Many organisations pay for access to a catalogue of generic eLearning content; at the same time those organisations are often unclear on the value they drive from the investment they’ve made.
So what can we, as learning professionals, do about it? How can we drive the value in learning catalogues?
As with all learning and development, clear contribution to business goals, effectiveness and business impact should be at the centre of any effort to drive the value of the investment, supporting the standard metrics often seen:
- Usage
- Licence statistics etc.
Driving the value of generic catalogues is often seen as a difficult task; so let’s keep it simple by focusing on four phases;
- Targeting
- Analysis
- Alignment and;
- Driving usage (Intelligently in order to achieve business goals)
Whilst many organisations are looking at the same challenges in terms of maximising their investment in catalogues, they are often at a variety of different points in terms of maturity of their own journey.
As an L&D professional you may be at the start of your journey and find each phase helpful, alternatively you may see your own journey reflected within some of the phases (there are no ‘magic bullets’ that maximise value) but hopefully there will be one or two thoughts that can support your journey, or that stimulate thinking for the next phase you undertake.
Four phaes of catalogue value maximisation:
Target
- Targeting of core organisational needs with headline offerings from the catalogue to increase awareness and begin shifting feedback/perceptions
Analyse
- Understand what you use and how you use it
- Understand what you need
Align
- Work in partnership with your catalogue provider or catalogue team
Drive
- Work in partnership with your central learning function or Managed Service Provider
- Demand planning – Align your projected learning demand to your catalogue
- Operate routing governance (BAU) to ‘Push’ learners to appropriate content
- Operate governance in ‘Project & Change’ spend to ensure catalogue materials are reviewed in-line with needs
Only by adopting a methodical approach will you set yourself up for success and really make the most of your catalogue.
