In this article we revisit the 5 instances we discussed in the first part of this series - when traditional and online learning fail to provide fruitful results. Here, we see how mobile learning can come to the rescue and aid of both organizations and employees. A Mobile Workforce: As the ‘mobile workforce’ becomes the

‘Not seen, not heard’ - an adage that aptly describes the Sales Force of any organization. Not surprising really, considering the fact that the Sales Team is almost always away from the desk. How do you train this group of people who are almost never present at the workplace? How do you provide vital information

For Centuries we had been used to learning in a particular way. Our learning was always shepherded by a guide - parents at home; teachers and tutors during our school years; professors and mentors at college. We then entered a vocation which again required some learning; and the way we learned from our childhood carried on into adulthood where we again learned under the guidance of an instructor. This worked fine until recently when technology enabled learning changed the way that educators and L&D faculty thought of learning. Today, educational institutions and offices, both in the public and the private sectors, are making the shift to technology-enabled, online learning. Within organizations, there is always a faction of those employees who are uncomfortable with this new way of learning. If you are one of those who hesitates to give technology-enabled learning a try, here’s 1 reason to embrace eLearning - you will love it! Here are 12 reasons why you will love and embrace eLearning: Learn on your own device. If your organization is against its employees bringing in their own device to work, you can access your learning when you are not at work. Learn at your own pace. eLearning recognizes that your needs are unique and lets you learn in your own time, in your own way, at your own pace. You will have access to a unique learning plan that has been designed keeping your job role and capabilities in mind. Get access to information as soon as you need it - courses are well structured, so you can find the information you need, easily. The industries’ best practices are at your fingertips. Oftentimes, instructors are inadequately equipped to answer questions related to the most recent practices. eLearning courses are prepared with much thought and research. Because the content can be easily updated, you can be sure that you are accessing the most recent information. Self-evaluate. Self assessments after every course let you know where you stand. If you are unable to fair well in a particular course, you have the option of redoing the course until you get it right. Get immediate answers to your most pressing questions through the interactive interface that connects you with peers and industry experts - across the globe. Train in a safe environment with simulated learning. This is especially useful for employees who are exposed to hazardous conditions like the pharmaceutical industry and those who must train on the use of heavy/dangerous machinery. eLearning is eco-friendly and drastically reduces your carbon footprint. Increase your overall productivity by training in your free time, when you are at home or traveling; it is accessible every day. You don’t have to be connected to the internet. Organizations, whose employees are constantly on the move, make sure that they can train, offline; work is automatically uploaded when you are connected to the internet. Perform better, and have greater retention of what you have learnt, than your classroom-trained counterparts, and enjoy the fruit of being a top performer. We live in a futuristic world of high expectations and increasing demands. We must keep pace with the superfast changes around us while delivering a 100%. It’s impossible to keep up a chaotic lifestyle, keep pace with hectic work schedules and attend training. How do we sustain the balance? With the help of eLearning, of course. For most of us this is a scary proposition; the more set our ways - the scarier it is; but eLearning is one of the most beneficial forms of learning for busy employees. Don’t think of the ‘e’ in eLearning as ‘electronic’. Think of it as ‘exciting,’ ‘extraordinary,’ ‘efficient,’ and ‘easy,’ and you would have taken your first step toward a more rewarding career.

