British Telecom making blended learning work

British Telecom making blended learning work

• 1.
  BT Global Services– Making Blended Learning Work June 2010 Karen Chappell-Tay Global Head of Learning and Development
• 2.
  Contents Introduction toBT Global Services The Vision for BTGS Learning and Development – the Journey The Challenge The Solution Typical Programme Benefits Learnings
• 3.
  What is BTGlobal Services? BT Global Services delivers market-leading networked IT products and services that are critical to our customers’ success, across 170 countries. Revenue in FY 09/10 of £8.5Bn, EBITDA of £457M Customers include Fiat, P&G, MoD, DWP, Reuters, Hertz, Huawei, Sainsbury’s, Nomura, Lloyds, Unilever, Commerzbank, Emirates, Anglo American, BNL etc Received numerous industry awards, including Investors in People BT employs 120,000 people worldwide, and has over 20,000 working from home in virtual teams BT Global Services has 26,000 people worldwide, in 53 countries.
• 4.
  Where are wegoing? Maturity Curve of a Learning Organisation Disparate training Departments Combined training Departments Transition from Training to Learning Fully integrated Learning and Knowledge Management Time Value to the organisation “ Make training more efficient” “ Make training an intrinsic part of my job” “ Make training more effective” “ I am responsible for my own learning” “ We are all responsible for the organisation’s learning” 2006 2007 2008 2009 Training an integral part of all activities F2F training is done to people We measure cost Blended training is done to people We measure how much they learnt People accept responsibility for their own training We measure improvements in skills and capability We use Competence-Based Development People know how they learn and actively seek opportunities We measure business improvements People learn everywhere, seeking learning when they need it. We use knowledge calls and internal SME’s We reward people for how much their colleagues learn We measure overall business benefit 2010
• 5.
  The Problem Internally:In FY 08/09, BTGS failed to drive down costs fast enough whilst winning new capital-intensive contracts As a result EBITDA on turnover of £8.7Bn collapsed and there were extensive contract writedowns All non-essential spend was cut, including learning and travel Low value-add activities were mostly outsourced External recruitment for skills we lacked was not an option Consequently:- Face to face learning too expensive….. … .no cross fertilisation through travel… … ..and hence, no social interaction Employee Engagement surveys started to say that people felt isolated and disengaged.
• 6.
  External context Rapidinnovation and improvement in eLearning – but eLearning is too impersonal Increased availability of a variety of knowledge-sharing and collaboration tools Best practice shows over again that people learn more on the job than in formal learning programmes Increasingly sophisticated users of technology, social networking tools, virtual worlds Cost-reduction programmes by customers actually increased BTGS’ opportunities, but pressure on margins became greater.
• 7.
  Money’s too tightto mention…...but we did have assets:- An L&D function with global reach A course catalogue of over 6,500 free-at-point-of-use courses with Skillsoft A global LMS Many knowledge-sharing tools Access to new technologies e.g. Microsoft Academy, Support Point, Wiki, My BT, Wizard… An experienced L&D team Professional Communities run by SME, experienced people HR frameworks - job families and defined skills for roles Good comms channels A workforce who are used to working virtually
• 8.
