The following post was featured in eLearning Industry on April 14th, 2015. We know you’ve seen it. Your employees sit in a day-long training session watching presenter after presenter. They fight drowsiness, boredom and distractions as they listen to more and more information that sucks the life out of any brainpower they have left. And all they can think about is their growing to-do list that is only getting longer by the minute. Reinvigorate Your Workforce The traditional corporate learning model is broken. Yet, US spending on corporate training grew 15% in 2013 to more than $70 Billion in the US and more than $130 Billion worldwide. That’s a lot of money to fork out on training that doesn’t work. Add to this the fact that 90% of new skills learned during corporate training are lost within a year and these high costs just doesn’t make good business sense. Today’s forward-thinking leaders know corporate learning is poised for disruption, and they’re not afraid to break the rules. They’re ditching tradition in favor of innovative eLearning technology and leadership practices that drive information retention and accelerate the business. And, in literally minutes a day, they’re seeing employees increase their knowledge and feel reinvigorated as they tackle their to-do lists. John Knoble, Director of Commercial Learning at Ethicon (a division of Johnson & Johnson) is a prime example of a leader who is challenging the training status quo. He’s launching a learning revolution through daily intelligent information reinforcement, fun gamified learning bursts and real-time data driven feedback. Intelligent Information Reinforcement The traditional "one and done" approach to training wasn’t helping Ethicon’s professional sales associates. Knoble knew he needed to find a way to increase training effectiveness. So, as part of his new learning approach, he invested in an eLearning platform that reinforced training in bite-sized chunks—a technique proven to increase knowledge retention. The eLearning platform assesses reps’ individual knowledge levels continually and presents them with targeted questions each day to test and reinforce the information they need to know. This daily reinforcement has had a dramatic increase in sales reps’ information retention and confidence. Fun, Gamified Learning Bursts Research proves that taking time out to give the brain a rest allows employees to recharge and approach their work with more focus and energy. In fact, a study from the Draugiem Group found that the distinguishing factor of the most productive employees was the fact that they took regular breaks. With this in mind, Knoble leveraged the gamification elements in the company’s eLearning platform to weave training into the workday—giving reps a reason to take a fun break from their regular to-dos, while still feeling productive. Sales reps can use downtime between customer engagements for a quick, 3-4 minute learning ‘burst,’ allowing them to play a game and refresh their knowledge before their attention shifts to the next pressing task. The game play and friendly competition with peers has driven voluntary participation rates as high as 90%. Real-Time, Data-driven Feedback Feedback is an effective way to keep employees motivated. In fact, research indicates companies can see a 14.9% decrease in turnover rates by giving employees regular feedback. It can also boost engagement. Instead of waiting for annual performance reviews to assess employee progress, instant mobile updates through the eLearning platform give Knoble a real-time play-by-play of his team’s learning progression, allowing him to respond immediately. By ‘tapping into the mind’ of the entire sales organization each day, the Ethicon learning team has the data to identify which areas require additional learning and which areas are strong. Ethicon mangers can coach the individuals who are struggling in certain areas before they become discouraged. The learning team can also proactively assess training materials regularly to support the company’s strategic products and keep those ‘top of mind,’ while developing sales skills that are the sharpest in the field. Minutes a Day Add Up to Hours of Value As Ethicon’s experience shows, by implementing next-generation learning methodologies, employees stay engaged and at the top of their game, while driving the corporate bottom line. Knoble says by continuously reinforcing learning every day, Ethicon has fundamentally changed the effectiveness of knowledge delivery to its sales teams. Knowledge lifts have increased in some topic areas by as much as 49% and the staff is increasing their selling power—All without the need to bring people into the training classroom, and at an annual cost for the entire organization that is less than a single training program. Written by Carol Leaman The post How Minutes A Day Can Reinvigorate Your Workforce appeared first on Axonify.

The Axonify crew just got back from the ATD Conference in Orlando, Florida. We were there to speak, exhibit and participate in conference sessions over the past week. As a marketer, my focus was to attend the sessions to gain more insight into the challenges of learning professionals and opportunities in this changing industry. In each session, I was surrounded with intelligent professionals from across the globe—experts in training and development. I felt like a fish out of the water, to say the least. But, as one of the few people outside of this profession, this also afforded me a kind of permission to ask questions. And these professionals were more than willing to dish about their frustrations. Probably the most common issue I heard was that learning professionals don’t feel valued in their organizations. They can’t get the attention of the C-level execs, and they don’t know what to do about it. These people are incredibly passionate about their roles and want to make a difference. To better understand this challenge and what learning professionals can do about it, I decided to attend several sessions on the topic. My favorite was a presentation by performance strategist and author, Ajay Pangarkar. Here were a few of his insights: Learning professionals need to align what they do with the goals of the C-suite. These goals include generating revenue, increasing growth and cutting costs. If learning professionals can’t align their business activities with these goals, they won’t gain the respect or budget dollars from key decision makers. Learning professionals need to remember they are part of a business, not a resource for the business. That means they need to shift their focus from the general concept of learning to the way that learning results impact business performance. This mindset shift will help them think more like a C-level executive and keep true training goals top of mind. Knowledge is power, only if people can actually use it. That means L&D activities must tie directly to achieving specific business goals. To do this, learning professionals must understand the overall business strategy, plus specific business objectives that align with this strategy, to create additional objectives, measures targets and indicators that map their efforts to business impact. ROI does not make sense as an L&D measure. Training is a cost center for the business and ROI is only used as a measure in profit centers. This means the learning department needs to create its own performance measures. As long as these measures tie to specific business objectives, L&D professionals will be able to show value to the organization. Have you managed to grab a seat at the C-suite table? We’d love to hear how learning is delivering real business value in your organization. The post ATD Conference Reinforces Need for L&D Professionals to Demonstrate Business Value appeared first on Axonify.

