From customers to co-workers, everyone’s personality is different. And in those differences, we come across personalities that either agree or disagree with ours. Maybe it’s a task request that gets under your skin because of the way it was delivered. Or you’ve been lucky to talk with two customers in a row whose moods were relaxed and easy to handle, but then you’re suddenly thrown off course by the next customer whose personality is the complete opposite.   How do you recognize the differences? And how do you apply that knowledge to handle those different personalities?   In our updated DISC series, you’ll find the answers on everything from personal DISC styles to more specific DISC styles to help you lead your people and sell your customers more effectively.   Here’s a sneak peek:     Sign up for a free 15-day trial of Thinkzoom now to watch the full "DISC Introduction" course now! The post Updated eLearning Series: DISC appeared first on .

Thank you to all of our customers and prospects who gave feedback as we launched our new platform, Thinkzoom, last year. Now get ready because we’ve incorporated your feedback into Thinkzoom 2.0, launching later this month!   First and foremost: Nothing major was removed. This is a redesign integrating your feedback with user experience experts to make Thinkzoom the best learning platform.   We are busy creating new How-to videos to help, but in the meantime, watch this video to see the highlights, or read about each one below:   Groups   Groups are front and center on the main dashboard to allow quicker access. You’ll also notice each Learning Group has a green ‘Progress’ bar to help you see where you stand with the completion of a learning group. You’ll also see the due date, including notifications of an assignment that is past due, so you can catch up.     Course Tiles   Like Groups, each course is now contained in its own tile. Each tile has an image of the course, a brief description, and displays the length of the course.     Left Navigation   We have changed the location of commonly used features to be on the left side of the page. Here you’ll have access to adding content, the course catalog, messaging, and the administrative functions, if applicable.     Right Navigation   On the right we have added the Latest Activity (for administrators), Favorites, Recommendations, and Featured Topics (formerly Tags), and Topic Search.     Managing Curriculum   Making changes to your curriculum is even easier. When you’re on a Group page, just click the orange ‘Add Courses’ icon below…     …and this pop-up window appears.     To remove a course, you just click the blue ‘X.’ To add a course, just type it in the Search field at the very top, directly under the ‘Add courses to group’ title.  And there’s no need to worry about forgetting to save or update changes… all edits now save in real time.   Reporting   The Reports page will now show everything on one screen: Campus Views, Top Courses, Top Topics, Top Users, Raw Data, My Reports.     Support Tab is now ‘Help’   The Support tab has been removed from the side navigation and has been replaced with a ‘Help’ button in the header of your dashboard. Check out our new help videos by clicking on the icon.     Updated Social Tools   We’ve put all three of our sharing options into one button, a blue ‘Share’ button just below the video. Also, if you want to ‘Favorite’ a course, just push the yellow star icon next to the ‘Share’ button.     Final Thoughts   We’ll have plenty more to share as we draw closer to the release date! In the meantime, if you have questions about these updates please feel free to reach out to us. The post Coming Soon: Thinkzoom 2.0! appeared first on .

Want to get a better view of Thinkzoom 2.0 before it launches this Sunday, October 19th at 9PM CDT? You’re in luck because we’re hosting two quick demo sessions of Thinkzoom 2.0 this week!   Choose from one of the two sessions below to reserve your seat.   Wednesday October 15th, 2014 @ 11:00AM CDT   https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7597035271860511746   or   Thursday, October 16th, 2014 @ 2:00PM CDT   https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/256049131990815490   We can’t wait to show off Thinkzoom 2.0 and would love for you to be there! And if you haven’t seen the video preview from yesterday, check it out below.   The post Sign Up for Our Thinkzoom 2.0 Demo This Week! appeared first on .

