WHITE PAPER. Is Your Learning Management System Leaving Your Users Dazed and Confused?

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1 ON24 Is Your Learning Management System Leaving Your Users Dazed and Confused?

2 HOW A VIRTUAL CORPORATE UNIVERSITY CAN MAKE YOUR EXISTING LMS MORE ENGAGING, ACCESSIBLE, AND USER-FRIENDLY ABSTRACT Today s learning management systems (LMS) lack the flexibility necessary to meet the growing knowledge demands of users. They are also difficult to use and expensive to implement. Improving learners performance requires that they have the ability to easily locate the training materials they need and complete the coursework in a timely manner. For these reasons, training executives are looking for ways to link their existing learning management systems with new, complementary technologies that can deliver easier, more engaging learning experiences. This white paper describes the current state of LMS and the challenges facing corporate training managers. It also discusses how companies are using virtual corporate universities in conjunction with their existing LMS implementations to improve learning outcomes. Finally, it describes the ON24 Virtual Corporate University and how companies are using the ON24 platform to make their training more engaging, accessible, and user-friendly. ON24 Virtual Corporate University for New Hire Onboarding LMS CHALLENGES FOR TRAINING MANAGERS Learning management systems have been around for many years, developed to help companies train their employees more efficiently and at lower cost. The term learning management system is actually a misnomer; most existing LMS systems are actually training management systems. Training is something that is pushed to users in a uniform fashion, with the content determined by managers and delivered to all users in the same formal way. Learning, on the other hand, is user-specific, personal, and informal, consisting of finding and using content that meets the unique needs of individuals. Learning, therefore, is much more difficult to manage and measure. training professionals are not satisfied with their existing learning management systems. Nearly half rate their systems as average, poor, or very poor for the following four reasons 1 : 1] Difficult to use Learning management systems have typically failed to adapt to users learning needs, with 25 percent of training professionals reporting that learners have challenges with LMS usability. Learning management systems began as relatively complex tools to be used by trained administrators, and so it is not surprising that learners find them difficult to use. LMS providers have only recently begun to make their systems more user-friendly. Recent studies show that many 2

3 Beyond poor usability of learning management systems, training professionals have also reported challenges searching for specific training programs and information within the systems, as well as IT issues such as bandwidth concerns and password management problems. 2] Lack of holistic training programs One of the greatest shortcomings of existing learning management systems is their inability to easily incorporate and measure coursework that resides in external content repositories. Today s LMS platforms need to link to other enterprise content management systems to deliver more robust learning experiences, including federated searches (comprehensive information searches both inside and outside of the LMS), dashboards, and personalized training paths. 3] Need for personalized learning Forty-four percent of companies have identified personalized learning plans as one of the top-three most essential functions of future LMS designs1. Personalized learning is extremely important; content must be provided in ways that accommodate various learners across a broad spectrum of demographic, generational, and geographic categories. And with so many workers using a rapidly increasing variety of mobile devices, personalized training must also be integrated with and easily delivered via mobile and handheld devices of all types. 4] Limited measurement and reporting Many training managers believe that their LMS reporting tools are insufficient. Limited reporting poses major challenges. Learning professionals need the ability to quickly add training content to meet evolving learner needs and then track the new coursework s use and effectiveness. KEY CORPORATE LEARNING TRENDS Changes continue in the corporate learning industry. In recent years, industry interest has moved from basic technologies such as systems that provide tracking and management of learning activities to advanced learning systems that integrate with social media and can be accessed anytime, anywhere, from a variety of devices. learning solutions that accelerate employee and business performance. Social learning uses social media to leverage shifts in corporate culture that encourage ongoing knowledge transfer. More than 12 percent of companies plan to launch social learning / social media technologies within the next year 2. Mobile learning Mobile learning is making significant advances, with companies across industries planning to implement systems that support learning on a variety of mobile platforms. Companies have recognized the need to provide learning resources to their users at any point in their daily activities, and that means comprehensive mobile access. Other critical success factors for mobile learning include providing engaging, interactive content and ensuring that learning can be tracked and managed by the company s LMS. SOLUTION / OPPORTUNITY VIRTUAL CORPORATE UNIVERSITY The rise of the virtual corporate university reflects the need for companies to deliver training materials that are easier-to-use, more interactive and engaging, and accessible anytime, anywhere, on any device. Companies must also provide varied levels and types of learning programs and content (e.g., centralized, functional, and geography-specific). And given shrinking budgets, the new training programs must be more cost-effective than traditional learning methods. The virtual corporate university satisfies these requirements. By combining virtual online classrooms, live webcasts, social networking tools, and other Web-based collaboration tools, the virtual corporate university creates a highly adaptable and engaging learning experience for wide-ranging employee needs. Moreover, it does so while allowing employees, partners, and clients to access training courses anytime and from any location. This is an enormous advantage, given the need to train busy employees who are often spread out across global locations. Social learning / social media Users expect learning management systems to integrate with social media and social learning tools. Combining social and informal learning with formal, LMS-based learning creates comprehensive, blended 3

