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Growing and Sustaining

Your Human Capital: Increasing Revenue through Blended Learning

ChartLearningSolutions.com When Learning Results Matter

https://www.chartlearningsolutions.com/




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Achieve off-the-chart sales results while radically reducing training costs

with a Performance Assurance System that solves the problem of

underperforming sales people.

Blended learning, the integration of personal and digital

based training, offers companies an innovative and

economical means for reaching and sustaining the

training needs of the modern workforce. In addition to

being more cost effective, it is also proving to be more

learning effective than traditional, trainer-directed,

classroom training. The global transformation to blended

learning is supported by a convergence of an emerging,

tech-savvy workforce and advancements in high-tech

training tools.

In the U.S. studies on blended learning for both

education and business are proliferating and often

dovetail. Based on the research, current estimates are

that by 2019 more than 50% of students from pre-school

through post-secondary will have had significant

exposure to blended learning.1 This is the workforce of

the immediate future. Already the vanguard of that

generation is in the workplace, showing a distinct

inclination to learn better and faster with hands on

technology.

A Stanford University study dramatically revealed the

importance of matching training methodology with

learner culture. Once faced with inordinate numbers of

its top students failing to complete their programs,

Stanford conducted a reassessment, which led to this

conclusion:

Any company

has to recognize

that not only is the

human capital of

their employees a

major asset, it is

also a depreciating

asset that needs

continuing

investment.

Gary Becker, Nobel Laureate

and professor of economics and

sociology at the University of

Chicago

“

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The

Challenge

They diagnosed the issue as a mismatch between

the student’s desired learning style – interactive,

social, mentored learning – with the program’s

delivery format. The introduction of live eLearning

into their program to address these needs raised

student completion rates to 94%. The

improvement was attributed to the ability of a

scheduled live event to motivate learners to

complete self-paced materials on time, the

availability of interaction with instructors and

peers, and higher quality mentoring experiences.

The Stanford research strongly suggests that

linking self-paced material to live eLearning

delivery could have a profound effect on overall

usage and completion rates – enabling

organizations to radically increase the return on

their existing investments in self-paced content. 2

In 2010, in the most extensive report yet conducted on the

effectiveness of different learning methodologies, the US

Department of Education found that “of the three

modalities (face-to-face, fully online, and blended

learning), blended learning had the highest learning

outcomes.”3 According to a Brandon-Hall study “eLearning

typically requires from 40% to 60% less employee time

than the same material delivered in a traditional classroom

setting.” 4 This translates directly into higher levels of

employee professionalism, competence, retention, and

ROI.

Learning is evolving

into social groups or

communities.

“ “




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Why getting the training right is so important for increasing

revenue is simple. Having untrained or poorly trained

people is a waste of a company’s huge investment in

human capital. According to Louis Harris and Associates

research, poor training led 41 percent of employees to

make plans to leave their current employers within a year.

On the other hand, only 12 percent of those who graded

their employers’ training programs to be “excellent”

planned to leave.5 The expense of replacing and retraining

those employees is one of the hidden costs of an

inadequate training program. Or as Zig Ziglar succinctly

put it: “What’s worse than training your people and losing

them? Not training them and keeping them.”

Where there are hidden costs to not properly training

people, there are also hidden returns on investment at

doing it right. Evidence shows that employee morale and

job confidence go up with good training. Also, a well-

trained workforce provides a reliable pool of

“homegrown” talent for filling new openings. It becomes a

big win-win for both employer and employee: “Research

examining 16 major brands, including Pizza Hut,

American Airlines and Bell South, found that online

training techniques resulted in “significant improvements

in learners’ motivation, ability to retain what they learn

and actual performance on the job.”6

Break your frames

about what works.

