„4 seasons" - how to successfully deploy e-learning initiative

Introduction
E-learning is no longer a market novelty. Although many organizations do not use advanced learning
schemes, most of them have already at least reviewed the issue. Of course these reviews not always
result in e-learning deployment decisions, as still some organizations either perceive such initiatives
as devoid of benefits for their businesses while others are hesitant to invest in something that has
yet to prove itself effective.
Indeed these concerns are not completely groundless, although they are usually incorrectly
attributed. Organizations make such “logical errors”, because they usually think of e-learning
deployments as of IT systems (e.g. the e-learning platforms) deployments. However the overview of
barriers of entry presented in the IDC and Training Magazine report of 2002 indicates that the source
of the problem is completely different.

The Iceberg Model

Of the three factors impacting e-learning mechanisms the most, presented on the above figure,
which are: (1) people and organization, (2) technology and (3) e-learning content, most refer to a
human factor of some sort.
The perception of e-learning as an IT system deployment, which has been prevailing on the market,
allows us to use the iceberg metaphor. The visible part of the iceberg, that is the one we are aware
of, is the technological part. However a far bigger part, which can sink the whole e-learning
deployment project lurks beneath the water.
It is possible to deploy e-learning without the IT system, even if it may be quite hard to imagine e-
learning deployment without e-learning content. However e-learning deployments do require
appropriate change of people’s attitudes and a change of the organizational culture.

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Polish Market Experience
The experience gained during e-learning implementations in large Polish organizations indicate that,
if correctly designed, such implementations become critical for:
 business performance expressed with quick returns on investment,
 its contribution to shaping desirable employee attitudes (self-sufficiency, responsibility for
personal development),
 its contribution to shaping the organizational culture (that is organizational development where
knowledge, skills and competences are valued more than procedures or strict organizational
structures).
Therefore on one hand, e-learning deployment requires appropriate organizational change, while on
the other hand, it naturally supports these changes.
The most common error made by corporations deploying e-learning projects is to focus too much on
technological issues of the deployment. This approach leads to deployment of an e-learning
platform, which for considerable periods (sometimes even for several years) is hardly used thus
generating only costs such as license fees, costs of technical support, servers, network bandwidth
overheads, etc. rather than bringing business benefits for the organization.
A barrier preventing effective e-learning process deployments (contrary to e-learning IT platform
deployments) is thus organizations’ unpreparedness to effectively utilize e-learning mechanisms.
In large-scale enterprises, achieving required preparedness may be a quite time-consuming task.
Our comprehensive e-learning deployment model is therefore called “Four Seasons”, as it assumes
delivery of 4 preparation steps that can last several months each.

Four Seasons (4xS) – Key Assumptions

The main goal of this approach is to prepare the company well to use e-learning mechanisms before
significant investments in technical infrastructure and in e-learning content development are made.
A special case of such investment is the acquisition of the e-learning system. In the 4xS approach
such investments are optimized (both in terms of their schedule and their scope) to ensure quick
returns.
Performed market research and gained expertise indicate that effective e-learning process
deployment depends on how an organization approaches the following four challenges:
1. organization’s business needs,
2. capabilities and internal dependencies,
3. the e-learning utilization environment, which is mostly affected by attitudes of the executive
staff, and
4. employees’ willingness to use e-learning mechanisms.

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Four Seasons – Deployment Framework
In order to prepare the organization to effective e-learning deployment, certain specific activities
need to be undertaken. They can be divided into 4 stages, each corresponding to one of the 4
challenges presented above. The framework schedule of these activities is presented below.
I. Analysis of business needs
This stage involves consulting activities with the following goals:
 to identify and to define business problems or goals of the customer (as business cases) and to
consider their possible optimizations using e-learning mechanisms,
 to establish activities that will optimize business processes using e-learning.
The main goal is to answer the question whether and to what extent the e-learning deployment is
economically justified for the organization. Such knowledge will be also very helpful for
development of appropriate attitudes to e-learning among the executive staff (Stage III) who are
responsible for organization’s business results.
II. Audit and analysis of the organization’s conditions
This stage involves research activities with the following objectives:
 to identify deployment barriers related to attitudes and to other human factors,
 to identify corporate barriers (related to technical infrastructure, operating environment,
organizational culture, applicable procedures, etc.),
 to develop measures intended to overcome identified barriers.
All barriers shall be eliminated before the e-learning promotional activities are commenced. Audits
and analyses (which above all should deal with human and the organizational factors) will also allow
to optimize the project.

