Case study

Training employees of IBM through e-learning

Group members
Riyas Rosena Sadiq Ali Saheena C.P Sana Sarika Sangeetha Sanobar Shabeeba

People with disability

As a business, IBM recognise the need to capitalise on the skills and talents of all segments of our diverse community. They are committed to building the representation of People With Disability (PWD) into our workforce.

profile
Proactive recruitment IBM proactively seeks to employ graduates and professionals with a disability. Their recruitment specialists are trained in disability employment and hiring practices and communicate this focus to the recruitment supplier agencies.

Building accessibility They are continually improving our premises to ensure all IBM offices are accessible to employees, clients and the general public. Computer access IBM provides modified workstations and specialist IT equipment for employees with disabilities.We are committed to developing and using technology to improve access in the workplace. IBM has several Accessibility Centres around the world and a website (US) dedicated to assistive technology in the workplace.

Communications access IBM's instant messaging service helps our deaf employees to communicate with their colleagues and also support video remote interpreting and live remote captioning and encourage hearing employees to undertake deafness awareness training. Disability Employee Networking Group With a senior executive as its sponsor, this Group actively supports employees with a disability and provides feedback to the company.

Disability awareness training Awareness training is offered to IBM's Human Resource community, Real Estate, Procurement and Diversity Contact Officers. Career advancement IBM make sure employees with a disability are included in all our high-potential succession planning strategies.

IBM has retained its position as one of the world's top Employers of Choice over the years through its focus on:
Capability:

Rigorous and ongoing career/skills development programs. Climate: A challenging, empowering work environment, with world-class infrastructure. Culture: Sensitive to a diverse, global workforce.

The essence of being an IBMer resonates in the three values which every IBMer lives by:
Dedication

to every client's success. Innovation that matters - for the company and the world. Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships.

 IBM

equal opportunity IBM respects and values diversity among employees. it provide opportunity to people without any sort of discrimination. Diversity At IBM, diversity and inclusiveness are two sides of the same coin. Here diversity bridges the workplace and the marketplace Mobile working allows employees the ability to enhance their effectiveness by providing tools to use at any location, be it a customer office, airport, IBM mobility workstations or home.

Flexibility Flexible work options are available to assist employees in balancing their responsibilities to work, family, education, and other personal needs. Health care IBM offers a range of personal benefits such as medical schemes, dental schemes, health screening, wellness programs, retirement and insurance program. Culture IBM has a performance-based culture that talented people find very attractive. Employees share a sense of community and work in an environment that values intelligence and innovation.

 Compensation

and benefits The IBM compensation philosophy is to attract, retain and motivate top performing employees through competitive total compensation programs. Recognition IBM's global recognition program, "The Best of IBM," rewards exploration, collaboration and risk-taking.

Introduction

E-learning is a technology area that often has both first-tier benefits, such as reduced travel costs, and second-tier benefits, such as increased employee performance that directly impacts profitability.
Rebecca Wettemann, research director for Nucleus Research. In 2002, the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)

was ranked fourth by the Training magazine on its The 2002

Training Top 100.

During the mid 1990s, IBM reportedly spent about $1 billion for training its employees. However, in the late 1990s, IBM undertook a cost cutting drive, and started looking for ways to train its employees effectively at lower Costs.

Cont

After considerable research, in 1999, IBM decided to use eLearning to train its employees. Initially, e-Learning was used to train IBMs newly recruited managers.

The company reportedly saved about $166 million within one year of implementing the e-learning program for training its

employees all over the world.

The figure rose to $350 million in 2001. During this year, IBM

reported a return on investment (ROI)s of 2284 percent from

its Basic Blue e-Learning program.

Cont

This was mainly due to the significant reduction in the companys training costs and positive results reaped from e-learning

Andrew Sadler, director of IBM Mindspan Solutions, explained the benefits of e-learning to IBM, All measures of effectiveness went up. Its saving money and delivering more effective training. the same time providing five times more content than before.

By 2002, IBM had emerged as the company with the largest number
of employees who have enrolled into e-Learning courses

Cont

As a controversy it was said that e-Learning would never be able to replace the traditional modes of training completely. Rick Horton, general manager of learning services at IBM, favored The classroom training. Analysts estimated that the market for e-Learning programs would grow from $2.1 billion in 2001 to $33.6 billion in 2005 representing a 100 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR).

BACKGROUND

Since

the

inception

of

IBM,

every

employees

contribution was important for the organization.

The

HR policies At IBM were employee- friendly.

Employees were compensated well, above the industry

average in terms of wages.

Even during financially troubled periods employees were

relocated from the plants, labs and headquarters, and were

retrained for careers in sales ,customer engineering ,field

administration and programming.

