Talent Tip #20: Blending On-Demand Training Solutions

Brought to you by Raytheon Professional Services
By Greg Luckock, Director, Global Technology and Development Strategies, Raytheon Professional Services

Many corporate training functions are being asked to do more with less in this challenging economy. Corporate learning professionals are scrambling to offer more cost effective training solutions. One avenue that these learning professionals pursue is incorporating more on-demand learning options into their training solutions. Because on-demand learning is delivered via a mobile device or the Internet, it eliminates much of the cost associated with traditional instructor-led training (ILT) including classroom, instructor and travel costs. Add these hard-savings to the soft-savings associated with the “lost productivity” time of students sitting in traditional ILT, and it becomes clear that blending more on-demand solutions into the overall training strategy provides a powerful cost reduction option.

But not all on-demand solutions are treated equally. Some require more up-front investment than others to ultimately deliver savings. For example, it may take a larger up-front investment to properly convert ILT materials into Web-Based Training (WBT) than the initial investment required to facilitate that same instructor-led course over the Internet as a Virtual Classroom Training (VCT) session. Both options eliminate the classroom and travel costs associated with a typical instructor-led course. But a WBT also eliminates the instructor cost whereas VCT sessions do not. A return on investment (ROI) analysis can help determine the best option.

It is important to remember that not every on-demand solution is appropriate for all content. The key is to understand how to match the learning objectives of the content to the most appropriate delivery type. Converting an ILT class into WBT format, for example, certainly reduces delivery costs. But in the process, it converts the training from a synchronous experience where an instructor is available to present concepts and answer questions, into an asynchronous experience where the student is on their own to digest and understand the content. The student experiences of each delivery type are very different and may not be appropriate for all content subjects. As a result, the ROI analysis must also weigh the costs versus benefits, not only the lowest cost solution.

Here is a suggested order for converting ILT materials into on-demand formats.

1. Virtual Classroom Training – Because VCT sessions are “live” sessions and often conducted by the existing instructor staff over the Internet, the costs to convert existing ILT materials are low. If the VCT sessions include live streaming video of the instructor and/or students, costs increase for the associated infrastructure requirements. There are typically also some nominal training costs to prepare instructors to effectively deliver training using these types of platforms. One added benefits is that VCT sessions can be recorded and offered very quickly as on-demand video segments for post-class performance support. A variety of hosted VCT platforms are available with reasonable licensing prices.


2. Wikis/Blogs/Discussion Broads – Integrating social learning platforms before, during and after a traditional ILT course can result in compressing the actual number of days spent in the classroom. Because wikis, blogs and discussion boards are largely “user-generated” content, they are typically inexpensive to implement. When it comes to user-generated content, remember the adage, “garbage in, garbage out.” Accordingly, these platforms may require formal auditing of the content posts to be most effective. Instructors must also learn how to properly use these tools to post class materials, offer online office hours, etc. to understand how to best integrate these platforms into a formal training course. A number of social learning platforms are available, some as freeware.


3. WBT – Converting ILT materials into effective WBT courses requires up-front development costs. However, when the audience size justifies it, WBT can significantly reduce overall training costs. Beyond the savings related to classrooms, instructors and travel, WBT courses do not require the training administration activities associated with ILT. So while up-front costs may be higher, the overall savings that can be achieved are more significant.


4. mLearning – Converting ILT materials into mobile learning format may require even higher initial development costs than WBT because mLearning must be designed in small information chunks and for small screen formats.These short nuggets of information have their niche, but delivering the content associated with a multi-hour ILT via mLearning is not practical.

When properly blended, on-demand solutions can reduce overall training costs as well as improve learning effectiveness. By blending on-demand solutions into the overall learning strategy, the entire curriculum becomes more balanced. Some courses in the overall curriculum will remain traditional, “just-in-case” training, while others are converted into “just-in-time” information that reduces costs and improves the relevance and retention of the material.