Oslo, December 2005 - The Nordic insurance company "If" hosts more than a hundred elearning courses for its 6,800 employees in the Nordic and Baltic regions. "We have found a very effective solution," says Nina Sagelvmo, development coordinator for If Private's Competence & Development department.
If has offices throughout Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Elearning is an important method to transfer knowledge between the different units and supports the skill management scheme the firm has implemented. Sagelvmo explained, "We run a large number of courses and training programs without having a dedicated department specialising in elearning. All the different courses are put together by subject matter experts with the assistance of a few employees who knows the software". She added, "We use elearning to distribute knowledge quickly, directly from the people who have the information to the people who need it. It is important to have as few links as possible in the information chain and keep the bureaucratic procedures to a minimum".
Simplicity cures complexity
To sharpen the company's competitive edge, If adopted elearning at an early stage in order to share experiences and for educational purposes. However it has taken a long time to find the right software mix. "The challenge was to find a solution that would not only be quick to master - ensuring that the employees would actually use it, but one that would also make it easy for those who have knowledge to be able to share it."
"We are working with complicated information in a large organisation and needed an efficient system. Those who possess the information must be able to produce the courses themselves," says Sagelvmo, explaining that one of the most important aspects of the software was to remove user choices and thus the barriers to use it.
A cost saver
If chose the elearning system Mohive Toolbox 3.0 as one part of its elearning mix. Mohive Toolbox is an enterprise publishing system for elearning that makes it possible for employees with knowledge to make full-scale courses themselves and share them with colleagues. The system has a strong focus on workflow with integrated quality assurance to ensure that only valid content is published.
"We already see major effects from the program. In addition to saving money and time by travelling less, we have also increased the knowledge level in the organisation significantly. And when we do meet, the meetings are more productive and yield better results", acclaimed Sagelvmo.
