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Home > Management Training Articles > Blended E-learning
Management Training Goes Techno
Management Training Goes Techno
The 21st Century business revolution has transformed the previous
generation's 9-5 workplace into a landscape that includes telecommuting,
flexible hours, and virtual offices. These changes are also reflected
in a new approach many forward-thinking companies are taking with
their training programs. "The work environment has changed
and learning environments for managers and supervisors need
to change, as well," says Eva Jenkins, Principal at
VIP Innovations.
"Human capital is a company's most valuable asset," says
Jenkins. "And like any asset, when it's managed correctly,
it will deliver a tremendous return on investment." According
to Jenkins "investing" in employees means developing effective
training programs "to help leaders at all levels develop the
management skills that really matter and that are required for success."
Essential leadership skills, says Jenkins, include communicating,
supporting change, developing performance goals and standards,
and providing performance feedback. "Team
leaders who have been taught the 'arts and sciences' of things like
conflict resolution, discipline, and delegation
are better at their jobs and, in turn, inspire and motivate their
teams to greater achievement."
E-Learning to the Rescue
According to Jenkins, e-learning solutions and
online training programs are the answer…but with an important
caveat: She notes that companies may be too focused on the method
of teaching and ignore the results of that teaching. "There
can be a lot to gain by moving to online learning - reduced training
time and increased flexibility are just two significant benefits
that companies can enjoy. But those benefits are meaningless if
the e-learning itself isn't effective," she points out.
The value of e-learning is more than theoretical. It's manifested
in her own company, VIP Innovations, which has recently added online
courses with " the same content and instructional design integrity
that powers our classroom supervision training".
VIP Innovations has helped many organizations "equip managers
with the skills and tools they need to succeed". "We felt
that e-learning because of its easy-to- customize nature
was an important option to add to our menu of client services."
Essential Elements
Jenkins believes there are five key elements that are essential for e-training success. "Full bookmarking capability means a student can pick up a lesson where he or she left off whenever time allows," says Jenkins. "It's the best way to achieve a highly customized experience that any student -- or teacher -- will tell you is the optimum approach to learning."
Jenkins also recommends the inclusion of high-quality video
modeling scenarios "to engage learners with situations
they will recognize and solutions they can apply and interactive
quizzes in different formats "to ensure active participation
and knowledge transfer." Simulated practice
using real world examples is a meaningful technique for "connecting
skills points to realistic business challenges".
"Learning is theoretical until it's put to the test…and
then tested again." We, at VIP Innovations, strongly advocate
post-test capability with pass/fail settings "to measure knowledge
and retention levels and to provide results that may be analyzed
as to effectiveness."
Effective Means Beneficial In Many Ways
While seeking to expand VIP's reach into e-courses, we have researched
a variety of online options. "The e-learning solutions we tried
came up short on accountability and quality," she reports.
"And online solutions that don't engage or challenge our learners
do our training efforts more harm than good."
Jenkins said she found the ultimate win-win situation in the programs
developed by Vital-Learning, with a 20-year record of success and
that accreditation by ITCAP, the Industry Training Credit Approval
Process. With an ITCAP program, employees get academic credit for
work-related training and in addition to upgrading their professional
skills and furthering their personal career paths, they get a tangible,
permanent reward for their efforts.
Employers benefit from ITCAP programs as well. "Of course,
there are the tax benefits," referring to tuition reimbursement
for training costs. "But what some employers many not realize
is that how much their employees appreciate the high-quality training
that also earns them college credit. That appreciation translates
into increased employee retention and better recruitment opportunities."
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