 In 1933 (after 15 years of its inception), the

construction of IBM Schoolhouse to offer education and training for employees, was completed.
The

building had Thomas J.Watson Sr.s (the father of

modern IBM) Five Steps of Knowledge' carved on the front entrance. The five steps included

Read,Listen,Discuss,Observe and Think.

Managers

were trained at the school at regular intervals.

 Managers were also sent for educational programs to

Harvard, the London school of Economics ,MIT and Stanford.

Those who excelled in these programs were sent to

Advanced Managers School, a program offered in about 40

colleges.

IBMs highest ranking executives were sent to executive

seminars ,organized at Brookings Institution. This program

covered a broad range of subjects including international and domestic, political and economic affairs.

 IBM

trained about 5000 managers in a year. was a 5 day training program for all the new

There

managers ,were they were familiarized with the basic culture, strategy and management of IBM.
As

the jobs became more complex ,the five day program

turned out to be insufficient for the managers to train them effectively.

The

company felt that training process had to be

continuous and not a one- time event.

The company specifically wanted its management

training initiatives to address the following issues:

Management of people across geographic borders. Management of remote and mobile employees. Reductions in management development resources. Limited management time for training and

development.

Digital collaboration issues.

 The

company required a continuous training program,

without the costs and time associated with bringing together 5000 managers from all over the world.
After

conducting a research ,IBM felt that online

training would be an ideal solution to this problem.

The

company planned to utilize the services of IBM

mindspan solutions to design and support companys

manager training program. This was IBMs first Elearning project on international training.

On Line Training At IBM

Basic Blue management training program: *In house management training program,fully deployed in 2000. *75 % of the training is online , remaining 25 % is through the traditional class room mode. *Founding principle: Learning is an extended process not a one time event *Basic blue was based on a 4 Tier blended learning model

High lights of 4 tiers:---1.Just in time performance support. 2.Simulated situations. 3.Interacting with each other on line. 4.Class room training program.

Tier 1 Learning from information

Performanc e support and reference materials

Read it ,Watch it,listen to it,Be directed by it.

Web Internet sites,audio seminars,vi deos,books ,e- books

Tier 2 Learning from interaction

Interactive learning, games and simulations

Examine it, try it,play at it, interact with it.

CBT/WBT modules, interactive games,multi media or actual simulations.

Multimedia

Tier 3 Collaborati Learning ve learning from collaboratio n

Discuss it, practice with others, create virtual communitie s of practice or purpose

Live virtual Collaborati classrooms ve ,e-labs,eteams, collaborativ e sessions,w eb conference s.

Tier 4 Learning from collocation

Experience based learning

Get together, meet as a community, develop relationships , live it, do it.

Mentoring, Role playing, case studies, Coaching.

Face to face

The tremendous success of the Basic Blue initiative encouraged IBM to extend training through e-Learning to its-sales personnel and experienced managers as well. The e-Learning program for the sales personnel was known as Sales Compass, and the one for the experienced managers, as Managing@ IBM. Prior to implementation of sales compass the sales personnel underwent live training at the companys headquarters and training campuses. They also attended field training program, national sales conferences and other traditional methods of training. It seems to be more expensive, time consuming and coordination problems also cropped up. Sales Compass was originally started in 1997 on a trial basis to help the sales team, it-was not implemented on large scale. But with the success of Basic Blue, Sales Compass was developed further. The content of the new Sales Compass was divided into five categories including Solutions (13 courses), industries (23 courses), personal skills (2 courses), selling skills (11 courses), and tools and job aid (4 aids).

SALES COMPASS:

Sales Compass provided critical information to the sales personnel helping them to understand various industries in a much better manner. The sales personnel could use the information from their desktops using a web browser. It also enabled the sales people to sell certain IBM products designed for Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Business Intelligence (BI), and so on. Sales Compass also trained the sales personnel on skills like negotiating and selling services. Sales Compass was offered to 20,000 sales representatives, client relationship representatives, territory representatives, sales specialists, and service professionals at IBM. Brenda Toan, global skills and learning leader for IBM offices across the world, said, Sales Compass is a just-in-time, just-enough sales support information site. Most of our users are mobile. So they are, most of the times, unable to get into a branch office and obtain information on a specific industry or solution. IBM Sales Compass provides industry-specific knowledge, advice on how to sell specific solutions, and selling tools that support our signature selling methodology, which is convenient for these users.

Managing@IBM

IBM launched an e-Learning program called Managing @ IBM for its experienced managers, in late 2001. The program provided content related to leadership and people management skills, and enabled the managers to meet their specific needs. Unlike the Basic Blue program, this program enabled managers to choose information based on their requirements. The program included the face-toface Learning Lab, e-learning, and Edvisor, a sophisticated Intelligent Web Agent. Edvisor offered three tracks offering various types of information.

