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High-Tech Training Logistics
September 24, 2009
By Joanna Posner
The days of driving to a room to get training clearly are becoming a small part of a bigger picture. While still a viable means of learning one's roles and responsibilities, it's not enough to deliver training at a specific time and in a physical location. "We're morphing into an anywhere, anytime learning model," says Erin McCormick, Director of Curriculum Innovations and Technology at Babson College. And nowhere is this more evident than in the high-tech sector.
In a fast-paced, technology-driven culture, employers increasingly are developing the tools and technologies to get their staff up to speed–and to stay on the ball for the long-term–through training that is accessible 24 hours a day. At Logicalis, an international provider of integrated information and communications technology solutions, meeting in the lunchroom to train sales representatives is simply not an option. With 30 offices in the U.S. and 50 offices globally, Logicalis uses an internal portal sales representatives in training can access to download everything from white papers to podcasts.
On-Demand Training
"We've tried to put together a set of tools the reps can use so they have everything they need around every single solution area at their fingertips," says Lisa Dreher, vice president of marketing and business development at Logicalis. "It allows our newer reps or reps who are trying to get into new accounts a way to get proficient in a solution area, but doing it on their own time and on demand."
Whether it's a live presentation an employee couldn't attend or a Web seminar on the latest products, employees can go online and tap into training whenever it's convenient for them. In fact, Dreher says many reps will download the rich media onto their video iPods and take it to the gym–getting a workout in while training on the fly.
Callidus Software, a provider of software for sales performance management, takes online connectivity to the next level, embracing a social media platform for training its staff. Not to be confused with the mainstream social media networks such as Facebook or LinkedIn, Callidus created its own internal community known as OpenCommissions. What started as a platform for its customers to communicate and share best practices, OpenCommissions ended up having a surprising benefit: It's now an integral part of training.
"We didn't realize that was going to happen when we set it up, but it's been a great side benefit," says Steve Apfelberg, senior vice president of marketing and business development for Callidus Software. "We have 400 employees as a company and 250 of those employees are never in one of our major offices, they're out in the field with customers." From day one, OpenCommissions has been the online medium employees connect to for learning the processes and procedures pertinent to their jobs. From wikis and blogs to marketing activity and chat groups, it's the one-stop shop for anything Callidus related.
Babson's McCormick points out that wikis have become great knowledge management tools. Gone are the days of compiling all the information related to a product into three-ring binders. Instead, training programs or any other work-related project can be developed and cultivated using wikis. "You can just search a word and find all the bits and pieces of a project or product without having to flip through old pages," says McCormick. "And at any time, people can add to the topic, reference other useful sites, and start discussions. Then it becomes the power of the crowd, where together, we're able to produce content that's more substantial than one person alone."
What makes these interactive platforms so important to training in high-tech is the element of ongoing learning, especially for those who are not based close to the headquarters. Apfelberg explains, "People in San Jose [Callidus headquarters] are up to speed with new products coming out, but when you're locked in with a customer out in the field, you just can't keep up, even if you're one of our top experts. So OpenCommissions is a great forum for people to go online and stay in tune with changes in any product release."
A Blended Approach
Herb Blanchard, vice president of sales for The Training Associates (TTA), still believes in the virtues of good ol'-fashioned in-person instruction, otherwise known as instructor-led training (ILT). "Even though people wrote it off years ago, we're seeing an upward trend in ILT," he says. But considering the high-tech industry and the global operations that come with the territory, it's only natural that virtual settings are also the norm. Conducting a class via virtual ILT, or interactive computer-based training, is one training method being used to instruct employees who can't be in a live setting, while Blanchard also cites telepresence as a growing trend in high-tech.
Conducted from state-of-the-art facilities, telepresence has been referred to as the next generation of video conferencing systems. It allows trainers to deliver a presentation remotely, and yet the sensory experience and the full range of human interaction one gets in a live meeting is still there. "Telepresence mostly simulates an ILT setting, where the instructor is presenting live via the technology, but is not physically in the same room as the students. It's a dynamic capability because the students feel the instructor is in front of them and the instructor feels like the students are in front of him," Blanchard explains.
Although McCormick agrees with Blanchard, there is nothing like face-to-face time, she notes that blending the in-person scenario with an online one actually yields the best results. "If you just had a face-to-face program or just an online program, those both have good qualities," McCormick says, "but when you pair them together in a blended program, the learning is stronger, the relationships are stronger, and it's a more successful program."
She adds that "it's wonderful to bring your management team off-site for three or four days, where everybody is together and there is a retreat type atmosphere but whereas before the training had to end after the four days, now with technology, it's all just starting once the retreat is over." For those who want to revisit a particular session or refresh themselves on a subject, the recordings are available online almost immediately. Employees can get their foundation from the initial face-to-face time, but they then can follow up online, communicate, ask questions, and ensure they fully grasp the business and its offerings through online tools.
High-Tech Raises the Training Bar
Whether face to face or via cyberspace, Blanchard, who references high-tech engineering clients as an example, says what matters most is the instructor's level of expertise. "These engineers have doctorate degrees and are very intelligent," Blanchard says, "and what's important to them is that the trainers are not just skilled in 'theory,' but also possess the competencies needed to effectively instruct on high-tech products." In other industries, trainers don't necessarily have to be an expert in the particular niche as long as they know how to deliver the material. In high-tech training, however, an instructor should not only know how to teach the specific technology, but also understand the context of that technology inside and out.
In fact, many training organizations sell the fact that their instructor network has the real-world experience needed to connect with a high-tech audience. When TTA, which specializes in providing expert trainers and trainer consulting, discussed the training needs of its engineering client, the specifications received were clearly defined: If the trainers hadn't been in the engineering industry and weren't on the leading edge of the technology, then the client didn't need them. "It's critical that at some point in their career, technology instructors functioned in a role utilizing the technology and they understand how the students are using the technology," Blanchard adds. "That's our job–to identify the caliber of training our clients need and to locate the specific trainers who match their requirements, making sure they're getting the right deliverables."
Another challenge that rears its head in high-tech is how fast technology is changing on a daily basis. Relative to other industries, Apfelberg says, "the biggest difference I note is the fluidity of high-tech–we move faster, sales strategies change more, and there are always new products on the market. So what you need to do to stay current as your job is constantly changing; thus, there's more of an onus on employee training."
On the flip side, high-tech trainers can experiment with breakthrough technologies like no other trainer can. A high-tech audience doesn't have the fear factor, quickly adopting the best-of-breed tools and technologies that keep them on their toes. And with a bevy of online training capabilities being introduced, trainers can rest assured their audience will jump right in and pilot whatever is thrown in its direction.
Editor's Note: Since the publishing of this article, Callidus Software's OpenCommissions has evolved into an online open community accessible to anyone interested in the sales performance management (SPM) industry. The community provides tools, resources, real-time conversations, etc., that are focused on SPM and available at: www.opencommissions.com.
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