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Training is costly. The Return On Investment with training is sometimes difficult to measure. Moreover, it is sometimes difficult to convince management of pursuing an e-learning training path.
The initial start up cost can be costly. There is technological concerns with e-learning to include increased bandwidth, servers, learning management systems (LMS), learning content management systems (LCMS), software licenses, software programmers, graphic designers along with instructional systems designers (ISDs). However, the Return On Investment can be great. E-learning generally reduces the time spent at training (at Naval Submarine School we are still working the formula; however, a typical instructor led course is reduced 25% by becoming a blended learning course utilizing Interactive Multimedia Instruction [IMI]).
Moreover, some E-learning courses can be performed at the employee’s leisure, hence not affecting work schedules. The greatest cost of training is not the initial cost of training; it is the lost productivity while the employee is attending training. Training will have to be worth the employee’s time if it is expected for an employee to perform training during his spare time. A great motivator is to try to get your e-learning accredited by the American Counsel on Education (ACE). If your company driven E-learning is accredited to college or trade school credit, then employees will most likely be motivated to accomplish it. There can be other incentives for completing training such as financial, time –off, or promotion opportunities. This is perhaps the most difficult task of the E-learning ISD: correctly relaying the ‘what’s in it for me’ message.
Moreover; management personal are most likely not that familiar with e-learning. Senior management most likely have not taken many E-learning courses. Therefore when the trainer presents a costly proposal to initially fund an E-learning initiative, management will most like not see the benefit. A good technique for the trainer to do is to coordinate their training effort with other companies training efforts. For instance in Hartford, Pratt-Whitney is forming an alliance with neighboring companies to form a joint LCMS. Therefore, cost is shared and content is shared to meet various company needs. (Imagine one world LCMS of free shared content)!
It is very difficult to remember that good E-learning does to necessarily mean the most technically advanced. E-learning does not have to incorporate stunning Flash Graphics, Great Audio, of interactive design to be effective. All of these programs requiring programmers, hence adding to development and life-cycle cost. For instance if I add read text audio to my E-learning then when I have to implement a change to the curriculum, I would have to re-record the entire audio for the course, not just the topic segment that has the change. This is because the audio can actually distract some learners if there is an audio change. Not having the audio does violate the multiple learning tracks theory; however, it was the lesser of the two evils.
Training managers have to be cautious when presenting e-learning to management. Start with small E-learning programs that do not require a costly LCMS or LMS. Try Microsoft Producer, or small Pod-casting software. Try to form a union with other companies and try to utilize the most of free open source courseware that is already available (NETg, Skillsoft, or MIT’s for example). As management observes the increased ROI (through increased productivity, increased retention); they will eventually fund more E-learning initiatives.
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