How often have you wandered through a supermarket looking for a product, eventually asking a passing assistant -only to be told "It’s over in the corner," instead of "Please come, I will show you"? How often have you stood in a phone shop to purchase a new phone and queued while customers get their existing phone problems solved because there is no queue for sales that is separate to service? How often have you bought a product (sometimes an expensive product) and the assistant makes no effort to engage in small talk with you, even about the weather? How often have you ordered goods in a shop ‘for next day delivery’ and it arrived a week later? Frustrating, isn’t it? A 2013 Canadian survey by Accenture showed that 63 per cent of people surveyed said they engaged in ‘Showrooming’ during the holiday season - researching and choosing in a store, but buying online [1], and this percentage is likely to be higher this year. However, also in 2013, Forbes reported that a survey by retail analysts Simon-Kucher & Partners showed that consumers did not start to shop online because of low prices, but because of their bad retail experiences. It further opined that if retailers continued to fight online suppliers solely on price, it would spell disaster for them [2]. In today’s booming global economy, traditional retailers must invest in infrastructure - more inventory, better delivery and better staff training - all to enhance the shopping experience in their stores. Right now, retailers are attempting to compete with online suppliers on price. This will naturally start off a chain reaction to this effect: Low price would mean low margins; low margins would mean having to cut down on costs. Cutting down costs would involve lower staff numbers, lower staff pay and less staff training. For the customer, less staff in a retail outlet would mean having to wait longer to be served. Less pay will force the good, committed staff to leave and go elsewhere, leaving the less-smart employees behind. Less training means the duds stay as duds. Even worse, new employees would have to be trained in even simple tasks like stacking shelves, by the already overworked store management - all leading to an inevitable drop in sales, as previously loyal customers drift away to online retailers. Less sales will inadvertently lead to less income and a need for more cuts; and the death spiral will continue to bankruptcy. Right now, the biggest retail battle in history is being fought out. The biggest online retailer on the planet, Amazon, is being taken on by Walmart - the biggest traditional retailer on the planet, in Amazon’s own backyard. According to Yahoo Finance, in the first half of 2015, Walmart started to make ground on Amazon, and as a consequence Walmart shares went up - sending Amazon’s shares spiraling downward. Part of the reason for the shift is the US government’s insistence that state sales tax be paid on purchases; this erodes part of Amazon’s margin [3]. The same issue is coming up here in India with the government insisting that Indian online retailers pay state service taxes on purchases. However, a large part of the reason that it has worked well for Walmart is because the company has concentrated on increasing its store inventory, improving delivery times, revamping its stores and website - All possible because it invested in staff training. This has helped drive a huge chunk of its traditional store business and is enabling it to have the clout to take on Amazon and win back the market share that it has lost to the e-tailer. Interestingly, it styles itself as a Webshop - where all its store products are available either online or in local stores - at a price that is now very competitive or the same as that of Amazon (but one still has to Showroom somewhere, so why not go to Walmart and have it delivered?). If you consider that Walmart revenues were $469 billion and Amazon $19 billion in 2014, this will be a fascinating battle to watch over in the coming years. It is not a coincidence that Walmart became the world’s largest company by revenue, it is in no small part due to the employment and training techniques they use. In 2005, when John DiBenedetto took charge of Walmart’s US domestic training division, he started a program that resulted in what is called The Walmart University, which oversees staff procurement and training worldwide, providing a uniform training culture for 2.2 million employees worldwide in 2015. They identify potential employees who have the right characteristics for a particular job, then train them thoroughly in every aspect of retail selling before they are allowed in a store. However, it does not end there as employees are continually mentored and trainedfor their entire period in the company [4].The result is that people love Walmart stores. You can get anything there, the price is very right and there have nice, friendly and knowledgeable staff to assist one with purchases - just what shopping should be like! This world dominance came with a cost, but it has been money well spent as Walmart and other progressive companies have proven - investment in selecting and training the frontline people who represent you to the public is never ever wasted. One may scoff and say that it is all very well for Walmart with their billions, but what about the lowly local retailer, who cannot afford the time or the money for training? The answer must be answered with this question: Can any retailer afford to not formally train his staff -even if it’s just for one hour a week at a slack time? A point worth noting: In 1962, mighty Walmart was just a small single store, but with the right training across departments it is a mighty giant today. Unfortunately, while the retail industry booms, it also faces one of the largest employee turnover rates. With employees walking in and out constantly, it is time consuming and expensive to carry out training. Training robs into the floor time that an employee is expected to clock in and either of the following three things happen: 1. Employees clock in training hours but productivity suffers. 