The Institute of Directors Certificate in Company Direction eSupport:
A New Approach to Developing Directors with Blended Learning
Developing directors is a major challenge for many organisations. Directors often find it extremely difficult to fit time for personal development into a busy schedule of strategic planning, public appearances and endless meetings. And yet it is essential that they remain up to date with legal requirements as well as developing leadership skills. One learning solution from the Institute of Directors (IoD), supported by learning solutions expert, Academee, offers expert learning content via an innovative, flexible route which gives directors more choice and control over how and where they learn.
The excellent and renowned Certificate in Company Direction programme of courses from the IoD has recently been enhanced by the inclusion of a comprehensive esupport site from learning solutions expert, Academee. As a leading worldwide association, the IoD has always placed a strong emphasis on professional development. The face-to-face courses forming the Certificate in Company Direction, aimed at existing and aspiring company directors, equip delegates with the knowledge and skills to become a successful leader. The Certificate is open to both IoD members and non members.
The IoD is a professional Institute with a reputation for setting and maintaining standards in the boardroom. As a worldwide association of members, it provides a professional network that reaches into every corner of the business community. Membership spans the whole spectrum of business leadership, from the largest public companies to the smallest private firms.
Academee is a leading provider of learning solutions which combine elearning, face-to-face training and consultancy. Clients include RBS, AstraZeneca, ExxonMobil, Department for Work & Pensions, WHSmith, Fujitsu Services and Dyson.
The Challenge
The Certificate in Company Direction provides directors with a world class qualification. Delivered via face-to-face training, the Certificate covers the essential areas required for the role of director and the key skills for running a successful business.
The IoD wanted to enhance the training programme by providing learners with a rich online learning environment which offered support to the existing face-to-face courses. Some delegates had requested online support, and the IoD was already committed to offering leading edge solutions, utilising the internet where possible. The IoD decided to exceed delegates' expectations by creating intelligent online support which delivered real, tangible benefits.
The solution needed to be cost-effective as the IoD did not want to increase the price of the programme.
The Solution
Academee enhanced the courses by developing a comprehensive esupport site, which transformed the face-to-face courses into a blended learning programme.
The IoD is always seeking ways in which they can enhance the products and services they are offering to delegates on their programmes. The esupport means that they can offer a state of the art support solution, greater value for money, consistent support to all delegates across the UK, improved services and post workshop support to aid them in their exam revision.
The esupport site is designed to refresh and support the knowledge individuals gain on the IoD's face-to-face courses and to aid revision for the Certificate in Company Direction examination. A file repository area on the site provides them access to up-to-date digital course material.
The site is an online support framework with a suite of revision tools, quizzes, tests, summaries, resources, case studies, discussion board and various other exercises which allow delegates to test and refresh their knowledge and understanding of key areas of the face-to-face programme, including:
- The role of the company director and the board
- The director and the law
- Finance for non financial directors
- Strategic business direction
The online activities help delegates to test their knowledge of each subject in the programme and identify areas where they should focus their revision. Designed to be used in conjunction with course reference notes, the esupport site provides a rich learning environment where individuals can take control of their learning and progress.
Access to the esupport site is easy - through the IoD.com and Academee websites. There is no requirement to invest in or install hardware or software infrastructure - all that is required is a PC linked to the internet.
Academee's brief was to design and build something that would run on the lowest spec of PC that any delegate might have - therefore limited in use of animations, video, audio and so on. Within these guidelines, a visually stimulating, interactive site has been created. This user-friendly solution enables delegates to easily access the site from home or on the road, as many do not have time to go online in the office, where they are most likely to have high speed internet access and high-spec computers. This also takes into account the fact that not all delegates are necessarily technically skilled.
The Benefits
While most elearning solutions are designed to replace face-to-face training, this solution supports face-to-face training and increases its effectiveness - an excellent example of successful blended learning.
To date over 150 people have accessed the site, well over 600 times between them.
The solution was developed cost-effectively, so it has been offered to delegates as an additional benefit at no extra cost.
The esupport site is learner-led, allowing IoD delegates to dip in and out. There is more than one way through the material, allowing them to choose individual paths. It enables post workshop learning communities to develop, ensures delegates always have up to date versions of course notes and also provides post workshop support for courses. The site gives learners a greater degree of flexibility and control over their own learning style, pace and timing than face-to-face training alone.
Delegates often take up to a year to complete the programme, and there may be significant gaps between face-to-face courses. The esupport site enables delegates to keep in touch and remain focused on their learning between events, ensuring a sense of continuity.
The ability to download the course reference notes has also been expressed as a major benefit of the esupport site. Delegates work through the programme at their own pace and some may not take the exam until a year or more after completing the face-to-face courses. The course reference notes are updated every six months in line with new and changing legislation and current views on best practice to ensure they are as up-to-date as possible. Users of the esupport site can download the current versions of the course reference notes at any point during their development programme, thus ensuring they are kept up to date and helping them to prepare for the exam.
Face-to-face training takes place in a range of locations including Belfast, Edinburgh and London. The esupport site enables a consistency of support for delegates, ensuring that the same high level of support is available, wherever they are located.
The esupport site is also a highly effective way of bringing together geographically dispersed teams of delegates, encouraging shared learning and collaboration through a soon-to-be-introduced collaboration area. A major benefit delegates get from the overall programme is the opportunity to network with and learn from people at the same level as themselves. The discussion board on the esupport site will create an online community, enabling users to continue their contact with fellow delegates and the tutors even after they have finished their course/ programme.
Response to the esupport has been so positive that it is now being extended to cover the full Diploma programme which means adding the following three courses:
- Effective Marketing Strategies
- People Mean Business
- Leadership and Strategic Change
Quotes from reviewers before the esupport site went live:
"I found the questions, both the radio button true/false type, and the written answer with feedback, most helpful."
"I think this is an excellent tool which will improve with use and feedback. I wish it had been in place when I was studying for my Diploma!"
"This site enables a student to concentrate on his/her weaker areas with more revision tools."
Quotes from delegates after the site went live:
"I thought the esupport site was great and used it to access the electronic version of the updated course reference notes to prepare for the exam."
"I would be willing to pay a subscription to the site following the programme as an online community would be great."
"The IoD's sales team and other key stakeholders have found that the esupport site significanty enhances the offering they can provide to members and non-members alike. It has captured the imagination of IoD employees throughout the organisation, and is helping to further the IoD brand."
"We chose to work with Academee as a partner because they quickly grasped what we were trying to achieve," says Andrew Spencer, IoD's Head of Training and Development. "They suggested very innovative and workable elearning solutions which really enrich the learning experience. The esupport site has helped to turn the Certificate in Company Direction into a total development programme."
"For Academee, working in partnership with the IoD has been extremely rewarding," says Dr Jo Cheesman, Academee's eLearning Client Manager. "As a leading worldwide association, the IoD has always placed a strong emphasis on professional development. For Academee, this has been a great opportunity to make professional learning increasingly accessible and effective."
The Future
An additional spin-off benefit has been the development of an ePrep site, targeted at delegates on in-house, tailored company programmes rather than open programmes. The esupport structure and activities have been used as the basis for the design of the ePrep site, which provides pre workshop support for delegates, and is currently being piloted. The ePrep site enables learners to efficiently prepare for face-to-face training without spending time out of the office.
The IoD chose to work with Academee because we quickly grasped what they were trying to achieve and developed innovative and workable elearning solutions, which really enriched the learning experience.
