Training on a cellphone — adieu to Hawaii

Generally speaking, academic research shows a strong and positive relationship between an organization’s investment in training and development and business performance. In fact, in a recent published study of insurance companies, I showed that for every $1 increase in T&D/FTE, revenue rose by $168 per employee.

T&D/FTE is defined as the amount of money invested in training for every full-time equivalent employee. In other words, every dollar spent on training an employee, can yield $168 in incremental business. That’s a fantastic multiple.

The challenge in most business circles is not a lack of appreciation for the importance of training or updating one’s knowledge and skills. Not at all. The real challenge is time … more specifically, the opportunity cost of taking a course in a classroom versus time spent actually working. On average, the training participation rate in most Canadian organizations has been steadily falling. Employees cite many reasons for this including too much work to do, not enough time, an ever-growing inbox, and budgetary limitations.

Nevertheless, we need to solve this dilemma. It is critically important to maintain and develop the human capital of our organizations regardless of the excuses. It is only by learning best practices that we can stay ahead of the competition.

Corporate training has fundamentally changed over the last several decades. Years ago, off-site seminars and expensive conferences to exotic locales gave way to on-site classroom training. Then classroom training was moved to the desktop with the advent of computer-based simulations and on-line modules. But this has changed again. Now we have the latest in corporate training: mobile learning.

There are currently 26 million mobile phone users in Canada. Virtually every single person in the labour force has one, which means mobile phones are a viable distribution channel for content delivery. Employees can take advantage of convenient learning opportunities regardless of location. Plus, learning can be self-directed and customized with instantaneous feedback. Learners can even evaluate their progress through quizzes and surveys.

So why hasn’t mobile learning taken off? There are a few reasons but the main barriers to adoption include: budget, integration with legacy learning systems and security. With media intensive content (like audio and video) streamed over a smartphone, who will pay for data usage when the phone belongs to the user and not the company? How does an organization take its training manuals which are printed in binders and convert them to mobile learning applications? How does an organization protect its company secrets if there is the potential for smartphones to be misplaced or stolen?

There are no simple solutions to these issues. However, mobile learning will surely have a prominent place in corporate training moving forward. There isn’t a clear leading market vendor at this point. So, if your company is considering a test pilot, I recommend you remain device and platform agnostic, and utilize HTML 5 as a starting point for a mobile learning strategy.

When it comes to content, be sure to take into consideration the appropriate type of information that is most easily digestible for a mobile learner. Picture an employee reading a product description, listening to a podcast, or watching a video demonstration while taking the train to work. Software programmers will need to consider the small size of the screen and the limited input of a miniature keyboard (or lack thereof) when designing the application.

Some people might balk at the thought of mobile learning. After all, going to a training conference in Hawaii used to be a wonderful perk. Until they can replicate a sandy beach with a tasty strawberry daiquiri, I’ll take the real thing over a mobile app any day.