We have to validate the learning, OConnell says. Both [CE and non-CE] are scored, and those scores are up-loaded automatically to the agents individual training screen at the home office so we have a record of it.

Although Bankers Life doesnt call its homegrown system an LMS, OConnell understands the concept. Bankers doesnt track the CE path of its agents, leaving that responsibility to the agents themselves. When we get notice [an agents] license has not been renewed because of CE, we notify the agent [he or she is] unable to sell until CE requirements are met for the states.

Corporate University is what The Hartford calls its vendor-based LMS. It has a number of different components, but it provides us a centerpiece of all our learning, says Jim Reardon, assistant vice president corporate education for The Hartford. There are no real integration issues for the LMS, which sits on the corporate intranet site, he says. Hartford employees can research the courses they are interested in, and after registration, the course can be launched from the Corporate U site. Although the courses dont reside on the system, a link takes the user seamlessly to the course.

The system is about three years old, according to Reardon. The Hartford looked at building its own but chose to purchase. If we built this from scratch, there would be a lot more [issues] than we have, he says. Its a vendor system, so we work closely in partnership with the vendor. The cost [to build our own system] would have been very high. This was just a better option for us.

Size Matters
Different size companies have different needs, according to Juliana Lutzi, founder and CEO of FIRE Solutions, an e-learning content provider and consultant. For the top firms, a learning management system might make a lot of sense, because then they can aggregate all of their content, they can control it, and they can manage it, she says. For other carriers and agencies, I dont know if it is necessary and a good use of time and money. They can get the same service and the same level of training, tracking, reporting, hosting, securityall those critical thingssimply by partnering with a provider.

She says the ASP models supply the same services an enterprise solution provides through an LMS, but the carrier is not on the hook for an expensive purchase.

The enterprise systems are extremely expensive, Titus says, requiring an investment in hardware and software support within the carrier to set it up and bring it online. The ASP version you can have up in a day, he adds.

The problem with ASPs is they dont allow for much customization by a carrier. That can also be a good thing. If you see something you like in an ASP product, you can have it up and running quickly, and you dont have to worry about the whole technical infrastructure to support it, he says. But it is limited. You cant make a change or add a function without a whole lot of difficulty. Its like buying a car off the lot vs. ordering one from the factory.

Corporate University
What The Hartford likes about Corporate U is one tool brings employees access to all the various training the carrier has to offer. Among the features that Reardon likes is the ability to build customizable learning plans for employees. Your manager has access to whats in your learning plan, says Reardon. You can just pull up your learning plan with your manager and have discussions on whether it is an appropriate course. The information on each course is pretty robust.

Tetzlaff adds, It tells you where they are in the program so you either can do one-on-one mentoring with them or get some feedback to an employees online manager and have the manager follow up with the [employee], she says. The Hartford system also tracks deliverable dates when employees are supposed to complete certain courses in their development program.

The system leads employees to options they might not have considered. If the employee selects a topicsuch as wanting to learn more about business writingthere are more avenues displayed for them, says Tetzlaff. Not only are there classroom events they can sign up for, there are e-learning courses they can sign up for, other suggested Web sites to go to, and conferences where that material will be presented. Its a multipronged approach with the Web being one of the prongs.

The Courses
Bankers Life is looking to move as much as possible to e-learning. In the past, weve had hard-copy workbooks, seminar training with a curriculum that branch managers could utilize within the branch, says OConnell. Well still keep that, but we want to digitize everything and have the agents use the digitization process.

Such a system can work for so-called knowledge-based training, according to OConnell. With an army of agents, there also is skills-based training, and that hasnt translated to e-learning thus far. Skills-based training still is done in the classroomhow to sell, how to fact-find, he says. Its more behavioral in nature. Youve got to validate that in the classroom. The product- or knowledge-based training certainly can be used online, and thats what were doing.

Lutzi describes the e-learning process as peeling an onion. The first thing people want is the right content, she says. You can track things till the cows come home, but if you dont have the right information you are using to train folks, all the tracking in the world isnt going to matter.

The second layer of the onion is how the content is delivered. Techies use the words synchronous and asynchronous, Lutzi says. Examples of synchronous training include Web-casting technology. Asynchronous includes users logging on 24/7 from anywhere in the world and studying on their own.
Most firms have gone to blended learning where you do boththings you study on your own and things you study with colleagues, says Lutzi.

