From Insurance and Technology Online ...

More companies are turning to online courses for training their employees, especially those out in the field or at locations far from the home office.

Like many U.S. organizations, the Novato, Calif.-based Fireman's Fund Insurance Company's (FFIC, $12.4 billion in assets) response to less than optimal economic conditions was organizational change. So when the carrier's training and development department began to feel a pinch on its resources, the struggling group turned to technology for a lesson in efficiency.

"We did a decent job of maintaining basic [training] programs in our home office, but we struggled to get training in the field to remote locations," explains Rand Libberton, management development and business skills consultant, FFIC. "Resource-wise, FFIC couldn't send one person to a location for the training of just two or three."

After the training and development group decided to "travel" to students via the technological route, Libberton set out to uncover a solution in late 2002. Armed with requirements for an online training system that had growth potential, Libberton's initial objective was to find a system that could be used for training managers. But once he met with AthenaOnline (Oakland, Calif.) and reviewed its online learning solution, it became clear that all of FFIC's employees could benefit from the solution.

The advantages of this type of education are clear. Not only can companies coordinate their training, and thus keep the focus of the message, the brand and the corporate culture intact, but they can also do it more efficiently with less reliance on trainers. This not only cuts the costs of training, but also in paying the trainers. Also, there is the time saved.

Say you have five regional offices and everyone needs to be updated on a new system, or a new direction in marketing, production or otherwise. The home office may have to dispatch trainers to all five regional offices, and if not done correctly there could be miscommunication or counterproductive relaying of the training information that comes along with the interpretation of the materials by those individual trainers in each of their workshops. If you have a designed training program already developed when the concept for whatever production or innovation had been developed, instituting that training is much easier and more focused with the use of an online course where people at the regional offices could interact with trainers at the home office.

That was a bit long and convoluted, but I think you get the picture. There should be a greater need in coming years for programmers and educators who can develop these types of courses on demand, quickly and professionally, directly to businesses. If you're interested in courses in programming or education, browse around some of the links here. It also doesn't hurt to contact any of the schools you may be interested in and request the types of combined programs which may further your attraction to potential employers. That is one thing about online education that could be better developed: the felxibility to design specific programs tailored to your needs. With traditional education, much of the structure is quite rigid and often you can't get the classes you need one semester, and the next semester you can't take them because your courseload is already full. It is your money, and your education. Demand more.