eLearning Designer's takeaway from last year
Now that everyone’s back after the holidays, eLearning Designer, Emma Powney sits down to discuss her biggest takeaway from 2019.
What’s been exciting you throughout 2019 in the world of eLearning?
We did a lot of work for SkinCeuticals that I loved being a part of. One project stood out, the GuyKat team was challenged to refresh existing eLearning modules. Design was a large focus in this project and that’s a huge passion of mine, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The objective of these modules is to educate key field staff about their most successful products and help them choose the right product for their end consumer.
One of the things I love about my job is to be able to work with large brands like SkinCeuticals. I’m one of their consumers myself, and I love being educated about the science behind their products.
Tell us about the relationship GuyKat has with SkinCeuticals
The relationship started early last year. We worked virtually but still close with the Associate Vice President of Global Education, Becky Watkins who is based in New York. As a result of the module redesigns, we had the pleasure of meeting Becky last month when she flew out to visit us in our new Birmingham HeadQuarters. This gave us a chance to review our ways-of-working and discuss future eLearning projects for 2020, which we are all very excited about! It was lovely to hear such great feedback.
How did the day look with a client on-site?
Our main aim for Becky’s visit was to discuss the collaboration with GuyKat on the upcoming eLearning projects. We always want to be seen as a partner rather than just a supplier. This type of meeting helps us build on that. Together, we reviewed Becky’s existing content and shared ideas to come up with the best learning solution for each module. As a result, we are at the beginning stages of developing two large projects which we are eager to roll out in the next couple of months.
Elaborate on why it is important to schedule face-to-face meetings with the clients on sizeable projects like this.
One of the benefits of meeting our clients face-to-face is that we’re able to be so much more creative. We both have ideas that we can share to make the modules as interactive and engaging as possible for the end-user. We can also get to understand their passion for the company they work for, which in turn, gets us excited about the project. This is an invaluable time to learn the right ‘voice’ from our clients which we just wouldn’t receive over email. Again, our best work is done when we work as a partner, rather than when we just build to a brief. Client’s know their content, but we know how to make ideas and key points come together online. When we mix our clients knowledge with our skills, the output can be truly world-class.
We also love hearing feedback on our ways of working with clients, so the visit from Becky was a perfect opportunity to start the meeting with what worked well on our first project and what we could improve on in our future working relationship.
What are your expectations for 2020?
This year we have a lot of exciting projects coming up, with SkinCeuticals being one I want to continue to drive forward. We want to build on our ongoing relationship and continue to deliver engaging content.
"GuyKat is an essential partner for the LMS programme for SkinCeuticals. An awesome agency that can do everything under one roof - from LMS landing pages to content development." - Becky Watkins, SkinCeuticals
If you’d like to set up a meeting with any of our team members from Professional Services or/and eLearning side please contact rugile@guykat.com
GuyKat in Vegas: DevLearn 2019
DevLearn 2019 saw 4,000 attendees in Las Vegas, Nevada explore the future of Learning and Development.
As a Marketing professional that works in the L&D industry, it's a joy to be with so many peers who are just as passionate about improving corporate training.
One theme that came up repeatedly was the rise of the LXP (Learning Experience Platform). This has been a big area of focus for GuyKat over the last year. We no longer think of Docebo as 'just' an LMS. Over the last few years, as more features have been added to the system, we've watched Docebo become an LXP. This has opened up loads of new possibilities for our clients. Many of the sessions in the conference reinforced to me that a lot of the work we are doing is very much at the cutting edge of helping people realise the benefits of moving from an LMS to LXP mindset.
Another key theme was the importance of marketing in L&D. I've been passionate about this idea for some time. It isn't about 'marketing' in the sense of engaging external customers or stakeholders, but using the same techniques to engage internal learners. When I talk about this with our team in the UK, I now have some great case studies to reinforce my point!
Overall, DevLearn was brilliant. I got to meet some amazing people, re-connect with some dear friends from Docebo and meet the only non-human citizen in the entire world - Sophia the Robot. Already looking forward to going back next year!