A few weeks ago, we gave you a sneak peak into one of the responses we planned to share at our ATD Conference panel discussion on May 17, entitled Brain Science and the Evolution of Corporate Learning. The panel included Dr. Alice Kim—Research Associate at York University and the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, Jackie Morton—Manager, People Potential at Lululemon Athletica and me, Carol Leaman—CEO of Axonify. You may recall that we also promised to summarize the additional Q&As after the event, in case you couldn’t attend. So, here they are! What has led to the explosion of learning and memory research over the last decade? Dr. Alice Kim: A lot of the recent work on learning and memory has been made possible by learning technology, specifically neuroimaging techniques that allow scientists to record images of brain activity while people are performing certain tasks. An example of this is FMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging).  Can you summarize the top 3 findings that have come out of this research? Dr. Alice Kim: The first one is something called the spacing effect. It refers to the finding that for long-term retention of learning, you’re better off spacing out the actual training events. This is going to help you retain the information better and also retrieve it more accurately after a longer period of time. This is something that is really well known in memory research.  The second finding is the testing effect. Again, this helps improve retention in the long term and it refers to the finding that testing or practicing retrieval is more effective for real learning as opposed to re-studying the information over and over again. The third finding is our own judgment of our actual learning (regardless of whether we’re doing well or poorly. Our ability to judge our learning is actually not that great. This has a huge effect on how we plan and practice our training. An excellent way to help us assess how we’re doing it is by practicing retrieval. That means if there’s any kind of procedure/info that you need to learn, and if you have a certain amount of time to study this information, it’s best to try some strategies that actively make you retrieve the information as opposed to passively trying to remember it. This could include attempting to explain the information to someone else or asking questions in your mind as you’re going through it and then answering them as well. How do the spacing and testing effect work hand in hand? Dr. Alice Kim: I think they can be applied to corporate learning in combination. The idea of the spacing effect is the opposite of cramming, where information is studied over and over again. With spacing you want to actually increase the timing between study events. This is going to help you encode the information better in your mind and you can combine this with testing. If you do combine spacing with testing, research has shown that this will result in the best performance. What are some effective retrieval techniques?  Dr. Alice Kim: One technique is to have members of your team explain or teach certain lessons to other members. This is a great way to assess what you do know and what you don’t know. Our own judgment of what we know and what we don’t know is actually very poor. Whenever we get into that situation where we have to teach something, it’s an excellent way to assess what we do have to review and what we don’t. Jackie Morton Think of your learners as active learners and incorporate that into all of your techniques. Move away from long lectures and all of the traditional conventional approaches that we’ve always taken and engage learners as much as possible. Use interaction in learning situations and have respect for the learner—that they have something to bring to the the conversation. If they are thinking about things from their own context and they’re generating responses and thinking about how it relates to what they already know, that’s where you’re getting the deepest learning.  Carol Leaman Retrieval-based learning is currently being used across many types of content. There are lots of companies using it for leadership training and what to do in risky situations. Instead of asking a simple factual question, they are asking questions that are scenario based. For instance, if you were presented with this situation and you observed an employee doing X, Y,Z, what would be your approach to dealing with this situation? This could be a multiple choice question. You could even employ different question styles. For instance, matching questions, which involve matching a response to a behavior and allowing employees to match the correct behavior. This tends to be a much more difficult question for employees to answer when compared to multiple choice. You can map the type of questions too. Those that are behavioral based tend to be more difficult questions styles to illicit more judgment on the part of the employee. There are companies using this already for many different things.  Is there any research that shows that gamification is better than retrieval practice?  Jackie Morton Gamification supports retrieval practice in a great way. There’s a substantial amount of literature that supports both retrieval and gamification. Most of us know that gamification is fun and if you’re doing something fun, it’s got your attention and if you combine that with retrieval, in my experience, that is a strong combination to support long-term memory.  Carol Leaman We actually use gamification de-coupled from the actual learning. There are three types of gamification that we often talk about: The first is simulation (like what pilots use to train); the second is game-based learning (which we would know as a video-type game); and the third is game mechanics. Our data shows that game mechanics promote 20% more participation with learning. Game mechanics are actually elements of the game but not the game itself. So things like: leveling up, leaderboards, gameplay. There are about 15-20 core game mechanics that we have shown will engage the learner in wanting to do the activity. But, the activity of learning is actually separate from the game itself. For example, using avatars or coaches, giving instant feedback and report cards, leaderboards, points, rewards and things for engaging in the activity are all examples of game mechanics. So, as I mentioned, across hundreds of thousands of learners, we’ve been able to show that those who play games, again de-coupled from the learning activity, participate 20% more in learning voluntarily and show significant increases in knowledge lift. How can retrieval/gamification and our compressed amount of time for learning, impact culture?  Carol Leaman We have a large segment of retail customers who have tens of thousands of employees and, in the retail sector, time is measured down to the second. What we’ve discovered is that when you make learning accessible on POS terminals, on mobile devices, basically anywhere the employee has access, they will find three minutes a day to do voluntary training. As an example, Walmart is using a very quick retrieval-based solution in 120 distribution facilities and it is only accessible on a laptop that is put throughout the facilities. Walmart gets 55,000 people a week out of 70,000 voluntarily going on and doing three to four minutes of learning. The best part about that is the feedback from general managers is that the culture of safety, within those distribution centers, has changed wholeheartedly. Some of their managers say that they’ve never before heard their employees actually talking about learning. Time is at a premium, but just allowing them that three minutes, when they have three minutes, has made a massive cultural and safety difference as it turns out. How does the research support using these brain science techniques to teach some kind of skill as opposed to knowledge?  Dr. Alice Kim Earlier, Carol made the distinction between declarative and procedural memory. Declarative basically covers information that you can explicitly say and declare, tell me something, tell me right now or say it out loud. The procedural memory we’re talking about is actually doing things (behavior). Research shows that spacing and retrieval are effective for procedural learning as well. The two findings (spacing and retrieval) are very robust and, when I say that, I mean they are very applicable across many different types of learning.  Carol Leaman A retrieval based practice, where you are measuring what people know and don’t know every time they answer questions, can be very effective at driving behavior change that is measurable in terms of a financial outcome for the organization.  I can give you three very specific examples of behaviour change that were measurable in different organizations. Walmart’s goal was to convey knowledge around health and safety issues and create a culture of safety. Their goal was to reduce OSHA recordables by 5% and they actually achieved more than a 50% reduction. That is the outcome of changing behaviour as a result of knowledge acquisition. Another example is Capital BlueCross. The company experienced errors in claims processing rates, which were a large financial cost for the organization. Through this new approach, they were able to reduce those claims processing error rates by over 60%. The third example is from the pharma sector, specifically in the sales function. As many of you know, in the pharma sector product knowledge is vital, very complex and changes quickly. Pharma reps practically need to be medical doctors themselves to be able to sell products. And with information constantly changing, it’s very, very difficult. Using this retrieval-based learning, pharma reps are actually able to sell more, so it’s more than just, What is the feature of the product I’m selling? It’s about, How do I sell more effectively? How do I position the product? It’s more judgement based/behavioural based information that they are constantly reminded of through retrieval practice, which is, in fact, changing sales outcomes.  Written by Carol Leaman The post How Brain Science is Driving the Evolution of Corporate Learning appeared first on Axonify.

