E-learning continues to grow at a tremendous rate. Brandon Hall, editor of e-learning magazine predicts that by the year 2003, half of all training may be online. E-learning companies are springing up everywhere. It seems as though you can’t pick up a business or training magazine without seeing articles about the benefits or the problems that are a result of e-learning. The field is growing at an amazing rate and its standards have yet to be developed or even agreed upon. So how in the world does a training department go about implementing an e-learning program in an organization? One way is to develop a strategy for creating e-learning courses that can serve as a guide or road map as you are working your way through the chaos.

To create your e-learning strategy, you need to:

• Link e-learning goals with business goals
• Ensure support from top management
• Work with your IT Department to develop an understanding of your baseline technologies
• Work with your IT Department to establish standards for working together
• Create a plan to help your training department handle the change
• Determine e-learning specifications
• Determine how you will measure the results
• Prepare a rollout plan

LINK E-LEARNING GOALS WITH BUSINESS GOALS

Training efforts are frequently questioned—do they add value to the organization or are they simply a cost? These questions have resulted in a shift from training for training’s sake to training for performance. Training professionals who want to be seen as providing value to an organization must create programs that are tied
to business problems and opportunities, and these links must be understood and supported by management.

By linking the e-learning strategy to business strategy, you strengthen the training department’s position in the organization and the perception of the value of the training that is provided. It is essential to link e-learning goals to business goals to ensure the ultimate success of the entire e-learning program.