Hannah Quinton to judge Silicon Canal Awards
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Today I met GuyKat's Head of eLearning, Hannah Quinton, to discuss the upcoming Silicon Canal Awards.
Hannah leads the creative team at GuyKat and has worked with us for 8 years. Hannah was named Developer of the Year in the 2017 awards, and GuyKat were named Small Company of the Year in 2018. This year she has been invited to join the judging panel.
What does technology mean to you?
Having been in an integral part of a tech company for a number of years, I use technology on an everyday basis. We create and build engaging training to communicate with people across the globe. This could not be done without the vast array of authoring tools, technologies, and applications we use to deliver projects. What is great about our industry is that it's still really in its infancy. eLearning in the past has not had a very good reputation, often being associated with poorly designed and long-winded modules that are a chore to complete. With a great creative team and the right technology, we are changing that. We never stop learning new technologies or exploring new ways to enhance our modules. That means my relationship with technology continues to evolve and grow. I still find it humbling that I have been responsible for thousands of eLearning modules being implemented in over 50 countries and 12 different languages.
How were you introduced to Silicon Canal awards?
When I first joined GuyKat 8 years ago, I was encouraged to go to networking events in order to meet like-minded people in the tech community. As with most people early in their career this was a slightly daunting idea, however, Silicon Canal was promoted as a more relaxed setting and they were not wrong! I've been going ever since. In 2018 GuyKat won the Silicon Canal Small Company of the Year award and it was such a positive team experience. Everyone in the team is passionate about what we do and to be recognized for it was the sprinkles on top of the cake.
What encouraged you to take place on the judging panel?
Over the last few years I have grown in my career and confidence in the tech scene and I attribute some of that growth to the support community I found in Silicon Canal. In 2017, I was nominated as the Silicon Canal Developer of the Year and subsequently won. This was a huge achievement for me as I had never considered myself as a contender. I was overwhelmed with the support I received in the aftermath. As a result, I became an ambassador of Silicon Canal, involving myself in the Women in Tech events and making some very close friends as a result. So, when I was asked to judge this year's awards, I was really excited to be involved. There is a lot of emerging talent in Birmingham, I cannot wait to promote the great achievements happening in this city.
Which award category announcement are you most excited about?
For me, Small Company of the Year is something I'm personally excited to see the category entries. I have an understanding of the journey a small company goes on in order to be successful and I will be looking out for their stories in particular.
For more information on all the great Silicon Canal events going on over the next few months, please check out their website: https://siliconcanal.co.uk.
To see further information on the awards, nominate or book your tickets go to https://awards.siliconcanal.co.uk I wish everyone who is nominated the best of luck in this year's awards and I can't wait to see you on November 28th.
Jack's hopes for DoceboInspire
GuyKat are proud Platinum Sponsor of this year's DoceboInspire Conference. The event will be held in Atlanta, Georgia. 16-18 Sep.
This Q&A session with our eLearning Support Analyst Jack Rixon outlines the expectations and hopes he has prior attending the show.
What part of DoceboInspire excites you the most?
As this is my first time attending the event, I am looking forward to attending DoceboUniversity. Although I have been working with Docebo daily now for 2 years, there is always new things to learn to enhance knowledge. Learning from each other is really encouraged here at GuyKat that's why DoceboU is a perfect opportunity to utilise that.
I could name a bunch of things I'm interested but I'm most intrigued in looking further into automation of the platform as it is clear to be a feature of the future making everyone's life easier!
Any speaker you're looking forward to the most?
There are so many interesting people talking about all things that matter over the two conference days! However, I'm most excited to hear the Key Note Speaker Jason Silva who's a well known thought-leader. Apparently, our CEO Guy McEvoy will also be announcing one of the Keynote Speakers and will give a short speech. I definitely don't want to miss that.
Where can you find GuyKat at DoceboInspire?
As a Platinum Sponsor we're going have a stand that you won't be able to miss. We'll be at the Outlook East and West conference room at level 14!
