Monday, January 29, 2007

Shape up with Rapid E-learning!

Recall the number of encounters you have had with an uncouth and obnoxious Indian government employee –- in railway stations, airports, banks, government offices etc. Were you ever left feeling dejected and cheated? Were you showered with expletives and attitude? Given the current standards, YES!

Most government workers in India today, inspite their tasting the fruits of globalization, remain localized –- unprofessional in every sense of the word. For example, in India's national capital 2 out of three citizens I meet report of harrasment, racism, inhuman treatment and unprofessionalism meted out by a govt. employee -- postman, policeman, bank clerk, municipality counseller, booking clerk, and worst, peons. And they have nowhere to go. As tales of some of the most horrendous racial discrimination makes inroads into the public realm, one cannot help but remain concerned about the lop-sided development. The rut appears to be eating out our senses.

With claims of being one of the world’s ancient civilizations, our government officials exemplify otherwise. Clearly no evolution is visible in sight and action. Even with the noted Right to Information (RTI) Act the difference in workplace attitude and approach is a mirage. As one Indian citizen recently noted "I feel India is fast receding into a chaotic nation with public work culture and attitude registering the lowest performance in the world. The government machinery just does not seem to work."

Perhaps e-learning has a solution here largely because training a mammoth government work-force with basic workplace skills through traditional instructor-led training would require tremendous effort -- something that the government cannot afford. Ideally, the government should firm-up mandatory training laws for all departments, and better still, map training to the appraisal system. E-learning can help inject order in government servants. Its time Indians inward-feed some of those e-learning courses that they develop for a global clientele. And the Indian government should be the first customers -- if they aren't they surely are determined to take the nation back in time to devastation.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Are e-learning employees getting a raw deal?

There's little doubt that e-learning has made great strides over the years. India today boasts of a sizeable number of e-learning companies with clients of all sizes and shapes -- from small to Fortune 500 companies. And Indian companies appear to be scoring high on quality issues.

But the flipside of the whole game is ironical. While all e-learning companies boasts of a competent workforce, most do not price their resources. Today as the industry stands in the threshold of a revolution in the software and e-learning sector, e-learning professionals are getting far too less than they actually deserve. And that explains the huge exodus of e-learning professionals from one company to another and even to the IT sector.

Most e-learning companies do not have an employee insurance scheme. This means that if employees meet with a fatal accident, they are left on their own -- with nowhere to go. Their family members are left to strive on their own. The company simply dashes off a condolence message to one and all through e-mail and loo all are back to work. As one e-learning professional working with one of India's largest e-learning company in New Delhi recently observed, "They kiss you like a buddy when they need you and dump you like a fly when you are in distress."

In the US, e-learning employees are covered through a comprehensive health and life insurance. Surprisingly, in India, while most e-learning companies emulate the US model they simply ignore things when it comes to employee welfare. This trend should change, if at all Indian e-learning companies are serious about registering global success stories.

Understandably the demand for a regulator of the e-learning industry, that has been doing the rounds of informal corridors in India, has been more from employees than from e-learning employers because of the simple reason that a regulator is more likely to tighten the noose around e-learning companies than the code of conduct laid down for the professionals.

There are good reasons to beleive why the e-learning sector is looked down upon by IT professionals in software companies. Most IT professionals believe that in an era of scare resources its foolish to hang around in a sector that offers challenges sans simple employee benefits like health insurance and accidental insurance. While these benefits come natural to software professionals in IT companies e-learning companies continue crying over "petty" profits that they claim to make. While the fact remains that most e-learning companies are raking in profits amounting to millions of dollars.

Perhaps this explains the huge exodus of e-learning professionals from one company to another without showcasing a wee bit of attachment to companies. And they are right when they do so. Afterall who the heck is concerned about e-learning companies when these companies have done almost nothing to win the heart and confidence of its resources. And its also justified when I hear tales of e-learning professionals demanding hefty remuneration packages and annual increments forcing employers to concede. Perhaps these companies deserve it!