By Gordon Bull
Rapid e-learning has a critical part to play in any organisation’s new product and service development. In today’s rapidly changing marketplace, companies are continually launching new products and services and also relaunching and modifying their existing offerings to ensure that they stay ahead of the competition.
When you actually stop and look at the pace of change, you might just be surprised. In the mobile telecommunications industry, it is not unusual to have a new product or service launching, on average, every 10 days. My experience in financial services highlighted multiple daily changes, ranging from a simple alteration in interest rates to a completely new service launch. Trying to train staff in a traditional manner just will not enable the organisation to keep pace. This is where e-learning and performance support systems come into their own, but their success depends on the learning and development (L&D) team being able to keep up with product development teams.
The product development process
Unless the L&D team is integrated into the product development process, they run the risk of always playing catch-up and having a negative impact on the success of the new product or service. For example, on many occasions I have seen call centre staff who are unprepared and only become aware of a new product when a customer calls in for support! Typically, new product and service launches are managed by a project manager who, as a good project manager, sticks to the product development process and budgets. So unless the training requirement is part of the new product development cycle, the L&D team will have to continue to play catch-up and rely on the discretionary goodwill of the project team. The key is to ensure that training requirements are built into the project planning process from the start. This gives the L&D team the foundations necessary to access the appropriate subject matter experts, budgets and other resources and to be an integral part of the product launch team.
The training requirement needs to be part of the new product development cycle
Experience also tells us that new product and service offerings continually change throughout the development cycle and that these changes often happen right up to the day of launch. Trying to keep up and develop training resources when operating in a traditional procurement mode is impossible. Such situations demand rapid development, collaboration, an integrated workflow, strong project management and streamlined e-learning publishing.
Extending beyond the organisation
New product launches also provide the opportunity for the L&D team to extend training beyond just the organisation’s own staff. Channel partners also need training and there is even the opportunity to train customers themselves. There are many examples, such as CISCO’s highly effective channel partner training programmes, where training is a key contributor to the readiness of all those involved in selling to and supporting customers.
A new product or service launching every 10 days.
Where you have multiple users of training materials you can adopt a modular format. Different modules can then be served up to different learners according to their role profile. A good LMS will enable you to manage this process and to improve efficiency through a design-once, use-many-times approach. For example, all staff may need the introductory module that focuses on the new product proposition, target market and so on. Sales staff will need the more detailed product benefits and services module, while post-sales support staff would gain greater benefit from a module on support and maintenance issues. Such an approach provides a comprehensive, consistent, branded learning experience, while efficiently serving up what is most important and relevant to particular job roles and avoiding overloading staff with irrelevant training materials. Modules or ‘nuggets’ of learning are also useful for quick refresher learning opportunities and for integration with knowledge or performance support systems, which automatically serve up the relevant learning resources at the time and point of need.
Being aligned with the new products and services teams can provide the L&D team with the opportunity to make a real difference and, most importantly, to be recognised as an added-value business function.
Gordon Bull
Gordon was Director of Global Learning Management at Vodafone and VP Training at American Express. He now runs Learning Forte, a consultancy supporting companies to align their L&D function with the needs of the business. For more information on Gordon Bull and his company please visit www.learningforte.com