Digital
e-Learning
solutions
How crises are linked to HR software
Presumably you don't expect an Internet agency or software provider to philosophise with you about corporate development in your company. But rather about the latest trends in web design, Ruby on Rails, agile development, success factors, design thinking and the like. Our approach, however, is 100% in line with this thinking: Organisations and their state of development are not two separate items. And neither is the software appropriate for this development a separate entity.
This thinking leads to the question: How should e-learning applications best be incorporated into a company? Our aim is to enable utmost efficiency - ideally on an individual basis and depending on the company's development progress, namely with a customised solution.
When we refer to e-learning, we mean work-related training programmes, and consequently, further development of extremely different personalities in many cases (aka employees), and of course, the development of organisations. This organisational development generally follows complex rules in terms of relationships, aside from corporate structures. Anyone wishing to implement electronic media (e.g. software that supports or simplifies HR processes) must know these rules in order to enable growth.
Conflicts and crises are an elementary part of growth processes. They must be well thought through and expertly handled. The software used (be this client-based software or a web application) should be able to support growth processes and the associated crises in the most customised way. This means that a customised solution is often preferable to a standard solution.
Every shortcut ends up
being the long way round
One of the most difficult tasks of a manager is to change the work behaviour of people. The offer of a quick solution, e.g. through standard software, is therefore undeniably incredibly attractive.
Standard software solutions in the HR area (e.g. SABA or SUCCESS FACTORS) or other client-based software solutions have indisputable advantages. They often offer unlimited application options, constant updates and further developments, a mostly seamlessly functioning integration in the data warehouse and other IT applications, scalability, etc.
But standard software solutions also have disadvantages. In particular, in the HR area. Processes such as accounting or storage, logistics or procurement are often relatively easy to manage using standard software. In the personnel area, however, the aim is commonly to boost qualitative values ("We need more motivation in Sales", "I expect more creativity from our programmers", "It's high time that Sales adapts to its customers", "The whole of Production needs to be more aware of quality", etc.). Rarely the aim is to track, classify or support results that are mathematically captured.
But even in the case of quantitative objectives ("Our sales personnel should sell more X or Y products", "We need better applicants", "Adherence to process X should be increased by 25%", etc.), a standard software solution generally depends a lot more on different people types and their level of development than a customised solution. Of course it is easier to adapt a customised solution to a situation than a standard software solution.
Examples of problems related to standard software solutions:
- Employees forget how to use the far too complex software and develop alternative ways of working (aka "work around the software")
- Different employees work differently with the standard software. The result: Standard processes in a company are handled differently, e.g. after staff fluctuation
- Clients buy the full software scope, yet use significantly less than that
- Adapting standard software to corporate purposes is extremely time-consuming or sometimes not even possible
- Adapting standard software to corporate purposes is comparatively expensive, in some instances too expensive for particular purposes
- Organisations often also develop in stages. A standard software solution cannot keep up properly with this development
We as an agency are convinced that standard HR software solutions cannot provide optimal results at all customers, at least not in the area of continuing vocational training. Software – in our opinion – must become more flexible again. After all, the market conditions are. And the same applies to corporate developments.
We as an agency therefore offer an alternative means of implementation.
- Development-driven development / agile development and scrum: you program exactly what is required at a certain point in time. And you leave everything else out. That makes the application a lot easier. And therefore also the usage.
- Guaranteed IT security is a must
- So is compatibility with system interfaces
- Step-by-step development. Committed to individual growth. But also to the associated crises.
The advantages are obvious:
- Development is 10 times more cost-effective. At least.
- The applications are actually utilised
- Scope of e-learning offering
- Full service provider
- Consultancy services
- Design
- Curriculum (didactics/methodology as well as syllabus)
- Media production (audio, video, 3D)
- Programming
- Implementation
- Operation
