Steven Brewers Insurance Training

The January Issue of Chief Learning Officer Magazine was published a few days ago.  I was honored to be quoted in the article “Five Ways to Leverage Cloud Computing.”  I’m pleased not because they used my name but because the team of Training Professionals I lead has steadily gained more and more national recognition in the training industry as an example of a cutting edge, successful training organization.  Here is the link-  http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/mediatec/clo0110/#/18

I’m pleased that Mzinga choose to use a quote from PHLY in this important press release.  They are clearly a recognized leader in social media.  What I find extremely attractive is their ability to seamlessly integrate this functionality into the learning space.  Continuous improvement is always is always a priority at PHLY Training & Development.  OmniSocial will help enable me to take employee productivity to an even higher level!

I’m delighted that on September 16^th Mzinga choose to highlight Philadelphia Insurance (PHLY) as one of two Client Success Stories at their Annual Client Conference.  This conference is the primary venue each year where dozens of Mzinga clients hear about new products and share ideas.

As many of my readers likely already know, Mzinga is a world class provider of applications in the learning and social networking spaces.  Mzinga could have chosen any number of high profile clients with worldwide name recognition such as ABC, Prudential Financial, or Johnson & Johnson.  However they choose Philadelphia Insurance.

We have had our Mzinga LMS in place for just over two years and it has transformed how we handle Training & Development at PHLY.  It is the cornerstone of our corporate university and has tremendously improved how our users access learning.  Each year we are delivering hundreds of Webinars, hundreds of classroom sessions, and many thousands of e-learning module completions.  In addition, our ability to track and measure training is much improved.

It is an honor to guide the team of seven Training Professionals that develop and deliver the content for the LMS. PHLY has a long history of supporting training and education for its employees.  The combination of a dedicated T&D Team and a solid learning platform enable us to bring world class learning to PHLY employees.

I wish I could say yes but the answer is certainly no.  Identified requirements can affect the process as well as a company’s culture.  Unfortunately time restraints are often also a consideration. 

I recently read a blog entry by Bryan Chapman that helps illustrate this point.  How long does it take to select an LMS?  I’m a fan of Bryans and recommend that any Training/Learning Professional subscribe to his blog.  He’s associated with Brandon Hall long known for quality products.

Bryan’s process could easily be perfect for many companies.  He suggests that it can be done in 2 1/2 months and as long as the wheels don’t fall off the process I agree.  When I speak on this subject, and as a long time PM I’d tell my stakeholders ninety days.  I think how he positions RFP development is excellent.

In June I’m conducting a workshop at the 2009 SITE Annual Conference on this subject.  I’ll present a somewhat different process that like Bryans could be perfect for many companies. 

 One difference is that I’m a big believer in sandboxes as part of the selection process.  I especially like simultaneous sandboxes.  Bryan mentions sandboxes briefly at the end of his Step #5 and not at all in his timeline.  I think sandboxes deserve more prominence in the selection process.  There’s nothing like actually experiencing the application.  Like Bryan’s scripted demos, I think scripted sandboxes are the way to go.  If you can make it happen, getting the stakeholders into the sandboxes is fantastic.  I’ve found that they gain a comfort level with the applications and as a result, add a valuable dimension to the selection process.

 I’d welcome any comments from interested readers

Last year I asked four Training Professionals on my staff to attain the Synchronous Learning Expert (SLE) certification.  This certification is offered by InSync Training (http://www.insynctraining.com). 

This was a major effort.  The three courses (Facilitation, Design, and Capstone) took approximately one year to complete.  The investment in time for both the courses themselves and the associated homework was significant.

Was it worth it?  The change in deliverables was noticed by just about everyone.  The students themselves were pleased with their additional skills.  Management noticed the difference especially in their presentation skills.  Clients noticed the difference particularly in the instructional design.  I noticed the difference overall.

If your staff has a strong focus on synchronous webinars, I highly recommend this certification.  If you would like more info, feel free to contact me.

In 2009 I am going down the road of offering product training courses for CE credit.  I’m a Registered Education Provider in PA but I will be filing courses in many states.  I’ll be supporting my internal marketing staff in addition to selected agents.  I’m interested in hearing from other training departments that are delivering this type of training.   

About a year ago I purchased 4 licenses to application simulation software.  The investment was significant.  As we support many applications, I had high hopes for using simulations as part of a blended learning training design.  As the year progressed and four training team members worked with the software, we identified two issues.

I’m at the point now where I’m thinking of canceling my licenses and giving up on this training tool.  I’d be very interested in other user’s experiences.