Evaluation ShafferA

8/2/2019 Evaluation ShafferA

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Lewis Learning Maturity Model Benchmark Evaluation

DemographicsLewis Learning is part of a mid-sized insurance company located in the mid-west. It is adedicated training facility within the home office location, serving the major insurance functions

and support staff. At this time the staff demographics are 1 director, 5 functionally alignedmanagers, 14 trainers, and 9 assistants. The managers, trainers and staff are generally alignedfunctionally within five areas; Marketing, Underwriting, Loss Control, Claims, and GeneralBusiness Skills.

In 2011 Lewis Learning facilitated classes of different size and duration for 3,648 participants for

a total of 118,177 training hours. There are three main categories of training consisting of a

longer term development program, a seminar based career hire program, and individual classes

for all employees. There are also continuing insurance education classes and tests that are

facilitated through Lewis Learning but not included in the statistics above.

The director and five manager of Lewis Learning function as the administration. They make thedecisions related to all needs, technology or otherwise. There is an additional hierarchy withother departments and upper level executives to consider. These parties are kept informed of the needs and outcomes of Lewis Learning. Technology use within Lewis Learning is greatly controlled by policies and procedures set at

different levels and departments within the organization. At all points possible in this report, the

learning area has been separated to analyze the benchmarks as they apply only to Lewis

Learning.

Administrative Filter

PolicyBehavioral: Integrated Resource/Infrastructure: IntegratedPolicy is set at the Information Services Department level and by executive leadership.

Appropriate use of technology is espoused by the Lewis Learning management group but on

many occasions their hands are tied and may lead to less than optimal trainer usage of

technology. There is a formal process for requesting changes and new technology that is

complex and intimidating to front line employees. This process can appear to be slow and

unlikely to create change so many suggestions are not made. Management does sit on

committees that work to prioritize projects which allows Lewis Learning to have some influence

over technology and implementation.

Planning

Behavioral: Integrated Resource/Infrastructure: Islands As much of the technology planning is done within a separate department, there is not always a

direct connection to learning outcomes when new technology or changes are made. It has been

seen that much of the technology that is chosen is the current “hot” item with little thought to

implementation of the technology. For example, Lewis Learning has one SMART Board that

can move from classroom to classroom but it is not used, as trainers are not comfortable or

confident with the technology. There was little training and no plan for implementation when the

SMART Board was purchased. While technologies are present there does not appear to be a



comprehensive vision of what things should look like in the coming 3-5 years and this does not

lead to a strong plan.

BudgetBehavioral: Islands Resource/Infrastructure: IslandsLewis Learning does not have a budget in the traditional sense. Expenses are watched closelybut there is not a budgeting process each year There are informal budgets in place and theprocess for analyzing the technology needs and related costs falls to the Information Servicesdepartment. When projects are begun there is a process for considering the costs and theneeds. When the project is technology related, as with the LMS upgrade completed in 2011,there is much consideration to the technology budget. When the project is not primarilytechnology related, like the Installation Program projects, there is little consideration for atechnology budget. With non-technology related projects, technology is generally a last minuteconsideration or is not considered until after an issue has occurred.Administrative Information

Behavioral: Islands Resource/Infrastructure: IntegratedThere is an administrative system built into the LMS utilized by Lewis Learning. This LMS isutilized by some staff members but is not truly integrated. The current set up has selectedadministrative staff routinely using the system but the trainers are generally not well versed.Trainers do not individually use the LMS with the capabilities that it has. This is viewed to bemore of a nuisance than a help. The system was recently upgraded and the management teamcreated a set of policies and documentation intended to support usage. To date, there hasbeen no increase in utilization, but the potential is there.SummaryThe administrative filter is split between the Islands and Integrated levels. Overall it seems that

Lewis Learning sits in a bit of limbo trying to move toward a more Integrated level. There are

some things in the administrative category that Lewis does not have control over and that

seems to trickle down to other things as well. The management level seems to want to

incorporate more technology into policies and planning but it appears that right now there is not

a clear idea of how to do that.

Curricular Filter Electronic InformationBehavioral: Intelligent Resource/Infrastructure: IntegratedLewis Learning and the entire organization rely heavily on electronic information in the shape of

intranet documentation and shared content. This content is accessible to all employees and

categorized by functional area. The learning staff and learners rely heavily on this information

daily. The resources are fairly comprehensive but this system does not create both depth and

diversity. In some areas there is great depth and in some great diversity. There is an attitude

among some long term employees that the learner should be forced to do their own research

and “reinvent the wheel” as they had to. This leads to a duplicative effort that has not beenovercome. There is currently no way to gather and house the knowledge and paper documents

from these long term employees either, further creating a challenge.

AssessmentBehavioral: Emergent Resource/Infrastructure: Islands

Assessment is one area where Lewis Learning has not integrated technology at all.