2. Employees clock in floor time, but training suffers. 3. Employees get trained and move away looking for better jobs, leaving the not-so-bright staff behind. Technology-enabled-learning takes care of these retail industry training problems seamlessly by providing a solution that both employers and employees are happy with. Technology-enabled learning provides simultaneous training across locations/time zones and reduces the average training cost per employee. Training does not bite into floor time and can be taken up during breaks, travel or after-office hours. * Online training ensures better course completion rate. * Successful training leads to increased competency * Improved employee engagement through knowledge enhancement * Instant performance tracking via assessments Effectiveness of training can be analyzed through online feedbacks, polls and surveys through the system. Two-way communication between the learner and L&D department. Technology enabled learning paves way for informal learning through forums, discussion groups and content sharing create reduced training time - quick responsive time - faster turnaround from trainee to employee [5] There is also a compelling case to be made for the retailer who has to be trained; and this is probably an even more compelling case than that of training a sales force. Most small retailers have worked for someone else and then made the leap to running their own store without any formal training to begin with - but depended solely on their rapport with dealing with people. They would have been the powerhouse in another store before they branched out on their own, and now they find themselves bogged down with accounts, ordering, paying wages, and dealing with officialdom and all the rest. These retailers need training in planning, delegation, recruitment, staff training, time management, and all the other essential areas that become very important when one runs a small business. These retailers need to be taught the lesson that their staff need to be trained well in the basics and that it will be rewarded in customer numbers. And now, with a successful solution available for the retail industry, it isn’t impossible to train both employers and employees with technology.TEL Sources [1] http://newsroom.accenture.com/news/accenture-holiday-shopping-survey-reveals-canadians-are-webrooming-and-showrooming-to-save-money.htm [2] http://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2013/10/08/why-consumers-really-shop-online/ [3] http://finance.yahoo.com/news/walmart-vs-amazon-what-twitter-says-about-the-battle-210557835.html [4] https://www.td.org/Publications/Newsletters/LX-Briefing/LXB-Archives/2007/12/Driving-Business-Performance-at-Wal-Mart [5] http://www.24x7learning.com/retail-software-solutions/ See more at: http://www.hr.com/en/magazines/technology_enabled_learning_excellence_essentials/july_2015_technology_enabled_learning/retail-armageddon-a-case-for-training-the-retail-i_ibqgy9rw.html#sthash.ULg7y65Q.dpuf

This article is the second part of our blog titled "I bought a T.V." If you have not read the first part, you can read it here. At the end of the first part, we posed the following questions: "So what makes a salesperson like Muheen so good. Every week he deals with dozens of customers like me, but he makes everyone feel as if they are unique. Is it something that is innate, is it something that is learned through experience, is it taught, can anyone be turned into a Muheen?" In the 2000 T.V. film ‘Death of a Salesman’, based on an Arthur Miller play, Willy Loman is a salesman - well, not really - he spent his entire career ‘trying’ to be a salesman. He wanted to be one because his father’s friend, who was well liked and made plenty of money, was a salesman. Willy wanted to be well liked and make money, but Willy never made it even after a whole career of trying. If just wanting to be a salesman is not enough, what makes one particular man or woman better at selling than another? Are there basic traits that one person has that another does not. Researching online, while there seems to be widely varying emphasis on personal traits, there does seem to be a consensus that the right mixture of ‘Empathy’ and ‘Ego’ are a basic requirement to be successful at selling. Empathy (noun): The ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Empathy allows the salesperson to be able to put themselves in the customers shoes, see the process from their side, and use that knowledge to progress the sale while not allowing the empathy to become sympathy, which would interfere with the closing of the sale. Ego (noun): A person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance. Ego is necessary to feel a need for the sale, but not too much or it will cloud the empathy felt for the customer, and the sale will be driven too hard, too fast, and will fail. As the selling process produces more failures than successes, ego is also needed to put failure behind and open the next selling attempt with no thought of the failure gone before. Lots of other qualities are listed as essential - drive, tenacity, organization, focus, work ethic, charisma, confidence, people skills and many more, and different mixes of these seem to be required for different types of selling, but if the right mix of empathy and ego are missing, someone will not be a top salesperson. As to whether these essential traits can be taught or not, we like the quote from an article in the Harvard Business Review:"Long before he comes to know the product, mostly during his childhood and