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III. Developing the e-learning environment
The third stage is dedicated to development of appropriate involvement and attitudes towards
e-learning on the part of the executive staff.
Even the largest e-learning investments could bring no results whatsover, if the staff attitudes
towards e-learning is not right. Quite common attitude among executive staff of organizations
deploying e-learning schemes is either questioning or sometimes even negating the e-learning
concept (“Sure, if you’ve got some time, you may use this whole ‘e-learning’ thing, but remember I
don’t want your work to suffer”). Of course there would not be many employees willing e-learn,
having heard this message from their bosses.

IV. Developing appropriate attitudes towards e-learning

The fourth stage is intended to change the competency development and learning culture from
push to pull approach (that is to encourage employees to learn and to develop their competencies
independently, rather than by motivating them by general orders).
Development of attitudes can be based on simple “carrot and stick approach”. However in order to
permanently develop the knowledge-based culture, it would be worth to consider deeper
transformations of the HR strategy (an incentive system, a promotion system, etc.) supported by
rewarding not the time spent on e-learning, but rather development of appropriate skills and
attitudes supported by e-learning.

All stages discussed above are tightly interlinked. Results of research and analytic work have
significant impact on further stages of the project. Thus it is important to deliver them in
appropriate sequence. Consequently, one of the key assumptions of this concept is its long time
scale.

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Model’s Business Rationale
It is not possible to estimate financial benefits of the 4xS project deployment, without performing
analyses deeply rooted in respective organization’s context.
However market experiences indicate that quite often it takes a year from the time when the IT
environment is deployed until it is widely used. During the time various e-learning kick-start
projects are delivered within organizations.
Thus, in a typical model it is usually the investment in e-learning platform and content, which is
made first and only thereafter activities targeted at people are being undertaken. The
consequences of such approach are:
 e-learning deployment starts with a considerable investments in the IT system (servers,
software, etc.), which firstly lacks a reasonable volume of e-learning content (as it takes time
to develop it) and secondly only few people know how (and want to) utilize it,
 throughout the whole e-learning concept’s “kick-start” period, the organization has to bear
system administration and maintenance costs.
Market observations prove that misinterpretation of the e-learning deployment as the e-learning IT
system deployment poses a significant risk for the project success. In companies, which made such
simplification, project budgets usually ran out or were drastically reduced at the time when the IT
system was put to operation (which is the time when expenditures needed to be increased
instead!). This effectively prevented any HR changes within the organization.
The “Four Seasons” program features quite different approach. It assumes that activities focused on
people will be performed first and then individual business challenges will be addressed step-by-
step using e-learning mechanisms. Only at the very end of the process, when the e-learning
initiative reaches maturity, the IT solution implementation may commence.
Thus, according to the assumptions made and according to market observations, both models’ cash
flows can be visualized as on the following diagram:

Skumulowany cash-flow - szacunki w wariancie realnym

Model tradycyjny
4 Pory Roku
Wartości

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Miesiące

The comparison of the two models presented above indicate that the 4xS approach provides
significantly higher security levels expressed as the investment value. It also features about 3-
times higher Net Present Value (NPV) of the investment, with the discount at the 4% level.
Application of the 4xS model will also allow to ensure return on investment several months
earlier than in other approaches.

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Additional Benefits
E-learning is a business concept, which perfectly fits with the new technological capabilities
provided by the Internet. However more important is that e-learning mechanisms support current
trends related to organization’s human assets development.
Today’s market conditions more frequently emphasize the need for developing the concept of a
learning organization, one whose employees constantly exchange ideas and experiences thus
contributing to processes, products and services improvement.
A necessary condition required to implement the learning organization concept, is developing
appropriate attitudes among employees: focused on openness of individual learning and on
developing competences, knowledge and skills.
Using e-learning in an organization depends on exactly the same conditions. Employee as an
individual or the organization as the whole will not be able to effectively utilize e-learning
mechanisms, without developing among employees attitudes, which feature:
 a great deal of initiative,
 self-sufficiency,
 learning persistence,
 ability to assume responsibility for own development,
 ability to perceive problems as challenges,
 great deal of interest, etc.
The 4xS model emphasizes development of an appropriate approach, both for employees (e-learning
audience) as well as for the executive staff (project stakeholders).
The e-learning deployment is a long-term process and a reasonable business approach would involve
distribution of its activities in time. Hence it seems reasonable that deployment of e-learning
mechanisms shall proceed gradually. This approach also allows to document small economic
successes and to describe best practices, as well as to “sell” positive vision of e-learning concept to
other departments in the organization. The 4xS model fully suits all needs described above.