Assessment overall is not a strong suit of the learning function, with basic level one evaluations

and written multiple choice quizzes. There is not a widespread thought that anything other than



a standard test can assess learning. There are assessment tools available through the LMS but

these are only being used by 1-2 trainers. A project is currently taking place to streamline the

main development program content and serious discussion is happening around using the LMS

capabilities. The technology most normally used for assessment are scantron sheets. There

are also occasions where these are used but they are graded by hand, negating the benefit

entirely.Curricular Integration

Behavioral: Integrated Resource/Infrastructure: IntelligentThe basic curricula are dependent on technology but in fairly basic ways. Documentation is all

online and the learners are required to use technology to complete the basic functions of the

job. There is appropriate technology available for all areas of the curricula. Currently there are

many places where technology that is present could be used to enhance the curriculum but is

not. It seems with some encouragement from management and additional time for material

creation and update, this would be easy to increase to a fully Intelligent level.

Teacher Use

Behavioral: Integrated Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent

The trainers at Lewis Learning are using technology everyday. There is a requirement for usingtechnology in the classroom but this is limited to PowerPoint and the intranet documentation.

This has become much more sophisticated over the years and most trainers are thinking about

how to utilize this technology more efficiently. There is a large amount of technology available

in every classroom. The behavior that does not allow the use to be fully Intelligent is that there

is a lot of available technology that is not being use by the majority of trainers. There is a

SMART Board, Elmo units, video recording carts, online resources, and other technology that

are not being fully utilized. It is difficult for trainers to find the time to learn the technology and

create meaningful ways to integrate it into classes. The general sentiment is that they would

like to add more technology but don’t know how.

Student UseBehavioral: Intelligent Resource/Infrastructure: IntelligentThe learners that come through Lewis Learning are extremely technologically savvy. They areusing technology at every turn. Each learner is given a laptop and other appropriatetechnologies. They bring with them smart phones and an ability to use the technologyseamlessly. Whether asked directly in the lesson or not, learners are not able to meetoutcomes without technology. Most lessons have some kind of technology needs built in andwhen they don’t, the learner inherently builds in technology.SummaryThe curricular filter sits between the Integrated and Intelligent. Technology is readily availablebut not always used as well as it could be. This seems to be tied to the Administrative andSupport filters. Bolstering each of these areas should increase the use of technology and theway in which staff thinks about technology. There seems to be a disconnect with the ability of the learner and the ability of the trainers and management to utilize technology for learning.Overcoming this gap is critical to the future of Lewis Learning.

Support Filter Stakeholder InvolvementBehavioral: Islands Resource/Infrastructure: IntegratedThe stakeholders in Lewis Learning are represented within discussions but few are trulyengaged in the process. The alignment has Lewis Learning connect to the functional areas but



not fully integrated. There is a lack of open communication and trust between Lewis and thefunctional areas that require training. From a technology standpoint, there is almost nodiscussion with the overall stakeholders unless they will be required to use the technologies.This is an area where Lewis has opportunity to grow the influence that learning can have on theoverall business conversations.Administrative Support

Behavioral: Integrated Resource/Infrastructure: IntelligentThere is deep spoken support from the management staff but not always a follow through.

Significant time is spent on the planning and implementation of technologies but the follow up

and ability for staff to experiment with new technologies is limited. With the LMS upgrade many

staff were involved including manager, administrative personnel, and outside parties, but only

one trainer was included. The discussion was to have the trainers trained on portions of the

system but 6 months after implementation that still has not occurred. There is an overall

perception that management is willing to engage in discussion but rarely willing to purchase and

fully implement new technologies. This leads to a staff that does not always push themselves or

their learners to try new things.

TrainingBehavioral: Islands Resource/Infrastructure: IslandsThe staff of Lewis Learning participate in technology training on an infrequent basis and this is

normally at the direction of the management staff. There is little perceived desire of the staff to

learn about new technologies or try to implement them into training as this is not openly

encouraged by management with little time allocated to this kind of growth. The staff does not

have the opportunity to attend technology training either given on site or off site. Any ongoing

training is being done informally or is being sought out as webinars.

Technical/Infrastructure SupportBehavioral: Integrated Resource/Infrastructure: IslandsIt is difficult to separate the technical support at Lewis Learning into its own area. Most of the

formal technological support is coming from Information Services. Currently there are not any

personnel dedicated to support within Lewis Learning. There are some business experts onsoftware products, but they too rely on Information Services for technical issues. There is aninformal support structure that has organically grown amongst the staff. There is a trainer wellversed at the use of PowerPoint and a staff member who is known for Excel proficiency. Whenhelp is needed most of the staff utilizes both the formal and informal means of support.SummaryLewis Learning falls between Islands and Integrated in the support filter. In reviewing thisoverall, it appears that a large reason that this is not more fully mature is the restrictive nature of the Information Services policies and how Lewis Learning is staffed. If there was moreautonomy the stakeholders could be more involved and it is likely that more time andadministrative support could be given to technology. At this time there is not a budget or other resources to look more deeply into technology so the maturity is likely to remain where it is.