  The solution –“High Touch” Programmes Personalising the Virtual World Learning through discovery (The Treasure Hunt) Working together in teams Virtual socialising – post photos, share personal stories Use of icebreaker techniques in a virtual world Must be fun The Mechanics Modular programme designed for 30-40 people, lasting 6-12 weeks Run entirely virtually using internal SME’s and facilitators Takes 1-5 hours per week for each delegate Makes extensive use of knowledge-sharing tools Most classroom techniques can now be used virtually – whiteboards, polls, shared feedback, break out rooms, presentations, videos
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  Typical Programme TimingActivity Type Week 1 Read the High Touch Welcome Pack Self-directed Week 2 Kick Off and Introduction to Collaboration Create Programme Charter and Icebreaker activities Seminar Seminar Week 3 Introduction to Podcasting Faces of Service Operations Masterclass Workshop with breakouts Week 4 Introduction to Financial Management methods and tools Case study and de-brief Team coaching Masterclass Seminar Coaching Week 5 Introduction to Business Improvement methods and tools Case study and team project kick-off Identify business issue and agree team project topic Masterclass Seminar Workshop with breakouts Week 6 Facilitator checkpoint View podcast on “how to conduct brainstorming activities” Build Business Case Self-directed Break out teams Week 7 Conduct peer review and feedback De-brief peer review activity Seminar Workshop Week 8 Refine solution based on peer review My Personal Brand Break out teams Week 9 Prepare to pitch solution Conduct pitch Break out teams Seminar Week 10 Group feedback and coaching Individual feedback and coaching Build conclusion Podcast and Summary Workshop Coaching Seminar
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  Benefits ROI IncreasesROI on current assets Delivers higher ROI than face-to-face programmes Cost Avoids spend now and in future Reduces No. of suppliers and therefore admin costs Reduces travel spend – for SME’s too Reduces travel time and time away from desk Accessibility Location-independent Creates opportunity for all to take part, not just selected few Wider accessibility as not funding-dependent Increased capability Supports drive towards knowledge-sharing Increases appetite and lowers resistance towards eLearning
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  Results Classic evaluationdata Very favourable feedback Very high Return On Investment – c.500% Highly oversubscribed programmes - 5 applicants for every available place Ran 8 programmes in FY09/10 11 programmes already booked for FY 10/11 Challenge for FY 10/11 is to industrialise the format - we cannot cope with the demand. Impact on delivery channels Face-to-face = formal, traditional classroom-based training eLearning = formal eLearning module, usually with tests etc Knowledge call/blended = semi-formal activities led by facilitator or instructor with input and participation from learners Informal/self-directed e.g. mentoring, reading texts, writing white papers, creating case studies, attending conferences, participating in discussion boards etc % of Learning 2007 2010 Classroom 80% 15% eLearning 15% 30% Blended 0 40% Informal 5% 15%
• 12.
  Engagement Website hitsremain fairly constant Use of blog rapidly increasing Blog is constantly updated and is used for sharing Correlation between use of blog and High Touch programmes Also drives podcasting In 2009:- Hits to the L&D website went from an average of 2,000 per month in the first half of the year, to 3,000 per month in 2H. Hits to the L&D blog averaged 20,000 per month. No. of voluntary subscribers to the L&D Stakeholders Newsletter went from 120 to 273, including around 50 from outside GS (excluding requests from external companies.)
• 13.
  Learnings Engage stakeholderscarefully. Find a champion because initial resistance or lack of understanding will be high – even from your own team Pilot with enthusiasts – and be prepared to learn from the pilot Position programmes from the beginning as “by invitation only” Use multiple channels to reach your target audience – increased usage of one correlates with increased usage of others Make it fun. Otherwise, when you build it, they will NOT come “ Buddies” help to keep participants going through the difficult times Initial programmes are highly resource intensive Although ROI is high, the real benefits come from cultural change, driving usage of eLearning, improving knowledge-sharing, increasing social interaction, building of networks…
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  Where are wegoing? Disparate training Departments Combined training Departments Transition from Training to Learning Fully integrated Learning and Knowledge Management Time Value to the organisation Classroom-based training 92 FTE’s Spend of £26M 15% eLearning 80 FTE’s Spend of £21M Standard curricula 50% eLearning 59 FTE’s Spend of £12M “ High Touch” blended learning programmes “ Highways” (minimum standard programmes) 15% classroom-based training 27 FTE’s Spend of £4.6M Blurred edges between knowledge sharing and learning Fully blended offering 15% classroom-based learning 37 FTE’s Spend of £10.9M “ Make training more efficient” “ Make training an intrinsic part of my job” “ Make training more effective” “ I am responsible for my own learning” “ We are all responsible for the organisation’s learning” 2006 2007 2008 2009 Training an integral part of all activities 2010
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  Business KPI’s Disparatetraining Departments Combined training Departments Transition from Training to Learning Fully integrated Learning and Knowledge Management Time Value to the organisation 2006 2007 2008 2009 Training an integral part of all activities 2010 Spend Headcount
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  What next? Alot more fun - Learning as a by-product Games and simulations Industrialise the format so that teams can run their own ?
• 17.
  And finally “Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival.” W. Edwards Deming (1900 - 1993)