Statistics show that businesses lose $13.5M per year per 1000 employees on ineffective or unnecessary training. There is obviously a lot at stake when it comes to making the right decision for your eLearning needs.

So what’s the problem?

Organizations are implementing eLearning on a reactionary basis without understanding the impact, 
effectiveness, or how all the pieces fit together. Many people within an organization are creating content (best practices, job tasks, HR, sales and marketing information, etc) separately. Different departments are creating curriculum for internal employee needs, and for external clients.  All of this is happening simultaneously, irrespective of what is happening in other departments.

The outcome is development of redundant content, multiple repositories, varying delivery platforms, and an overall lack of integration; a mess wrought with inefficiencies. The company or organization as a whole ends up not having a consistent path for information; no processes in place to evaluate what already exists, and has different groups rewriting similar materials. There is no single designated place to analyze the learners’ (and managers’) success across the organization; in short, there is no eLearning strategy or company plan.

Many organizations do not have a liaison that can work between all departments. For best success, a resource is needed who understands the technical needs, is able to convey that information to IT, helps each department create courses within the same best practices AND manages the eLearning pedagogy requirements for successful course delivery.  

1. The first step is to analyze the eLearning needs of the business as a whole. What does each department or group need to measure learning success?  For best results, analyze the needs of each group, research what will fit the total needs of all groups, but still allow for growth.  
2. Along with this, make sure IT can support the infrastructure and the user level support needs.
3. Once you have determined what system/platform will fit the needs, review it again and make sure no strategic components were overlooked.  
4. Finally, you need to put the processes and procedures (curriculum development guidelines, course templates, assessment requirements, retention strategies, naming conventions, repository and folder structures, learner engagement and incentives) in place across all departments/groups to be able to create curriculum and courses successfully.
5. You will also need to develop a method to properly assess and analyze the department’s’ learning success on an equal playing field.

This will give your organization a systematic way to create and analyze the goals of your eLearning programs, promote success, and allow your organization to pinpoint the effectiveness of its eLearning measures. For greatest success, rather than reactionary eLearning that is ineffective, businesses should implement a strategic eLearning company plan, like the above,based on analysis and facts that receives input from all departments.