AUSTRALIAN HR professionals are following the lead of their US and European counterparts and taking a more strategic approach to the deployment of e-learning
AUSTRALIAN HR professionals are following the lead of their US and European counterparts and taking a more strategic approach to the deployment of e-learning.
Speaking on a recent visit to Australia, Tim Mahony, regional director, Asia Pacific, Thomson NETg, said that rather than replacing classroom learning, e-learning was simply another mode of delivery available to HR professionals when drafting and implementing training strategies.
“In some ways, we’re living with the post-hype era of the e-learning industry as e-learning companies focus on the development and creation of broader use of e-learning technologies for clients,” he said.
“Over the last decade, the focus of e-learning has shifted significantly from off-the-shelf PC training to more relevant, increasingly soft skills-based training programs.
“This, in turn, has transformed e-learning providers from pure-play courseware library vendors to offering a more balanced mix of product and services, including training and curricula development consultancy.”
E-learning providers globally had embraced this transformation by developing and acquiring new product platforms and services, he said.
Mahony predicted consolidation as a major trend, particularly on the platform front, as well as major growth in self-paced learning strategies, particularly from a blended learning perspective.
With the rise of soft skills-based courses, he also said CFOs now cared about ROI on all training implementations.
“While the success of hard skills training, such as IT certification, can be measured through learner testing, the measurement of soft skills-based courses, such as leadership, executive education, or employee induction, tends to be much more difficult,”Mahony said.
The biggest e-learning challenge for most HR professionals as well as e-learning providers was to inject more entertainment into the e-learning format, Mahony said.
“The increasingly global nature of business also presents significant training challenges for HR professionals,” he said.
“In the case of a global or geographically dispersed organisation … e-learning is really the only cost-effective option available to HR professionals.”