We’ve all pretty much figured out that learning doesn’t happen exclusively in the classroom or during an eLearning event:  it’s continuous, and needs to be available "just-in-time" for application on the job.  Driven by the need for Training to contribute strategic value, many organizations are creating a continuous learning environment to effect real and lasting improvements on job performance.  But training - even continuous - may not be enough to assist the employee when it’s time to apply the knowledge or skill to the job.  We all forget information or confuse details; particularly in today’s volatile, distracted work environment.  Advancements in technology are enabling workers to receive knowledge and support in the context of their work; which is opening the door for electronic performance support systems (EPSS). There are many definitions of performance support, from thought leaders such as Gloria Gery in the early 1990’s to current proponents including Marc Rosenberg, Allison Rosset, Conrad Gottfredson and Bob Mosher. They all agree on one thing: performance support provides information, guidance, advice, assistance, training and tools at the point of need - on the job. But with the ubiquity of learning and support technologies in today’s business workflow, performance support becomes much more integrated with - and difficult to distinguish from - continuous learning.  Bottom line:  as long as the employee has the knowledge and skill to perform the job effectively; who, what, where, when and how knowledge is delivered is becoming extremely flexible and variable. Open the Door While EPSS may be a somewhat new business concept, all T&D professionals should at least know what’s behind the door: what it is, how it’s developing, and how it can contribute strategic value to the organization.  Knowledge at the time of need A key purpose of performance support is serving up knowledge just in time to do the job.  But it can be so much more than that:  with the personalization capabilities of today’s eLearning systems, knowledge can be pushed out to employees based on their environment, their role, and their current level of knowledge, giving them what they need, when they need it. Employees can also search for specific knowledge at the point of need.  An intelligent performance support system will then add context-specific recommendations based on past searches and current learning plans. For instance, if a warehouse worker has searched for information on fork lift operation, the EPSS could suggest he might also be interested in information on loading large shipping containers, or how to work with vertical storage systems. And if he just completed a learning module on handling dangerous chemicals, the system may also suggest modules on what to do in case of chemical spills in the warehouse. Let Performance Support In Performance Support, when done properly, can have a dramatic impact on workplace effectiveness.  Over and above effective learning practices, it provides your employees with support at the point of need, giving them the ability to do their job more successfully, and drive a positive impact on business performance. As performance support becomes integrated with continuous learning, you create a collaborative environment where employees are retaining knowledge, finding additional information at the point of need, and even contributing expertise, for the benefit of fellow employees and the organization alike. Written by Laura Martin The post Anytime. Anywhere. Opening the Door to Electronic Point-of-Need Learning. appeared first on Axonify.

This week, the Axonify team is at the Performance Support Symposium in Austin Texas. As I’ve been attending various sessions, I’ve been doing some thinking about the impact of technology on learning. Recent advancements in technology have caused many industries to experience a significant evolution. Consider: Music Industry with the introduction of iTunes Video industry with the introduction of Netflix Transportation with the introduction of Uber Travel accommodations with the introduction of Airbnb   Yet, historically, technological advancements have not transformed learning and development. While new technologies have changed the way organizations can deliver and consume content (i.e. video, digital, mobile, etc.), they have not radically altered the way they provide training. For the most part, organizations continue to focus on classroom or course type training offerings with no post-training support on the job… until now. Technology is beginning to change how workers learn and receive the support they need to perform their roles. Evidence of this initial movement is clear at the Performance Support Symposium this week. Here, the buzz is all around—you guessed it—Performance Support. Although Performance Support has been around for a long time, with advances in technology, the ability to support performance on the job has increased exponentially. The time is now for radical disruption in the learning and development space. In the past, this moment may have gone by unnoticed and organizations would have continued to march on as usual. But, in this day and age, if organizations ignore this moment, they do so at their own peril. Competition is fierce and fast and results and failures are felt immediately. This world demands that we turn our attention to the business and deliver the support employees need to, not only be successful at their work, but to also sustain that success in a constantly evolving work environment. The exciting part is, with today’s technological advancements, this is now an option. Online learning (LMS), classroom training, video coaching and more are all important avenues for formal learning, but if this is all organizations do to support learning, then this approach is only half-way there. When it comes to performance on the job—performance at the time of need—the chance for employees to stumble is high, unless supporting elements are in place right then, right there. Performance support is a tool or other resource, ranging from print to technology-supported, which provides just the right amount of task guidance, support, and productivity benefits to the user, precisely at the moment of need. - Marc Rosenberg Effective learning requires a balanced approach that involves both push and pull: Organizations need to Push Relevant Content - Information Employees Must Have In Their Heads The employee consumes what the organization has identified as critical information for them to be able to perform and be successful on the job and in the work place. Employees need to Pull Relevant Content (Performance Support) - Information Employees Must Have at Their Fingertips The employee, directed by their own motive or reason for learning, access specific information, exactly when they need it. By adopting technological advancements and changing the learning focus from just a push learning environment within the organization to a more continuous learning cycle of both push and pull, a learning environment is created that provides employees with both the learning and the support they need for job success. And just as iTunes and Uber have enhanced our experience with music and transportation, learners are ready and eager to embrace changes in technology that will help them perform better on the job. Written by Jennifer Buchanan The post Taking Learning to the Next Level With Advancements in Tech appeared first on Axonify.

