In This Issue
	What's New E-Learning in Retail: Pep Boys Case Study Training Analytics: How Companies Measure ROI Macromedia - eHelp Acquisition: What Does it Mean? Selecting an LMS? New Service Available

E-Learning in Retail: Pep Boys Case Study

Retailers typically have low training budgets per employee - usually less than 1% of payroll allocated to training. In the case of Pep Boys, the total training budget of $4.3 million represents less than $300 per employee per year. Yet the company's goals require that employees receive a significant amount of training every year. How can Pep Boys deliver all of this training for less than $300 per employee per year? The answer is a carefully designed and well implemented program of high impact/low cost e-learning. Pep Boys has learned that the cost of an untrained employee is 10-100X higher than the cost of providing a high value training program. As a result, the company has developed a complete blended- learning curriculum for sales associates, service technicians and managers. Pep Boys' e-learning has many unique features and capabilities which set the standard for retail training. One of the features of Pep Boy's strategy is providing learning in Spanish, the preferred language of 20% of their retail employees. Through their partner, D-Scape , Pep Boys has been able to develop highly interactive e-learning modules with original custom animated characters and professional actor narration for an average of $36,000 per 30-minute module created in both English and Spanish. Read the details about Pep Boys' e-learning programs... »

Training Analytics: How Companies Measure ROI

In October 2003, Bersin & Associates and LTI Research conducted an online survey of nearly 6,000 Learning & Training Innovation Magazine subscribers to understand how they are currently measuring the effectiveness of their training programs. We found that while companies place high value on measuring business impact (Kirkpatrick Level 4), very few - only one in ten firms - are actually doing so. Among those who are, the top measures are cost savings and impact on product or service quality. Organizations told us they need better processes, methodologies, and measurement tools in order to obtain information on the business impact of training. Learning Management Systems, while often purchased for the purpose of measuring training operations, are falling short of providing the information needed. Spending on tracking and measurement is small today. Most companies spend 1%-3% of their training budgets on measurement. But there is a strong demand for higher spending and resource allocation in this area. Over 70% of firms across all industries routinely measure volume-related information, including learner enrollments, completions, and student hours, and the same number routinely measure learner satisfaction. Many firms track cost reduction, and we specifically highlight the trap of measuring cost reduction. The study's report provides data on what information is currently being tracked by organizations (from Level 1 to 4), which measures are deemed to be most valuable, and the challenges firms are facing in obtaining the measures they need. The study also details organizations' current and planned spending for measurement tools and systems. Click here for a free download of this study... »

Macromedia - eHelp Acquisition: What Does it Mean?

On October 22, Macromedia announced the intent to acquire eHelp Corporation, makers of RoboDemo and RoboHelp. RoboHelp is one of the leading help authoring tools and RoboDemo, originally designed as a tool to develop application demonstrations, is now a leading product for developing e-learning application simulations. This acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of this year, is a major move in the e-learning market. Until recently, Macromedia's primary focus was on the creative web developer. This strategy is shifting. With nearly 30% of its revenue now coming from e-learning, Macromedia sees the e-learning market as a fast- growing and highly strategic secondary market. What does this mean to the e-learning professional? For one, it should be easier and less costly to equip yourself with the tools you need to build e-learning programs by having Macromedia and eHelp tools available from one supplier. No single tool fits all needs. Our research earlier this year (E-Learning DevelopmentTools: What Works) found that the average e-learning developer uses four different tools to build a course - and we expect this to continue. If Macromedia chooses to further integrate eHelp's products into Breeze (a product obtained by Macromedia through its Presedia acquisition earlier this year), we will see the bar raised on "Rapid E-Learning." This acquisition could ignite a powderkeg to dramatically expand the "Rapid E-Learning" market. Read our analysis of the merger... »

Selecting an LMS? New Service Available

Bersin & Associates announces the launch of our new LMS Selection Service. Using our proven 7- Step methodology, we now offer a low cost, complete service offering to help you through this complex process. From drafting your business case to defining your business requirements and conducting vendor demonstrations, we will help you make sure you select the product and vendor right for your needs. You can use us to get you started, or outsource the entire process to us. There are over 70 well-qualified vendors in the LMS marketplace. Sorting through them is costly and time consuming. Our service is designed to do two things: first, shorten the time it takes by leveraging our extensive background in this market; second, reduce your risk. Our research has found that nearly 25% of companies with LMS systems change their system within 4 years. Why is this? Selecting the right LMS is a complex process and many companies select a product and vendor solely on features and function. We use a selection framework that goes way beyond functionality and technology to understand your business process requirements. Our methodology is based on research of more than 40 companies that have successfully selected and implemented learning management systems, as well as our experience in managing LMS selection projects for Fortune 500 companies. If you are a consultant or just getting started, you should purchase our LMS Selection Toolkit to get started. This toolkit will get you started and is fully refundable if you use our selection services. Read about our LMS Selection Service and methodology... »