gathering and research, conducted in direct collaboration with the client.
When a company decides that they want custom courseware, the first question a custom software development company should ask is “Why?” Why specifically is it needed? What behavior do you want to change? An answer from a client like, “Because we want our employees to know our new system,” will not lead to an effective e-learning design. Why do you want their employees to know the new system? The answer will eventually be, “We want our people to be able to use the system to do X effectively.” That is where the development team will focus its instructional design efforts.
Once the team has answered the “Why,” an integrated team of writers, programmers, designers, subject matter experts, and audio/video professionals are assembled to work directly with the client to discover precise needs and uses. What level are the learners? How will the employees be using the system on a daily basis? What technological constraints may be present? After the team has collected this information, a prototype is developed and tested. What you get is a course that involves interactive workplace simulations so realistic that learners feel like they are gaining real on-the-job experience. Custom e-learning companies are the only ones that can accurately simulate a client’s unique work environment and get at the “why” of e-learning.
There is good and bad custom e-learning just like there is good and bad off-the-shelf courseware. It is especially important these days for training managers to be critical and vigilant in developing e-learning initiatives. Is the course engaging and interactive? Are the simulations realistic? Can the course be deployed with confidence and updated with ease? Custom e-learning can and should address all of these questions.
