“One of the top concerns amongst business leaders today is their organisation’s ability to change and innovate to stay relevant and competitive,” said Michael Gullan, CEO of e-learning consultancy G&G Advocacy. “Especially when they achieve scale and success. The larger the organisation gets, the more it can stagnate and the less it innovates. We all know that innovation is the lifeblood of any business.”
Gullan outlines four key indicators showing you may need to work with an external consultant to bolster your corporate eLearning so that it effectively supports your organisational goals and produces financial returns.
If your e-learning engagement declines, it may be time to interrogate your data to understand the trends and reasons. Do you have a learning strategy? Are your courses still relevant, and is the content personalised? Are your learner profiles accurate, and is your platform learner-friendly? Are you managing success and internal awareness and linking it to employee appraisals? “Declining engagement rates can be addressed by interrogating the data. They should be addressed quickly to ensure your e-learning remains a strategic prerogative and part of your culture,” said Gullan.
When employees complete their courses but don’t apply their new skills, it could indicate a disconnect between your course content and the reality of their working lives. “Most e-learning programs are deemed unsuccessful when employees take the time to learn and complete their assigned courses but remain unable to apply their new skills in their workflow,” said Gullan. “This is always a clear sign that the organisation’s learning strategy is not aligned with the business objectives.”
It’s easy for learning content to become inconsistent and potentially confuse learners with mixed messages and design styles, especially when deployed across multiple regions, franchises, or third-party stakeholders. This could be a symptom of poor continuity from changing or stretched L&D teams. It can easily happen when content is not constantly audited and updated. “When you engage with an eLearning partner, they will constantly interrogate your learning strategy, content, platform, and data to manage success and to ensure your e-learning programmes accurately reflect your organisation’s brand, values, and most importantly, your objectives.
Many businesses initially attempt to manage their e-learning in-house, only to find their staff and budgets are increasingly stretched. When L&D teams are overwhelmed, unable to produce adequate reporting on e-learning performance, or there’s a lack of internal awareness, an external partner can support you to get the return and results. “L&D teams are not and should not be expected to be jacks of all trades. When they have the support of an e-learning partner, they’re more able to focus on quality learning content creation and curation, which can and will reduce costs and improve performance,” said Gullan.
Internal teams may be too busy to strategise, plan, execute, and manage their eLearning effectively. Effective e-learning, developed with the business goals in mind, means better outcomes, higher performing teams, and an innovative, successful business. “It’s hard to overstate the importance of every aspect of an e-learning programme. One small oversight can result in a substantially poor ROI,” concluded Gullan.
