March 10th, 2010 by Learning Systems

As any company with an outsourced extension knows, business process outsourcing (BPO) can involve certain risks. Security, disconnect, lack of motivation, and unforeseen costs are just a few. However, learning management systems (LMS) can help mitigate these risks by creating a more centralized training system, in which all employees are trained to execute the same processes. In doing so, outsourced extensions of a company are able to operate in a more unified and parallel way, and avoid the traps that so many outsourcing organizations fall into.

What are some of the risks involved in business process outsourcing, and how can a learning management system prevent them? For starters, there can be some security risks involved. Outsourcing an Information System, for instance, might be a risky venture. If an information system is being controlled overseas, this could involve not only privacy issues, but communication problems. Learning management system training content that covers these challenges and prepares employees and managers to handle them can stop these issues from arising in the first place.

Another risk is a disconnect between you and your outsourced extension. For that reason, a strong learning management system course that deals with compliance training topics such as communication strategies and specific processes is key.

Solid LMS training for managers is an essential implementation for BPO extensions. For example, a course in project management could help your managers review project management processes, project and team cycles, and evaluation and improvement techniques. A project management course is able to orient both staff and managers to the functions and tools needed for successful management.

Another kind of course with great benefits for managers in an outsourced post is a course that covers team dynamics and staff motivation. While most managers would agree that staff motivation is a critical element of managerial duties, many do not actually practice effective motivation, and are in the dark as to what kinds of strategies, techniques, and theories factor in. A course training managers on what kind of motivation strategies actually work, and how to implement them, is a strong preventative measure against BPO risks such as a changing attitude among employees or low employee morale.

BPO works best when all employees are trained uniformly using an LMS that delivers effective and repeatable training programs. It’s also important that the LMS training is easy to update to address extension-specific matters and new developments in a company.

This is another reason why online training is an effective risk-preventative measure: the fact that it is easy to update and deliver immediately, when you need it. In the past, when training was handled with instructional books and booklets, or with pdf and power point documents, the process of updating training was often a slow and painstaking one. An LMS training program is essential in providing staff with the most up-to-date information.

When you use online training technology like learning management systems to train employees in BPO positions, you’re thinking progressively for your company. Think about it. The person you’re training–especially for outsourced HR positions–just might be the one in charge of administering a very similar kind of training someday. When that day comes, having had experience with LMS training, they will be in an ideal position to help others along in the process, and deliver the training effectively.

In order to reap the benefits of business process outsourcing, the risks involved must be foreseen and prevented using the resources available to companies. One last risk is the underestimation of running costs for outsourced extensions. Cost-effective LMS training solutions can help lower the costs of BPO as well as take care of a number of other problems before they even arise.

March 1st, 2010 by Learning Systems

Business process outsourcing is fast becoming the norm among large-scale companies and businesses, and offers some outstanding benefits. But it can also be a complicated venture, which is why strong LMS or other online company training is crucial for organizing and training employees whose work is outsourced.

Business process outsourcing (BPO) refers specifically to the contracting of business processes to a third-party service provider, instead of having them performed inside the company. It can involve the outsourcing of basic business functions like human resources or finances and accounting (back office outsourcing). Or, it can include customer-related services like contact centers and user support teams (front office outsourcing). Offshore, nearshore, knowledge process, and legal process outsourcing are four sub-segments of business process outsourcing.

Of course, business process outsourcing (especially off- or near-shore) can save organizations a great deal of money. Everything from labor to overhead costs like electricity and water bills becomes cheaper. However, it also means that it becomes increasingly important that employees are part of a supportive and efficient training system, in order to ensure successful distance team work.

BPO is nothing new. Outsourcing itself can be traced to as early as the 1830’s, when the U.S. commissioned workers in Scotland to build ship sales and wagon covers. By the 1970’s many computer companies were outsourcing their payroll preparation systems to different financial offices who offered these services. Manufacturing companies like Coca-Cola also began to use business process outsourcing, and more and more businesses caught on to the trend as the 70’s passed. By 1980, almost all company accounting tasks, as well as other kinds of work, were being sent outside company walls.

In relation to the frequency of business process outsourcing taking place, companies are paying greater attention to their learning management system training and other online training systems. Everyone wants to secure a process that works for his or her company, to reduce the cost of training by finding a customized solution and making it both adaptable and repeatable.

It’s never been uncommon for organizations to outsource content development, such as learning programs, management and company training, including tasks such as the production of books, training materials, videos, and other educational materials.  LMS vendors offer benefits such as flexibility, customization, and cost-effectiveness to organizations using BPO.

