Manage Your Training Department Using The e-Bay Business Model

OK, I’ll admit it. I tend to be a little outside the box. I’m not really saying you need to auction off your Instructional Designers, but think it might be time to change how we think about the function of the traditional Training Department.

I’m basing the discussion on the e-Bay Business Model. It’s pretty different from any other online business (or brick-and-mortar business) in three important ways:

1. They Don’t Buy Stuff

2. They Don’t Own Stuff

3. They Don’t Sell Stuff

Your Training Department probably “buys” learning content (pays people to build it). You probably “own” learning content (maybe you even bought a shiny new LMS.) And you certainly “sell” learning content — if not for money, you sell the value to your management and your CEO.

What would the world look like if you didn’t do any of those? (Don’t panic — I don’t think you’d be out of a job.) You might have a very different experience.

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Quit Buying Learning Content

Most of the great learning content being built today is done for free, by the community. Blogging, podcasting, wikis, reviews, favorites, recommendations, opinions — it’s pretty hard to believe that you can’t either borrow or support your community as it creates the learning it needs.

Quit Owning Learning Content

For a great example of this, search no further than the Wikipedia. Great content, owned by the community. Vetted by the community. Updated and revised by the community. Why in the dickens would you want to own all this? And take the flack when you do?

Quit Selling Learning Content

You probably have all sorts of metrics that you provide to management, so you can keep making contributions to your 401-K. Like “ROI”, “impact”, “eyeballs” — and more meaningless stuff that someone told you to track. How about it you asked the learners to rate the content and review it? The good stuff floats to the top, and the bad stuff goes down the drain.

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I think we could have some fun talking about the implications of throwing out your existing business model and trying something new. How about you? Are you ready to really look at how you’re managing the knowledge products you create?