Social eLearning Software Blog

I imagine we all are looking forward to the end of this recession and grow the top line again.

The National Association for BusinessEconomics (NABE) reported yesterday that hiring and capital spending will increase over the next six months.

NABE reported in its Industry Survey that demand in Q3 2009 increased for the first time in five quarters, while the number of companies adding jobs doubled from July 2009 to October 2009.

Corporations are recognizing the need to retain new employees and enable them to more quickly achieve productivity in their new capacity and environment.

Moreover, best-in-class onboarding companies are 35% more likely to have a formal onboarding training program and twice as likely to clearly define the performance metrics assigned to their onboarding efforts. The Aberdeen Group further identifies that socialization is primary part of the onboarding efforts and that onboarding starts before a new hires first day on the job.

Collaborative learning, cost savings and an environmentally friendly education distribution system our eLearning 2.0 and mLearning platform provides are just some of the benefits of TOPYX^®. Our eLearning 2.0education distribution technologies are paving the way in creating innovative solutions to meet the needs of today’s learner.

For more information, blogs, forums, videos and even test driving TOPYX, please go to www.interactyx.com.

Alfred R. Novas
Chief Executive Officer
Interactyx Limited

al.novas@interactyx.com
www.interactyx.com

Interactyx, the developer of TOPYX®, is at the forefront of developing eLearning and social networking solutions that engage and facilitate knowledge-sharing activities with learners.

Below are excerpts from Luc K. Richard’s article “Top 5 Franchise Training Mistakes” published in Ezine Articles.   The particular issues can easily be overcome by providing an on-line, collaborative Franchise 2.0 university.   Successful franchise businesses avoid these issues by offering an eLearning and knowledge sharing platform.  By utilizing an affordable Software-as-a Service (SaaS) solution, the ability for franchisors and franchisees to “leapfrog” competitors and improve overall performance of the brand and most importantly in the eyes of their customers.

It is time for your system to adopt the Franchise 2.0 training model for your organization.  To learn more about Franchise 2.0, please feel free to contact bob.brogan@interactyx.com.

Here are the key components of the “Top 5 Franchise Training Mistakes” article:

Duplication and consistency are at the heart of successful franchise systems and retail chains. A brand is strongest when the customer has the same experience each time they visit one of your locations, no matter what time of day or which location. The only way that brand consistency can be accomplished is through training.

That being said, franchisers seem to be the same mistakes over and over again when it comes to training their franchisees. The following lists the 5 most common and critical mistakes franchisors make when it comes to training.

1. Training as a Reaction

Believe it or not, some franchisers have virtually no training program. Sure, their marketing brochure and Web site certainly mention their state of the art training program. And they'll drop by your location when you first open to help you out. But there's no systematic way to pro-actively show their franchisees how to successfully run a successful franchise.

If you're reading this article, chances are this problem doesn't apply to you. The mere fact that you're reading an article on training means you have a genuine interest in improving your training program, which means you probably already have some form of formal training. So let's skip to mistake #2.

2. Training Too Infrequently

The majority of franchisers have the exact same recipe when it comes to training. First, they'll invite you over to their headquarters for a period of 1 to 4 weeks to train you on their products, services and operational procedures. Then, they'll provide additional on site training when you first open your franchise. Sound familiar?

This program is excellent as far as initial training goes, but doesn't quite cut it in an industry where employee turnover rates are between 100% and 300%. Think about it. After the first year of operation, hardly anyone who took the initial training will still be working for the franchise, except perhaps the franchisee himself. Unless the owner of the franchise can single handedly run the business, which is rarely the case, you need to have frequent training sessions. I would recommend quarterly sessions for regular employees that have been there for a while and of course immediate sessions for new hires.

"OK. Stop it right there!" you say? "How can you possibly train every single employee on a quarterly basis and new hires on the spot? That type of training is the responsibility of the franchisee, not the franchiser!" Not according to mistake #3.

3. Leaving the Training to Your Franchisees

Most franchise owners I know work 60-80 hours a week. And trust me, that time isn't spent training their employees.