In the past, before learning management systems and other online training systems, training employees was a more decentralized process. Oftentimes, companies could not even be sure how much money they were spending on training across their enterprise. The process varied widely from group to group, and company to company.

Companies who use business process outsourcing can save money if they are able to centralize and repeat the process of training. This is where learning management systems are useful, since they allow users to create and deliver customized training solutions. Companies can make training their own, integrated with their logo and corporate color scheme. Learning management systems that use a pay-per-use business model make it easy to load and reload learning content as required for relevant, up-to-date training. This model allows organizations to help employees gain the skills and knowledge required in exactly the period of time necessary.

February 10th, 2010 by Learning Systems

Over the past few years, the effectiveness of Online Training has been spread all over the world. This also became one of the best options of any company who wants their employees or trainees to be able to have short courses taken without even going to a particular place. Basically, it makes the process much easier. Trainees and employees could be given the chance to work on the online courses either at home, or even while they are in their office workplaces as well.

Because of this growing innovation in the field of learning, it has been known and different names were given to it – sometimes it’s called online training, sometimes it is known as e-course, computer based training and different courses call it short online course. So, don’t get yourself confused with these terms, they all mean the same thing.

Aside from the different areas wherein computer based training is being used, most offices have also been using this learning course for compliance training. Well, compliance training is to ensure that all employees are aware of the rules and laws. Most often, it is necessarily needed for employees that are in the field of accounting, financing, business or even contractual business with the government. Offices who were informed that online training can also be used while in their office space and use it for compliance training.

If you would think about how employees were being trained before, there were short courses with a bunch of folders distributed, while in a short meeting room, or at least something familiar with that. It needs a trainer of course, and the schedule of all the employees should be synchronized. That sounds too much of a hassle, don’t you think? However, being blessed and with all the wonders of what technology can do, compliance training which is very needed by employees can be done easily.

Online training courses can be easily found online – and don’t worry, there are also lots of compliance training courses from some of these software. If you are still wondering why it is a must for employees to undergo these courses, using computer based learning, here are some reasons why:

First, a company/organization has different information that should be kept confidential – and not to be breached through any conditions at all. You must ensure that your company will be able to realize and get educated about these things. Rules and regulations of your company are very important. And it is your duty through online training to make sure that compliance will be implemented no matter what department they are in.

Secondly, there is no need to schedule the compliance training. You may get the chance to give them the courses, and just give them a scheduled date where they should be able to complete the course. That way, your employees will be given a chance to complete all the courses on their most favorable time of the day.

Finally, compliance training that is done online is more flexible, and even provides some interactive exercises. This way, employees won’t get bored and understand details that the online training has.

January 29th, 2010 by Learning Systems

As online training continues to get accepted in the corporate world, other industries are also looking at it as a solution. In sports, injuries to head are most common. When the head injuries are not serious, it is vital to evaluate sport related concussions before allows playing to return to play. Many injuries are not reported because of their mild nature and are overlooked by coaches, team mates and athletes as well.

Using online training as an assessment tool with parameters like reaction time and memory it is possible to assess cognitive function. The assessments ask the patient to identify shapes, words, and colors for at least thirty minutes. With the help of concussion guidelines and comparing the results, it is possible to categorize the severity of concussion.

The evaluation tool when used in an online training environment can be used for individual athletes or to a group. This assessment is designed to aid trainers and athletic physicians to make decisions of allowing players to return to play when they are unsure. The online setup provides easy access and quick administration of the test and has a reliable baseline. The result of the players can be sent to neurophysiologist for quick consultation.

The data provided is comprehensive and can also include processing speed and attention as parameters.  By repeating the tests, the data can be compared and ensures that the decision to play is safe. There are a number of tools that use online training setting to administer during play to identify cognitive deficits.

Besides athlete’s, children are also prone to concussions and neuropsychology focuses on assessment and management of concussion. Today, using assessments in an online training environment has proved to be reliable to distinguish between individuals that suffered from a concussion. The neuropsychological tests to baseline and identify post concussion syndromes include word discrimination, design memory, x’s and o’s, matching symbols, color match and three letters.

ImPACT is one such tool that evaluates concussions and post concussion syndromes along with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT). Some other online training environment based neuro-cognitive tests available for the evaluation of concussions include and the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics, CogSport and Headminders.

In order to teach doctors and sports trainers more about concussion or effects of mild traumatic brain injury, online training has been quite effective. They have provided clinicians with the knowledge required to understand the severity of concussions and suggest the duration for rehabilitation.

When athletes that has symptoms of concussion over one to two weeks is considered to have a post-Concussion Syndrome. In such situation, it is best to treat the individual by an experienced physician and facilitate quick neuropsychological testing. Using an online training setup, it is possible to take a quick test and use the data to baseline in case of injuries during a game.

