U-Blog 4

"The Changing Face of Corporate Training"

Corporate trainers are finding themselves under increasing pressure to minimise the time employees spend undergoing training "off the job", resulting in a decline in formal classroom training and a greater emphasis on e-learning. "Corporate training always evolves and adapts, and right now the challenge is to justify what we do in terms of quantifiable outcomes and contribution to the bottom line," said Novations Senior Vice President Rebecca Hefter. "Companies want training that's relevant and with exercises that closely simulate the way work is conducted on the job. Case studies where teams solve real work problems are very popular."

I think that e-learning is a really good idea. A common complaint is that training participants feel that they can not focus on the training because of distractions such as the phone ringing, other people interrupting with questions or concerns, or simply no one there to cover while they are in a training session. Companies want to extend the learning experience beyond the classroom, using learning logs, job aids, action plans and even printed reminders to make learning online more interesting.