Managing the store's finances, putting out fires, dealing with angry people and difficult employees and interviewing new hires? Yes. Training those new hires or experienced employees? No. The irony is that much like you think training new employees is the franchise owner's job, the franchise owner thinks it's the Manager's job. And the Manager thinks it's the Assistant Manager's. And the Assistant Manager? Well, she just thinks the new hire can learn by simply observing her. So basically, your new hires get most of their training by observing someone who was, well, trained by observing someone else. No wonder the franchise industry faces a 300% employee turnover rate and people have come to refer to such jobs as "McJobs".

If you're not going to train the employees that work in your franchises, you can pretty much be guaranteed that no one will.

And if you think training every single individual that is part of your franchise system is impossible, it's probably because you're making mistake #4.

4. Relying Solely on Face-to-face Training

There's nothing wrong with the idea of training employees face to face. As a matter of fact, face to face training can be extremely effective. But realistically, it's impossible for a franchiser to train every single individual face to face, especially if you plan on training them on a regular (i.e. quarterly) basis.

With so many employees spread across so many locations, most franchisers find that training franchisees face to face become impossible after only 5-10 locations.

What's the option? An online Corporate University, a Web-based strategic tool designed to assist your company in achieving its goal of training your employees anytime, anywhere.

Meta-analysis studies have recently shown that online training is as effective as face to face training when done right. I can certainly attest to that. I've sat through enough classroom courses, seminars and other conventional training sessions to tell you that they're not all they're cut out to be. I can only imagine how effective they are when they're giving by a franchise owner working 80 hours a week.

To some of you, an online Corporate University might be a novel idea. Successful franchisors however have been training their franchisees and employees for years using the Internet. Subway, which was again voted the #1 franchise by Entrepreneur magazine, attributes much of its success to its University of Subway, an online Corporate University that allows them to train every single individual working in one of their 31,000+ restaurants in 90 countries.

5. Not Testing for Competence

Training without testing assumes two things. First, it takes for granted that your students are actually learning everything you are teaching them. Then it assumes that your training program is complete enough that anyone who follows it can learn everything they need to run a successful franchise.

Our high schools, colleges and universities don't hand out diplomas without testing their students. There is a good reason for that. Would you trust a surgeon to operate on you if he/she had done nothing more but read a few medical books or observe other surgeons? Of course not! So why would you trust someone with your brand and let him/her run your franchise without first testing their competencies?

Testing is another area where online Corporate Universities excel. Thanks to advancements in learning technologies, students can now be evaluated using a variety of online tools. Meanwhile, managers can track the student's performance and progress with the click of a button.

No franchiser in their right mind will argue that duplication and consistency are at the heart of successful franchise systems. The only way that brand consistency can be accomplished is through training. Take a look at your training program, make sure you don't fall victim to the 5 classic mistakes identified above, and if you haven't done so already, invest in an online Corporate University.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-5-Franchise-Training-Mistakes&id=2655192

You are invited to learn more about available and affordable training tools to enhance your franchise at our free, live webinar.  Please register below:

Franchise 2.0 – All Aboard, Your Training is Leaving the Station
Thursday, October 22, 2009
12:00pm - 1:00pm ET
Register Here - Space is Limited

Bob Brogan
Vice President, Corporate Solutions
Interactyx Limited

bob.brogan@interactyx.com
www.interactyx.com

Some cutting-edge corporations are adopting a new bundle of practices – let’s call them informal learning 2.0 – in order to improve operating efficiency by:

• Slashing time to performance
• Increasing customer loyalty through learning
• Replacing bureaucracy through self-service
• Developing more informed marketing partners
• Improving learning along the supply chain

At the same time, the informal learning 2.0 approach sets the stage for broad cultural changes that strengthen the organization for the long term by enabling it to:

• Maintain flexibility in the face of incessant change
• Respond rapidly to competitive threats
• Put innovation on everyone’s to-do-list
• Enable workers to be all that they can be
• Establish frameworks for continuous improvements

In a networked corporation, there is scant difference between knowledge work and learning. Workers become problem solvers and innovators instead of cogs in the machine. The objective is ingenuity, not conformity. Business success depends on them working together rather than as individuals. Collaboration rules. They work and learn in what has been tagged by CLO Magazine as “learnscapes”.

Corporations can create superior “learnscapes” by injecting practices that foster optimal learning: interaction, ease of access, timely reinforcement, peer coaching, and cognitive apprenticeship and so on. Developing and nurturing “learnscapes” is not just something to keep training departments busy; it’s the top responsibility of this group and the ultimate key performance indicator.