Over the last few years, a lot of literary research has been conducted to manage head injuries and identify concussions.  There is a not too much controversy surrounding this simple and quick method of identifying concussion in online training by sports physicians and trainers to avoid further complications.

January 29th, 2010 by Learning Systems

Using a learning management system provides organizations with an end-to-end approach to develop talent and guarantees visible priorities of individuals, activities and events. We are aware that a LMS can perform a number of functions, administrative requests from scheduling trainings, to strategic requests like training gap analysis, aligning training modules with business goals etc.

In a classroom environment, we lose out on a number of features that can provide a lot of flexibility to the learner and trainer. Organizations are aware that they can leverage the use of a learning management system to improve productivity, reduce costs and achieve business goals efficiently. Once training modules are deployed on a LMS, trainers and learners can benefit by getting access to a variety of e-learning modules.

Activities are much easier to update and these can include tasks like assigning budgets, enrollments, managing assessments, generating report, classroom logistics etc. It is easier to measure the ROI on training. An LMS allows you employees to develop career paths, and managers to identify the development paths based on employee goals. In fact, assessments to measure competency that can be linked with performance appraisals can be managed via a learning management system for employees and managers

A learning management system allows clients to examine the workforce and provide skill management and analysis. It also provides automated certification for safety programs and supervisory roles. For employees that need to take mandatory training - training requests and progress tracking to achieve competencies for a particular position is available.

After completing a module, employees are requested to provide feedback about the effectiveness of the training module. This enables management to review the training results and measure improvements in employee performance.

For organizations that have a workforce which is spread over a number of regions, a learning management system allows overall tracking of skills sets and identifying development needs. It empowers managers to approve training requests, monitor employee progress, generate reports to understand employee readiness and relate job performance to identify employee development needs.

In a classroom environment or without a learning management system, organizations incur additional costs to manage training requirements. They do not have the flexibility of generating detailed reports and the data accumulated can be inaccurate. As employees undertake training courses that are available on a LMS, managers can assess employee strengths; compare skills of an employee with their performance objectives.

In summary, a learning management system implements state of the art training modules that allow self service requests for employee training, managing content, support for learning, updating courses to sync with positions or employee competencies. Instructor availability, training effectiveness, scheduling classes, hours spent training etc can be managed with ease with the help of LMS. For management, tracking employees and maintaining a history of their training, identifying the budget for training and other bottom line figures necessary to business can be easily acquired with a LMS.

With these advantages, using a learning management system can ensure compliance with business goals and quality training to improve employee performance.

January 18th, 2010 by Learning Systems

If you need a productive and efficient employee, you can consider online training to overcome the performance gap. As a company one of the greatest assets is a valuable employee. When a company hires an employee they are making an investment in their future. Employee retention is extremely important because every time the company has to start from scratch training a new employee it costs more money to them. Therefore, it is more cost effective to the company in the long run to ensure the employee is happy in their job. Part of this entails paying a fair wage and benefits for the position but another responsibility of an employer is to ensure proper training.

Why Train Employees?
Online training can help facilitate your organizational training needs. Employee training includes ensuring the employee is qualified and trained in the position for which they were hired. However, it goes even further than that. If the company wants to ensure employee retention they have to provide a stable future to the employee. An employee wants to be challenged in their area of expertise and they also want to know that there is room for advancement. If they can not advance both professionally and financially internally with the company, the employee will start looking elsewhere. In addition, it simply makes sense to ensure the employee has all the available tools needed to work efficiently and effectively. The more knowledge the employee has, the better they will be at their job.

What can Online Training Offer?
Online training allows employers to offer employees tools to advance themselves within their career and personally. Internal online training can mean training materials and course work geared toward a specific position. New hires can take online training courses to learn how to do their job and test on policies and procedures. Existing employees can begin taking job specific courses that will ready them for their next steps within the organization. For example, if an employee wants to move to another department, that employee can begin taking coursework to become familiar with the operational procedures within that department.

Additionally, online training can provide personal improvement possibilities. This can help the employee do their existing job better as well as prepare them for more advanced positions within the company. For example, an employer may have available computer courses. This will allow the employee to add skills to their resume. A savvy employee will look first at their existing position to see how they can apply their new found knowledge to improve their work. This will result in getting noticed my management and their proactive stance in their position will give them an advantage on the competition when it is time for internal advancement.

Advantages to Online Training
Many companies are moving toward online training as opposed to sending employees to traditional brick and mortar learning institutions. The two primary reasons for this are cost and convenience. First, online courses typically cost less so the company can provide more training at the lower cost. Next, the employee has the advantage of being able to work from the office or home as is convenient. In the office they will be available for questions or in case of emergency. But, they also have the option of taking continuing education classes in the convenience of their own home when they have free time to do so.

