Managing Change in the Organization with e-Learning

By Lisandra Chávez
Marketing Coordinator

How can training be effective if no trainer is available, no fellow students attend, and it can take just a few hours? This is a typical question from employees who for years have attended instructor-led courses and now are faced with e-Learning (virtual training through the use of computers) who, sometimes, are scared by technology.

In some cases, it may have become comfortable and even pleasant to take a one- or two-day training course (maybe off-premises, meals included.) So, …why change? We like the instructor, we acquire new information, and we have a chance to share experiences. In this context, e-Learning is perceived as something imposed by management, a project that, instead of helping, becomes bothersome and unsatisfactory to employees.

In case these or other reactions are not handled properly, e-Learning users could become the main hindrance to success in this kind of project. Therefore, the first thing to be learned when first embracing e-Learning is that it means a culture change in the organization and it can encounter resistance. There are ways, however, to manage this change and turn resistance into an acceptance/adoption process for this new training style.

“When e-Learning is used to attain the firm’s goals and there is a clear way to do so, executives, managers, and employees alike have a higher incentive to support the e-Learning initiative and take the courses” (Hawthorne Associates White Paper, page 2.) As this quotation states, your employees require motivation to try something new. In this regard, all experts on the subject agree: internal marketing of the strategy and use of all possible tools are required to encourage people to adopt the new training culture.

What can I do to bring my personnel to the e-Learning culture?

There is no single answer or method for you to facilitate the adoption of e-Learning. Just guidelines and practical advice for you to encourage your employees to use the new technology. For instance, Christine Sullivan from Hawthorne Associates provides some interesting concepts in her article “Getting the Organization to Adopt e-Learning.”

“Once the company moves to a different training style, both managers and employees are ready to change. First of all, every communication must be addressed to two different audiences, managers and employees. You must address each group in its own language and make both understand what the benefits of e-Learning to each of them are. Never assume everybody fears and resists change. More often than not, change is positive rather than negative…”

According to Sullivan, specific action to be taken includes:

  First of all, involve management::
Offer managers the best courses for them to try. Introduce top-level executives who believe in the benefits from e-Learning.

  Look for consensus among managers: 
Itemize e-Learning training objectives on which all managers agree. Make sure they all understand why e-Learning will be used and what the benefits are.

  Develop a team to support the change in the firm’s training style:
Include representatives from different management units and employees from every level involved to help bring positive impact. Carry out pilot tests with this group and make all adjustments needed.

  Market training within the organization:
Carry out an internal marketing campaign to promote e-Learning training. Since communication is critical, make your best effort to involve the support team in this endeavor. Communication can include, among others, memos, newsletters, communiqués, e-mail messages, posters, board signs, “cafés”, inauguration events, videos, and lectures.

  PReward success :
Celebrate with your employees the achievements resulting from training. Give rewards, bonuses, and even parties.

  Demonstrate that e-Learning works:
Especially if LMS exist, show the tracking of training results.

  Publicly show the technology:
Demonstrate the technology in public and allow people to access the courses. Also, you can advance the initiative through the use of promotional materials such as T-shirts, pens, and so on.

  Develop an environment facilitating e-Learning:
In case there is no training room, look for a site where training can take place using computers. Should this be impossible, find a way for the employee to train him/herself undisturbed at his/her workstation.

  Allow interaction between students:
Since students will miss interaction in the instructor-led training model, look for ways to attain electronic interaction (fora, chats, and so on.) Interaction of this type is facilitated by products such as Learning Management Systems (LMS.)

  Carry out a return-on-investment (ROI) study:
The author recommends setting ROI-assessment criteria early in the training process to prove the investment on e-Learning yields solid returns.

We must highlight that internal marketing for the e-Learning project is key in this process. Effective communication is an essential element that must continue even in the presence of a high degree of training. There is a need to promote e-Learning within the organization, just as a product is promoted in the market, in order to make adoption easier and more attractive.