Improved communication rates and bandwidth mean organisations can now provide access to multimedia learning resources for employees using PCs...
Software Source, 25 Jun 1998
Improved communication rates and bandwidth mean organisations can now provide access to multimedia learning resources for employees using PCs.
Thanks to password protection routines, it is possible to provide this access to employees from any machine within or outside the organisation's locations. In some cases, the learning material offered is structured in such a way as to provide an online "corporate university" for employees.
Although developing employee skills will be a priority of the university, it should not be its only function. It should be possible for any individual to look up a subject and participate in learning activities in that area.
This enables employees to find out more about the company they work for - a greater understanding of the business as a whole will enhance anyone's work - but at the same time, the corporate university is a good way for an organisation to demonstrate to its staff that it values them and wants them to develop. By extending access to the university to families of employees this learning resource becomes a strong motivator and recruitment and retention tool for any organisation.
Mix and match
While access may principally be through technology, learning resources should not be purely online. Many corporate universities include links to ordering forms for face-to-face sessions and even into libraries of videos and books. In some cases, external training providers provide courses, for others it is simply a matter of strategic knowledge management - putting a new employee in touch with an expert.
The individual's experience of the corporate university will be unique. An employee can follow a specific personal development programme using the resources provided. or they may strike out on their own, trying out courses through their own personal interest. In some cases organisations may wish to give employees a personal training budget - in the form of vouchers for online use or a ring-fenced cash bonus - which can be spent in whatever learning activity the individual selects.
Case study - just be you
Barclays Bank has created such an online learning resource. The Barclays University (bu) consists of both an online presence and learning spaces at the principal Barclays locations. Investing substantial funds into the enterprise, the bank has created new areas where staff can drop in to surf the internet, take part in technology-based training and attend formal classes and seminars. The technology infrastructure provides links to Barkleys' library of video and print learning materials.
Extending the reach of the scheme, access has been provided to families of staff and there have been dedicated family and children days at some of the locations. Barclays has also formed contacts with external training networks - including learndirect (www.learndirect.co.uk).
These partnerships are mutually beneficial. Barclays gains official recognition for its training programmes and reach the wider community while learndirect benefits from the banks own resources.
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