We’re so excited to announce that Thinkzoom 2.0 is now live and ready for you all to explore!   To reiterate, Thinkzoom 2.0 is a redesign integrating your feedback with user experience experts to make Thinkzoom the best learning platform.   We have a new "Introduction to Thinkzoom" video, a new "Thinkzoom for First-Time Users" video walking new users through the basics, an updated "Thinkzoom, powered by ej4" video and will have many other marketing videos on the way. Be sure to check back to our blog later this week as we’ll have other Thinkzoom 2.0 blog posts, where we’ll share some videos that walk you through how to build custom content, personalize ej4 content, and more!   In the meantime, here’s a recap of Thinkzoom 2.0’s highlights.   Groups   Groups are front and center on the main dashboard to allow quicker access. You’ll also notice each Learning Group has a green ‘Progress’ bar to help you see where you stand with the completion of a learning group. You’ll also see the due date, including notifications of an assignment that is past due, so you can catch up.     Course Tiles   Like groups each course is now contained in its own tile. Each tile has an image of the course, brief description, and displays the length of the course.     Left Navigation   We have changed the location of commonly used features to be on the left side of the page. Here you’ll have access to adding content, the course catalog, messaging, and the administrative functions, if applicable.     Right Navigation   On the right we have added the Latest Activity (for administrators), Favorites, Recommendations, and Featured Topics (formerly tags), and Topic Search.     Managing Curriculum   Making changes to your curriculum is even easier. When you’re on a Group page, just click the orange ‘Add Courses’ icon below…     …and this pop up window appears.     To remove a course, you just click the blue ‘X’. To add a course, just type it in the Search field at the very top, directly under the "Add courses to group" title. And there’s no need to worry about forgetting to save or update changes… all edits now save in real time.   Universal Search   Our brand new search bar quickly loads keywords based off of your search, and puts the results into three distinct categories: Groups, Courses, and Topics. This way you’ll be able to easily decipher the content and start training quickly.     Reporting   The Reports page will give you a campus snapshot on one screen with Campus Views, Top Courses, Topics, and Users. If you need to go even further we’ll walk you through a custom report.     Support Tab is now ‘Help’   The Support tab has been removed from the side navigation and has been replaced with a ‘Help’ button in the header of your dashboard. Check out our new help videos by clicking on the icon.     Updated Social Tools   We’ve put all three of our sharing options into one button, a blue ‘Share’ button just below the video. Also, if you want to ‘Favorite’ a course, just push the yellow star icon next to the ‘Share’ button.     We can’t thank our customers and prospects enough for the feedback! We’re so proud of the results of Thinkzoom 2.0 and know you’ll love what you see. If you have any questions about the new features don’t hesitate to reach out to us.   Now enough from us, get started training with the new Thinkzoom now with a free 15-day trial!   Happy viewing! The post Thinkzoom 2.0 is Now Live! appeared first on .

This month, ej4 proudly celebrates 10 years of continued growth and innovation! Ten years providing companies with the best possible eLearning and performance improvement tools. Ten years of leading the industry in content creation while creating a new and exciting learning platform, Thinkzoom.     Beginning with an idea to help companies replace ineffective and costly leader-led training with short, tactical, video-based learning, we were one of the first companies to stream training courses for businesses. We began the video streaming revolution by building a platform to watch and track eLearning videos at a time before YouTube even existed. The use of streaming video combined with an Instructional Design Methodology that’s still the basis of our course development philosophy today has helped make us a pioneer in the eLearning industry.   Our founder, Paul Russell, is extremely proud of how his company has evolved. The company that started in a house basement as a way to help Pepsi Distributor’s train their salespeople is now the premier video-based eLearning provider used by companies all over the world. We have created thousands of custom videos for clients, while also building a vast off-the-shelf library, which includes over 2,000 titles covering topics from Workplace Compliance, Safety, Leadership, Communication and Sales.   We continue to grow and remain profitable since our third month in business despite economic downturn. Satisfied customers from the Fortune 500 to small businesses utilize ej4’s off-the-shelf and custom content services. In fact, one sporting goods retailer had its margins increase over $17,000,000 in sock sales by using ej4 to train their retail staff. Companies such as Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Pepsi, Goodwill, TigerDirect, Rio Tinto, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Merck, Pfizer, Syngenta and countless others have, and still rely on ej4’s services to increase performance.   And as we grow, we still remain grounded in our communities. We’re a proud member of the Mid-America GLCC, SmartConnectKC, St. Louis Entrepreneurs’ Organization, and continue to work with other local Chambers of Commerce to help local business members grow.   Our CEO, Ryan Eudy, on ej4’s 10 years: "I am proud of the company that we’ve become. We wouldn’t have made it this far without the amazing employees and the support of our clients; some of which have been with us from Day 1."   Last year, we introduced our new learning platform, Thinkzoom. A platform upgrade went live last week. With Thinkzoom 2.0, we turned our innovative training platform into an even more accessible and engaging solution for employees to learn and administrators to manage.   As a big thank you, and to celebrate our 10-year anniversary, we’re offering 10% off any of their off-the-shelf eLearning content, now until November 30th, 2014. This exclusive promotion is good for any off-the-shelf content bundle. To learn more about this offer, please contact sales@ej4.com.   Again, ej4 wants to give a big thank you to all of our customers from Day 1 up till now. Without them, ej4 would not be where we are today without the trust they’ve put into us to deliver impactful performance improvement solutions. We look forward to our continued partnerships as we blow the candles off this important milestone. The post A Decade of Performance Improvement: ej4 Turns 10! appeared first on .