Isn’t it time to get everyone in the corporation involved in learning?

To learn more please attend a free webinar – Informal Learning 2.0 – Learnscapes

REFERENCE: Chief Learning Officer: http://www.clomedia.com/current_issue.php

Jodi Harrison

Vice President, Business Development and Affiliate Partners

Interactyx Limited

Facebook has been making many inroads into education over the last few years. Many institutions are using Facebook sites to publicize events on campus, as well as to aid in their recruiting.

As well, many students, instructors and administrators are using a number of Facebook applications for a wide variety of academic purposes.

Recently we’ve been examining a number of Facebook apps that are relevant for educational use. We’ve assembled a small list of 20 facebook apps here and are happy to have others add additional apps to the list that you’ve found helpful.

• Books iRead: Share the books you're reading, and see what others think of books with this application.
• Flashcards: With this application, you can create flash cards to help you study on Facebook.
• SkoolPool: Get the lowdown on schools, online and otherwise, with this neat application.
• Rate My Professors: Find out what other students think of professors before you register for their class.
• BookTag: This app offers a great way to share and loan books out to students, plus create helpful quizzes for studying.
• DoResearch4me: This app makes it easy to gather information using your thesis statement, instructions, and more.
• Mathematical Formulas: Distribute formulas, solutions, and more with this application.
• SlideShare: Create presentations to send to students with this slideshow application.
• Calendar: This calendar app from 30 Boxes lets you organize your days, set reminders and share your calendar with others.
  
• To-Do List: Stay on top of your tasks with this Facebook to-do application.
• Zoho Online Office: You can keep all of your documents online, and even share them with classmates, students, and colleagues.
• UdutuTeach: UdutuTeach allows you to import courses from myUdutu (a course authoring tool) manage which people can take your courses, and track the learners' progress.
• UdutuLearn: UdutuLearn lets you view courses that you have been given access to and shows your progress.
• Courses: Courses offers loads of functionality for online education, with features that let you add your courses, post announcements and assignments, search university reviews find classmates, create discussions and form study groups.
• Files: Powered by Box.net, this application makes it easy to store and retrieve documents in Facebook, so you can access them anywhere you have a connection.
• WorldCat: Use WorldCat to do research, catalog your library's collection, and share information with students.
• HeyMath!: These mini-movies explain difficult math concepts, so these are great to share with students or use on your own.
• Study Groups: Get everyone together on your group project by collaborating with this application.

If you have other suggestions feel free to add them to the list.

TOPYX is a revolutionary elearning solution that incorporates Facebook and other social networking resources right into the learning platform to enhance the learner's experience. Through TOPYX, students can gain access to the tools and resources that they are asking for. It's time to learn more about what TOPYX can do for your classroom and distance learning programs!

Please feel free to join our upcoming free, live webinar:

Social Networking for Executive Education Programs
Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009
2:00pm - 3:00pm ET
Register Here - Space is Limited

Below is a reprint of Jim Sullivan’s insightful article “Training 2.0: Turn Traditional Learning on its Head” from National Restaurant News issue dated August 3, 2009. At Interactyx, we have extended this type of learning to the entire franchising industry and have dubbed it Franchise 2.0. Is your organization ready to realize the benefits outlined in his piece?

By JIM SULLIVAN
Aug. 03, 2009

When I’m not writing a monthly column for readers of Nation’s Restaurant News and NRN.com, I have a day job designing leadership, sales-building and service-energizing training programs for managers and crew at foodservice and retail chains worldwide. Many companies and customers are curious how social-media sites will affect how foodservice training programs will be designed and delivered to Gen Next.

The short answer is: a lot.

So let’s consider the possibilities by first looking at the past and then assessing a possible future in which trainees teach, trainers learn and continuous improvement is achieved during the course, not after it. Welcome to the Brave New Classroom.

Since the first days of Gutenberg’s press, information and media—books, training manuals, videos—have been exclusively linear and hierarchal. Content and instruction is transferred from creator, the author or teacher, to consumer, in this case the reader or student. The student may have had valuable experience or insight to add to the subject but limited or no options to actually contribute to or improve upon the original context for the next wave of learners. The first iteration of the Web, so-called “version 1.0” spanning 1995 to 2003, was also a one-way format; massive amounts of content were posted for anyone wishing to consume it, but feedback, discussion or collaboration with the creator or source material was nil. Today’s Internet, or Web 2.0, has reversed five centuries of information delivery.

