Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/295251
[ 36 ] HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | APRIL 2014 sponsors, operation managers, general managers, vice presidents–people in the field who understand and do the work every single day. Frontline people were also chosen to be the coaches. Who better to train someone than the people who do these jobs every day?" Iron Mountain is now considering whether to develop "a flipped classroom model," made up of virtual online sessions of instructors teaching either live or recorded that the company would roll out with a possible Sentinel 2.0 program for managers and supervisors, she says. Social Platforms Are Growing Employers are also employing more social and collaborative learning strategies, because it leads to better engagement, Bragar says. Companies are developing some collaborative technology internally, in combination with the usage of commercial technology, he says. But companies are also seeking help from providers to develop strategy, select, and implement technologies, give them training on how to best use them, and how to measure the effectiveness of social learning. USAA Bank's Stone says that he believes more learning departments will construct systems to enable the entire company to learn from one another through social media and peer-to-peer interactions. "There will still be a need for some instructional design and development, and some delivery, but learning becomes more scalable and cost effective under the future model," he says. NCR uses Chatter, a module built into salesforce.com, in which thought leaders, such as the CEO, can post trends about the industry, customer event notifications, or articles of particular interest. Strainick uses it to keep his team updated on trends in learning, talent, and leadership development, and employees use to share ideas in individual groups. "Raytheon consults with us about how to deploy courseware within Chatter and our other modalities, to achieve certain business objectives, and we use our own expertise," Strainick says. "The power of social media in learning is your ability to continue the conversation both in and out of the classroom." Social learning is still very much in its infancy, Oliver says. "My advice would be to not be too heavy on the regulation. If you've got the right company culture, your people will self-regulate," he says. "They know that what they post can affect their career, and if they post something that is inaccurate, others within the organization will quickly correct it." Incorporating Mobile Learning More employers are interested in mobile learning, because it's now not just about being able to put content on smart phones, it's also about being able to put content onto tablets, which expands the use of mobile and makes learning more portable, Higgins says. Mobile learning is also getting more popular because employers can avoid having to produce reams of paper, binders, and learning materials and give workers learning at the point where they most need it. Raytheon helps employers develop mobile content, but the essential part to know is that if the user doesn't use mobile as part of their daily work, then the return on investment won't be there, Oliver says. Mobile learning should be for people like sales reps, who could use mobile content within their natural toolkit. Content also needs to be adapted for mobile devices—employers may want to "chunk it" into shorter snippets, make it more graphic-based rather than text-based, and use more video content. NCR uses mobile learning tools primarily for its customer engineers, sales team, and other employees who are out Learning More employers are interested in mobile learning, but content needs to be adapted for mobile devices. Employers may want to "chunk it" into shorter snippets, make it more graphic-based rather than text-based, and use more video content.