Further Information: The benefits of e-Learning are clear to managers, employees and they can describe them.
To whom do you need to make the benefits clear?
Having identified the benefits and established a compelling need for e-Learning to sit alongside traditional learning, what is the next step?
You need to identify the best people to promote e-Learning and outline the benefits to others. These are generally, those who have already engaged with it or who have seen the positive results of e-Learning. They are therefore convinced of the benefits.
You will have already identified the rewards for e-Learning adopters. The next step is to use both the individuals and the benefits to promote e-Learning.
Having identified the individuals who will speak up for e-Learning, you now need to identify the key people in the organisation that you need to target. The next decision is, who is best placed to deliver the correct message to these key targets. You also need to decide when would be suitable and which method should be used. This will vary greatly from situation to situation.
How do you ensure that others can describe the benefits of e-Learning?
- What message do you want given regarding e-Learning?
- Are you confident that the message they are giving is what you want others to hear?
Don’t just assume that people will say what you want them to say. They might be saying positive things to you but there is just one element of doubt in their mind which can affect the message that they give to others. Is there a 'but'? The e-Learning was good 'but'. You need to address the 'but’ and not just ignore it. The ‘but’ could become bigger than the benefits. Even this is not the intended outcome. You could find that the listener hears the ‘but’ and not the benefits. Think about the last time somebody said a sentence containing the word ‘but’. Do you remember what was said before the ‘but’ or only what was said after it?
How much control do you want over what is said and how the benefits are described? Case studies allow you to have an element of control over the message that is being given. You will have the case study written to your specifications. This will be in a positive manner which will include benefits and quotes from individuals. These could be managers, learners or others who give impact to the story.
Positive news stories in the internal newsletter will again allow you to have control over the message. These are sent to staff in various ways such as with payslips which is a way of ensuring that everybody would receive the message about e-Learning. This would be regardless of whether they have internet access in their daily role.
Some internal newsletters are sent out electronically via email or loaded onto the intranet. The people that are most likely to read these are already using electronic systems so potentially could be receptive to e-Learning. The benefits highlighted therefore need to focus on this aspect.
Ask independent speakers to talk at conferences, meetings and other appropriate events. These might be colleagues who you can brief prior to a meeting. Others may check with you what you would like said because they understand the aim and wish to promote the key messages.
What if the person hasn’t asked what you want said, how are you going to ensure that the message delivered is the one that you want?
What other methods can you use to ensure that the benefits of e-Learning are conveyed to others?
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