The results from our Axonify Learner Survey are in. And they’re so amazing that we couldn’t help but take the opportunity to toot our own horn! More than 4,500 employees from organizations including Walmart, PointClickCare, Kaplan, Ceridian and Bloomingdales participated in the first round of the Axonify Learner Survey. Respondents indicate that they are significantly more knowledgeable, confident and effective in their jobs as a result of participating in regular learning through the Axonify eLearning platform. In fact, 4 out of 5 employees believe Axonify-based learning solutions improve performance on the job. The Axonify Team Here are the top findings: ·       Nearly 80% said learning with Axonify has made me more knowledgeable  ·       Nearly 78% said learning with Axonify has made me more confident ·       More than 78% said learning with Axonify helps me be more effective ·       More than 80% said they enjoy and recommend Axonify as an effective way to learn Is it just me, or is this not incredible!?!?! In a world where traditional corporate learning experiences are considered "boring", "repetitive" and, "ineffective" at impacting performance, we know we’re on to something amazing. Here are a couple of reactions from the visionaries who know first-hand how Axonify is successfully impacting learning and job performance: "Axonify has amplified the effectiveness of our training programs," says Larry Dunivan, Executive Vice President of Sales at Ceridian. "Axonify delivers an engaging user experience providing immediate feedback to the student, and the ability to rank users individually or by teams creating a fun yet competitive learning environment." "Axonify has been nothing short of transformative," says Bloomingdale’s Vice President Loss Prevention and Risk Management, Chad McIntosh. "Our goal was to implement a learning solution that positively impacts our bottom line, and that our employees feel good about. Axonify has met that need repeatedly and resoundingly."  Still not convinced this news is transformational? Let’s look at the data. The high satisfaction rate with the Axonify eLearning platform is in stark contrast to published findings about how employees at various organizations feel towards traditional Learning Management System (LMS) solutions. In a 2012 Brandon Hall Group webinar, a poll of attendees found 27% of respondents said their company’s employees hated their LMS. This dissatisfaction also transfers to those who make LMS purchasing decisions. A Brandon Hall LMS Trends 2014: Satisfaction and Spending survey shows high customer dissatisfaction, with 47.7% of respondents indicating they are looking to leave their current LMS platform to move to a new provider. Similarly, results from a 2012 eLearning Guild survey show 31.5% of respondents were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their LMS product.   We believe modern learners are ready to move away from traditional approaches and embrace a new way of learning. But, at the end of the day, it’s what Axonified learners believe that matters most. After all, they’re the ones who use the platform on a regular basis. While reports galore in Axonify demonstrate its impact on knowledge and performance, it’s really the learners who validate Axonify’s true value. To sum it up, most say they enjoy the Axonify experience; it makes them more knowledgeable; and it impacts their on-the-job performance. It can’t get any better than that! Thanks to all our customers who continue to support Axonify and contribute to our success. Written by Laura Martin The post Survey says…. Employees are thriving with Axonify’s modern learning approach appeared first on Axonify.

Last week, the Axonify team travelled to Las Vegas to participate in our very first Call Center Week conference.  We weren’t sure what to expect, but were happy to discover that a number of forward-thinking organizations are looking to engage their call center agents in training that’s fresh, fun and engaging.  And they need to do it, quickly. After a few insightful conversations, I have a whole new appreciation for the complexity of the job of a call center agent. Agents deal with (mostly) disgruntled customers all day long, must problem-solve on the spot and remember a ton of info, all while trying to keep their CSAT scores up. On top of all of that, they can have 10-20+ software tools on their desktop that they need to know how to use; there’s a ton of product and promotional knowledge they must keep fresh in their heads; and they have to follow numerous processes and procedures correctly. Sounds stressful, right!?   With all of these factors at play, the typical call center director is desperately looking for a way to help their overwhelmed agents enjoy their day-to-day work. High staff turnover, tardiness, absenteeism and low engagement rates among agents make it difficult for directors and managers to meet their business objectives. For the people we spoke to at the conference, this is a burning issue that needs a solution, fast. How can someone begin to transform the typical high-stress call center culture into an engaging environment that encourages employees to want to come to work every day, and perform to their full potential? The good news is we were able to offer a solution.  We were able to show people we spoke to how Axonify can arm their agents with the knowledge they need to be successful in their positions, and break it down into smaller chunks that can be consumed in just 3-5 minutes a day. We showed them how the Axonify platform can reinforce the training they provide, so their agents are more likely to remember it and feel confident in their roles, instead of overwhelmed and frazzled. We also showed them how Axonify can help onboard employees faster, maximize their performance on the job, and even encourage them to stay in their roles longer. That’s because Axonify is wrapped in gamification, which includes game play, leaderboards and rewards to make learning fun engaging and promote voluntary participation every day.   Seeing the light bulb go on in people’s heads when we explained Axonify’s approach to bite-sized, continual learning made our first trip to Call Center Week a worthwhile experience. We look forward to continuing the conversation on how we can help drive up engagement, and drive down stress in call centers everywhere. Written by Lindsay Cournoyer The post Call Centers Seek out Axonify at Call Center Week to Transform Culture through Learning appeared first on Axonify.

Earlier this week, we had the pleasure of partnering with David Mallon (Head of Research, Bersin by Deloitte) to present a webinar titled, "Meeting the Needs of the Modern Learner." To date, this has been the most popular webinar that we’ve hosted, in terms of the sheer number of registrants. This speaks volumes to the fact that many organizations are realizing they have to re-think their approach to learning, in order cater to the realities faced by the modern learner. Here are three big takeaways from the webinar: 1. Whether you know it or not, you have competition. On the webinar, David shared a very popular infographic that Bersin has produced about the modern learner. The infographic highlights the fact that modern learners only have 1% of a regular work week to dedicate to training and development. If you do the math, this amounts to about five minutes each day … in other words, very little time. Given this precious time, ask yourself this question: if an employee needs to learn something quickly, do you have the ecosystem in place to deliver it at the point-of-need? If not, where will they go to get what they need? 2. Learning Managers need to think like Product Managers. On the webinar, David presented a series of new and expanded roles within the L&D department of today. One in particular that he called out, was that of a Product Manager. He made the point that many parallels can be drawn between the worlds of learning and product management. Product Managers take a holistic view of the customer (As Learning Managers should of the modern learner) and ask questions like: Why are our customers coming to us? Why buy from us? What will they get out of purchasing our product? How do we keep them coming back?  3. You need to redefine learning, because your employees already have. To the modern learner, learning is no longer a one-time event. It’s continuous. Learning is no longer delivered the same way to everyone. It’s personalized. Learning is no longer about one system. It’s driven by an ecosystem. Learning isn’t checking a box. It’s improving performance.  There was a lot to take away from this webinar. If you did not catch it live, you can now watch it on demand. Once you’ve had a chance to digest the content, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or via Twitter.  Written by Shum Attygalle The post Webinar Summary: Meeting the Needs of the Modern Learner appeared first on Axonify.