The Hartford carefully has selected the courses it offers through its corporate university, according to Tetzlaff. Several of the training areas throughout The Hartford also have developed training manuals they have placed on the corporate Web site. For example, we offered mutual fund basics [within the mutual funds unit], and its out there now for anyone in the corporation to use, she says.

Courses have been purchased from vendors as well as developed within The Hartford. The number of homegrown courses has been smaller than the vendor packages, but it is increasing, says Tetzlaff.

E-learning works best when classes are fact based, Titus agrees, and less open to interpretation. If you have a diverse global workforce and you have a need for consistent learning across the organization, e-learning works really well, he says. It also depends on the learner. Some learners thrive in that environmentthey practically do everything on the Internet. And there are other people who need somebody beating them over the head with a ruler to get them to understand the material.

Whos Using It?
The types of employees using e-learning vary by company. With a captive agent workforce, Bankers Life is heavy with classes for its agents. With an independent agency force, The Hartford concentrates on the back-office workers. People in the contact centersthe people who are on the front linehave a real thirst for industry knowledge, says Tetzlaff. Thats one of the reasons weve gone to e-learning deployment. We dont have the staff to fill all the needs on an operational floor. E-learning helps us close that gap significantly.

Companies want to teach their employees the insurance business, but they also realize that a good number of positions in the company are entry level, and that means a high turnover rate. Investing a great deal of training funds in this group might not be the best strategy for a carrier. E-learning offers the courses without the expensive and time-consuming classroom scenario. You want these people to have an understanding of your industry, and e-learning is a really good way of doing it without keeping them in the classroom forever after they have been hired, says Tetzlaff.

Web-casting is becoming more robust as an e-learning tool as well, Lutzi points out. There is a small group of 20 to 30 people online with an instructor, she explains. The instructor goes through with what looks like a PowerPoint presentation with a lot of interactive types of questions. Students can respond to a multiple-choice question from an instructor, and a bar graph will show each of the students how the class responded to the question.

On the Clock
Corporate U at The Hartford is an intranet, but the system is built into the corporate log-on and password system, according to Reardon. So it has the same restrictions as all of our systems do, he says.

Companies have other issues to weigh when considering training. Employees have production schedules they must meet, and paying an employee overtime to sit through an e-learning course is not really an option. The training initiative must come from the corporate level, Tetzlaff believes, and it is up to the department managers to make it work.

Its a commitment from the organization at the very highest level to educate your staff, she says. When I have someone in a new-hire situation, I can control [his or her] environment. My training staff uses e-learning tools throughout the classroom experience.

There comes a time when new employees have to be cut loose and start performing job functions, though. Once they get out on the floor, it becomes a juggling act with the production requirements of the day-to-day business world, says Tetzlaff.
That is when the commitment from the top needs to come. Because training is supported at the highest levels of the organization, we do what we can to juggle the time away from the [trainees] job, she says. One of the courses we are very much involved with is a 24-hour online learning course on our mutual fund industry. It is more industry knowledge to increase the depth and breadth of the processing staff in understanding the industry.

A 24-hour course on company time means a major commitment of time away from production. Employees arent free to sign themselves up to such a class. Its up to the employee and the manager to come to a mutually agreeable time, says Tetzlaff. Were not going to put someone in e-learning if theres a ton of stuff in the queue that needs to be done today. And were not going to pay overtime. Training means staffs have to be cooperative and occasionally pick up the slack for a co-worker. Everyone in the unit sucks it up a little more to juggle [production requirements], she says. When its someone elses turn to take the course, he or she will get the payoff. Everyone else will take care of the workload.

Whos in Charge?
Titus says there usually is a collaboration between the human resources department and the IT people. He believes many companies shy away from the enterprise systems and opt for an ASP. That way they dont have to involve the IT department, he says. [Training] gets much more complicated when its got to touch internal systems because of all the other internal systems [IT has to maintain].

Cost is the other big factor. Insurers can pay for an ASP training model on a monthly basis. Its not a lot of out-of-pocket expense, Titus says. He adds a client of his company purchased an enterprise solution for more than one million dollars.

As in many technology initiatives, there is no right or wrong answer for what type of solution to use. Some companies have the wherewithal to spend seven figures on a learning management system. Others just are trying their best to keep employees up-to-date on what the insurance industry is all about. Finding the right solution for a carrier usually falls somewhere in the middle of those alternatives.

The method an insurance carrier uses for its e-learning depends on the business, Lutzi believes. It depends on the type of firm, its technical resources in-house, its financial resources, its commitment to e-learning, its vision for how it wants to grow, and its e-learning initiatives.