growing-up experience, the future successful salesman is developing the human qualities essential for selling. [1]" Those of us who come from a non-sales background would expect that salespeople would have a particular attribute that made them suitable for their career, as after all, every function in business has its own basic requirements. However, while the attributes of a good salesperson are fairly clearly known, the success rate of picking a good one is extremely low! As an online article on the Canadian Professional Sales Association’s website puts it: "Whenever sales managers get together at company meetings, improving sales force effectiveness and high turnover rates amongst the sales force are invariably the topics for discussion. While examining their sales forces and reading articles in Sales and Marketing Management magazine, they seem to ‘accept’ that 80% of all sales are made by only 20% of the sales force. [2]" So how can this situation have evolved in companies? Surely this ratio of productivity would not be tolerated in other departments in a firm. Part of the reason may lie in the explanation given in a Forbes online article: Perhaps, the best way to deal with this problem then, is to take the bull by the horns and first train recruiters on how to identify good sales people. The second part - training these people will then naturally fall into place - and voila! You have another Muheen! "Most companies, however, find it challenging to identify sales people with the right attitude, work ethic, and selling skills to be successful. Far too many organizations put insufficient rigor behind the hiring and on-boarding process, and many managers do not have the interviewing expertise or a formal and repeatable process to impartially evaluate candidates. [3]" It’s true that eLearning organizations have superb products for all aspects of sales training; however, they just deal with the individuals who are put through the system, and if the results are not spectacular or even good, it is fair to assume that the blame falls on online training. While the courses themselves are good courses, if one is not cut out to be a sales person, they won’t produce the desired effect. Perhaps, the best way to deal with this problem then, is to take the bull by the horns and first train recruiters on how to identify good sales people. The second part - training these people will then naturally fall into place - and voila! You have another Muheen! Reference : [1] https://hbr.org/2006/07/what-makes-a-good-salesman [2] http://www.cpsa.com/knowledgecentre/SRCArticleRead.aspx?articleID=414 [3] http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucechesebrough/2011/04/08/why-cant-i-find-good-salespeople-mastering-the-3-keys-to-identifying-and-developing-sales-stars/

We’ve all had our share of unique experiences with sales staff at retail outlets. These encounters range from being rib-tickling hilarious to plain bizarre - nice to reminiscence, but at the end of the day - one wonders about the training retail outlet employees are privy to. It’s easy for a customer to spot a well-trained sales person from one who has not received the best possible training or worse still - no organizational training at all! With this very simple anecdote I hope to highlight the embarrassment and loss of customers retail outlets are heading for in the absence of proper training. My old TV was shot, and the family grumbled endlessly until I knew I had to bite the bullet. Even I was tired of the distorted flickering picture, so I consulted the bank balance and decided how much I could spend. With big ticket items like this, I do my homework online (just as most people do nowadays), and out of the bewildering array of options I decided a Samsung TV was what I would get - mainly because I have a Samsung smartphone which has given trouble-free service for the last four years. I knew there were three Samsung TV vendors in my area, so I visited all three one Saturday. The first shop was small, and when I entered there appeared to be three people in the showroom. One was watching a film on one of the TVs, the second appeared to be reading a magazine, and the guy at the counter was on the phone. I waited for five minutes during which time no one acknowledged me; so I wandered around looking for a Samsung TV and couldn’t find one. Eventually the guy at the desk finished the call (to his wife/girlfriend), looked at me and said "Yes?" He was overweight, sported a disheveled hairstyle, dirty fingernails, and some of his breakfast was on his shirt. I explained that I was looking for a Samsung TV, but he appeared to have none on show even though he was listed as a dealer. I was told that Samsung TVs were crap (yes, that’s the word he used), that they gave trouble, and there were better options available. I politely said, "No, thank you," and left. The second shop was a much bigger affair. I passed three people smoking outside the shop. I didn’t realize that they were the staff until they followed me in. Inside, the shop was devoid of customers and all the TVs were on - all showing a film that was watched by two people with great gusto and at high volume. An older guy - obviously the manager and reeking of cigarette smoke - approached me and I explained what I was looking for. He immediately brought me to a gigantic TV and I was told that this was what I wanted. I insisted that I didn’t want something so big but was told ‘the bigger the better’. "What about the specifications?" I asked - "Oh the top of the range, Madam, of course!" I asked about the refresh rate - "oh the best available, Madam, of course!" We hadn’t even talked price, but I got the impression that he either did not know the answer or was under the impression that I, being of the fairer sex, wouldn’t understand. So I politely thanked him and