The Web has become a conversation, where creators and consumers can easily interact, discuss, share and learn together in real time. Consider Wikipedia. The content of this online encyclopedia is routinely designed and refined by legions of contributors who are either experts in or students of the subject matter. This collaborative dialogue spurs both deeper insight and better content. Occasional errors are swiftly corrected by next-generation collaborators. I think that maybe that’s where foodservice training is headed: a place where all learning is collaborative; a place where communication a dialogue, not a monologue; a place where you learn what you need and simultaneously share what you know.

For my generation, training largely mirrored our experiences with school: We were expected to patiently consume it, not contribute to it. The content was asynchronous and chronological, designed by foodservice operators, not skilled instructors, and the foodservice trainer stuck to the script. We sucked it up and took it, first in school and then at work, despite the fact that on-the-job realities often exposed wholesale gaps or outright lies in the training. This caused us to belittle training—“those who know, do; those who don’t know, teach”—and see it as something to “get through” on your way to the real world. This methodically dull and deadly process of “Tell-Show-Do-Review” may have been tolerated by a previous generation, but it is woefully out-of-sync and dangerous for the Nintendo Generation employee.

Our young team members today have quite different expectations. They see no reason why they shouldn’t be both consumers and creators of their learning experience. The way they use the Web revolves mostly around content they and their friends create, and within Web frameworks that facilitate creativity and connection. They prolifically build profile pages, upload photos and videos, and effortlessly interact with each other and “content creators” through active commenting systems. In fact, 88 percent of young adults between 17 and 21 are “active” users of sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. So if we truly want to engage and involve our Gen Nexters with our training, shouldn’t we consider adapting their social media behavior to the adult classroom instead of expecting them to adapt to our training style? Unlike Baby Boomers and Gen X, the iPod generation’s Internet experience is not separate from its work or social experience; it drives their entire worldview. Since their Internet is a conversation, maybe their learning experience should be, too. What’s next is now, but what’s past is present.

Fifteen years ago, pre-Internet as we know it, I accidentally learned that the best way to train servers was to have them train me. It was standard procedure then to require waitstaff at our restaurants to memorize steps of service and selling. Problem was, service wasn’t improving and sales weren’t increasing, but the lists got memorized. It was then I had the epiphany: Creating a “10 Steps of Service” list created an illusion of applied procedural uniformity to a process. But the truth is that service-giving and menu merchandising are complex experiential acts, not sequential ones. Getting customer interaction “right” requires experience, assessment, customization and, yes, collaboration.

So one fateful day we ditched our steps-of-service flip charts, exchanged “classroom-style” seating for round tables and divided the waitstaff into random groups of five. I told them our restaurants had two daily goals: Every guest leaves happy and every shift is profitable. Then I gave them a total of 11 minutes to identify all the ways we could please guests and either save money or make money each shift. They attacked the assignment with relish. The collaborative lists they created were more effective than our “steps,” and since valuable experience was exchanged at each table through discussion, it was highly prized insight.

I also learned that day that people never argue with their own data; our servers actually used what they taught each other. Service and sales markedly improved. I had taught them how to think, and they showed me what to do.

Now back to Web 2.0. As of this writing, Facebook and Twitter are the current media darlings, and while these names may pass as the sites du jour—remember MySpace and Friendster?—the popularity of social media will not. How do we best adapt and integrate the customizable and collaborative nature of social media into our future training programs? Your team members aren’t waiting for you to decide. Witness all the work-specific Facebook pages out there by bartenders, cooks, servers and managers dedicated solely to promoting their work-life skills, playlists, blogs, friends and schedules. Their initiative promotes themselves and their companies and teaches both marketing and training departments a lesson in learning.

Imagine an online training program that is a daily process, not an event, one that is constantly updated in real time by the experience of both trainees and trainers, as well as executives, managers and franchisees. The program enables discussion on, interaction with and customization of the content à la social-media sites. It combines a funky crew version of the company website integrated with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It features graphic-driven info nuggets on company culture, service, selling and team that is easily accessed, personalized and updated via their cell phones or computers. The process features constant activity and requires regular real-time feedback and interaction with other learners via discussion boards or Twitter. The “teacher” is no longer the trainer; the process and students are.

