vnunet.com Elearning not making the grade
“…Elearning has once again come under fire, after a study by analyst IDC criticised many of the offerings on the market for failing to meet business objectives. It was also criticised for being too costly and time consuming to link to other back office systems…”
Hmm, latest research bashing corporate e-learning. There are some positives in here -
“…But corporate purchasers of elearning are nonetheless sold on the concept, the report says, in particular the flexibility the training mechanism provides particularly when combined with classroom-based training…”
Maybe the industry has been too narrowly focused on the panacea of lower costs and should be more expansive in it’s ROI metrics – it’s something I’ve been arguing elsewhere – that e-learning can be measured on a non-cost reduction basis, but still have significant impact to a company’s bottom line. How about increased customer service satisfaction levels? Staff hapiness (increased retention rates).
I read about the design effectiveness awards in the UK a few weeks ago (ironically, the site’s a classic case of obfuscation through flash design). The winners were selected on a number of criteria. For example, the re-design on MFI, a fairly low end DIY store won because:
“…Share price has risen by nearly 50% over last 12 months – Customers spend more time in store – Staff morale improved…”
Now there’s some non-cost reduction ROI that e-learning should be thinking about.