Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: determining the ROI of an LMS Brad Cooper Senior VP, Co-founder Plateau Systems, Ltd.

Training records management Training assignment management eLearning access Scheduling and enrollment management Blah LMS 101

ROI ROI = Return on Investment

ROI ROI = Return on Investment

ROI ROI = Return on Investment i.e., if the company buys an LMS (investment), what benefit does it provide to the company (return)?

Training ROI Improved training process Accurate training recordkeeping Reduction in training resource and training schedule conflicts Access to and management of online training Consistent training for each job position

Training ROI

Improved training process Accurate training recordkeeping Reduction in training resource and training schedule conflicts Access to and management of online training Consistent training for each job position

Training ROI Improved training process Accurate training recordkeeping Reduction in training resource and training schedule conflicts Access to and management of online training Consistent training for each job position

Reductions in cost of delivery Reductions in staff (fewer instructors needed as eLearning courseware replaces ILT) Reduced time and effort required to manage assignments and recordkeeping Reduction in travel costs and time spent in transit to attend training Training ROI

Perspective

Changing ROI Thinking While training folks understand the inherent benefits of using an LMS, most management and operations folks don’t Training ROI is a different beast than business ROI You must look beyond the training organization

The first step is to think of the LMS, and the training organization as a whole, as part of the overall corporate problem-solving and process improvement strategy The training organization is often the one place where all personnel (staff, temps, contractors) and operational requirements meet Training is most valuable when pro-active rather than reactive; when a contributing partner rather than a necessary evil Changing ROI Thinking

The key is to identify specific business problems and determine how training can be an integral part of the solutions Determining a Meaningful ROI

Once a problem has been identified and the training organization contribution to the solution devised, develop an objective and quantifiable metric to determine the impact an LMS can have or has had

An issue with “hot-floors” on a Particular type of aircraft was in the top 10 delay and cancellation drivers for over 5 years. Identifying the root cause of the problem, creating an online lesson, and assigning it to all technicians for that type aircraft significantly impacted the business by removing it from the top 10 list (it was well below 100) and saved over 5 million dollars in maintenance costs. Objective Business Impact Example 1

A carrier was having persistent problems with pressurization issues which had been on the top ten delay and cancellation list for at least three years. A lesson was created that covered all 4 models of that aircraft and included affectivity issues by tail numbers. The LMS managed the distribution and recordkeeping for the course including tracking overdue training. Business impact, over 1.5 million in savings Objective Business Impact Example 2

A carrier’s ground operations used classroom instruction to provide training on policy changes and documentation when providing training. This two day session was given annually to around 1000 operations employees (not full-time trainers) who were flown to the training location. While not all of the information covered was relevant to some of the trainers, it was covered anyway. The materials were converted to online content and the modules tailored to the trainers based on relevance and location. Total cost savings of $3 million annually with minimal disruption to operations. Objective Business Impact Example 3

Training records management Training assignment management eLearning access Scheduling and enrollment management LMS 101 Redux

Training Records Management Need to know how my folks are doing – common record and report formats facilitate status reports across organizations and job families Who completed training on this – reports can be created for specific training activities or sets of activities Was person trained and when – timely and accurate verification of training in support of investigations FAA/EASA coming for inspection - accurate and secure verification of training delivered to meet specific compliance requirements

Need to find A mechanics fast - training standardization and real-time status monitoring facilitate searches for qualified personnel We merged with another carrier - substitute credit allows equivalency for the same course Here comes HR curriculum-based assignments define and standardize action-based training to meet AQP-style training programs Need to manage training on changing procedures and retraining needs - needs driven by additions or changes to regulations quickly distributed and progress monitored Training Assignment Management

We’ve got to train on the new GDS - online content, simulation, and testing provide a rapidly deployable and accurate solution Need to minimize time spent away from work – eLearning can eliminate many ILT offerings, especially for document-based training and general issues Need hands-on and self-study - eLearning can be integrated with other delivery methods to create “blended” approaches Need to let learner choose training based on schedule and workload – eLearning and ILT can be equal alternatives to provide choices eLearning Access

Scheduling and Enrollment Stop double-booking classrooms – identify resource conflicts before training is scheduled We want to go paperless – improve accuracy and eliminate paper-based enrollment and completion recording Need to reduce training travel – schedule resources, manage enrollment for training delivered via web-based collaboration tools and web conferencing Need to know how often my classrooms are being used – determine the utilization of resources including rooms, instructors and equipment

In Conclusion Look for LMS ROI as part of a “big picture” solution to corporate problems instead of just a tool to improve training processes Take into account the administrative time savings realized with a LMS in important non-training activities like regulatory compliance verification and investigation support Take the attitude that the LMS is an important, and perhaps even mission-critical, system

Thank You Brad Cooper Sr. Vice President, Plateau Systems, Ltd Wilson Blvd., Suite 400 Arlington, VA Questions? More Information?