International relocation giant, the Crown Group, announced the roll-out of Lotus online training program LearningSpace for its worldwide network of employees.
This online training program features in-depth training courses on all of the Crown Group`s business divisions. The courses offer training for a wide selection of areas, including new hire orientation, phone handling, customer service and international packing training.
"LearningSpace will allow us to offer, through Crown`s worldwide network, a uniform, interactive and dynamic training approach to all our employees," said Ron Pigate, Crown`s Hong Kong-based Group Training Manager.
"LearningSpace will standardise and advance our training program worldwide. Depending on the individual requirements of any Crown location, we can custom-tailor the program to suit their needs.
"We will be able to provide courses, monitor the student`s progress through tests and quizzes, and give the student feedback concerning areas of weakness."
LearningSpace is an educational software application designed by Lotus. Crown is using Lotus LearningSpace Forum Version 3.5, which runs on either Lotus Notes or a standard Web browser.
The individual courses for Crown`s LearningSpace module were designed by the company`s Group Training Department and specialists throughout the group.
"LearningSpace is dynamic - unlike a training manual or written documentation, it can be constantly updated and the changes are seen immediately throughout the company`s worldwide network," said Pigate.
"The program is also interactive - each training module is composed of articles, presentations, quizzes and surveys to make learning more enjoyable.
"Furthermore, it [LearningSpace] is extremely user-friendly and does not require any additional hardware or software, since Crown already operates on Lotus Notes. Courses are created at a central location and then replicated to all of our offices worldwide."
Pigate explained the course participants, along with the course instructors, make up a community that can share ideas, collaborate on projects, conduct discussions and ask questions online. In December 2000, Crown`s Executive Board began preliminary testing of the LearningSpace application. Crown`s LearningSpace pilot course was then further trialled during March and April by selected employees within the Crown Group worldwide.
"LearningSpace is for everyone within the Crown Group. Initially, however, we want to target new hires in order to bring them up to speed regarding our company, our services and our expectations," said Pigate.
"The second step will be to tackle key functional training areas in our industry, and we also plan to use LearningSpace in conjunction with pre-existing training seminars and workshops."
"We will use LearningSpace during Crown`s annual management training program for recent graduates and internal candidates - Crown University - which takes place later this summer in Los Angeles, California. LearningSpace will be used for pre-reading, pre-coursework and discussion prior to the commencement of classes this August."
Pigate said because online learning cannot replace face-to-face training, LearningSpace will supplement the many existing training measures Crown has established within the company.
The Crown Group has over 90 offices in 36 countries. The Crown Relocations division specialises in employee relocation services for multinational corporations. The company is also a leader in the management and storage of business records, and provides other specialised transportation, forwarding, and warehousing services for expanding international businesses. The group provides services to over 7 000 major multinational corporations around the globe, as well as caters to the needs of private customers. Crown`s Web site is www.crownrelo.com.
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