Recommended reading, this webpage from the Ministry of Education (New Zealand) summarises key issues and findings from the full report (also available for download). The content is succinct and includes some excellent graphics clearly depicting  the process of elearning industry, elearning as it occurs in large companies, and in small or medium businesses, and a model for examining elearning effectiveness.

This is an excellent summary of key e-learning issues in the New Zealand workplace, but many of these factors have wider relevance. It also glances towards the future and identifies the following future trends:

• Blended: Despite the growing focus in industry on e-learning, traditional approaches continue to remain important. A blended approach, incorporating e-learning with traditional formats, has already been identified by some as the way to proceed. It is envisaged that this will be a significant approach in the future.
• Collaborative: To achieve cost reduction and to increase the quality of elearning resources developed, many organisations will increasingly collaborate with the producers whose goods they sell and with other organisations in the same sector.
• In-House: Increasingly, the benefits of tracking the training undertaken by employees, ensuring all employees are conversant with company policies and compliant with appropriate legislative requirements, is being recognised. This will be monitored by e-administration tools managed by inhouse staff.
• Mobile: Mobile technologies (such as phones, PDAs and cameras) are readily available and enable information to be accessed remotely and for data transfer from those “on-site” back to the central office and conversely for the central office to provide advice or training to those “on-site”. A number of firms indicated in this study that the use of mobile technologies was a key component of future e-learning offering

This page summarises one of the most current and useful current reviews of e-learning in the New Zealand workplace: Using e-Learning to build workforce capability: A review of activities

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1. Download: Using e-Learning to build workforce capability: A review of activities
2. DIY – Use e-learning courses to address your skill shortages
3. Download: Meeting the training needs of SME’s: Is e-learning the solution?

In this very succinct download, key lessons from Nestles experience upskilling its global workforce using elearning are described. The importance of learning as an integral part of organisation culture is identified, and the link between elearning culture is also hinted at when this brief case study mentions internal branding for example.

The Nestlé training team has gone one step further to ensure that continual learning is a central part of the organisation’s culture. After discussion with, and agreement from their managers, employees have no restrictions on what courses they are able to take, i.e. someone in a production job could take the MCSE or Oracle certification. By opening up learning in this way, every member of staff, from factory workers to top level management, is given the opportunity to further their personal and professional development. From the outset, the supplier’s services team has worked hand-in-hand with Nestlé, from designing the right solution to meet its specific needs, to customising the learning interface to match Nestlé’s internal branding.

The Nestlé training team has gone one step further to ensure that continual learning is a central part of

the organisation’s culture. After discussion with, and agreement from their managers, employees have

no restrictions on what courses they are able to take, i.e. someone in a production job could take the

MCSE or Oracle certification. By opening up learning in this way, every member of staff, from factory

workers to top level management, is given the opportunity to further their personal and professional

development.

From the outset, the supplier’s services team has worked hand-in-hand with Nestlé, from designing the

right solution to meet its specific needs, to customising the learning interface to match Nestlé’s internal

branding.

Nestle upskills global workforce (pdf)

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1. Download: Using e-Learning to build workforce capability: A review of activities
2. Linking organisation culture and e-learning
3. Download: Peer Group and Collaborative Learning

Organisation culture consists of three central components:

1. Myths: about how the organisation began, difficulties that were overcome, colourful figures and monumental events.
2. Ideology: the unified set of beliefs which explain and legitimise the organisation.
3. Values: which tell people what is important, and how to behave. Values provide meaning and standards.

In an organisation with a strong culture, key values are intensely and widely shared. The stronger the culture is, the greater the influence it has on the behaviour of an organisation.[i]

In customised elearning programmes,  good instructional design will consider and reflect the culture of the organisation. It should tell the myths, speak to the ideology and advocate key values of the organisation. It should be integrated into design from the very early stages.

Because the strength of a culture is built upon consistency, elearning can be a useful way to reinforce and shape culture. It is particularly effective when used to induct and train employees new to the organisation. Well designed elearning programmes for new staff can deliberately and convincingly shape their thinking and teach the legends of the organisations history to ensure continuity in the way culture is learned and applied across the organisation.

For these reasons, using the standard public offerings of independent training organisations for developing staff can sometimes be contrary to maintaining a powerful internal culture,  or at least be off less value than a customised solution that meets training needs and is fully consistent with the core culture of the employer.

Sometimes culture is being considered not as something to be maintained and strengthened, but instead as something to be created, shifted or changed.

Handling change is not easy. People fell uncomfortable when shifted from the status quo, negativity grows very easily and there is often tremendous resistance. Taking risks, or looking at the organisation from a different perspective can be exciting, but people will need extra support to help them reach their potential. [ii]

Often a conscious shift in culture is being implemented by key change agents and needs to be sold to the wider ‘community’ within the organisation. Sound decisions by champions of change are often carefully considered and meaningful, but rational decisions mean little to others unless they fully understand the reasons behind them.

Elearning can be an effective way to bring people on board and promote a desired change. Organisation theories can be taught, advantages can be understood, new knowledge can be acquired and essential skills developed. Perhaps most importantly, ideas that make sense in principle can be applied to ‘real life’ scenarios so people grow to believe in the change being advocated.

Finally, elearning itself can be a manifestation of a healthy and vibrant culture. If your organisation values innovation, best practise, learning, competitiveness or quality, e-learning should definitely be part of the mix!

[ii] Everything you ever needed to know about training, Thorne and Mackey,  p184, 2007.

Related posts:

1. Organisation culture and E-learning
2. E-learning for organisation and people development
3. Download: Nestle upskills global workforce