Media Coverage ROI of E-Learning Closing In "Ara Ohanian, CEO of Vuepoint, agrees that improving proficiency and the learning curve are key ROI benefits of e-learning that companies shouldn't discount. Although such benefits may appear soft to a training director, they most definitely are not regarded as such by the executive in charge of any P&L area, he says. . . . . . Another soft but critical ROI component involves speed. Not only is time-to-market crucial for most sales organizations, but in this era of frequent product changes, relaunches and complex product mixes, the rapid transfer of knowledge to the sales channel is extremely vital. The Hartford Company asked Vuepoint if it could help shorten the six-month period needed to fully train its sales channel about new products. With adoption of the Vuepoint platform, that time was reduced to two weeks. "Speed-to-knowledge may be a soft measurement, but the impact is greater than any travel reduction would ever be," said Ohanian." Search for the article at http://www.store.astd.org/ for ASTD members only (requires login and password).  Internet World E-Learning Makes the Grade "The key long-term benefit of the Vuepoint system will be to speed up the process of launching new products. By the first quarter of 2003, the company will start using the system to distribute sales materials and product specifications to its global sales force, a process that could substantially improve the efficiency of its sales training program, said Matt DeFeo of Black & Decker." http://www.internetworld.com/magazine .php?inc=090102/09.01.02feature1.asp Communication News Conferencing: boardrooms to classrooms: the laptop-and-lunchbox generation learns that knowledge is the future's new commodity "Take the case of Toyota when a new vehicle is being introduced. Regional dealers, mechanics, technicians and sales staff need information on features, servicing and technical specifications. Each of those areas can start building a knowledge module, or learning object, around the product, spending a certain amount to do it. By looking at knowledge assets in a global way, 80% of the entire knowledge requirement around a particular product launch is usually the same; 20% may be local, based on region or based on vertical. In dollars and cents, that translates to potentially big savings. Ohanian points out that such a system could be universal to the product launch in all offices or regions, so that the cost of the launch in each region would cover the majority of knowledge and training needed for all regions. Then, 20% of that cost would apply to expenses tailored for the local areas. Go to http://www.comnews.com/ and search under the article title." e-learning Magazine Is E-learning Floundering? Identifying shortcomings and preparing for success. [In an e-learning course developed using androgogical principles] "users are empowered to choose what to do next... Companies such as Vuepoint ... provide the facilities for these types of activities..." Read the entire article Training & Development News you can use; University of Maryland's consulting program "Second-year students in Maryland's MBA program spent a semester consulting for Black and Decker, trading 600 hours of work for course credit. (Black and Decker also covered administrative costs.) The students' mission: to evaluate and select an e-learning solution for the company. The team analyzed the market and created a scorecard to rate the strengths and weaknesses of each solution. That enabled them to rank the various options. They narrowed a long list of providers down to 12, saving Black and Decker the time of meeting with company after company. In the end, Black and Decker chose Vuepoint, which offers an LCMS, an LMS, and collaboration technology." ePharmaceuticals GSK unit cuts rep training costs with e-learning software "GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare says it has significantly reduced sales training costs using software firm Vuepoint's online platform. For nearly 3 years, GSK Consumer has used Vuepoint Learning System (VLS) software to educate reps about company brands, and for sales purposes. Vuepoint spokeswoman Suzanne Cragon told ePharmaceuticals GSK has also used the platform to teach reps e-commerce retailing and sales techniques. Cragon says VLS has cut offline training seminar organization and running time to about 2 months from 8. She says GSK estimates a 5.3% return on investment based on the time savings. GSK Consumer Healthcare develops and markets over-the-counter medicines and nutritional healthcare throughout the United States." http://www.aboutepharm.com/ aboutepharm2.asp for subscribers only.
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Sales & Marketing Magazine Express Train Looking to save time and money on sales training? This step-by-step guide to online learning shows how managers can quickly boost salespeople痴 productivity. "The first thing to do is forget that it's education," says Ara Ohanian, CEO of Vuepoint, and e-learning application provider in Roslyn Heights, New York. "Instead, ask, 'What is the business problem I'm trying to solve? What is the best solution that would address that?'" This article also touches on the 5 reasons your sales force should adopt E-learning now including improved quality, cost savings, budget cutting, travel woes and tech savvy reps. Download the .pdf | Need the Acrobat reader? CFO Magazine Web Learning Still a Class Struggle E-learning technology may be poised to go mainstream. Ara Ohanian, founder, CEO, and president of Vuepoint, says companies need to understand that E-learning is not simply an HR tool to bring employees up to speed, but a means to boost revenue by creating a smarter sales force. "Companies spend up to 10 times as much to support new products and services as they do to support traditional training," he says. "E-learning can play a huge role in new product rollouts. If you can use sophisticated Web content to quickly get thousands of salespeople well versed on how to position your products against a competitor's, the impact is tremendous." Read the entire article InformationWeek E-Learning Struggles To Make The Grade Users say online training isn't living up to its potential. Rick Taniguchi, the E-learning associate dean at Toyota's training division, University of Toyota, says it took a year plus a 200-page study of the proposed E-learning investment and the Vuepoint system itself to determine that Vuepoint best met Toyota's needs. Such a time-consuming examination is critical when selecting E-learning tools in a fragmented market in which most vendors offer only one or two elements of a complete E-learning system. Read the entire article Smart Business New Tricks You don't need more employees, just smarter ones. E-learning really works預nd it pays for itself. It would be easier to teach a goat to sing Oklahoma! than to teach middle managers a new software program. It would also be cheaper. It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it. And whether you know it or not, the Web is the best classroom going. Just ask Dawn Potter, training director at Safety-Kleen. Faced with teaching a new software package to 100 employees scattered across 34 locations, e-learning was the only alternative that wouldn't torpedo her budget. The software promised to transform how the billion-dollar hazardous-waste management company handled over 4,000 pickups and deliveries by truck and rail per month. Information Week E-Learning Offers Employee Performance Boost While many companies adopt E-learning programs because of their rapid ROI--E-learning implementations provide immediate savings by eliminating hefty travel costs and instructor fees--the technology can also be a boon to employee performance. The results can be quantifiable. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A Inc. works with more than 88,000 people in 8,000 Toyota and Lexus dealerships. "It costs our dealers money to send employees out the door for training, but they also face lost productivity in terms of selling and fixing cars when they aren't there," says Rick Taniguchi, associate dean of E-learning at the University of Toyota, the training division of the Torrence, Calif., subsidiary of Toyota Motor. Shifting E-learning development in-house and streamlining training into one system will save the company an estimated $5.7 million over a five-year period, but the soft savings are greater: Taniguchi expects an additional $6.2 million in savings from improved worker productivity. http://www.informationweek.com/ story/IWK20020411S0011 |