left, with him following me to the door - rattling away special deals that could be availed IF I decided to buy ‘today’. The third shop was only two shops down, so I persisted. As I approached, a security man opened the door for me, and inside I found that there were six or seven customers. Almost immediately a smartly dressed young man detached himself from a customer, apologized that they were busy, asked if I wanted a coffee, and showed me to a seat. Five minutes later he came to me, introduced himself as Muheen, told me he was glad I had come into his showroom, and asked how he could help. He quizzed me for a couple of minutes with questions about what would be watched, was there a husband who watched sports, children’s ages, did we have a computer already and roughly how big was the room, did we have satellite or cable, and such questions. He then showed me two TVs, one a smart TV, one a non-smart, and recommended that either of these would be most suitable for me. He said I didn’t need a 3D or 4D or a curved screen, as he knew I just needed a basic TV for general viewing, and price was important. We talked price and I told him that his prices were about twenty percent more expensive than those online and he said they could never compete with an online price, but would come close. We went to see his manager and after some calculating and haggling I got a price that was two percent above the online price, but Muheen politely asked me to consider some facts: All the staff in the shop and the delivery guys lived locally If I ever had problems with the TV I could come to them and they would look after it, and I wouldn’t have to deal with some invisible person sitting at a call center If the TV had to be returned for any reason, they would pick it up at a time convenient to me Online retailers were currently having issues about underpayment of taxes - taxes that go to the government for everyone Muheen was a good salesman; he was not pushy, treated me with respect, and established a connection with me. He made me feel that I was important and valued as a customer. He gave me a card with his cell phone number and suggested that I give him a call if I had any issues with the TV, assuring me that he would sort out those problems for me. As a parting shot, he requested that I contact him for any further requirements, promising me a better price than any other shop. I walked out of that showroom feeling pleased with myself. Yes, I had paid a little more than online, but I had dealt with a real person who was pleasant and helpful and who also reminded me that the local economy has a place too, giving the local people (like Muheen), a chance to work locally. Three weeks after my TV purchase, I received a call from Muheen enquiring if everything was going well with the TV and if I faced any problems. He said that he was glad to hear everything was ok and told me again that he was glad I had purchased from him, which reinforced my good feeling about buying locally - so much so that I have subsequently dealt with my friend Muheen again. So what makes a salesperson like Muheen so good? Every week he deals with dozens of customers like me, but he makes everyone feel unique. Is it something that is innate? Is it something that is learned through experience? Is it taught? Can anyone be turned into a Muheen? That is a topic for another article. To get the second part of this article, please subscribe to our Newsletter.

The banking industry is increasingly growing in importance in view of the current business scenario. As a vertical market, where adoption of innovative technology is central to its growth, up skilling of employees in this sector is of utmost importance. A ‘Single Customer Relationship View’ is the key to success for BFSI companies as this enables them to ‘cross-sell’ and ‘up-sell’ their offerings. E-learning can be an effective way to bring the diverse set of people onto a common platform.The primary agenda of banks is to serve customers better. Product information needs to be taught to the sales personnel. This process can be made simple through e-learning. Reasons necessary for e-learning to be adopted in the banking sector For tracking compliance, banks use e-learning and learning management system software that support e-training eLearning enables you to easily adapt the content and transfer to the learner, which could be done at any time and from anywhere. This is the main benefit of using this method in the banking sector During active production, the learning approach is a very important factor to be considered. Training should be given in terms of daily basis, so that learners develop their skills to the professional extent. In order to achieve the required objectives, we use e-learning to train employees Those employed with the banking sector can improve their administrative qualities. Online learning can effectively be used to improve their communication skills and interact with clients effectively. They are provided with ample scope to apply the concepts they have gained on a daily basis It is imperative that banks focus on maintaining and developing their portfolio of customers. Important factors that influence the company’s strength and position in the market are the quality of client service and the variety and adaptability of the products to the customers’ needs. Human resources play a pivotal role in ensuring excellent service and customer satisfaction. It can be accepted that a robust e-learning strategy has a major impact on the organizational performance. ELearning is able to successfully address critical challenges in human-capital development: rapid induction of new employees, quick launch of new products, regular andconsistent testing of employees and a need for courses that are readily accessible for any employee regardless of the location.

