Training Administration Shouldn’t Overshadow Training Content
(Today’s post is sponsored by SilkRoad technology. I’ve previously shared with you information about their OpenHire, RedCarpet and WingSpan products. Since training is a subject near and dear to my heart, I asked SilkRoad how their products help organizations manage the training process. Here’s what they shared with me.)
Companies talk regularly about having efficient recruiting processes and comprehensive onboarding programs. These things are important to the success of the organization. But it doesn’t stop there – it’s equally important to create efficient 
I’m not really talking about the content of the program, although it is important. I’m talking about what happens before and after training. You can have the best training and development programs in the whole world but if the processes outside of training are cumbersome and antiquated, then it takes away from your awesome training sessions. Not to mention the additional cost to your organization both in terms of money and wasted resources.
This was the case in point with San Diego-based Gen-Probe Incorporated, a global leader in the development, manufacture and marketing of nucleic acid tests (NATs). For years they were tracking training for their 1300 employees manually. Yep, you heard me right…manually.
What makes this so interesting is the kind of work Gen-Probe does. The NATs they develop are used to diagnose human diseases and screen donated human blood. They are in a highly regulated work environment and audited on a regular basis by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Accurately documenting safety and compliance training is critical.
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Enter SilkRoad technology’s GreenLight solution which offers a core learning management system (LMS) to track completed training. Implementing this solution at Gen-Probe resulted in an estimated savings of 2,900 administration hours. The manual tracking that was previously divided among 50 employees is now being done by only one. Incredible.
The other benefit to Gen-Probe was being able to quickly run reports. Tina Asher, senior manager of organizational development and learning, explained “When our regulating bodies walk in the door, they will often walk around our facility, select employees and ask to see their training records. With GreenLight, we can easily pull those records and have them in the auditors’ hands within 60 seconds.”
I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve been asked questions like “How many employees have attended customer service training?” or “What percentage of employees attend ethics training within the first 30-days of employment?” Having an automated system like GreenLight returns those answers in minutes instead of hours (or even days!)
Needless to say, the GreenLight LMS freed up time to focus on the actual training (versus training administration). Gen-Probe added a content management component to GreenLight which allowed for creating and maintaining eLearning in a variety of languages.
The content management system permits customization of content, including building exams, audio, video and animation. Very cool! Having an eLearning component for some training curriculum can be very advantageous for both the learner and the company. In the Gen-Probe case study, using GreenLight to deploy eLearning courses saved them over 400 instructor hours.
Saving hours wasn’t the only benefit realized by Gen-Probe. Automating their training processes resulted in fewer “no-shows” for training. GreenLight allows for automated training enrollment as well as sending training reminders prior to classes. Let’s face it, there’s nothing worse than designing a training program for 15-20 participants with interactive exercises only to have 6-8 people show up on training day.
As business leaders, we know the success of our organizations depends upon innovation and being able to continuously reinvent ourselves to adapt within the current business environment. Ultimately, the way we get there is by transforming ourselves into learning organizations, where we can learn from each other to make the company stronger and more competitive.
If you’re an HR pro looking to move your department from tactical to strategic, one of the considerations is leveraging what technology can do for you. It’s about good resource management. It’s not that you aren’t capable of recruiting, onboarding or training without technology. The question becomes, is this the best use of your time?
When you can automate manual processes, your focus shifts to gathering data, streamlining processes, and creating new strategies for the future. Even more important, it allows you to focus on the top concerns of the C-Suite: recruiting and retaining top talent. It changes the barometer of human resources. If you would like to learn more about SilkRoad technology’s GreenLight or the Gen-Probe case study, contact them via the SilkRoad website or their blog. You can also connect with them on Facebook or Twitter.
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