Many of our team members will be attending conference talks and workshops so if you spot any of us don't be shy and say hello! We'll be happy to talk about Docebo, Professional Services or eLearning content!
What are you expecting to take away from this event?
It's all about the experience for me. It will be nice to put some of the faces to the names I have been emailing & speaking on the calls online for the last couple of years. It's really much about building a connection and relationship with clients/partners when communicating face to face! But outside of that, I want to be able to expand my general knowledge on Docebo and to see some of the new tools used in action!
What can customers expect to see and take away from this event?
Clients attending DoceboU will be able to learn all kind of admin tricks about the product. Even though I use the system day-in, day-out I'm hoping that I myself can learn a few neat new features or cool how-to's or workarounds.
Folks attending only the main DoceboInspire days will have an opportunity to listen to the success stories of other users and maybe generate ideas how to accelerate their platform using available services. I know that my team mates who've been to the last couple of years have found it a brilliant event. It's good to feel a part of the Docebo community. Obviously, I'm also hoping that Docebo clients are able to find out a bit more about what GuyKat do, and how we can help them push their platform to the next level.
If you'd like to set up a meeting with any of our team members from Professional Services or/and eLearning side please contact rugile@guykat.com.
The importance of Social Learning
'Social Learning' has been a buzz phrase for some time and L&D departments may feel under pressure to 'do social learning'. It's important to remember that it won’t be appropriate for every learning need. There is a time and a place. However, in the right circumstances encouraging social learning can be a great enabler for performance enhancement.
What is Social Learning? In simple terms, Social Learning takes place when we learn from observation of others; by watching their behaviours and the consequences or outcomes they lead to. For example, a small child might learn by observing the unruly behaviour of a sibling and the subsequent reprimand by a parent.
If you’re interested to learn more, we’d suggest starting with Albert Bandura’s early work which is often associated with the theory.
Social Learning has always been important; after all it is probably one of the oldest and most natural ways in which people learn. More recently though we’ve witnessed two significant step changes in its application:
- Firstly, advancements in digital technologies have led to a plethora of widely available social and/or collaborative technologies.
- Secondly, we’ve seen a vast increase in organisations who are recognising, embedding & encouraging social learning within their workplace.
We all regularly learn from our peers, regardless of their location or function, using social learning technologies such as wikis, instant messaging, discussion forums and even video. Nowadays, when we talk of 'social learning' in the L&D space, typically we mean social learning using digital technology. This is a narrower definition than the academic one.
What are the benefits of Social Learning?
- Social Learning encourages collaboration in the workplace - if you have an expert (or someone who can help) within your organisation, why would you go anywhere else?
- Beyond the technology investment, the learning itself is often free or of minimal cost.
- Social learning enables you to learn at the point of need and put that learning into action quickly.
- It’s often quick; so has minimal impact on a learner’s working day.
Does Guykat help implement Social Learning? Social Learning is very high on our agenda at GuyKat. We’ve already developed a number of technologies that enable us to build innovative social interactions into our eLearning content. This is an exciting option for our clients. Combining both social and traditional eLearning adds to the learner’s enjoyment of the module, whilst potentially increasing their retention of the content. Done well, this ultimately leads to an increased return on investment.
Do we practice Social Learning internally? Absolutely! We don’t think that GuyKat could function without it! We’re a very supportive team and have created a fantastic culture for collaboration and sharing. We’re quite diverse, in terms of our location, experience and specialism so we tend to make very good use of our messaging forum.
"It never ceases to amaze me how there is always someone there who is able to help here at GuyKat",- says our Learning and Development Consultant Claire Kirkby-Webb.
If you want to learn more how GuyKat can help you implement Social Learning into your daily corporate life, please contact claire.kirkby-webb@guykat.com
Articulate Storyline or Adobe Captivate?
We often get asked ‘which authoring tool is better?’ Captivate or Storyline? We explain that both Captivate and Storyline rock. However, our sense is that if you take two equally bright people with identical skills and you gave one Storyline and one Captivate, then after a couple of days your Storyline user’s content would appear to be better. It would be the same story after a week or a month, after three months they’d maybe be neck and neck, but after six months your Captivate user would be limited only by their imagination while your Storyline user’s material would start to look ‘samey’ (which isn’t to say it is better or worse learning).