“ “

1




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Higher job performance translates to repeat customers,

which contributes directly to the bottom line. Historically

however, calculating a straightforward ROI when it comes

to training has sometimes been problematical due to a

number of factors:

Business objectives are not clearly articulated to

those responsible for training

There isn’t a clear enough ownership over most

training initiatives

Trying to isolate the effects of training on business

performance takes far too much time and too

many resources to do effectively and credibly

Compiling the necessary data is too difficult

Yet there are some spectacular examples of ROI from

good training programs. Chief among them is The

Cheesecake Factory, the highly successful food chain. The

Cheesecake Factory invests $2000 in training per hourly

employee. Not only has that investment allowed The

Cheesecake Factory to have one of the highest employee

retention rates in its industry, but Workforce Management

reported that “… employees who received less than five

days of training generated median revenue of $137,931,

while employees with more than five days of training

brought in nearly 80 percent more revenue ($210,380).” 7

The learning

experience can be

designed into a

powerful

consolidating

educational

experience.

“ “




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With such stunning results The Cheesecake Factory is

becoming a leader in training today’s workers, and going

into training areas few employers have dared go in the

past, as per this report:

There are three distinct training categories—kitchen,

front desk and general management. The company

uses a variety of educational tools, including coaching,

interactive games, role-playing and on-the-job training.

Every employee, from executives to dishwashers,

benefits from the generous training initiatives. The

company recently adopted an interactive training

program, designed by LeapFrog, to help dishwashers

master English as a second language. The learning tool,

which costs about $325 per employee, is being tested

with 15 dishwashers in California. The Cheesecake

Factory employs 2,000 dishwashers.8

Blended learning is an umbrella term for the six blended

learning models most commonly recognized by the

training industry. Choosing the best blended learning

approach for an organization requires some in-house

analysis. There is a myriad of factors that can impact the

choice. These include the scope of the training, the

complexity of the material, “time to competence,” number

of employees to be trained, and budget. Creating an

effective program designed to maximize ROI on human

capital investment is based on three fundamentals:

1. Defining explicitly the goals of the training

2. Choosing the correct blended learning

approach

3. Securing and maintaining relevance of the

training

Know your students. “ “ 2




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Table 1 presents thumbnail breakdowns of each of the six

methods for conducting the necessary in-house analysis.

Table1. Archetypes of Blended Learning Approaches

Employee

Empowerment Delivery When to Use

Light

Blend

Low

Prescribed

dates for

training

Classroom

setting

Face-to-face

session

Prescriptive

use of online

material to

reinforce

lessons or

allow

remedial

opportunities

for workers

Organizations

either lack

the resources

or the desire

to fully

embrace

blended

learning

Traditional

material can

be utilized for

a cost saving

Face-to-face

learner

interaction is

important

High

investment

costs in

software and

hardware

infrastructure

Trainers need

to evaluate

progress

firsthand

Follow the process

that we all know but

forget.

“ “ 3




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Employee

Empowerment

Delivery When to Use

Rotation

Blend

High

Self-paced;

the Learner

defines the

training

period

On-line with

remote access

Sessions with

trainer (from a

pool) when

needed

Workers are primarily

responsible for their own

success

Managers should focus on

employee evaluation

Organizations need to

customize material (e.g. basic

concepts, policies and

procedures) in order to secure

consistency and intent

Trainer bias and weakness

could have an impact on the

results of the training or

Learner evaluation

Flex Blend High Primarily on-line

Trainer

interaction is

optional; usually

one-to-one

tutoring or small

group

discussions

Certification of competency is

important

Maximum flexibility is required

Organizations or individuals are

not fully comfortable with a

total self-paced approach

Learners need customized

instruction or when trainers

can enhance the learning

The subject matter is very

difficult

The subject matter requires

trial and error to secure

understanding

Learners benefit from

immediate feedback

Deep Blend Low All learning is on-

line

Trainer

interaction is

virtual

Practice is

optional

Policies or procedures need to

be disseminated and

implemented quickly

Speed and efficiencies are

paramount

Need for variation is low

Basic and consistent content

Need to monitor progress and

Learner’s feedback is important

Self-Blend High

According to

a pre-

arranged

timetable

Employees

chooses from a

set of approved

online courses

Delivery from a

third-party

“Time to competency” is crucial

Third-party solutions are better

than in-house offerings

Organizations do not have the

resources or desire to provide

training in-house, but able

monitor outside resources

Rotation

Blend




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Employee

Empowerment

Delivery When to Use

Results

Accountability

Blend

High

Self-paced;

