eLearning-Quality for SMEs
Lisbon (PT), December 2007 - (by Vanda Vieira, CECOA) During the last two years, seven European organisations have been working on the quality of eLearning targeted to SMEs. Under the coordination of CECOA, the Portuguese Vocational Training Centre for the Trade and Service Industry, the partnership developed products targeted at European SME entrepreneurs, training providers, training consultants, and social partners. In a final conference in Lisbon, the project findings were published and discussed.
The goal of the ELQ-SMEs was to promote the use of new multimedia and a guidance-and-counselling approach in order to promote the quality of eLearning by facilitating access to online resources in addition to tools to evaluate the quality and the return on investment in eLearning targeted at SMEs.
ROI Methodology conception
The ROI Methodology for eLearning Courses was developed for training consultants and training organizations and aims at the provision of a set of guidelines for the application of the ROI Methodology in eLearning environments. It is also targeted at helping employers, employees, and training providers to perceive the training outcomes and results in terms of their impact on SMEs.
Seen as one of the most welcome tools created by the ELQ-SMEs project partners, the ROI Methodology for eLearning Courses enables SMEs in the trade and service sectors to calculate the ROI of training simply and easily, using indicators that are for the most part easy to collect. At the same time, comparing the costs of traditional training versus eLearning may encourage SMEs from the trade and service sectors to use eLearning in their continuous-training initiatives.
ROI Methodology application
This ROI methodology has proven to be very useful for SMEs, especially for very small enterprises with management departments that are not specialised in training. Nowadays, the majority of the trainings supported by employers are not in-house training programmes, and they are associated with very high costs, including travel and accommodation costs for the participants. Comparing the costs of eLearning to those of traditional training is not only important in order to gather the ROI of training, but it is also a way of encouraging the management of the enterprises to analyse the importance of their employees' training and how it affects the success of their businesses.
There are factors that make it more difficult for SMEs to use the ROI methodology. Nevertheless, there are other factors that encourage its introduction:
- The ROI Calculator is a very useful tool for implementing and evaluating eLearning courses;
- The ROI Calculator can profitably be implemented as part of the company's decision-making tool for choosing courses in eLearning;
- The ROI Calculator could be an important tool to help answer questions about the potential success and the economic value of the programs;
- It is a method for evaluating return on investment in training whilst, at the same time, it compares the return from traditional training and eLearning.
Implementing eLearning in SMEs
The introduction of eLearning courses in SMEs is a complex process that sometimes encounters difficulties, and it is therefore crucial to be able to argue both on a pedagogical and on a financial basis. This means that when eLearning is implemented, the participants must first of all be convinced of its advantages and benefits.
The Guide to Conceive and Evaluate eLearning Courses for SMEs Entrepreneurs and Training Providers: Implementing eLearning in SMEs presents the various steps of the process, during and after the implementation of eLearning programmes. The guide is intended to provide an overview of how this process works in practice in order to transform a rather vague feeling of unease into active participation in the planning process on the part of those involved.
Planning, development, execution, and quality control of eLearning measures - a process in seven steps.
The following table shows the process categories and describes the requirements and process steps included in the categories
| Process category | Process steps |
| 1. Determining requirements | Problem description, determining learning goals, training requirements |
| 2. Basic conditions | Learning environments not optimised for learning processes, learning locations, allowed time, organisational rules |
| 3. Conception | Draft for target groups and media programmes offered that are adequate to meet learning goals |
| 4. Production | Feedback loops |
| 5. Implementation | Stakeholder inclusion |
| 6. Execution | Flexibility, certification |
| 7. Evaluation | Quality assurance and cost effectiveness review |
Final remarks
The general results have been very positive in regard to the added value of the project products. The Quality Management Plan (QMP) and quality dossier presents the reports of the internal and external evaluations as well as the evaluations done through each partner's local committees.
The partnership is fully aware that the products are not a complete work. They must be seen just as a "step forward" in the attempt to provide useful training references and resources in the field of eLearning quality and ROI evaluation for training consultants in their contact with SMEs.
The project team hopes that the project results will help the end.users to better promote eLearning practices in SMEs. Assuming this project to be the beginning of a continuous improvement process, the partnership welcomes all contributions, suggestions, and comments that end-users would like to forward.