Put simply, Storyline has a much shorter learning curve and you’ll look great quickly. The flip side is that you’ll also hit its capability limit sooner and be using hardcore workarounds to extend capability when you attain mastery in a way that you would not if you had mastered Captivate.
So, both tools are great. We'd recommend either. But remember they are just tools. Having a saw and workbench doesn’t make you a carpenter. Having a rapid authoring tool will not make you an instructional designer. Enthusiastic or even reluctant amateurs can and do make brilliant material with these tools. In the modern workplace budget constraints often mean that option is all you can do. However, if you want to train thousands of people, if you have a proper training budget, if you want to concentrate on your day job rather than the technology and if you want the training to truly engage then the DIY approach is misguided. You would likely be better commissioning a professional agency such as ourselves to build your online training for you.
But back to the initial question, if we really had to pick just one, which would we go for? Our company makes eLearning for third party clients, we are doing it all day every day, and we primarily choose Storyline*.
*This is a 2019 update of an article first written in 2012. The most significant change is the very last word which originally said 'Captivate' and now says 'Storyline'. In recent years Storyline has closed the capability gap significantly. Although you do hit a limit in capability with Storyline, that limit is comfortably higher than the bar of 'very professional looking output'. We still are proud expert users of Captivate, but now use it less frequently, usually for very complex requirements. For the vast majority of projects with straightforward requirements Storyline is more than capable and the workflow more efficient.
New GuyKat Logo
Guykat have released their new logo! It brings a cleaner, more modern typeface for the company name. It also introduces a new design element, which according to designer Dan Kirby was 'inspired by the letter G'. The design element will frequently be used standalone, without the word GuyKat, across the company's marketing material.
The move will see the retirement of the original 'cloud based' logo which has been in place since the company was founded in 2009. The new logo will be phased in across all channels over the coming weeks. The style guide also includes a 'white' version for use on a blue background.
Why your training needs to involve Microlearning
Microlearning is an ideal method for delivering Just In Time Training (JiTT). This is individual task or transactional based training, offered at the time of need. Microlearning can also be used for soft skill or conceptual teaching.
Increasingly, we are working with clients to build whole libraries of bite-size content. Organisations typically adopt this approach to supplement classroom training. However, we are discovering that some people find this ‘self-serve’ model of training so effective that they now use it as the primary training mechanism.
One of the added benefits of having the bite-size library as part of your training approach is that the material becomes an asset what will be utilised far beyond the initial launch of the project or system your are training. That’s the long-term investment not only to your training but employee engagement as well.
Click here to find out how GuyKat can help you nail the Microlearning.
This is a brief article of our ‘The Inevitable Rise of Microlearning in the Workplace’ White Paper. Get the Full Copy contacting rugile.sikorskyte@guykat.com.
Looking Back at Learning Technologies 2018
For the past four years at Learning Technologies the GuyKat team have co-manned the Docebo stall. We’re proud to partner with Docebo and the arrangement meant our pitch has always previously focussed on our LMS product. This year we wanted to raise awareness of the other big part of our business; bespoke eLearning. So, for the first time we exhibited on our own stand, under our own brand.
We marked this milestone with the UK launch of our white paper on the importance of microlearning in the workplace. On the back of this release many people came to see us to find out more, most specifically how to access help in implementing a microlearning strategy in their own organisations. If you weren’t able to attend and want a soft or hard copy of the white paper, do please get in touch and we’ll be happy to send one through.
We also had some great conversations with Docebo customers who had heard about some of the customisation work we’ve been able to do for for other clients and wanting to know if we could help take their installation to the next level. We’re looking forward to working with them.
One thing that attracted a lot of comment was our tag-line. The most common question from walk-bys to the stand was “What do you mean by ‘Beyond eLearning’?” We were asked so often that the answer, which gets to the very core of what GuyKat is all about, justifies an entire dedicated future blog post. Watch this space.