We’ve been hearing a lot these days about how the LMS just isn’t living up to corporate expectations. But we know many organizations have already invested a ton into these systems and don’t simply want to toss them out the door. So, we decided to create a document that would show businesses how to address this challenge. The response has been huge! We’ve clearly hit a nerve and we’re thrilled this piece is getting such positive feedback. That’s why we wanted to share it with you too. We’ve included a summary below or you can bypass this and go straight to downloading our white paper in full: When the LMS isn’t Enough. Why are organizations falling out of love with their LMS? Many lack the bells & whistles that businesses today realize are critical, such as effective reporting, ease of use, flexibility and mobility. But underlying that are the inherent power limitations that will always constrain the LMS from delivering more value: Learning is treated as an isolated event, not a continuous process. The LMS doesn’t meet the need of today’s modern learner who wants learning fast and easy, mobile, and available at the point of need. The LMS delivers generic, not personalized learning; leaving many learners asleep at the wheel. LMS reporting leaves much to be desired, rendering tangible learning results difficult to prove. Time for a tune-up! We’re not by any means suggesting you scrap your LMS for something else. We believe that with a quick tune-up and some aftermarket functionality, you can turn your LMS into a key component of a high-performance, finely-tuned learning system; one that delivers real results where the rubber meets the road - your bottom line. Here’s how: By implementing key brain science techniques for learning delivery, you can turbocharge your LMS, improving knowledge retention of a subject from a paltry 10% to as much as 85% or 90%. By moving to a continuous learning model, you’ll be able to embed learning into each workday, keeping critical knowledge top of mind for when employees need it. By implementing the proper complementary technology, you’ll be able to more fully engage employees in their learning, provide knowledge at the point of need for the job, foster collaboration and teamwork, and deliver learning in the way that today’s modern learner demands - fast, easy, and mobile! If you’re interested in getting more mileage from your LMS, make sure to download our new white paper: When the LMS isn’t Enough: How to Turbocharge Your LMS and Improve Learning Retention for Bottom Line Results. Written by Laura Martin The post When the LMS Isn’t Enough appeared first on Axonify.

You don’t have to be a brain scientist to take advantage of insight into how our brains work. In fact, by applying the right cognitive approaches in the workplace, you can increase learning and retention among your employees, which allows them to be more successful on the job. And when your employees use their noggins more effectively, the entire organization benefits from being able to achieve business goals that positively impact the bottom line. Read the full article in TD magazine  Written by Carol Leaman & Dr. Alice Kim The post Combat Knowledge Decay in the Workplace appeared first on Axonify.

It’s that time of the year when thousands of love-struck couples tie the knot. Wedding guests typically gush over the beautiful bride, stunning décor and fellow friends and family members, who are all present to share in the happy day. But, at a recent wedding I attended, I must admit, I felt the biggest surge of excitement for something most people probably would have ignored. Performance support was happening right before my eyes and, well, I marveled at the sight. (Yes, I know this is weird. Don’t tell the bride). Here’s how I justify my enthusiasm… I had just spoken with performance support expert, Marc Rosenberg, and was pumped up that, from his teaching, I was able to spot a real life example in action at this event. I’d like to share it with you too! Take a look at the place cards (below). Do you notice anything? Look closely and you’ll see that the first one displays a solid black line; the second one displays a solid grey line; and the last one displays two parallel black lines. If you only looked at the first two place cards, you might think that the printer was running out of ink—that the solid grey line on the second card should be black. But, upon closer examination, it was clear this was no mistake. Each line was deliberate and represented something specific. For this particular wedding, guests were asked in advance to preselect their main course. The solid black line indicated to servers that the guest had ordered beef. The solid grey line indicated the guest had selected chicken. And the two black parallel lines indicated the guest had requested the vegetarian option. A simple tactic, but super smart. It helped the servers perform their jobs flawlessly. Every guest was guaranteed to receive the correct meal, as long as the servers remembered what each line meant. As Marc Rosenberg pointed out to me, Starbucks does something similar. Baristas check boxes on the back of the cup to ensure they get the order right every time. This is what performance support is all about—providing employees with the information they need, when they need it, so they can be successful on the job. It can be as simple as these examples, or more in-depth, depending on the needs of the employee and the specific task at hand. The goal of performance support is to augment training, empowering employees to perform daily job functions more efficiently and effectively. There’s a balance between the information they need in their heads versus the information they simply need at their fingertips. In this example, it would not make sense for servers to sit through a training session that ran through the selections of each guest and required servers to memorize each guest’s selection. That would be a poor use of time. Instead, servers only needed to be trained on the meaning behind the three different lines—significantly boosting learning efficiency. The end result was that the marked place cards enabled servers to perform their tasks much more accurately, reducing the risk of error substantially and increasing the likelihood of keeping guests content. Now, think about your own organization. Are there tools or information you can provide employees after a training event that can help them apply that training on the job? Are there ways you cut training time by implementing performance support tools to empower employees to carry out certain tasks? Maybe you don’t even need any training at all. Perhaps a performance support tool is the best way to enable your team in the first place. We’d love to hear how you’re implementing performance support in your own organization, so don’t hesitate to submit your stories in the comments below. If you’d like to read more of our posts on performance support, click on these links: Electronic Point of Need Learning Marc My Words: Selling Performance Support Performance Support Improves Business Outcomes Written by Richele Black The post What do Weddings Have to do With Performance Support? appeared first on Axonify.

