Business Services by Joan Engebretson, Contributing Writer TRAINING OUTLETS


Economy Drives Shift To Online Training


Like many dealers, Omaha, Neb.-based KolCom Network Solutions has cut back on classroom training as a result of the economic downturn. In the past, KolCom president, Dave Koluch, would occasion- ally reward good employees by sending them out of town to a training session. “I’d tell them to take the family and spend a couple of extra days,” recalled Koluch. “But I can’t afford to do that these days.” Instead, Koluch said, “We’re leaning more toward online training because of the cost and the ability to get more people trained at one time.” Some online training is available at no charge. Other options require payment but typically are less expensive than classroom train- ing, which even when free often involves travel and greater productivity costs. KolCom uses online training from several


different manufacturers, requiring employ- ees to take an online course about once a month, depending on their job responsibili- ties. Koluch notes, however, that “you give up some things — like interfacing with other people from the industry.” Some online webinar training includes a chat function with the goal of enabling participants to communicate with one another, but Koluch said that option doesn’t really replace live interaction. When the economy picks up, he hopes to resume classroom training. Dale Eller, director of education and standards for the Electronic Security Association’s National Training School, underscored Koluch’s comments. “In 2009, we saw training in general tail way off,” Eller said. “This year classroom training came back, but online training came back bigger.” Another effect of the economic down- turn is that many companies have leaner


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staffs, minimizing the time available for training and driving increased reliance on online options. “Dealers are trying to find ways to shave training time, so demand for online training is through the roof right now,” commented Mike Masten, national training manager for nation- wide distributor, ADI. “Static training opportunities will continue to increase as long as dealers are running lean,” said Masten, referring to self-guided online training options that employees can use at any time.


As dealer staffs become leaner, how-


ever, the percentage of experienced per- sonnel increases, noted Doug Hoerle, director of ADI’s systems business. “The


Whether or not a security company can use online training to meet licensing requirements varies by state. A handful of states accepts online training, Eller said, but others do not. “It comes down to two things,” he explained. One is the ability of students to prove they’re the ones who took the training — a require- ment NTS has been able to meet in some cases by creating live proctored events where students take training online. The other requirement is more problematic. Some state laws require a certain number of hours of training — and if training is self-guided, some students may complete it more quickly than others. The convenience of online training


likely will ensure that it has a place even when the economy picks up. When that happens, however, Eller, Masten and Hoerle all expect to see increased inter- est in classroom training. Despite the economic downturn, James


This year classroom training came back, but online training came back bigger.


industry is accepting online training because the average employee taking training today is more experienced and probably has smaller holes in his knowl- edge base,” said Hoerle. Both the NTS and ADI have taken steps to include a higher level of interaction in online training options. The NTS has experimented with adding brief video clips of an instructor talking about a particular topic to give online courses a more per- sonal touch — a capability Koluch said he would like to see more of. And ADI webi- nars are enhanced with a polling function that lets the instructor asks participants a multiple-choice question pertinent to the training that preceded it. “If the majority does not answer properly, it allows the instructor to go back and explain the topic in more detail,” Masten said.


Marcella, director of technical services for Axis Communications said that com- pany has seen an increase in classroom training, doubling the number of sessions it offers from two to four per month. That achievement may be due, in part, to the unique way the company prices training. Attendees pay a fee to attend but receive equipment valued at more than the cost of the class as a reward for attending. “They get a deal,” commented Marcella. Nevertheless, Axis also offers online training in the form of short courses that cover individual elements that would normally be part of three-day classroom training. The online option is popular with dealer personnel who already have considerable experience, Marcella said. “They don’t have to sit through informa- tion they’re not interested in,” he noted.


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