Training Employees of IBM Through e-Learning

In 1999, IBM launched the pilot Basic Blue management training program, which was fully deployed in 2000. Basic Blue was an in-house management training program for new managers. It imparted 75 percent of the training online and the remaining 25 percent through the traditional classroom mode.

The e-learning part included articles, simulations, job aids and short courses. The founding principle of Basic Blue was that 'learning is an extended process, not a one-time event.' Basic Blue was based on a '4-Tier blended learning model' (Refer Table I). The first three tiers were delivered online and the fourth tier included one-week long traditional classroom training.

The e-learning projects of IBM had been successful right from the initial stages of their implementation. These programs were appreciated by HR experts of IBM, and other companies. The Basic Blue program bagged three awards of 'Excellence in Practice' from the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) in March 2000. It was also included among the ten best 'world-class implementations of corporate learning' initiatives by the "e-Learning across the Enterprise: The Benchmarking Study of Best Practices" (Brandon Hall) in September 2000...