Elearning Consultant: For the benefits of elearning, consultant CGI turned to SkillSoft. CGI implemented a multi-modal learning program. They delivered elearning for IT professionals including certification elearning. Referenceware® from Books24x7® and live chats augmented over 1300 SkillSoft courses available through elearning consultant CGI implemented.

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from SkillSoft

CGI
CGI is Canada’s largest independent information technology services firm and the eighth largest in the world. With revenues of more than $3 billion, CGI serves a long list of clients that include Air Canada, American Express, Michelin North America, Nokia, the city of New York and the U.S. State Department.

According to Carol Ariano, vice president of human resources global operations, building an e-learning culture at CGI didn’t happen overnight. She has made a lot of progress despite numerous challenges, including CGI's decentralized structure and employee mobility; lost revenue during training time due to less billable hours; and the need for dynamic learning programs in a constantly changing technology consulting business.

Profile As one of the largest Canadian IT consulting firms, CGI provides end-to-end IT and business process services that include the planning, design, implementation and management of IT environments. Founded in 1976, the company is the eighth largest IT services firm in the world, with annual revenues of more than $3 billion. Challenge CGI needed to overcome several learning challenges, including a decentralized structure and employee mobility; lost revenue during training time due to less billable hours; and the need for dynamic learning programs in a constantly changing technology consulting business. Solution CGI implemented a multi-modal learning program, delivered through the firm’s e-Learning Toolbox, that combines 1,300 SkillSoft business and IT courses, Referenceware® from Books24x7®, live chats, mentoring and certification test preparation. Results Less than a year after implementing the Books24x7® online book collections, about 10,000 people at CGI have access to the tool. From January through March 2005, more than 1,370 users accessed 2,580 books, with more than 50 percent of the available seats showing active usage.

The firm has 25,000 professionals working from 107 offices in 19 countries. They are called "members," said Ariano, "because all who join our ranks fully participate in building a world-class company."

To serve clients effectively, CGI consultants must combine IT expertise with knowledge of a specialty area such as financial services, government, health care or telecommunications. According to Ariano, this dual expertise allows members to help clients "adapt as their industries change and, in the process, allows CGI to help evolve the industries in which we operate."

The evolution of a learning program
A Canadian expansion in the mid 1990s was a seminal time in the evolution of CGI's learning program.

Although the firm realized certification programs in specific technical areas would be an important selling point, bringing people together for classroom training was time-consuming and costly. Early efforts at self-training that often required installing special software to run diskettes were only a marginal improvement. These factors helped plant the seeds for e-learning.

In July 2003, CGI evaluated three Referenceware® collections from Books24x7®, a resource that provides online access to thousands of business and technical books and executive summaries of popular business books. During the four-week evaluation, more than 1,360 CGI professionals from different business units used Referenceware.

About one-third of the participants responded to an online survey after the pilot. "The results actually exceeded our predefined success criteria," Ariano recalled. "Approximately 96 percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the content was relevant to their daily work or specific job."

Additionally, nearly 90 percent of respondents found the Books24x7® resource easy to navigate and more than 86 percent agreed the tools had a positive impact on productivity.

Filling a need for informal learning
According to 1999 research from the U.S. Department of Labor, 70 percent of a technology professional's learning is done informally, rather than in all the time and it can and should be woven into your work day."

CGI management has said it views professional development as a fundamental part of the firm's competitive advantage. The homepage of CGI's Web site states: "To keep pace with the most recent developments in technology and management, CGI ensures the ongoing training and professional development of its members. This assures the client the best business solution."

Like CGI itself, e-learning is fast-paced, proactive, entrepreneurial and dynamic. So, while e-learning may not yet be woven seamlessly into the fabric of the firm, it appears to be an ever-increasing part of what makes the organization work.

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