4 Businesses are using virtual universities for a variety of training and communication needs: New hire on-boarding Companies are using virtual corporate universities to conduct new-employee orientation and training, providing an engaging, effective, and consistent on-boarding experience for new hires no matter where they are. Leadership / management development Virtual corporate universities have become increasingly popular for leadership training and management development courses. Flexible online training is easier for busy managers to fit into their schedules, resulting in higher participation rates compared to traditional classroom training. Continuing professional education Professional training on new techniques and procedures is much more effective when employees can access it on their own schedules and without the need to travel to distant training seminars. Client training Virtual corporate universities are ideal for training clients on new products and applications. The convenience and flexibility offered by virtual universities increases participation dramatically. Other benefits to clients are communication tools for discussing common issues and sharing best practices. Sales training Increasingly, companies are using virtual corporate universities to train their sales teams on new products, services, and promotions, in addition to basic and advanced selling skills. Virtual universities also enable direct access to subject matter experts for technical Q&A and discussion of specific topics. Partner training Firms use virtual corporate universities to educate their partners on new technologies and partner programs. The virtual university s social networking tools allow partners and companies to discuss challenges and obtain timely feedback. 4

5 BENEFITS OF A VIRTUAL CORPORATE UNIVERSITY Virtual corporate universities allow companies to create virtual dashboards that can make tremendous amounts of information easy to find and access. These virtual environments can also make the LMS more flexible and agile by allowing the capture of news feeds, blogs, social media content, and Web-based information, as well as training materials that reside in content management systems outside the LMS. Other benefits include: Ease of use Typically an immersive 3-D experience, the virtual corporate university can be designed to mimic any desired learning workflow, leading users on a simple intuitive path through the required coursework. More importantly, a virtual university can be a single point of access for all training materials. Users are no longer required to locate and log into multiple systems to complete their training. Knowledge transfer Using virtual corporate universities, companies can leverage their managers valuable knowledge and experience by making it easy for them to interact with and mentor new hires and other employees. Subject matter experts from anywhere in the world can participate as online facilitators, further enhancing the real-world applicability of lessons and quality of learning experiences. Virtual corporate universities also provide a quick and easy way to communicate with direct supervisors and other company departments. Personalized experience Virtual corporate universities allow training professionals to personalize access to content according to learner groups, departments, locations, or other criteria. Job competencies and career paths can be personalized for learners so they can be more effective in their current jobs and progress more quickly to higher levels within the organization. Mobile learning Virtual corporate universities allow training managers to deliver content wherever learners are in their daily activities. Virtual universities not only provide engaging, interactive mobile content, they also enable tracking of content use in companies learning management systems. Learning measurement Virtual corporate universities track all training metrics, including attendee activities, enabling assessment of learner participation, feedback, and completion rates. These metrics allow training managers to identify training issues and develop more effective content. Social learning / social media Virtual corporate universities help facilitate the development of engaging, interactive social learning programs. They also enable collaborative learning by combining online instructor-led training with social networking, expertled discussions, scheduled chats, blogs, and more. ON24: A GLOBAL LEADER IN ONLINE LEARNING ON24 is a leader in virtual learning technologies. The ON24 Virtual Corporate University is being used by leading global companies to provide engaging training programs using virtual classrooms, live webcasts, collaboration tools, and social networking tools. Key features of the ON24 Virtual Corporate University include: Industry-leading webcasting and virtual environment platform that fosters attendee participation, collaboration, and social networking. Combining social and informal learning with virtual instructor-led training creates a blended learning solution that can help accelerate employee performance. Flexible social media features, including social networking, group discussions, scheduled chats, peer-to-peer collaboration, blogs and RSS feeds. The ON24 Virtual Corporate University helps facilitate the development of engaging, interactive social learning programs. Ability to integrate training content from existing LMS platforms and other enterprise content management systems. If desired, ON24 s virtual university can act as a single point of access for all training materials. 5