Connectivity Filter Local Area Networking (LAN)

Behavioral: Integrated Resource/Infrastructure: IntelligentThe LAN within Lewis Learning is strong and high-speed. There are multiple connection in eachroom and every workspace has a dedicated connection. The network is comprehensive andcan handle data, voice and video, but the behavior is restricted by policies. Staff are using datacapabilities in a comprehensive way but other options are not leveraged. The only means for



transferring voice and video are through WebEx, web conferencing software. This is used byapproximately 40% of the staff at this time. It is required of some field level employees, who aretaking classes through Lewis Learning, but they are simply recipients and not activeparticipants. Policy prohibits use of many of the technologies unless approved in order to savecosts.District Area Networking (WAN)

Behavioral: Integrated Resource/Infrastructure: IntelligentThere is no difference between the LAN and the WAN at Lewis Learning. This is one integratedsystem with the regional offices fully integrated and seamless with the network. Data is used insophisticated ways but the use of voice and video has not reached full potential.Internet AccessBehavioral: Integrated Resource/Infrastructure: IntelligentThe internet is somewhat a source of contention within Lewis Learning. The Internet resources

is Intelligent as there is direct high-speed Internet access to all staff and learners at all times.

Each learner receives a laptop computer with wired and wireless Internet access. Though there

is a high level of availability, Internet use policies and firewalls severely limit the amount that can

be done using Internet resources. For security reasons there are a limited number of Internet

sites that are allowed for use, RSS feeds are disabled and Internet time is strictly monitored andmanaged. There are staff members that utilize the Internet more than others and more than

policy allows, but this is in the face of possible reprimand or termination. Overall the behavior

would be Integrated and could easily move to Intelligent with a few policy shifts.

Communication SystemsBehavioral: Intelligent Resource/Infrastructure: IntelligentE-mail is prevalent within Lewis Learning and is used daily by all staff and learners. Thistechnology feature has been built into the fabric of daily life. It is impossible to do work of anykind without it. E-mail has gotten to the point that discussion and class sessions are given onhow to manage the amount of mail and how to best respond. Where there is additional need isnot with using the technology, but with using it in an appropriate and professional manner.Summary

Overall the connectivity of Lewis Learning is Intelligent. Where the connectivity fails is in howthe staff uses things, not in the capabilities that are present. With an increased push towardtechnology I can envision this area being Intelligent in all behavioral areas as well. It will taketime to integrate the curriculum and innovation filters but when that takes place the connectivitywill already be there.

Innovation Filter New TechnologiesBehavioral: Islands Resource/Infrastructure: IslandsNew technologies to Lewis Learning are accepted by many staff members but there is little to no

implementation. The opportunities to experiment are limited in that staff is currently responsible

for both material development and training in a classroom setting. This leaves little time toupdate material in a way that incorporates new or different technologies. There are several

technologies at Lewis that are utilized by 1 or 2 trainers and not by the group overall including

LMS capabilities, Unison eLearning development tool, the SMART Board, and video carts.

There is a large gap to overcome to move this area to even an Integrated level.

Comprehensive TechnologiesBehavioral: Integrated Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated



The technologies available are not comprehensive. The current technologies allow very limiteduse of voice and video and those present have not been utilized to the full. As mentioned withplanning there is not always a forward thinking mentality. Software is a main issue that causesthe technologies to be under utilized. Lewis uses versions of several software products are 3-4versions behind current. This is not an area that Lewis has control over as the software policycomes from Information Services.

SummaryUnder the current system, Lewis will not be able to move to an Intelligent level in the area of

Innovation. The lack of ability to add software and technologies without approval from

Information Services is the main driver of this inability. The need to have some flexibility in

order to innovate is hampered due to existing policies. By the time that a new technology is

approved it may be too late to make a full impact. There is potential to grow in the utilization of

existing technologies but only up to the capabilities of the staff to think creatively.

Lewis Learning SummaryIn reviewing all filters for Lewis Learning it appears that overall the benchmark is Integrated. Itwas difficult to make the decision as there was a fairly even distribution between Islands,

Integrated and Intelligent. Overall, the Integrated level appeared to be the most accuratedescription of Lewis Learning benchmarks. There are some areas where the learning functionexcels but many places where hurdles make it impossible to become fully Intelligent.

The accessibility of technology is apparent as an area where Lewis excels. Computers and

high-speed Internet access are given to each staff member and learner, with many technology

based requirements for learning. There is formalized support but it comes from outside Lewis

Learning. This can lead to discouragement when needs are realized but cannot be addressed

within the current structure. Trainers use traditional means of teaching, such as lecture,

because there is not the time and support needed to investigate the addition of technology.

The integration of new technologies is where Lewis seems to have more issues. With thepolicies created by Information Services there is less ability to innovate. That does not allowtrainers to fully utilize their creativity and integrate technology into all levels of the curriculum.There are places where the technology does get used heavily but this is not widespread.

Over time with continued focus growth is possible but general technology policy will have to beaddressed and management commitment to innovation and development time will need to beincreased.

Evaluation ShafferA

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