Another project board, another project plan, another big 'eLearning size' gap where it should say: 'This is how we are going to roll out the necessary training for all the users in our organisation.'. Yes, I did say ALL the users. No matter how many employees your organisation counts. Let’s take and Oracle Financial Applications roll out for instance. You can see herehow complex it is.

i-Receivables, i-Expenses, i-Procurement, i-Supplier

What do all these modules have in common? If you answered “they are all prefixed with i-“ the alarm buzzer is going off QI style for the obvious answer. The actual answer is that each of the modules requires large numbers of users to be able to access and use the functionality. i-Expenses – requires all employees who enter expense claims to be able to enter them online.i-Receivables- requires all customers who want to see their accounts on line to be able access them allocate receipts and request credit notes.i-Procurement- anyone in the organisation who wants to buy something must be able enter a requisition.i-Supplier- If a supplier wishes to raise a purchase order (PO) or enter an invoice they will have learn to use the portal and turn the POs into invoices.

Can you imagine the logistics of the above training? These users are likely to be in many different locations. Various locations implicate high training cost due to travel. The large number of users creates a need for several classroom based training sessions. Imagine gathering of all your employees in a classroom to enter expense claims or requisitions; even worse all your suppliers to enter POs; even, even worse all your customers having to learn how to manage their accounts!!! Think of how many biscuits and teas and coffees you would get through!!

The solution that is often offered up is “We plan to train the super users so they can cascade the training”.

Well that may be suitable for some training but certainly not all of it!

Lets think about the following: not all Super Users are Super Trainers there is still the logistical nightmare of managing the trainingthe initial training may evolve and materials need to be updatedsuper Users still have day jobsdelegates still have day jobs and cannot afford to be away from their desksdelegates need to be appraisedbusiness processes may change and new training materials need to be developed

THE COST becomes unbearable

So what is the solution?

Well eLearning platform looks like a good bet to me!

Good eLearning technology will provide you with a course development tool. Online content can be developed by professional trainers, tested, signed off and constantly updated.

Delegates can be assessed and retrain if necessary, a LMS (Learning Management System) is ideally suited to this.

No classroom is required and geography becomes a moot point when all you need is a internet connection. (Shame about losing out on the expense account hotels and beers though).

Avoiding all that dead time travelling must be a bonus and the length of time away from the desk should be significantly reduced.

Reassuming: in that hole in the project plan I would be writing eLearning platform , confident that the costs and logistics would not scare anyone and that I would now be able to sleep at night.

Dominic Galano , Project Manager and Functional Lead at iTrain Consulting, Fluent in Repost Manager, AR, AP, GL, PO, CE, FSG.

First published on Stratus Blog