According to a report by Calculated Risk, the seasonal hiring boom begins in October and is strong through November. As such, now is the time when retail companies strengthen their forces to handle the increase in customer shopping. In fact, retail groups brought on about 600,000 employees collectively in 2013. If this year is anything like holidays past, hiring managers will have a lot of work to tackle as bells begin to jingle. For instance, those 600,000 people all need to be trained.     Though teaching an army to stock shelves, memorize aisles and greet customers with a smile may seem like a daunting task (most managers only have to train a handful of people at a time), it’s certainly doable. Here are some tips companies can use to train effective and efficient employees as the holiday rush kicks in:   Streamline Training   When a company hires someone permanently, they want that person to gain a deep familiarity with the job. However, a seasonal worker, while important to company success, won’t be around very long. For that reason, companies can scale back their training to include only the essentials. For instance, a person working the register doesn’t need to know the five perfumes the company sells and their variations. Retailers should isolate which items are most crucial to job success and focus on training new hires on that material. This will reduce the time it takes to onboard each person.   Cover the Bases   While zeroing in on important information can save time, companies should not skimp on the basics. Employees must learn technical skills (information they need for their specific job) and company culture (the values and policies the retailer has). Many companies follow similar cultural guidelines. For instance, employees at every retailer will be trained in ethics. For those topics, employers can look to off-the-shelf video training content. These videos are thorough but quick overviews of policies most companies follow. Showing the footage to employees gives them the concise introduction they need for a low cost. When it comes to practices that are unique to the company, retailers can customize their video content.   The season for hiring holiday workers is here, and companies can ready themselves by restructuring their onboarding process. If you’re anticipating taking on a large new staff and need quality, low-cost training assistance, contact our knowledgeable sales department that can teach you all about ej4′s eLearning courseware. The post How Companies Can Make Seasonal Onboarding Easier appeared first on .

If you’re a hiring manager or onboarding expert at your company, you’re probably always on the lookout for ways to make bringing on new talent more efficient. You want employees to do their jobs as soon as possible to cut down on wasted time. However, adequate training is vital to an employee’s success. That leaves you with trying to reconcile time and quality in training. Fortunately, you can turn to the eLearning market to use video onboarding tools. Using concise and interesting videos to train your employees helps them stay engaged and retain important information they’ll use day to day.   Of course, if you’re unfamiliar with eLearning courseware, you may be unsure of its ability to actually improve onboarding at your company. Here are some important statistics on the eLearning market in North America that tout its ability to help your company or division:   Important eLearning statistics   The 2014-16 eLearning Market Trends & Forecasting report from Docebo analyzed various markets and their statuses. Here are a few takeaways:   North America is the most mature eLearning market in the world, having spent more on self-paced learning in 2011 than anywhere else. The North American eLearning market currently has a growth rate of 4.4 percent. Content-ready platforms have the second-highest growth rate of corporate eLearning training tools. Hosted methods have the No. 1 growth rate. Employee training time has steadily increased over the years, though not linearly. Top-performing companies are more open to eLearning courseware and tools.   Challenges and solutions   The report also discovered that companies cite general budget and time constraints among the top challenges in training new employees. Fortunately, some eLearning platforms can answer those issues. Budget is always in the back of people’s minds, and companies can obtain video training content within their financial limits. For instance, off-the-shelf content is more affordable than totally new videos. Additionally, ej4 videos are all under 10 minutes, making them more feasible to work into a busy schedule.   The eLearning market in North America has developed and grown to a point where it can aid companies as they onboard new staff. The content ej4 provides is both nuanced and enjoyable to view, as it is exemplary of the kind of maturity the study has seen in eLearning. If you want to experience the merits of eLearning for yourself, your company can get a 15-day free trial of ej4′s Thinkzoom learning management system. The post eLearning’s Impressive Expertise appeared first on .

