E-Learning and the Changing Face of Corporate Training and Development

Internet technologies and the advent of e-learning applications inmany organisations have made a fundamental difference to the way organisations deliver training and development content, activities and experiences to their employees. Some of the organisations at the forefront of deploying e-learning technologies have been global corporations and/or transaction processing intensive organisations, who typically have difficulties assembling their staff for traditional classroom based training activities, either due to logistical difficulties or because of the impact this would have on work flows and business continuity. Such organisations have developed approaches to e-learning and competency development that overcome the logistical problems of conventional training by making innovative use of e-learning. This paper examines the approaches used by several leading global, Australian and Asian organisations, including Cisco Systems, Motorola, Qantas and several others by drawing on a field study conducted by the writer during 2003–2004. It attempts to identify some key emerging trends and practices in the field, and lessons that can be learnt from the experiences of organisations reviewed, for the successful deployment of e-learning strategies.