For Centuries we had been used to learning in a particular way. Our learning was always shepherded by a guide - parents at home; teachers and tutors during our school years; professors and mentors at college. We then entered a vocation which again required some learning; and the way we learned from our childhood carried on into adulthood where we again learned under the guidance of an instructor. This worked fine until recently when technology enabled learning changed the way that educators and L&D faculty thought of learning. Today, educational institutions and offices, both in the public and the private sectors, are making the shift to technology-enabled, online learning. Within organizations, there is always a faction of those employees who are uncomfortable with this new way of learning. If you are one of those who hesitates to give technology-enabled learning a try, here’s 1 reason to embrace eLearning - you will love it! Here are 12 reasons why you will love and embrace eLearning: Learn on your own device. If your organization is against its employees bringing in their own device to work, you can access your learning when you are not at work. Learn at your own pace. eLearning recognizes that your needs are unique and lets you learn in your own time, in your own way, at your own pace. You will have access to a unique learning plan that has been designed keeping your job role and capabilities in mind. Get access to information as soon as you need it - courses are well structured, so you can find the information you need, easily. The industries’ best practices are at your fingertips. Oftentimes, instructors are inadequately equipped to answer questions related to the most recent practices. eLearning courses are prepared with much thought and research. Because the content can be easily updated, you can be sure that you are accessing the most recent information. Self-evaluate. Self assessments after every course let you know where you stand. If you are unable to fair well in a particular course, you have the option of redoing the course until you get it right. Get immediate answers to your most pressing questions through the interactive interface that connects you with peers and industry experts - across the globe. Train in a safe environment with simulated learning. This is especially useful for employees who are exposed to hazardous conditions like the pharmaceutical industry and those who must train on the use of heavy/dangerous machinery. eLearning is eco-friendly and drastically reduces your carbon footprint. Increase your overall productivity by training in your free time, when you are at home or traveling; it is accessible every day. You don’t have to be connected to the internet. Organizations, whose employees are constantly on the move, make sure that they can train, offline; work is automatically uploaded when you are connected to the internet. Perform better, and have greater retention of what you have learnt, than your classroom-trained counterparts, and enjoy the fruit of being a top performer. We live in a futuristic world of high expectations and increasing demands. We must keep pace with the superfast changes around us while delivering a 100%. It’s impossible to keep up a chaotic lifestyle, keep pace with hectic work schedules and attend training. How do we sustain the balance? With the help of eLearning, of course. For most of us this is a scary proposition; the more set our ways - the scarier it is; but eLearning is one of the most beneficial forms of learning for busy employees. Don’t think of the ‘e’ in eLearning as ‘electronic’. Think of it as ‘exciting,’ ‘extraordinary,’ ‘efficient,’ and ‘easy,’ and you would have taken your first step toward a more rewarding career.

So mobile learning got off to a slow start - no big deal. ("It was a slow start with a fast finish" - is what you are probably thinking just now). If global statistics are anything to go by, mobile learning or mLearning (as we love to call it), is going places these days, and the end is nowhere in sight! In fact, judging by the sale of mobile devices (again, we are talking "global" statistics here), mobile learning is only going to get bigger and better and finally take over all other forms of learning. The January edition of our newsletter carried an infographic of our online learning predictions for 2015, and top of that list was mobile learning. If you missed the newsletter - click here to view the infographic. We are right - mobile learning is big, and judging by its exponential growth, it’s the way to go - regardless of industry, sector, demographic or anything else. Did I say "exponential"? Yes I did - 1 out of every 3 organizations is using mobile learning to train its employees. A couple of years ago, in their 2011 report, American Ambient Insight stated that at that point in time 39% or organizations were already using mobile learning and that by this year (2015) there would be a growth of 29.3% among US corporations alone that would buy mobile learning - and that is already happening. The worldwide market for Mobile Learning products and services reached $3.2 Billion in 2010. The five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 22.7% and revenues will reach $9.1 billion by 2015. 37.2% of the global workforce will be hooked to mobile learning within the next eleven months. If, to the cynic, these are mere numbers stated to make a case for mobile learning, let’s have a look at what the learner has to say for mobile learning. Over the last couple of years, 100% of employees have said that they prefer the option of using mobile devices to learn. 29% of mobile learners said that they put to practice what they learn via mobile learning - as opposed to a smaller number who access other types of learning. 99% believed that the format and presentation (bite-sized chunks of information), of mobile learning course content, enhanced their learning. 