People generally view technology and the Internet with high hopes of how they can help society. Part of this positivity comes from solutions technology has already provided. In fact, according to a report by Pew Research, 72 percent of those polled agreed that by 2020, online cooperation and solutions will result in governments, businesses, etc., that are significantly more effective.   "Online cooperation will only increase. The means are already there, and will only become more numerous and functional," Doc Searls, co-author of "The Cluetrain Manifesto," told Pew. "Institutions that adapt to the Net’s cooperation-encouraging technologies and functions will succeed. Those that don’t will have a hard time."   Businesses can implement technologies now that will help them in the long run, such as video training tools. Engaging video content is designed to make the onboarding process smoother and more cost effective for companies. Here’s some quick insight into how to get started:   Identify needs   A company must discover the areas of onboarding in which it can improve. Do employees report being bored during training sessions? Do they feel training is currently inadequate? By knowing what an onboarding program is lacking, companies can gather the video resources they need to respond to such gaps.   Create a budget   Once a business knows what it can spend on eLearning courseware, it can tailor its program. For instance, it might prioritize HR compliance training, then add off-the-shelf content still within the budget. Companies with more financial room may even choose customizable video content to add dimension to their training program.   Make a plan   Having quality engaging content for the onboarding process doesn’t automatically improve learning; companies must execute a well-conceived plan. For instance, they may have new staff watch short (less than 10 minutes) HR compliance videos in the morning, and then take a break. In the afternoon, staff could learn the ins and outs of their job, then actually apply the new knowledge by working. Breaking up the day with quick videos makes the onboarding process more exciting for new hires.   If adding eLearning coursework to your companies onboarding practices sounds like a good idea, you can get more information from ej4. Contact our knowledgeable sales staff who are ready to help you decide which service is right for your business needs. The post How to Implement eLearning Solutions for Your Business appeared first on .

In celebration of our 10-year anniversary as a performance improvement leader, we’re offering 10% off of our off-the-shelf content, now until November 30th, 2014. Our off-the-shelf library is filled with courses that average 10 minutes or less and cover important topics such as: HR/Compliance, Leadership, Safety, Selling Skills, Software Skills, Professional Productivity, Communication and much more.     Contact our sales team now to learn more about this amazing offer! The post Get 10% Off of ej4 Off-the-Shelf Content This November! appeared first on .

Frostbite. The extreme likelihood of snow and icy roads in the near future. Cold weather-induced illnesses. Temperatures that pretty much make it hard to wear shorts outdoors.   Cold weather’s coming, and for some of us, it’s already here.   And whether you’re working outside or driving to the office, it’s important to avoid potentially hazardous threats to your well being. Our updated series "Working in Cold Weather" (it was originally one course, but now has been split into a 2-part series) provides advice on how to protect yourself against the extreme elements that winter brings.     Get a sneak peek at the updated series in this new course promo.     Contact ej4 today to learn more about our "Working in Cold Weather" series, or check out more safety content in our Safety Curriculum now with a free 15-day trial of Thinkzoom. The post Updated Series: Working in Cold Weather appeared first on .