E-learning has many benefits, including being cost effective, time efficient and easy for the learner to complete the training at a time suitable for them.
It can simulate tricky situations or experiences that are rare, difficult, dangerous or too expensive to emulate.
It condenses theoretical parts of the training, freeing up face-to-face time for more practical elements, but it should not resemble a PowerPoint presentation or textbook online.
While the benefits of e-learning are well understood, how do you ensure that your staff are benefiting from the best training in a format that suits their needs? These 10 key questions will help you ensure that any e-learning provision best meets the needs of your organisation.
What is the quality of the learning within the package?
Training of healthcare staff is ultimately about the quality of patient care and safety. No matter how impressive the learning platform, poor quality courses will not meet the needs of the individual or the organisation.
The best e-learning will be carefully crafted and underpinned by detailed discussions with experts in the subject area. It will address any issues identified by the experts so there is a real, beneficial learning experience where learners can actually change their behaviour and attitudes, eradicate misconceptions, and improve their knowledge or understanding of processes and principles
Good e-learning content will engage the learner in meaningful, supported and formative activities in a safe environment where they can practise or reflect on the key learning concepts. It will also focus on what the learners will really need to be able to do not just know in the real-world
How do they keep their courses up-to-date with legislation AND current ways of working in the subject area (including expert involvement)?
It is important to find a robust provider. After signing, up, you want to make sure the course is still relevant and topical 12 months later. If legislation changes, will they be able to update the courses quickly and efficiently? There are times where ways of thinking do develop, and your provider needs to be aware of this.
It is important to ensure the provider works with experts in the field. The provider will know how to develop a course, but may not know the subject area well. Even if they are aware of changes, it may take time to research and identify the changes required. This will all add time and mean that staff are trained in out-of-date procedures while you are waiting for the course to be changed.
What is their process of development?
Your provider needs to keep courses up-to-date and be able to develop new courses when requirements change within the sector. They should have a development process for any kind of changes to ensure that the quality of the courses remains consistent, and that updates are made quickly and efficiently. If development processes are not in place, you could discover your staff waiting months for updates.
What platform are they using, how simple is it, how secure is it and what is the down time?
Staff have a range of levels of computer literacy, and a simple platform is important, so it is as inclusive as possible. If the platform your provider is using is complicated, staff will quickly give up before they get to the training.
Likewise, if they go to do their training, and the platform is not running, they will leave it until much later to try again. It is important to check the target the provider has for minimal downtime and when they plan downtime. The e-learning suite should have high levels of security to protect staff details and learning records. Checking a platform’s security is an important part of your information governance. It is best if downtime is only for essential updates and organised at weekends or late at night, when fewer people will be trying to access it, and for it to be communicated thoroughly beforehand
How do they communicate with you?
Providers should let you know what they are planning over the year, for example, what new courses they will be developing, what updates they anticipate occurring to their courses, and what updates they will be making to their platform (known as a development roadmap or development plan). Find out if they have a user group that you could join to get more information and so that you can discuss how other people are using the courses/platform. If they email you with updates, check that these are planned and that you will not be inundated by emails from them, but still receive relevant information. Staff will not necessarily need as detailed information on updates as the managers, but they will need to know if a course is about to be discontinued or replaced, so find out what they do to support learners too
What reporting mechanisms do you have? Is it real-time?
As a manager, you will need to access information on your staff, such as when they have completed a course, what the course was, and how long it took them to complete it. You will need to do this for compliance reporting, but you may also need it to check a query for your staff or use the data to support them in appraisal meetings. Ask if you can have a demo of how the reporting works to check it meets your needs. It is important that as a manager you can access the information in real-time, so that you can be sure you are using the latest information.
What implementation and helpdesk support can you provide?
If you have not used e-learning in your organisation before, or even if you currently are, but are moving to a new system, you may need support to ensure staff are properly prepared for the change. Ask your provider what assistance they can provide. Implementation can range from nothing apart from granting access through to learning needs analysis, marketing, training sessions on how best to use the platform (particularly for managers who can be experts for their staff), to an in-depth project identifying your needs, cleansing data and supporting all staff to be familiar with the system.
Your staff will need assistance on occasion after implementation, such as when they have technical issues. Check whether your provider has a helpdesk, or some kind of method of communication for staff using the platform. If they can’t access the platform because they have forgotten their password, they will need quick and efficient support to get back up and running. In the day-to-day use of the platform, such support is vital for staff to have confidence in the system. An email response two days later will not help drive adoption of the system. All organisations should publish their response times in a set of service level agreements (SLAs). Check that the standard SLA meets your organisation’s needs.
How do they keep up with learning and technology trends?
Staff are increasingly accessing e-learning via tablets and/or home computers, even in some cases via mobile phones. This can cause major issues for older courses that have Flash in them, and which therefore do not run correctly on iPads. With different screen sizes, it is also important that they are planning for responsive technology, which will ensure the platform is resized to the size of the screen a person is using. If this is not in place, staff will miss half the information on the screen. Ask your provider if they have made changes, or are planning changes to accommodate for these.
It is easy to be impressed by sites that claim to be at the cutting edge of technology and offer very slick websites. While it is important to keep up with these trends, being too current may cause issues for new software solutions that have not been properly tested for any bugs. It is essential to make sure the new technology has been thoroughly tested, the priority should always be that technology being used meets the organisation’s requirements even if it’s not the latest trend.
Likewise, ensuring the courses are educational is essential and check that they are not implementing the latest trends without fully researching how it impacts on the learning experience, and whether it benefits the learner. The purpose of e-learning is to develop the knowledge of the staff, not to entertain or distract from the learning.
Have they worked with organisations with the same needs as yours?
Your provider should be able to support your needs. If they have not had experience of working with organisations like yours, for example size, complexity, type of organisation, they may not be able to support you to the level you require. If for example, you have not used e-learning before and work in an organisation spread across the country, you will need more assistance in bringing together the organisation in understanding the benefits of e-learning, and a series of meetings to ensure you get the best out of the training. Complex implementations also require more support from the e-learning provider at each of the sites as well as bespoke reporting skills. Ask your provider about their experience of implementation in large organisations and the ability to produce reports across different sites and staff groups.
Can you speak to other customers?
The best way to find out how good a provider really is is to speak to existing customers. Ask if there are organisations similar to yours that you could chat to, to see how the courses and platform are working for them. This will not only give you an idea of what they can offer, but also how different people use training, and could develop a beneficial relationship with another organisation.
These questions cannot cover all aspects of this broad topic – to find put more, please visit skillsforhealth.org.uk or call us on 0844 770 3770 for more information.
Content on this page is produced and paid for by Skills for Health, sponsor of the Guardian Healthcare Professionals Network’s workforce development hub
