White Papers

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Designing Effective Learning Programs

Five Fallacies About the Role of Learning Content in Talent Management [PDF 485 KB]
As larger vendors begin assembling the pieces of an end-to-end human capital management platform, their focus has largely been on the integration of learning management system (LMS) functionality into the overall process. But focusing only on the underlying technologies misses a key point around the business impact of learning content. This is fostering a number of fallacies in organizations, typically outside the L&D organization which has a deep understanding for the role learning content plans in driving true behavioral change.

Scrap Learning Guide [PDF 214 KB]
Ensure your learners get the most out of your training programs--learn how to reduce "scrap learning," training that's delivered, but not applied on the job. These simple tips help you maximize your learning ROI.

SkillSoft New Hire Training Program: A Case Study of Onboarding New Sales Talent [PDF 353 KB]
SkillSoft's blended learning program for new sales new hire training is a model of efficient and effective onboarding. The program has resulted in bringing new salespeople up-to-speed more quickly, and at lower cost, than traditional approaches. This paper describes in detail how the program has been designed and implemented to achieve outstanding business results.

The SkillSoft Learning Growth Model [PDF 654 KB]
The SkillSoft Learning Growth Model describes the predictable stages that all companies go through as they progress from their initial e-learning implementations to enterprise-wide, strategic e-learning.

Getting Started with e-Learning [PDF 163 KB]
The face of corporate learning has changed. It is no longer possible to develop your human capital with a single approach. Today's corporate environment calls for out of the box thinking, incorporating the benefits of many types of learning to benefit your company's single biggest investment - your people. Evaluating the ever-growing corporate learning solutions that are available enables you to obtain full benefit from your learning programs, by selecting the range of learning resources that best match your strategic corporate goals.

Eight Phases of Workplace Learning [PDF 1.8 MB]
Today's learning organizations recognize the prevalence of informal or just-in-time learning and search for ways to support this type of learning in tandem with more formal blended training programs. This paper proposes a structure of eight phases of workplace learning that can serve as a framework for designing blended learning solutions with formal and informal components.

Blended Learning Strategies: Selecting the Best Instructional Method [PDF 554 KB]
This paper will assist you in answering key questions about how you can deliver the various components of a well-designed blended learning program.


Enhancing Leadership Development

10x10x10 Framework: A Model for Creating a Nimble, Adaptable Global Workforce White Paper [PDF 909 KB]
Time is the single most precious asset in today's fast-paced business world. Business professionals must make the most of every minute of every day, even as demands on their time have increased exponentially. Staying informed is one of the most critical needs that business people have, and also one of the most timeconsuming. This paper explores a new framework for delivering information in easily-digestible 10-minute nuggets that satisfy a range of informational needs. The 10x10x10 framework supports immediate problem-solving and the ongoing development needs of today's leaders in a hyper-competitive, ever-changing world, ultimately driving higher levels of organizational performance and agility.

Extending Reach and Ensuring Effectiveness of Leadership Development: The Role of Technology-Based Learning [PDF 2 MB]
Leadership is an important element of organizational success. So, it is not surprising that many companies look for ways to extend the benefits of leadership development to more employees. Technology-based learning approaches such as online courses, books and video programs can be used effectively to develop employees at all levels.


Exploring Mobile Learning

Five Calls to Make When Developing a Mobile Learning Strategy [PDF 442 KB]
With smartphones becoming commonplace and new mobile devices such as tablets skyrocketing in popularity, the interest in mobile learning has begun to heat up as well. Many organizations see the promise of mobile learning, but actual implementations are still rare. Is now the time to take the plunge into mobile learning or should you wait for a more stable mobile landscape to emerge? It's important for organizations to focus on some basic issues before making this important decision.


Improving Business Performance

Linking Learning to Talent Management: The Key to Accelerating Workforce Performance [PDF 865 KB]
Talent Management has grown significantly in recent years as more and more organizations have recognized the value of aligning workforce planning with business strategy. But talent management strategies and systems can only go so far in assuring the readiness of the workforce to meet ever changing market needs. A strategy for learning must be linked to talent management to truly accelerate and transform organizational performance.


Increasing Sustainability

The Greening of Training: How Sustainability is Reshaping Organizational Learning [PDF 354 KB]
Is your company "going green?" Would you like it to? This paper looks at corporate sustainability efforts and the pivotal role that the learning department can play in them. Also included are practical ideas for making training more environmentally-friendly.


