"Lifelong learning" has been a buzzword for some time now when it comes to career development and employee qualifications. However, with the rapid development of new technologies, the importance of constantly acquiring new competencies and skills has increased once again. In this context, digital learning formats have been emerging for around 20 years, which promise to make further training flexible in terms of time and location. Kai Karin Baum has been working on the topic of e-learning for many years and has published a book on the subject in the recently published anthology "The Enterprise Transformation Cycle" published an article on the topic.

E-learning is a useful addition to face-to-face formats

Katja Heumader: The acquisition of ever new qualifications is immensely important in professional life today due to the rapid pace of technological progress. What contribution can e-learning make here?

Kai Karin Baum: Everyone's working life has changed significantly. A high degree of flexibility is required of employees. Thanks to new technologies, e-learning can now make learning more personal and flexible. This means that each participant can learn individually according to their needs and choose the learning content to suit their own learning style. This has the wonderful side effect that the motivation to learn is significantly higher. In addition, e-learning makes it possible to bring learning content to the participant using the right medium. Today, short videos are more effective than long texts.

KH: E-learning has the advantage that learners and teachers are flexible. However, the drop-out rate for pure distance learning courses is high: 90 percent do not complete them. How can these disadvantages be compensated for?

KKB: That's a good question. The drop-out rate is due to the fact that participants lack the social aspect. Pure online learning cannot replace social contact with trainers and lecturers. This must be clearly emphasized. E-learning is a useful addition to previous face-to-face training! For this reason, I am convinced of blended learning formats. This is a combination of face-to-face and online. Blended learning enables participants to maintain social contacts and exchange ideas. The drop-out rate in these concepts is negligible.

Further training strengthens employees and the company

KH: What challenges do companies face when they want to establish e-learning for in-house training?

KKB: The challenges are many and varied. One challenge is the necessary infrastructure, e.g. in the form of a Learning Management System, or LMS for short. These must meet the current requirements of an individual learning style and are very expensive in many companies. The resources required for the design and development of e-learning concepts and content also need to be mentioned here, which is difficult to compensate for due to the shortage of skilled workers. A third challenge is the design of flexible concepts, which must also be tailored to the learning types, age groups and media affinity of the participants.

KH: How can the ETC provide support here as a model?

KKB: As a model, the ETC can provide a basic structure for the introduction and continuation of e-learning. In addition, the great advantage of this model is that it can be entered at any point in the cycle and does not have to be carried out directly from A to Z. This meets the requirements of flexible e-learning. This meets the requirements of flexible e-learning. The ETC is therefore highly recommended for the introduction of e-learning concepts and structures.

KH: The ETC is a concept for the structured implementation of corporate transformations. To what extent is the introduction of an e-learning concept comparable to a transformation?

KKB: I would like to give an example of this: Many companies have well-developed concepts for face-to-face training. These are usually very time-consuming for the participants, as they are taken out of their daily work routine. What's more, they usually also have to travel. The transformation of face-to-face seminars into meaningful e-learning can significantly reduce this time expenditure for participants, as the new technologies mean that they do not have to be in a specific location, but can learn entirely according to their needs. This also saves companies money, as e-learning can reach more people with fewer resources.

KH: How do companies benefit from the introduction of an e-learning concept?

KKB: Companies benefit on the one hand clearly from more motivated employees, who always have their finger on the pulse through flexible and individual training. Employees are still a company's greatest asset and should therefore receive the best possible training tailored to their personal needs. This enables companies to face the many challenges head on and remain stable in the market.

KH: Dear Ms. Baum, thank you very much for this interesting interview.

"The Enterprise Transformation Cycle"- published January 2019

The Transformation Consulting International has been supporting national and international transformation projects in companies for many years. This extensive practical experience has now resulted in the volume "The Enterprise Transformation Cycle"published by the renowned Springer-Verlag, edited by Mario A. Pfannstiel and Peter F.-J. Steinhoff. In the 400-page anthology, numerous authors describe the extensive applicability of the agile and flexible "Enterprise Transformation Cycle" approach in theoretical and conceptual articles as well as in practical case studies.

Source cover picture: © SFIO CRACHO | Fotolia