22 April 2019

---

The title may seem funny to some, but we have been doing market research. (Note: it is not scientific in any way, other than we have a list of questions.) Every company, who has spoken with us, offers training to their employees. We spent approximately 10 to 15 minutes speaking to individuals within companies after assuring them that it was NOT a sales attempt. 

Our participants were from companies who employed 5 to more than 1000 people. The training consisted of simple on-the-job training with a mentor or was directed by a corporate office or vendor (COTS) training. Topics included on-boarding, health, safety, federal/state regulations, etc. All modalities were used from instructor-led to webinars with some companies using LMS and other tracking with spreadsheets. From our conversations, we were able to conclude that most companies do offer training to employees. However, these L&D programs do have areas for growth and improvement which were identified from our questions.

Established L&D Program – Why Learning Analytics?

If you have an established Learning and Development program that seems to be getting results, why would you need learning analytics? Good question. Here are some items that came up in our market research that should be considered.

• Training 
  • The courses you currently offer only provide minimal skill training for employees. For example: A forklift driver receives the minimal training to remain certified.
  • The courses do not allow employees the ability to cross train to other skill sets.  
  • The courses do not afford employees the ability to advance their skills in their current roles.
• Training Modalities
  • Some courses must be instructor-led. With increasing technology availability and advances, training could be offered using gamification, augmented reality, virtual reality, webinars, mobile and online modalities. 
• Training Tracking
  • L&D teams (or individuals) are required to track training completion. While the current spreadsheet or LMS may work, a new system may be desirable or cost effective.
• Overall Training Effectiveness
  • Some courses are required and mandated by regulations. Others have been in your companies system since start-up with little to no change. 
  • Are these courses effective? Do the courses meet the employee and company needs? Are employees following the procedures set in the training?

QAA’s learning analytics process assists with the identified items as described in the following table.

Learning Analytics – What’s the Cost?

QAA takes pride in working with our clients to provide a quality, premium, cost-effective service that is customized for each company. Our clients have different needs based on employee training levels and organization size. Therefore, our cost is determined by the estimated number of hours required to complete the training analytics process. As an additional incentive, we provide discounts to ensure we offer the most cost effective service. To learn more about the cost of Learner Analytics, view our video, ‘Think a Learner Analytics Solution Is Expensive‘.

Final Thoughts

We would like to thank the individuals and organizations who spent time answering our market research questions. Your answers were invaluable to our process.

You may watch our demo or read our whitepaper. To learn more, contact us.