7 Myths of an Online Corporate University
Training employees has long been an objective of Human Resources (HR) departments. Today, HR managers looking to provide "anytime, anywhere" training to their employees are launching online Corporate Universities. Some, however, have been deterred by one or several prevailing myths about eLearning.
Let’s explore 7 reasons why Human Resources managers and corporate educators are hesitant to deploy an online Corporate University.
Myth #1: It's too expensive
This statement is simply not true. If you calculate the expenses related to face-to-face training such as travel and employee downtime, you'll quickly be able to justify the investment required to launch a Corporate University. This is especially true for companies with multiple, distant locations, where travel and living expenses alone account for 40% to 60% of training costs.
Service providers such as Dual Code (located in Ottawa, Canada) offer hosted Corporate University packages for rates similar to a corporate Web site, pre-populated with all your students. Once your Corporate University is setup, you can populate it with courses yourself, or alternatively hire professional eLearning experts to help you with the content.
Myth #2: It takes a long time to develop
Off-the-shelf and open source Learning Management Systems (LMS) reduces the development time of the Corporate University to the point where it is negligible (e.g. days). Developing multimedia content of course will take a bit more time, but assuming the course material is already available and your development team adheres to proven development processes, you should be able to publish professional courses in weeks, if not days. You should also consider purchasing generic courses for certain topics not specific to your organization such as Leadership, Sexual Harassment Awareness, etc.
Myth #3: It requires an internal team of technical experts
Outsourcing your Corporate University is often the most cost-effective and fastest route. Think of your Corporate University as an Internet site. Chances are your marketing department does not host or develop the entire Web site themselves. Look for a service provider to host and develop your Corporate University and possibly even design and develop the individual courses - with the help of your internal subject matter experts of course.
Myth #4: You'll need to get rid of your trainers
Blended eLearning has become the standard today. Having a Corporate University simply shortens the amount of face-to-face classroom time. Trainers are still required for some conventional training and to provide instructional integrity for the eCourses developed. Learning objectives, lesson topic structure and instructional games are necessary to keep teaching effective whatever the delivery method.
Myth #5: Employees will not use the Corporate University
Most case studies show that overall attendance is higher with a blended eLearning approach than a conventional face-to-face only approach. How many times have you held a class where employees left the room in the middle of a course because of some "emergency"? How many times have you had students show up late, or not at all? The "anywhere, anytime" delivery method is more convenient for most employees and a well-designed eLearning course allows them to pause the course and pick up where they left off next time they log in.
Myth #6: It does not allow for human interaction
Keep in mind that an online Corporate University doesn't mean instructors and students never have to meet face-to-face. As mentioned earlier, blended eLearning is the standard today. The Corporate University simply enables you to reduce the duration of classroom session and allow an "anytime, anywhere" alternative to your students. There are still plenty of opportunities for instructors to meet with students.
Myth #7: Competitors will steal the course material
Not if the Corporate University is protected. Take the same measures for your Corporate University as you would for your marketing Web site. Enforce password policies, ensure the information is encrypted, and lock down the LMS as much as possible. Make it a primary responsibility of your IT department, or outsource it to a service provider that has tight security policies.
Let’s explore 7 reasons why Human Resources managers and corporate educators are hesitant to deploy an online Corporate University.
Myth #1: It's too expensive
This statement is simply not true. If you calculate the expenses related to face-to-face training such as travel and employee downtime, you'll quickly be able to justify the investment required to launch a Corporate University. This is especially true for companies with multiple, distant locations, where travel and living expenses alone account for 40% to 60% of training costs.
Service providers such as Dual Code (located in Ottawa, Canada) offer hosted Corporate University packages for rates similar to a corporate Web site, pre-populated with all your students. Once your Corporate University is setup, you can populate it with courses yourself, or alternatively hire professional eLearning experts to help you with the content.
Myth #2: It takes a long time to develop
Off-the-shelf and open source Learning Management Systems (LMS) reduces the development time of the Corporate University to the point where it is negligible (e.g. days). Developing multimedia content of course will take a bit more time, but assuming the course material is already available and your development team adheres to proven development processes, you should be able to publish professional courses in weeks, if not days. You should also consider purchasing generic courses for certain topics not specific to your organization such as Leadership, Sexual Harassment Awareness, etc.
Myth #3: It requires an internal team of technical experts
Outsourcing your Corporate University is often the most cost-effective and fastest route. Think of your Corporate University as an Internet site. Chances are your marketing department does not host or develop the entire Web site themselves. Look for a service provider to host and develop your Corporate University and possibly even design and develop the individual courses - with the help of your internal subject matter experts of course.
Myth #4: You'll need to get rid of your trainers
Blended eLearning has become the standard today. Having a Corporate University simply shortens the amount of face-to-face classroom time. Trainers are still required for some conventional training and to provide instructional integrity for the eCourses developed. Learning objectives, lesson topic structure and instructional games are necessary to keep teaching effective whatever the delivery method.
Myth #5: Employees will not use the Corporate University
Most case studies show that overall attendance is higher with a blended eLearning approach than a conventional face-to-face only approach. How many times have you held a class where employees left the room in the middle of a course because of some "emergency"? How many times have you had students show up late, or not at all? The "anywhere, anytime" delivery method is more convenient for most employees and a well-designed eLearning course allows them to pause the course and pick up where they left off next time they log in.
Myth #6: It does not allow for human interaction
Keep in mind that an online Corporate University doesn't mean instructors and students never have to meet face-to-face. As mentioned earlier, blended eLearning is the standard today. The Corporate University simply enables you to reduce the duration of classroom session and allow an "anytime, anywhere" alternative to your students. There are still plenty of opportunities for instructors to meet with students.
Myth #7: Competitors will steal the course material
Not if the Corporate University is protected. Take the same measures for your Corporate University as you would for your marketing Web site. Enforce password policies, ensure the information is encrypted, and lock down the LMS as much as possible. Make it a primary responsibility of your IT department, or outsource it to a service provider that has tight security policies.
Posted by Luc Richard at July 21, 2008 8:09 PM 
Categories: Articles
Tags: e-learning elearning scorm training online training ottawa
Categories: Articles
Tags: e-learning elearning scorm training online training ottawa
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