For most IT Managers, the thought of scheduling volumes of IT professionals into classroom ITIL courses is unthinkable and not practical. Now, this feeling may be grounded in environmental concerns - travel. It may be grounded in budget issues - at $1500-$2000 per person, ouch. It may be grounded in time allocation concerns - 3 days out of the office, whoah. Or, it may be grounded in results - do people really retain much after 3 days of boot camp style ITIL Foundation training? More likely your concerns are grounded in most of the above.
To start, I would suggest that you need to get EVERYONE speaking the same language. From the front lines up to the Executive, a simple interactive ITIL awareness module, easily distributed (and tracked) across your entire IT organization. Keep it to 30 minutes or less, and it needs to be engaging, considering the nature of the topic. All too often online learning is not much more than a manual in electronic format. Search for the best!
From there, your education plan may target those that require a more in-depth understanding of the ITIL processes. Consider a blended approach. It may be viable for some learners to spend the 3 days in a classroom. However, for large IT enterprises with a high volume of learners needing to be ITIL Foundation certified, an interactive online program, easily distributed around the globe may be the order of the day. To add a live instructor component, this virtually-trained group may benefit from organized, live exam-prep sessions with a certified instructor. Again, this could all be done virtually, or schedule into a classroom.
Other supplemental resources could include global discussion forums bringing together learners who are simultaneously preparing for the exam. In addition, study notes exist to assist the learners.
And don’t forget about the tools. Your tool/systems training should be a blend of process and tool training. These are not mutually exclusive, yet most organizations train the tool outside of the processes (and visa versa). Integrate the learning strategy.
Avoid the “bums in seats” mentally that so often prevents sustainable, green and cost-effective learning. Implement a Blended “Virtual” model for education and you are on your way to strategy that aligns with today’s buzz:
• It’s Green
• It’s Virtual
• It Costs Less
• It’s Less Time Intensive
• It’s Sustainable (Adult Learning Theory)
And as more and more IT shops embrace the Virtual employee, you will be ahead of the curve and ready.
Good luck!
In the spirit of disclosure, it is worth noting that we’ve invested a lot of time building a solution similar to what I’ve described above. While we’re certainly partial, we do believe strongly in the merits of a digital format when it comes to training in the 21st century.