January 15th, 2010 by Learning Systems

A learning management system or LMS is a database system that allows you to customize and track a training program or training system.  For an organization this can be extremely convenient.  You can create your course work for employees or students and track all aspects of the curriculum.  This is especially useful when it comes to updating the course work.  Instead of needing to republish printed materials continually which may delay important changes, they can be accomplished immediately and as needed in a learning management system.

The Need to Update Training Materials
Fluidity is essential when it comes to all aspects of business.  In order to be successful a company needs to be able to recognize when there are issues that need to be addressed and how to address them when it occurs.  This sometimes means changing processes in order to address potential customer service issues or to adopt emerging technology for e.g., implementing a learning management system to facilitate better efficiency.  If training materials address the outdated processes it defeats the purpose of training in the first place.

Therefore, it is imperative that training materials be updated regularly and as needed to address any changes in processes.  This way anyone taking the course will get the most up to date information and it will avoid having to retrain in person or possible errors that may happen with an employee.  Training employees by leveraging a learning management system begin with is more efficient, will save time and is less confusing.

Uses for an LMS
An LMS is useful for two basic purposes:  internal training courses within a corporation and learning institutions that specialize in training materials for outside training.  A learning management system is most useful in a corporation that has multiple departments with specific training needs for each position.  This is an ideal vehicle for housing all the training needs for each position.  It can accomplish the tasks of:

• Training new hires in the policies and procedures of the position for which they were hired;

• Being available as reference materials for those who are currently in a position and need to know the way to accomplish a particular job; and

• Allowing others outside the department to learn about the position in order to be proactive and prepared for possible advancement opportunities internally.

For learning institutions that provide continuing education, the learning management system can provide many functions that will help administer all aspects of the training courses.  An LMS can:

• Administer the course calendar;

• Track registrations, changes and drops;

• Conduct the online training work;

• Gather assignments, administer tests or homework; and

• Report grades

A learning management system is a highly valuable system that will help administer all aspects of coursework for organizational training.  It can be used within a company for internal training as well as in learning institutions specializing in outside training courses.  It is especially useful as an easy way to facilitate necessary changes within the training materials.  Training processes will change occasionally due to advancements in technology or because of altered policies.  It is important that training coursework also be updated as needed in order to remain current.  A learning management system can administer such changes quickly and easily for maximum efficiency.

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January 10th, 2010 by Learning Systems

Advances in online training have led to a revolution in the learning space by providing learners with skills they need to have to succeed in their job. For a successful business, e-learning needs to focus on learning for adults and with primary focus related to their job. This simply means, leveraging technology, training needs to be delivered to ensure they have necessary knowledge to be productive and have a constructive impact for their employers.

How would online training guarantee this learning transformation? Most training delivered in class is made for the organization or to achieve business goals. This might not be the solution since training should be designed for learners and help each learner achieve a superior performance. E learning makes this possible by moving away from a ‘one course suits all’ approach to an individual training method.

For any organization that has a large geographic spread, online training of employees can ensure consistent learning. A well designed e-learning provides learners with up to date knowledge using practical scenarios. Most e-learning helps organizations, both small and large reduce training costs tremendously.

For instance, if you have are a product based company, that has regular updates to a product or have a global product launch, you will need to ensure your employees are knowledgeable about the product. In most cases, you will need to send trainers to each region to train the staff or even have regular trainings scheduled to ensure that the information provided to customers is accurate. With such requirements, online training ensures uniformity in training delivery within a fast paced environment.

It reduces travel costs and provides your staff with the flexibility of taking courses to their convenience. Deploying courses online is easy and can be done quickly which allows employees to get up to speed as early as possible. With online training gaining popularity, it is not a huge expense on the budget but can be built rapidly and cost-effective. Some of the training designed includes audio, video and other audio-visual enhancements that can keep the learners engaged.

Some online training for business includes simulations that help learners to understand the product without actually risking a live environment. Tailor made courses are not high-priced and can be built in-house with the right tools. In fact, there are e-learning service providers that identify training gaps, design a training strategy and recommend solutions that can suit your budget.

Usually, online training is a one time expense, you can always choose from customized solutions to ensure the training is focused to the business in entirety or you can pick off the shelf courseware that can be aligned with your business requirements. Corporate training and e-learning are quite sophisticated and have drifted away from usual page turners. The training designed is more oriented to meet higher learner retention and improve employee productivity.

Online training is available for most industries and can be used to train unskilled laborers to prepare them for management. E-learning has had a positive impact on business that have implemented it has a training solution.