HOW TO MANAGE LARGE SCALE LEARNING INITIATIVES PAINLESSLY PRESENTED BY: RICHARD NANTEL 18 JANUARY 2012

HOW TO REACH ME twitter.com/rnantel RICHARD NANTEL VP, Enterprise Learning Solutions, Absorb LMS | blatant media Course DeveloperTraining ConsultantLearning AnalystCEO, Learning Research Firm

HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS

AGENDA Why your learning initiative needs to be scalable The costs of administering training How to design a scalable learning initiative Learning management practices that sabotage scalability The most important LMS features to support large-scale learning programs

POLLS THREE SHORT POLL QUESTIONS

SCALABLE WHY YOUR LEARNING INITIATIVE NEEDS TO BE SCALABLE

SCALABILITY DEFINED “…scalability is the ability of a system, network, or process, to handle growing amount of work in a capable manner…”

LACK OF SCALABILITY

SARAH THE BURNED OUT BAKER Sarah, owner of a bakery: "It's seven o'clock [at night]," she said, wiping her eyes with her apron, as though reading my mind. "Do you realize I've been here since three o'clock this morning? And that I was up at two to get ready?”

COSTS THE COSTS OF ADMINISTERING TRAINING

CASE STUDY Paper or Excel records Management of individual learners Print/mail certificates Etc. 4-WEEK LEARNING PROGRAM — administrative effort: 1 hour per learner

ADMINISTRATIVE EFFORT: MANUAL 100 learners: 100 hrs/2.5 weeks = 1 PT Admin 250 learners: 250 hrs/6.25 weeks = 1 FT, 1 PT Admins 500 learners: 500 hrs/12.5 weeks = 3 FT, 1 PT Admins 1000 learners: 1000 hrs/25 weeks = 6 FT, 1 PT Admins 2500 learners: 2500 hrs/62.5 weeks = 15 FT, 1 PT Admins 5000 learners: 5000 hrs/125 weeks= 31 FT, 1 PT Admins *Assumes a 40-hour workweek

ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS: MANUAL *Assumes $60,000 annual salary

CASE STUDY Learning management system Electronic certificates Etc. 4-WEEK LEARNING PROGRAM — Administrative effort: 15 minutes per learner ! Paper or Excel records Management of individual learners Print/mail certificates Etc.

CELEBRATION!

ADMINISTRATIVE EFFORT: TECHNOLOGY ENABLED 100 learners: 25 hrs/.62 week = 1 PT Admin 250 learners: 62.5 hrs/1.56 weeks = 1 PT Admin 500 learners: 125 hrs/3.12 weeks = 1 FT Admin 1000 learners: 250 hrs/6.25 weeks = 1 FT, 1 PT Admins 2500 learners: 625 hrs/15.62 weeks = 3 FT Admins 5000 learners: 1250 hrs/31.25 weeks= 8 FT Admins *Assumes a 40-hour workweek

ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS (TECHNOLOGY ENABLED) *Assumes $60,000 annual salary

OPTIMIZATION OF LEARNING ADMINISTRATION Paper records Management of individual learners Learning management system (LMS) Management of individual learners Learning management system (LMS) Management of learner groups Rules Automated communication

RED FLAGS LEARNING MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT SABOTAGE SCALABILITY

RED FLAGS: OVERALL Your processes are focused on individual learners, not groups of learners Courses are treated as discrete events, rather than part of learning plans

RED FLAGS: REGISTRATION You’re often registering individual learners manually

RED FLAGS: ENROLLMENT You’re manually enrolling learners into courses When a learner completes a course, you need to manually enroll that learner into the next course You’re enrolling learners into individual courses even when the course is part of a curriculum Courses are treated as discrete objects rather than part of learning plans

RED FLAGS: COMMUNICATIONS You’re messaging individual learners one-by-one You’re often using Outlook or other programs to communicate with learners You’re sending out individual messages, instead of template-based s

RED FLAGS: REPORTING You’re keeping records the old fashion way, with pen and paper or Excel spreadsheet You regularly need to repeat the same steps to create a meaningful report You’re regularly creating reports and manually ing them to people Even though you’re using a LMS, you find yourself referring to reports you maintain outside of the system

RED FLAGS: CERTIFICATION You’re printing and mailing certificates You’re manually keeping track of when individual certifications expire You’re manually sending recertification reminders

DESIGN HOW TO DESIGN A SCALABLE LEARNING INITIATIVE

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS Focus on GROUPS of learners, not individuals Create high-level rules that affect groups Try to focus on learning plans rather than individual courses As much as possible, automate: Registration Enrollment Communication Reporting Certification

LMS FEATURES WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT LMS FEATURES TO SUPPORT LARGE-SCALE LEARNING PROGRAMS

LMS FEATURE CHECKLIST OVERALL: Ability to manage distinct GROUPS of learners Internal departments and sub departments Geographical regions Suppliers/partners Customers Etc. Ability to create AD HOC groups as needed Ex: People in the Sales Department AND people in Asia with the word “Manager” in their title Members of all groups EXCEPT members of one group

GROUPS

LMS FEATURE CHECKLIST REGISTRATION: Ability of learners to self register into the right group Ability to bulk upload learners into groups Ability to integrate LMS with an HR or other system Real time Scheduled batch upload Ability to have the same learner be a member of an ad-hoc group

LMS FEATURE CHECKLIST ENROLLMENT: Ability for learners to automatically be enrolled in appropriate content upon registration Ability to create rules controlling who’s enrolled in which content Ability to automatically enroll learners in a course after successfully completing a preliminary course

SELF REGISTRATION AND ENROLLMENT

EXAMPLES OF ENROLLMENT RULES Learners in California AND learners with the word “Manager” in their job title Learners in the Sales Department OR learners in Customer Service

LMS FEATURE CHECKLIST COMMUNICATION: Ability to configure the system to automatically the following: Registration confirmation with username/password Course enrollment notification Course reminders Course completion notification Certification notification Course update notification Reports to administrators Ability to customize messages for each course

MESSAGE CUSTOMIZATION

LMS FEATURE CHECKLIST REPORTING: Ability to save a customized report Ability to automatically reports to specific people Ability to automatically reports at a specific frequency

CERTIFICATION Ability to generate certificates Ability for learners to print certificates Ability for learners to re-enroll prior to expiration of certification

THE HOLY GRAIL: AUTOMATION RegistrationEnrollmentCommunicationReportingCertification Separate stages

THE HOLY GRAIL: AUTOMATION RegistrationEnrollmentCommunicationReportingCertification RegistrationEnrollmentCommunicationReportingCertification Unified process Separate stages

AUTOMATED YET PERSONALIZED 800 million users

KEY TAKEAWAYS Managing training using a learning management system is easier and less costly than managing manually The efficiencies you gained when you first acquire(d) a LMS may just be the beginning Focus on groups, not individual learners Take the time to learn the automation features built into your LMS As much as possible, try to automate: Registration Enrollment Communication Reporting Certification

QUESTIONS

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