It’s always great to be part of this key industry event. Being surrounded by your clients, potential clients, partners and the competition is energising. Looking at competitors left us with a healthy balance of feeling very, very self-assured about the quality and pricing of our work, whilst still giving a gentle nudge that if we want to keep that feeling we need to retain our level of innovation. We’re up for the challenge. See you at LTUK19!
If our services sound of importance to you, please get in touch with me at george.atkin@guykat.com and we can discuss your next steps in eLearning!
Finally, congratulations to the two lucky winners of our prize draws for the Amazon Fire!
Why buy SaaS as a VAR?
Why would anyone buy a B2B SaaS product from a VAR (value-added reseller) rather than direct from the vendor? This is something I’ve been grappling with for two good reasons; Firstly, my own business uses SaaS solutions for all sorts of non-core, yet still crucial, business processes. Our accounting, CRM, email, file-storage and HR processes, amongst others, are all underpinned by various SaaS products. I’ve a huge vested interest in getting the best value from these ongoing investments. Secondly, my business itself is a VAR for a SaaS product. If I can’t articulate the benefit, I don’t deserve to be in the game.
Thinking of the products we’ve bought into, my answer has to be nuanced. Sometimes it makes sense to go direct, sometimes it makes sense to go with a VAR. I think of it like this: The closer your requirements are to the vendor’s standard use-case, the weaker the case for a VAR. There is nothing remotely unusual about the way I use my accounting, email or HR packages. I’m not integrating them with any other system. I’m entirely happy with the level of look and feel customisation I can do myself. The software is straightforward enough I can do everything I need to without training or guidance. So, the only reasons I would go with a VAR would be if they could beat the direct sales force on price (unlikely, but sometimes possible), or if I needed to contract in a particular currency, or with a legal entity in a named geography, and the direct sales operation were not set-up to support that.
However, once you get a little further away from the providers’ standard use-case scenario, or the closer the service is to a genuine core or customer-facing function in your business, the case for using a VAR begins to swing back in their favour.
- Do you have complexities of integrating with other systems?
- Do you want different payment terms to those that may be offered by the vendor directly?
- Do you have concerns about training your team to administer the product?
- Even if fully trained, do you have concerns about the capacity of your team to administer the product? Does this create an opportunity cost in time against their primary role?
- Do you want to customise the product’s look, feel or even functionality beyond the standard offering?
- Do you want a partner who has the time to more deeply understand your individual business, available resources and unique success criteria and then best mould the solution to reflect them?
- All SaaS products evolve over time. Do you have the headspace to think through how the product roadmap and future releases will introduce both risks and opportunities to your solution. Do you fear not having the bandwidth to spot and plan for these?
- Do you need support in bridging the gap between what the SaaS product delivers, and the manual and people factors outside the software that link together and make your overall business tick?
Answer yes to any of the above, and it is certainly worth thinking about a VAR. In our case, our CRM software could have been bought off-the-shelf, but we also needed guidance on process changes - ideas for content marketing, and an implementation strategy tailored to our business. These things wouldn’t have been well served by the generic online self-help, or the standard installation package from our chosen CRM vendor. With only a marginal uplift in initial cost, a VAR offered the opportunity to get a deeper level of tailored implementation support. This went beyond just a CRM implementation, and became a whole re-engineering of our end-to-end marketing, sales and customer success processes that happened to leverage a particular CRM tool we had our eye on. So for us, when looking at CRMs, a VAR was absolutely worth talking too.
Before I started my business, I used to work on big change management projects, often revolving around IT solutions for large, complex, multi-national organisations. We had a saying that change was all about getting all three components of people, process and technology right. Any project that focussed on the technology, but neglected the people and process, was doomed to fail. Buying a SaaS solution will often nail the technology part, but if you want to release the full benefits of the solution you need to get the supporting people and processes right too. This is where an experienced VAR puts the ‘V’ for ‘Value’ into the acronym.