Launching Social Learning

The Eight Truths of Social Learning. Now. [PDF 709 KB]
Many learning professionals are keenly interested in the topic of social learning but relatively few organizations have begun to implement it. One reason is that it is difficult to separate the hype from reality and focus on the elements that are really important. Based on early experience with our own social learning tool, this list of eight "truths" has been compiled to provide a foundation for learning professionals who are launching social learning in their organizations.


Measuring Learning, its Impact and ROI

Moving The Needle: How SkillSoft Impacts Performance of Individuals and Organizations [PDF 1.3 MB]
Research shows that organizations with a strong learning culture outperform their peers in terms of innovation, productivity, quality, and market leadership. So if organizations can use learning as a lever to achieve business advantage, who should they turn to? They should be turning to SkillSoft. A new independent study reveals that SkillSoft e-learners are adapting faster and achieving business results.

What Usage Can I Expect? White Paper [PDF 507 KB]
Clients often ask SkillSoft what usage they can expect for their e-learning programs. There is no blanket answer to this question for all organizations in all situations. However, there are trends we have seen repeated across our global customer base that are captured in the SkillSoft Learning Growth Model® (LGM). This paper, a companion to The SkillSoft Learning Growth Model: A Blueprint for Integrating Learning Into the Life of the Enterprise, explores the dynamics of usage in a variety of situations.

A Set of Best Practices for Targeting, Aligning and Measuring Learning [PDF 2 MB]
This paper offers a set of best practices for identifying learning needs that support business priorities, align a solution and measure results. It is a consolidated set of ideas, tips and techniques collected from the experiences of SkillSoft customers. Highlights include:

* Helps organizations move from "order takers" to business partners

* Provides practical approaches

* Is based on the best practices of organizations around the globe

* Outlines an approach for level 4 msmt

* Prescriptive method to make the shift from the left of the LGM to the right

The True Value of Learning [PDF 244 KB]
Yogi Berra, that paragon of word manipulation, exposition and baseball, is often quoted as saying, "The future ain't what it used to be." And, surprisingly, so it is in the world of learning measurement. We cannot sustain our training departments based on how well we do against our training budgets. This only leads to the budget being cut on a year by year basis. If we measure ourselves as an expense, so we shall be treated like an expense. That means we are the first to go when funds are needed elsewhere.

What Return on Investment does e-Learning Provide? [PDF 214 KB]
Organizations make investments in e-learning solutions with the expectation that the solutions will have a measurable impact on performance by achieving specific business outcomes. Measuring the value of learning solutions enables organizations to demonstrate the return on investment they make in training. In addition, organizations that measure training are able to increase the contribution of their learning solutions using continuous improvement processes that drive higher levels of return through enhanced performance over time.

SkillSoft Live Learning Student Survey Results White Paper [PDF 1.4 MB]
Survey results validate that the Live Learning format provided an exceptional learning experience for students, as well as a superior value to organizations.

SkillSoft Impact Analysis White Paper [PDF 448 KB]
This paper provides an overview of SkillSoft's Impact Analysis, a simplified process and toolkit offered to support SkillSoft clients in demonstrating the impact of e-learning investments in both qualitative and quantitative terms. Since 2008, the Impact Analysis has been widely adopted across the SkillSoft customer base with outstanding results. This paper includes averages collected since 2008.


SkillSoft's Instructional Design

SkillSoft 2011 Customer Satisfaction Survey [PDF 799 KB]
SkillSoft partnered with TNS, an independent research firm, to conduct its sixth annual customer satisfaction survey. SkillSoft uses this feedback and data to continuously drive improvements across the organization. In the fall, nearly 500 customer survey responses were collected across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, most of which significantly exceeded industry benchmarks. In fact, according to the data, 97% of customers are likely to recommend SkillSoft's products to a friend or colleague.

Instructional Design Model for Courseware [PDF 536 KB]
Just as fashion designers cannot create new lines of clothing without regard to principles of construction, shape, and form, designers of effective e-learning also require similar knowledge of foundational principles, theories, and models. This paper describes the instructional design model that is at the core of every course SkillSoft develops. The paper also discusses a variety of learning theories and instructional strategies that are used flexibly and creatively within that model to meet a broad range of learning requirements.

508 Accessibility: Enabling Learning [PDF 227 KB]

ID Model in IT Courseware [PDF 2.6 MB]

ID Model in Business, Compliance and ES&H [PDF 4.4 MB]

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