75% have been floored by its sheer convenience and time management capacity. In 2012, 65% of workers declared that their mobile devices were their most critical work devices. Mobile learning has an impact on the human psych as well. Psychologists will tell us that mobile learning increases the speed of learning, retention, recall and transfer of learning - all of which are a part of the learning process - all of which are a part of the mLearning process as well. Learning is not about listening to a podcast. The best type of learning is by using various mediums to learn - voice, images, videos, etc., - all these are elements of a well designed mobile enabled course. Mobile learning has the potential to provide learners with learning experiences that are personally meaningful, collaborative, and socially relevant. Mobile learners study 40% more each week because they can study anywhere. These learners are 3 times more likely to track their progress, and twice as more likely to study between 6 am and 8 am - the best time, according to psychologists, for the brain to absorb and retain new and relevant matter. While the ubiquitous mobile device is just a mobile device to some, it is the world in the palm of his hand for the ‘mobile learner’. Social engagement and informal learning become an integral part of a mobile learner’s life. Technology has liberated the learner’s world and with mobile learning, a learner can now learn anywhere he wants to, whenever it suits him. Even organizations of various sizes and types are getting smart and changing their approach to organizational training by giving in to the (BYOD) policy, so that employees have the freedom to learn on a device of their choice. If you needed one good reason to go the mobile learning, we hope you needn’t look further - we’ve just presented you with a plethora of hard-hitting facts that speak for this ubiquitous learning. The numbers are on the increase; the enthusiasm knows no bounds. Yes, it was a slow start; but it was a sure start - and mobile learning is here to stay.

On a cold wintry morning in December 2013 the management of a small pharmaceutical company received a stern warning letter from the Office of Compliance, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, regarding regulatory violations found during a U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) investigation. Along with a list of noncompliance issues detected, the letter further ordered the company to notify its office in writing of the actions the company had taken or would be taking to prevent similar violations in the future. It continued to state that, failure to adequately and promptly explain the violations noted in the letter would result in regulatory action without further notice. The pharmaceutical industry is among the most heavily regulated in the world, and pharmaceutical companies face unprecedented compliance challenges. Each year, regulatory non-compliance costs the pharmaceutical industry billions of dollars in fines, recalls, audits and more. The challenge that organizations in this industry face is to provide a desired health outcome to people while it meets compliance requirements. To make sure this happens, CIAs (Corporate Integrity Agreements) state that organizations must implement a comprehensive employee training program, but that is easier said than done. Identification : Pharmaceutical companies must identify relevant categories of employees for particular training - failing which, employees could lose interest in training and get slack on regulatory issues. Timelines : Pharmaceutical companies are required to develop and implement codes of conduct, policies and procedures, and training - all within a set timeframe outlined in CIAs. Developing company-specific policies and then developing a training program that is meaningful and effective is time consuming; and more often than not, companies run out of time. Completion Rates : According to CIAs, employees are required to complete 100% of their training, and organizations are required to provide a specified number of hours of training annually, on topics outlined in the CIAs. This is quite difficult given that employees like the sales force are unavailable for training. Tracking : Needless to say - organizations have to keep track of training and employee attendance which is a difficult and time-consuming job for administrators. Today’s work culture leaves no scope for classroom training. However, technology-enabled learning solutions have a successful impact on learning and provide cutting-edge solutions for the regulatory compliance training issues faced by organizations. What’s more - technology-enabled learning is a proven compliance measure that industry compliance professionals rely on to successfully train their employees. The Learning Management System is one such solution. It is the new classroom for today’s organizational training/learning. Very simply put, the Learning Management system is a platform on which courses can be loaded and then dispersed to employees. A good LMS is packed with features (such as an offline course player, digital library, mobile learning, bookmarking, assessments, tracking, notifications), that aid in successful learning, without burdening employees with having to be physically present at a classroom. This also explains why online learning has a higher completion rate than any other type of learning. A modern LMS is robust enough to take care of all the compliance training requirements of an organization, track training and learning, deploy assessments and certification - all within the stipulated time. With a superb tracking system, organizations find tracking of individual training as well as team trainings hassle free. Compliance with regulations in the Pharmaceutical industry might be unavoidable, but it need not be impossible to comply with regulatory standards, anymore. Technology and online learning solutions are the perfect solution to today’s regulatory compliance issues - not just in the pharmaceutical industry but in all other industries as well.