6 REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE, REAL BENEFITS The ON24 Virtual Corporate University has enabled leading firms to provide engaging and interactive online training to their global audiences of employees, customers, and partners. The following case studies highlight some of the ways companies are leveraging the ON24 Virtual Corporate University to create tangible benefits by: Providing a global learning experience while reducing overall training costs Increasing employee training participation and completion rates Extremely secure, reliable, and scalable enterpriseclass platform, including role-based access, single sign on, SAML authentication, and content restrictions using IP filters and passwords. Training-specific functionality including support for continuing education, automated registration, testing, and certificate issuance. It also supports a compliance workflow, with the ability to remove content before the recorded version is posted. Geographic flexibility, including support for 15 languages. ON24 global support enables broadcasting of live and pre-recorded content to specific time zones, which is important for firms with worldwide operations. Mobile-deployment ready, including optimized tablet and mobile phone views. Tablets provide an HTML5- based immersive 3-D virtual environment, and mobile phones deliver a content-focused compact view. Real-time measurement of training participation, performance, and feedback. The ON24 Virtual Corporate University allows training professionals to quickly add training content to meet evolving learner needs and then track the new coursework s use and effectiveness. Boosting social learning via expert-led discussions and Q&A sessions Accelerating the transfer of institutional knowledge among employees GLOBAL LEARNING PRODUCTS Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) is a global learning company. As the world s largest provider of pre-k-12 solutions, HMH collaborates with school districts, administrators, teachers, parents, and students to provide interactive, results-driven learning. HMH organizes a sales kickoff meeting each year to introduce new products to its selling force of educational consultants worldwide. For its most recent sales training, HMH created a customized, two-day virtual sales kickoff meeting for its 900 consultants. Powered by ON24, the virtual sales meeting included live sessions, exhibits, chat discussions, and downloadable documents. The virtual sales meeting resulted in better learning outcomes than their prior physical meetings. Eighty-seven percent of attendees said the virtual training was very good or outstanding. The event was a big success from a financial point of view, too it was approximately 90 percent less expensive to execute than a physical event, saving HMH more than $500,000. 6

7 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES A major professional services firm has used the ON24 virtual environment platform to create a private virtual university for the education and discussion of mobility and incentive taxes. The community helps members stay upto-date and communicate in real time with other tax and HR professionals on the latest trends and issues. Members have spent more than 3 ½ hours, on average, listening to educational forums and engaging in discussions with their peers. The ON24 virtual environment allows the professional services company to demonstrate its wideranging expertise, leading to new business opportunities for its global employer services division. TECHNOLOGY MANUFACTURING A leading global technology manufacturer uses the ON24 virtual environment platform to train its employees on a variety of collaboration and productivity tools. The company offers weekly live virtual-brown-bag webcasts within the virtual university. The ON24 solution allows the company to deliver professional development training cost-effectively to its employees worldwide. The company also uses the virtual environment to share institutional knowledge via expert-led discussions, moderated forums, and Q&A sessions. 7

8 HOTEL MANAGEMENT A major hotel chain is using the ON24 virtual environment platform to launch a global training initiative designed to improve key employees understanding of management fundamentals and leadership principles. Using the virtual university, instructor-led training via live webcasts and moderated discussions was delivered to the company s geographically-distributed leadership team. More than 3,000 managers and company leaders were trained, at a cost that was 69 percent lower than the industry average. SURPASSING CONVENTIONAL LEARNING RESULTS Conventional learning management systems lack the flexibility necessary to meet users growing knowledge demands. Moreover, these systems are difficult to use and expensive to implement and fine-tune. Learning managers are looking for ways to deliver more engaging learning experiences by enhancing their existing systems with new complementary technologies. Increasingly, employees require adaptable informal and social learning tools that provide just-in-time knowledge to fit individual users needs. A growing number of companies are using the ON24 Virtual Corporate University in conjunction with their existing LMS implementations to enhance their training results at low cost. The ON24 platform allows training managers to provide highly relevant learning content to employees anytime, anywhere, and on any device, achieving training outcomes that far surpass conventional learning management systems results. 1 Training Industry Quarterly, Spring Industry Buying Plans & Trends for 2012, January

9 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUCCESS AND FAILURE In the global marketplace, well-educated employees, partners, suppliers, and customers are a critical success factor. Companies across industries are using virtual corporate university solutions such as the ON24 virtual environment to achieve this goal. These organizations are providing highly effective learning experiences to their global workforces at much lower cost compared to traditional learning methods. For more information on the benefits of the ON24 virtual environment, contact us at or visit ON24, INC. 201 THIRD STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA ON24, Inc. For more information on the benefits of the ON24 virtual environment, contact us at or visit