In today’s work environment, employers need their employees to know more than ever before. Higher customer demands, increasing competition and rapidly changing products are just a few of the forces driving escalating knowledge requirements. The Modern Learner: distracted and overwhelmed. The problem is modern learners are distracted, overwhelmed and have no time to dedicate to learning. They also have an expectation that they should be able to access the information they need, when they need it and in the way they’ve grown accustomed to in their personal life. Traditional training methods simply fall short. We wanted to hear from modern learners themselves on how their needs are changing and how organizations can provide the best support. Here’s what they had to say… Read the full article in Learning Solutions Magazine. Written by Carol Leaman The post Modern Leaners Speak Out. Listen to What They Have to Say. appeared first on Axonify.

This is how JD opened up a webinar we sponsored this past Tuesday titled, ‘A Practical Approach for Supporting the Modern Learner.’ He went on to say that the business equivalent of an asteroid (see slide 6 below) is headed our way and if L&D doesn’t do something about it, they might face the same fate as the dinosaurs.  Over the course of an hour, JD entertained and enlightened us with some hard-hitting truths about the state of corporate learning today. He also spent a good amount of time walking us through how he and his team at Kaplan are tackling many of the challenges that modern learning environments are facing.  Here are three big takeaways from the webinar: 1. Learning hasn’t changed, but the context in which it takes place has. (Tweet this) At the root of it, the way we learn from a scientific standpoint has not changed that much. What has changed is the demand for modern learners to solve problems in new and increasingly challenging ways. During the webinar, JD touched on four different facets of context: tasks, variety, environment and flexibility. An interesting question to ask yourself is: "If you have the same job title that you did a year or two ago, are you still doing the exact same work?" The context of modern learning is always changing and L&D simply has to change with it. 2. You are not driving the bus. Your people are. (Tweet this) During the webinar, JD made a rallying cry out to L&D professionals to step off the sidelines and become truly integrated into a modern learner’s work day. This means being present in the moment of need, rather than behind a request form or some other artificial barrier. The reality is, if you’re not present, you’re not picked. A modern learner will find the answer that he or she needs by simply going elsewhere to look for it.   3. You are no longer a creator. You’re a connector. (Tweet this) L&D has the distinct advantage of ‘sitting in the middle.’ This means that it knows and can help connect many different individuals within a given organization. JD asks, ‘How do you shift from being the person who builds, to the person who finds me the information I need? The person who connects me to the people who have the information that’s going to help me do my job?" Being known as a connector has some serious advantages when it comes to being chosen in the time of need. Think of how quickly you turn to Google or YouTube to find an answer. Technically Google and YouTube aren’t actually giving you the answer, but rather connecting you with the source that has the answer.  Check out the slides from the webinar below: A Practical Approach for Supporting the Modern Learner (CLO Magazine Webinar - August 2015) from JD Dillon Another big thank you to JD for taking the time to share his insights with us. If you’re eager to connect with JD, you can follow him on Twitter or check him out at DevLearn. If you want to watch the full webinar recording, it can be found on CLO’s website.  Feel free to share your stories on how modern learners are being supported in your organization by using the hashtag: #ModernLearner on Twitter.  Written by Shum Attygalle The post Webinar Summary: A Practical Approach for Supporting the Modern Learner appeared first on Axonify.

Image Credit: Getty Images Last week, I was reading an article in Inc. Magazine on the importance of fostering a learning culture within an organization. One particular quote by Dr. Arie de Geus (former head of strategic planning for Royal Dutch/Shell Oil) stood out to me: "The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage." Now, I’m a sucker for a great quote, but I couldn’t agree more.   From a business standpoint, it’s relatively easy to invest millions of dollars into the development of a new widget that promises to increase profitability. However, when it comes to learning, the same type of dollar investment can be a hard pill for executives to swallow—particularly if they can’t measure the business impact of employee training. The missing link is data. Organizations need to be able to show how learning can change behavior to drive targeted business outcomes that, ultimately, increase competitive advantage. Here’s how UPS has done just that. Developing the UPS Mindset In 2004, UPS announced a new policy for drivers—one that initially received a lot of flak. As you can probably guess by the headline of this post, UPS drivers don’t turn left (or at least try to avoid it). It sounds silly, but by analyzing driver data, UPS engineers discovered that left-hand turns were negatively impacting efficiency—often delaying drivers in left-hand turn lanes and wasting time and fuel. By virtually eliminating left-hand turns, UPS has saved an estimated 10 million gallons of gas and 100,000 metric tons of carbon emissions—all while increasing the safety of its workforce and saving time. Oh, and did I mention this is saving UPS a ton of money?  Focusing on Data and Analytics Although UPS trucks look the same as they did more than 20 years ago, they’ve changed significantly beneath the surface. Sensors now report data on almost every aspect of a driver’s journey throughout the day, such as opening/closing the door, how often/fast the driver backs up the vehicle, and even when a part on the truck is about to break. At the end of the day, all this data funnels into UPS’s computers where data scientists are trained to think about solutions that will lead to significant savings. "Just one minute per driver per day over the course of a year adds up to $14.5 million," states UPS head of data, Jack Levis. Adopting a Market Leader Mindset One of the reasons UPS has been able to stay ahead of its competitors is because of its focus on analytics and efficiency. Take left turns, for instance. Without consistently tracking drivers’ whereabouts, the company would have never been able to come up with a solution to not only save time and money, but also improve the safety of its workforce. The time is now for data-driven learning. Learning and development folks need to be more than just educators; they need to take on the role of "data scientist." Instead of simply developing courses that check a box, L&D needs to identify employee behaviors that can be influenced through learning initiatives to help the organization achieve strategic objectives. For example: What types of learning programs can help reduce shrink? How can learning initiatives help improve safety? How can organizations change the way employees learn to boost their knowledge and retention of information? Results also need to be tracked and measured to show how they connect back to specific learning initiatives. This strategic approach to learning will allow L&D to prove its value to the c-suite and help the company gain a sustainable competitive edge. Written by Wes Bush The post Why UPS Drivers Don’t Turn Left? appeared first on Axonify.

