Inc. 500 Interview: E-Learning for Employees

By Tara Swords

The CEO of GTCI talks about how to take advantage of online education technologies to teach staff and build customer relationships.

Given the cost of employee education, small and medium-sized businesses used to shy away from such programs. But now e-learning has made it accessible to all kinds of companies. Founded in 1996, GTCI, of Richardson, Tex., helps businesses develop documentation and programs for e-learning, mobile learning, and instructor-led training. The company was No. 76 on the 2005 Inc. 500.

GTCI CEO Karen Gordon talks about how small but fast-growing companies can use e-learning to educate employees and build relationships with customers.

Inc.Technology: When is it smart to use e-learning as opposed to instructor-led training?

Karen Gordon: What I’ve seen is that e-learning is a great tool for skill-based training. We usually recommend a blended approach for our clients but it just depends on what the particular need is. If it’s overview material, it’s well suited for e-learning. Sometimes when you have really in-depth, hands-on training, that’s still better suited for leader-led. But anything that is overview-type material is a great place to start when you first begin to use e-learning.

IncTechnology: What are some of the more creative uses of e-learning that companies might not have considered?

Gordon: Some people are using e-learning as a performance support tool. They’re providing learners with what they need when they need it. You’re able to focus on just what’s appropriate for the learner. You may have a whole series of courses that you want people to go through. But you may have people that walk in the door and maybe have four of the ten things you want to train them on. Through e-learning, you’re able to focus on that instead of having to customize leader-led training every time you bring employees in the door.

IncTechnology: What are some of the biggest mistakes companies make when undertaking e-learning?

Gordon: As a matter of fact, the biggest pitfall we see is when people want to take existing curricula that they deliver as leader-led and simply convert it into e-learning. Well, you can’t really do that. You shouldn’t do that because you’re dealing with a different medium. You need to make sure that you’re getting the information to the learner in an expedient manner and in a manner that will capture their attention and make them want to stay at that terminal to work through the program.

IncTechnology: What is the future of e-learning? Should companies consider approaches like mobile e-learning?

Gordon: I believe they should. I think with the travel that people are doing, you need to be able to capitalize on the time they have. And normally it’s shorter periods of time. If you’re sitting at the airport and want to pop something in and teach to a particular objective, then you’re ale to capitalize on that time. Human capital is a great cost in all businesses. So you want to make sure that your workforce is highly trained and that they have the information that they need.

IncTechnology: Cost-wise, is e-learning within the reach of small businesses?

Gordon: It used to be when you heard “e-learning” that people had huge dollar signs flashing before their eyes. It was very costly to get into the market. We’re able to offer small and medium-sized businesses e-learning where before, they wouldn’t have been able to consider it. Because now, with rapid development, you have tools and templates that you’re able to use and so our developers are able to focus on the content and sound instructional design as opposed to worrying about the complex and time-consuming programming, which is what made e-learning so expensive for so many years.