It’s here now. Our company just launched a beta version of this course for Gen Y crew members at a large chain. Time will tell if we’re on the right track, but the initial results are most encouraging.

The notion of allowing the student to assume the burden of learning while contributing to, or possibly being critical of, your company’s training in real time may sound foreign or even threatening now. But I’m certain this is not something our industry will grow out of, but rather something it will grow into. And, yes, it may be “faddish,” and, yes, there are many reasons why it may not succeed. But I’m reminded of the words of Pappy Sullivan who said, “You gotta either lead, follow or get the hell out the way.” What’s next is now.
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You are invited to learn more about available and affordable training tools at our free, live webinar.  Please register below:

Franchise 2.0 – All Aboard, Your Training is Leaving the Station
Thursday, October 22, 2009
12:00pm - 1:00pm ET
Register Here - Space is Limited

The Times Higher Education rankings have been released today, and we’re very excited to see a client of ours, University of Cambridge, has moved up to the #2 ranking globally.

Harvard maintains its #1 ranking and Yale comes in at #3.

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/Rankings2009-Top200.html

It’s interesting whether we’re involved in college life any more or not, many people take a point of pride in how their college fares in rankings such as these. The Times rankings, the Business Week Rankings, and even local country specific rankings such as those of Maclean’s in Canada, all are interesting measurements in how one school “stacks up” versus others.

Pride in one’s school is still generally important, and a high ranking aids to the prestige that is so critical in a large, competitive “industry” such as education.

Rather than quibble about where you school ranks, I’m curious if you believe such rankings are important and offer value. Did you or your children use lists like this to help decide which school to attend? Let us know what you think.

Please feel free to join our upcoming free, live webinar:

Social Networking Around the Classroom
Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009
2:00pm - 3:00pm ET
Register Here - Space is Limited

We are going to cover a lot of ground in the webinar, but if you would like to discuss your unique eLearning needs, feel free to contact me at patrick.batty@interactyx.com.

Patrick Batty
Vice President, Academic Solutions
Interactyx Limited

patrick.batty@interactyx.com
www.interactyx.com

Traditional sales orientation for new and experienced representatives provide your revenue producers with periodic “core dumps” of key messaging, market positioning and updated best practices to effectively sell to customers. The time between these meetings is focused on managing the progression of tactical activities to attain revenue projections. The sales management processes center on the execution of potentially flawed, misaligned or sub-optimized activities that extend the time required to achieve sales targets.

Historically, the ability to share successful strategies and be nimble enough to adopt these new tactics typically filters down through formal sales management channels over a matter of months. The lack of real-time collaboration among your distributed salesforce has a negative impact on the company’s time to revenue. In today’s economic environment, these delays may be the difference between maintaining a consistent revenue base and financial viability.

Implement a Collaborative Sales University to provide a real-time knowledge hub to optimize success within your customer-facing representatives. By utilizing an affordable, Web 2.0 collaborative learning environment, your salespeople will no longer be subject to the trickle down delays in obtaining critical information that will ultimately benefit your customers and your bottomline. The Collaborative Sales University framework will satisfy the traditional sales training foundations required by your organization and allow your sales team to evolve in line with the speed of your customer’s business.

The total investment cost associated a complete, Collaborative Sales University solution is only USD$15,000 and can be implemented within an 8-week period so your company can begin realizing sales returns within the same quarter. Can your organization afford to stick with the status quo in supporting your sales efforts? The answer is obvious – NO.

For more information on the Collaborative Sales University, please feel free to contact me at bob.brogan@interactyx.com or via phone at 708 572-4899.

Also, you are invited to attent our free, live webinar where we will be discussing collaborative Sales Universities in greater detail. Register for the webinar below:

Expedite Time to Revenue with Collaborative Sales University
Thursday, October 8, 2009
2:00pm - 3:00pm ET
Register Here - Space is Limited

Bob Brogan
Vice President, Corporate Solutions
Interactyx Limited

bob.brogan@interactyx.com
www.interactyx.com