Last week, I was reading an article in Inc. Magazine on the importance of fostering a learning culture within an organization. One particular quote by Dr. Arie de Geus (former head of strategic planning for Royal Dutch/Shell Oil) stood out to me: "The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage." Now, I’m a sucker for a great quote, but I couldn’t agree more.   From a business standpoint, it’s relatively easy to invest millions of dollars into the development of a new widget that promises to increase profitability. However, when it comes to learning, the same type of dollar investment can be a hard pill for executives to swallow—particularly if they can’t measure the business impact of employee training. The missing link is data. Organizations need to be able to show how learning can change behavior to drive targeted business outcomes that, ultimately, increase competitive advantage. Here’s how UPS has done just that. Developing the UPS Mindset In 2004, UPS announced a new policy for drivers—one that initially received a lot of flak. As you can probably guess by the headline of this post, UPS drivers don’t turn left (or at least try to avoid it). It sounds silly, but by analyzing driver data, UPS engineers discovered that left-hand turns were negatively impacting efficiency—often delaying drivers in left-hand turn lanes and wasting time and fuel. By virtually eliminating left-hand turns, UPS has saved an estimated 10 million gallons of gas and 100,000 metric tons of carbon emissions—all while increasing the safety of its workforce and saving time. Oh, and did I mention this is saving UPS a ton of money?  Focusing on Data and Analytics Although UPS trucks look the same as they did more than 20 years ago, they’ve changed significantly beneath the surface. Sensors now report data on almost every aspect of a driver’s journey throughout the day, such as opening/closing the door, how often/fast the driver backs up the vehicle, and even when a part on the truck is about to break. At the end of the day, all this data funnels into UPS’s computers where data scientists are trained to think about solutions that will lead to significant savings. "Just one minute per driver per day over the course of a year adds up to $14.5 million," states UPS head of data, Jack Levis. Adopting a Market Leader Mindset One of the reasons UPS has been able to stay ahead of its competitors is because of its focus on analytics and efficiency. Take left turns, for instance. Without consistently tracking drivers’ whereabouts, the company would have never been able to come up with a solution to not only save time and money, but also improve the safety of its workforce. The time is now for data-driven learning. Learning and development folks need to be more than just educators; they need to take on the role of "data scientist." Instead of simply developing courses that check a box, L&D needs to identify employee behaviors that can be influenced through learning initiatives to help the organization achieve strategic objectives. For example: What types of learning programs can help reduce shrink? How can learning initiatives help improve safety? How can organizations change the way employees learn to boost their knowledge and retention of information? Results also need to be tracked and measured to show how they connect back to specific learning initiatives. This strategic approach to learning will allow L&D to prove its value to the c-suite and help the company gain a sustainable competitive edge. Written by Wes Bush The post Why UPS Drivers Don’t Turn Left… And Why Every Organization Should Be Using Learning Data To Drive Strategic Advantage appeared first on Axonify.

I’m an instructional technologist who sold learning management systems, focusing on the extended enterprise, for over 13 years.  I worked for two major LMS companies and both had LMS systems primarily designed for internal employee training with some extended enterprise features.   I always enjoyed and chased the extended enterprise audiences of the solution because of the measureable tie to the business and the relative lack of competition.  Over time, through winning new clients, promising new features and building new customizations, both solutions developed into leading external user LMS solutions. I developed a personal specialty and sold customer, sales channel, public sector, ecommerce and association learning technology solutions better than just about anyone in the LMS industry.  In all, I sold approximately 100 LMS solutions and generated over $50,000,000 of LMS license and service revenue.  I learned how to "translate" fluently between LMS, eLearning, IT and business languages.   Seems simple, but so many LMS sales people just can’t shut up about integrated performance management or using APIs to facilitate SSO via SAML2 while speaking to business owners.  I needed this fluency to get my team to understand the business and get the business to understand the solution.  If there was a [...] The post LMS Vendor Eyes Only: Getting Past 1st Base appeared first on Talented Learning.

Non-employee or extended enterprise learners take training because they want to and see value.  Employee learners take learning because they are compelled. The difference mandates a different or enhanced skill set of corporate experience, capabilities and functionality for the extended enterprise LMS. I sold high-end, extended enterprise LMS solutions for 13 years.  I’ve seen and had to respond to virtually every conceivable type and combination of extended enterprise requirements.   The mix of mandatory requirements varied greatly by client, industry, audience and business goal.   Sometimes I had the right mix in my proverbial bag and many times I did not.  Either way, you learn the requirement. A key to my success was the ability to ferret out the unsaid requirements (landmines) by conducting good discovery and exploring deeply in a whole range potential functionality. I wanted to know as soon as possible if I had a perfect fit or not.  I didn’t want to be surprised six or nine months down the road and find out all my work was in vain.  If a perfect it, an A++ effort was required from the entire company to try and win.  If not, the parachute was required before burning valuable resources and time [...] The post Top 11 "Buckets of Functionality" for an Extended Enterprise LMS appeared first on Talented Learning.

I get this question a lot as someone devoted to extended enterprise learning technology.  Organizations invest a lot of money and time in a learning management system for their employees.  Wanting to leverage and extend this technology for more audiences seems natural and the question is asked.  The best answer is "it depends."   Here are some key items to consider: Functional and Technical Requirements I’ve covered in other posts how the functional and technical requirements are different for internal employee vs. external users. You can read more about the differences in learners here and the Top 11 buckets of extended enterprise functionality here. The important point here is that you can’t take it for granted that your internal LMS provider has the functionality you need or the experience.  You need to verify.  That all starts with a needs analysis and business case development.  You have to document your usage scenarios, required functionality and preferred business licensing models and then compare vendors apples to apples. At Talented Learning we focus on providing the information and education to help you define those requirements and create a usable comparison of cost and solutions proposals.  A good place to start is our LMS Vendor Reviews where we document [...] The post Can I Use My Employee LMS as My Extended Enterprise LMS? appeared first on Talented Learning.