the Learner

defines the

training

period

All learning is on-

line

The worker takes

lessons, takes

tests, and self-

evaluates the

results

Unsatisfactory

results require

the worker to

repeat until

mastery of the

material is

achieved

Managers act as

coaches

Emphasis is on accountability

Personal mastery is important

Transparency and objectivity

are important in Learner

evaluation

An organization’s strategic

intent is that managers should

act more as coach than

supervisor

Evaluation of Learner’s

competencies is based on

employee generated data

instead of subjective

observations

Choosing a specific approach depends on a wide number of circumstances. For example, if an

organization needs to quickly disseminate information on new policies or procedures, a “Deep

Blend” approach might be best. On the other hand, an “Accountability Blend” would work

better if the goal of the training is to secure, engage and motivate talents with leadership

potential, resulting in:

Enough knowledge and insight to allow the talent to decide if they should aspire to

become a first line manager

Self-awareness about the talent’s personal profile compared to needed

competencies and behaviors to be a first line manager

Basis for future career planning and dialogue between the talent and manager

Senior management universally likes to claim that people are its company’s greatest asset.

The advent of blended learning gives senior management the opportunity to give more than

lip service to that sentiment. And with an effective choice of methodology to support the

investment, it gives senior management a golden opportunity to actually grow their most

valuable asset—their employees, and to build their bottom line.

Accountability

Blend




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Sources

1. “The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning” by Michael B. Horn

and Heather Staker

http://www.christenseninstitute.org/wp-

content/uploads/2013/04/The-rise-of-K-12-blended-

learning.pdf )

2. “A White Paper: Achieving Success with Blended

Learning “ by Harvi Singh and Chris Reed, Centra Software

http://www.leerbeleving.nl/wbts/wbt2014/blend-ce.pdf

3. “A critical reflection of the current research in online and

blended learning.” by

Anthony Picciano

http://www.lline.fi/en/article/research/442014/a-critical-

reflection-of-the-current-research-in-online-and-blended-

learning

4. “15 Facts and Stats That Reveal The Power Of eLearning”

by Karla Guttierrez, SHIFT's eLearning Blog

http://info.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/301248/15-Facts-

and-Stats-That-Reveal-The-Power-Of-eLearning

5. “Return on Investment for Customized Training” Charles

Ecker Business Training Center

http://coned.howardcc.edu/business_and_workforce_devel

opment/customized_training/ROI_for_customized_training.

html

6. “Facts, Figures and Forces Behind e-Learning,”

learnframe. http://www.learnframe.com/aboutelearning/

elearningfacts.pdf

7. “Cheesecake Factory Cooks Up a Rigorous Employee

Training Program” by Gina Ruiz

http://www.workforce.com/articles/cheesecake-factory-

cooks-up-a-rigorous-employee-training-program

8. Ibid.


http://www.leerbeleving.nl/wbts/wbt2014/blend-ce.pdf

http://www.lline.fi/en/article/research/442014/a-critical-reflection-of-the-current-research-in-online-and-blended-learning



http://info.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/301248/15-Facts-and-Stats-That-Reveal-The-Power-Of-eLearning



http://coned.howardcc.edu/business_and_workforce_development/customized_training/ROI_for_customized_training.html



http://www.workforce.com/authors/465-gina-ruiz/articles

http://www.workforce.com/articles/cheesecake-factory-cooks-up-a-rigorous-employee-training-program

http://www.workforce.com/articles/cheesecake-factory-cooks-up-a-rigorous-employee-training-program



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Contributing Authors

Dan Riley:

Chart Learning Solutions

Lorna Riley, CEO

Chart Learning Solutions Inc.

United States

Organizations pay

for training whether

they invest in it or not

…

Lorna Riley

“

“


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Growing and Sustaining Chart Learning Solutions White ... · Chart Learning Solutions 888-530-7983 +46 709 245 666 ... setting.” 4 This translates directly into higher levels of