THREE TRACKS OF EDVISOR

Just In Time Performance Support Solve a people management and/or leadership problem; Edvisor provides immediate access to over 150 online best-thinking and best-practices management performancesupport modules, managers can have access of modules by topic, alphabetically or via a keyword search engine. Module include company-designed learning tools, online simulators and interactive cases, and external materials consistent with company approaches and models

Managing@IBM Learning Lab

Prepare for attending classroom learning lab. Managers use Edvisor to create their own personal pre-work skills curriculum for a 2day Managing@IBM Learning lab- a face to-face workshop.
Manager Development Planning Work on long-term leadership and management development. Managers use Edvisor to design a personal, long-term development plan. Edvisor interviews the manager, asks questions about his/her current business conditions, and analyzes his/her 360 survey feedback. By incorporating this information, Edvisor creates a recommended Personnel Manager Development Plan [MDP]. This MDP provides immediate online access to the development offerings the manager needs to improve his/her leadership competencies, and tracks his/her progress through the plan. The MDP continues throughout the managers career, and can be modified whenever desired to meet changing business needs or personal goals.

By implementing the above programs, IBM was able to reduce its training budget as well as improve employee productivity significantly. In 2000, Basic Blue saved $16 million while Sales Compass saved $21 million. In 2001, IBM saved $200 million and its cost of training per-employee reduced significantly from $400 to $135. E-learning also resulted in a deeper understanding of the learning content by the managers. It also enabled the managers to complete their classroom training modules in lesser time, as compared to the traditional training methods used earlier.

Question 1. E-learning would never be able to replace traditional classroom training. In the light of above statement, compare and contrast the traditional methods with that of e-learning to train employees in an organization.

 Elearning and classroom learning are not mutually exclusive. In many situations classroom learning can be enhanced by adding e-learning. Both have their own advantages and drawbacks To respond to a changing work environment that is demanding just-in-time training for employees, most of company organization not only depends on traditional training, they have already mobile to e-learning and emphasizing it in safety and health since they were trust of the benefits of e-learning training to the company cost effective. The real question is not "which is more effective elearning or classroom learning".

The focus should be on using the appropriate format for the appropriate learning objectives, circumstances, budgets, etc Though training through e-learning was very successful, IBM believed that classroom training was also essential to develop people skills.

QUESTION 2

Explain in detail how IBM implemented basic blue and Managing @ IBM e-learning programs to train managers. Compare the two programs and identify the factors that differentiate them.

First tier: The managers were divided into groups of 24 members each. Each group then entered the first tier of the Basic Blue program. The content for first tier was delivered through IBM s intranet. The first tier trained them on the fundamental skills required to be an IBM Manager and offered just in time performance support Second tier: Here the managers were provided with simulated situations ,senior managers trained the managers on line. The situation helped the managers to learn about employee skill building ,compensation and benefits ,multicultural issues, work life balance issues and business conduct in an interactive manner. Third tier: In this tier the members of the group started interacting with each other on line. This tier used IBM s collaboration tools such as charts, e-learning Team Rooms, Customer Room and Lotus learning Space. Using these tools, employees could interact on line with the instructors as a well as with peers in their groups. Fourth tier: The fourth tier composed of classroom training program known as Learning Lab. By the time the managers reached this tier they all reached a similar level of knowledge by mastering the content in the first three tiers.

Basic blue four tier model

1999 IBM launched pilot basic blue Focusing on new managers 75% of training online and remaining traditional classroom E-learning part include articles, simulation, job aids and short courses Based on 4 tier blended learning model

Basic blue
Tier

1. learning from information Tier 2. learning from interaction Tier 3. learning from collaboration Tier 4. learning from collocation

Managing@ IBM
Introduced in 2001 Focussing on experienced managers Focussing on leadership and people skill

Advantages of e-Learning Class work can be scheduled around personal and professional work, resulting inflexible learning. Reduces travel cost and time to and from school Learners may have the option to select learning materials that meets their level of knowledge and interest Learners can study wherever they have access to a computer and Internet Self-paced learning modules allow learners to work at their own pace Flexibility to join discussions in the bulletin board threaded discussion areas at any hour, or visit with classmates and instructors remotely in chat rooms Different learning styles are addressed and facilitation of learning occurs through varied activities Development of computer and Internet skills that are transferable to other facets of learner's lives Successfully completing online or computer-based courses builds selfknowledge and self-confidence and encourages students to take responsibility for their learning

Disadvantages of e-Learning Unmotivated learners or those with poor study habits may fall behind Lack of familiar structure and routine may take getting used to Students may feel isolated or miss social interaction thus the need to understanding different learning styles and individual learner needs. Instructor may not always be available on demand Slow or unreliable Internet connections can be frustrating Managing learning software can involve a learning curve Some courses such as traditional hands-on courses can be difficult to simulate