SilkRoad is an end-to-end talent management provider consisting of recruiting, on-boarding, performance, LMS and portal products.  As I went through the process of reviewing all the publicly available information about SilkRoad, I initially wrote them off as a pure talent management provider with an employee only LMS. I finally found the extended enterprise information under the topic " E-Commerce LMS" and discovered they have some decent external user capability including audience management, organizational (tokens) and individual ecommerce and certification management.  I found zero case studies and only one webinar from 2011 on extended enterprise learning, so I don’t believe this part of the solution is a core organizational focus. My assessment-if you have SilkRoad GreenLight as your internal LMS already, you should explore taking advantage of them for external projects.   If you have a pure extended enterprise project, I’d look for specialists.  Here are the vitals: LMS Name:  SilkRoad GreenLight LMS Website: Silkroad.com Contact Information: http://www.silkroad.com/Company/Contact_Us.html Extended Enterprise Organizational Focus:  Minor Extended Enterprise Ready:  Yes Types of Extended Enterprise Expertise Supported: Channel, Affiliates, Vendors Customer, Client Differentiation Integrated talent suite Easy, painless implementation Lowering compliance risk Licensing and Certification: During the webinar I watched (Leverage Your LMS to Train Your Extended Enterprise Webinar), their [...] The post LMS Reviews: SilkRoad GreenLight LMS appeared first on Talented Learning.

I’m going to help you avoid the #1 stupid decision when buying a LMS or learning management system. I probably won’t make any new friends on the vendor side but you should listen to me because I sold and led sales teams selling over one hundred high-end LMS solutions generating over $50,000,000 in revenue.  I’ve seen every trick that vendors use to conceal holes and inadequacies in their LMS products or capabilities.  I’ve seen customers make absolutely horrible vendor selections for almost every conceivable reason but usually it’s from being unprepared and uninformed.  Here is the #1 stupid decision -Skipping the RFP when buying a LMS. When Buying a LMS, Thou Shall Not Skip the RFP! Vendors know.  They know well.   If a vendor can get in early, educate you, get you to skip the RFP then they get to shape the solution, cover their own holes and set the pricing negotiation.  Knowing the consequences of choosing a wrong solution, I was always baffled when I was doing my initial discovery with prospective clients and they told me they were not going to RFP.  The reasons were usually about fast tracking the project, being experienced in LMS or our organization [...] The post The #1 Stupid Decision When Buying a LMS appeared first on Talented Learning.

Blatant Media Corporation started making the Absorb LMS in 2003 and now has 500 global clients.  Absorb is a modern, sleek and powerful tool.  It is geared towards smaller organizations from hundreds to tens of thousands of users.  The ease of use and great user interface are major reasons why Absorb is often selected regardless of industry. Absorb is definitely extended enterprise ready and has many features to support external audiences.  The interface can be skinned and globalized very neatly with clients’ colors, logos, fonts, language and dynamic group functionality.  The Absorb LMS manages online learning, informal and instructor-led content, social learning, mobile learning, gamification, global deployments, ecommerce and more. "Smart department" and "stackable filter" functionality allows you to create dynamic user groups based on any user criteria stored in the LMS including over 30 open fields in the user profile.  It tracks education units and has significant e-commerce capability.  Approximately 50% of Absorb’s customers have extended enterprise deployments. Absorb allows customers to start with monthly or annual contracts making it very easy and economical to get going.   Later this year, Absorb is going to release their brand new administrator interface.  Considering how powerful their admin features are now, and how usable the end-user interface, [...] The post LMS Reviews: Absorb LMS appeared first on Talented Learning.

If you are an association, and you are not eclipsing your annual membership revenues with eLearning revenue — you’re missing the boat.  It is time to make association learning revenue your main revenue stream  - your peers are. It’s been a tough decade for associations and member based organizations but it’s time to invest.  With the economy tanking in 2001 and again in 2009, associations have to work harder than ever to attract new members and drive revenue.  Sure, most associations  are non-profit organizations, but that does not mean associations don’t want to make profits, only that they reinvest gains in providing more member value. At their core, associations provide networking, professional development, information, best practices, and research -all to support professionals in their particular field.  Every association provides their members some level of education.   The question becomes, how can associations provide more education to more people, charge for it, and expand into new areas.  The only answer — a Learning Management System loaded with your proprietary eLearning library. Progressive associations have adopted association learning management system technology and they have transformed the future of the association business model.  They have learned that investment allows them to exponentially grow [...] The post Top 5 Reasons to Invest in Association Learning Technology appeared first on Talented Learning.

BlueVolt has some nice amperage with extended enterprise LMS distribution.  They get it and effectively marry learning with marketing.  Manufacturers, distributors, associations and service companies use the BlueVolt Learning Management System to develop and deliver highly effective online training. BlueVolt is the first LMS I reviewed that is really staking out a specific space in the extended enterprise LMS market.  Love it. BlueVolt targets the manufacturing industry including the relevant member-based organizations and brings together manufacturing companies and their independent sales distribution channels.  Since the sales distribution channels are always non-captured or independent, the manufacturing companies are encouraged to put eLearning modules online about their unique products and how to sell them.  The result is a community of manufacturers, distributors and retailers all on the same system. Employees of the distribution channel could be from large box store retailers or local mom and pop electrical supply stores.  No distributor or employee of a distributor can have a masterful knowledge of every product from every manufacturer so with the BlueVolt LMS manufacturers race to obtain and expand mind share in the distribution channel and channel employees. All features are tailored towards these audiences and usages.  To that end, if you are [...] The post LMS Reviews: BlueVolt LMS appeared first on Talented Learning.

The Accord LMS is a nice up and coming extended enterprise LMS solution.  I created an account in the demo site, attended their public webinar, scoured their website, YouTube channel, case studies and other social media sites to do this review.  I saw the core functionality that you want to see in an extended enterprise LMS.  This system is designed to support many different flavors of extended enterprise learning applications.  There is good documentation of features, easy access to demos, training videos and case studies to get a solid understanding of what the Accord LMS can do. The Accord LMS has strong gamification, social, mobile and eCommerce features needed in today’s extended enterprise learning efforts.  They have also built out their first handful of language localizations for North American and European deployments. From a demo standpoint on the public webinar, the solution architect first showed the core LMS, than brought in a senior executive (COO I think) to show the same LMS with gamification and social enabled.  It wasn’t an overly smooth transition, and in my experience, you only take this demo approach with newly integrated or almost released products.  I saw some social features in the demo site, but [...] The post LMS Reviews: Accord LMS appeared first on Talented Learning.