Blue Cross Blue Shield
of
--Healthcare provider creates opportunities for its
employees to improve skills through LearnKey’s online training courses--
Background:
Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Kansas City (BCBSKC) has 1050 employees. It is the area's
largest health benefits provider, serving more than 880,000 members in 32
counties in greater Kansas City, northwest Missouri, and Johnson and Wyandotte
counties in Kansas.
Challenge:
Several BCBSKC
employees expressed a desire to the Human Resources Department for assistance
in improving skills that would aid in the advancement of their careers.
The Company
needed a way to efficiently and cost-effectively conduct a training program
that provided their employees with the vital skill sets to satisfy requirements
for new positions and advancement.
Yvonne
Petite, the Training and Development Specialist for BCBSKC said, “We used to
have very little in terms of internal training resources. We found ourselves
sending our employees out for instructor-led training through various vendors
and programs. Obviously, it became extremely expensive to send each individual
who needed or wanted training to an instructor-led class. We really needed to
implement an online training program for our employees.”
Petite and
the HR team worked with other internal departments to implement certain
training requirements based on job roles. They wanted a training program that
paralleled the requirements. For instance, those on the marketing team needed
to prove that they had experience and proficiency with Microsoft PowerPoint®,
those in the actuary department should know Access® well, and all
employees needed basic or advanced skills in Microsoft Word®.
“We wanted
to provide our employees with the resources they needed to excel,” Petite said.
“As such, we felt it was time to bring on board a secure, online, on-demand
learning program that provided training access at any time. We also needed a
more cost effective way to provide computer skills than instructor-led
training.”
Solution:
Following a
search among several vendors who specialize in e-learning solutions, Petite and
her team chose LearnKey to provide the training programs they were looking for.
LearnKey
has been on the cutting edge of providing expert learning solutions for nearly
two decades. Petite was impressed by LearnKey because its courses are
interactive, easy to use, and extremely engaging.
Petite
found that LearnKey’s training content could be delivered right to the desktop
via CD, Online or through a Network, bringing a classroom experience directly
to employees.
“We have
several required courses, particularly for managers but also for employees,”
Petite said. “Generally, during an employee’s first year, they are required to
take a certain number of courses—especially for skills that are specifically
required for their position, for instance, actuary and marketing employees are
required to obtain intermediate skills in Access® and PowerPoint. These skills
are actually a component of their job descriptions.”
“What
helped sell me on LearnKey was the fact that they have an actual person in the
online training that talks and shows trainees how to do certain processes,” she
said.
To
facilitate the training program, Petite designated a room in the HR Department
as the training room, which contains several computers, and can accommodate a
number of people. Employees can schedule time to conduct their training. If
they needed to access the program after-hours, they simply check out the
interactive CDs.
“We also
provide remote access to the LearnKey programs for our satellite offices,”
Petite said. “People don’t have to drive in to our headquarters for training;
we make that available for them.”
Users are
able to take interactive pre and post assessments that correlate to the
particular training they are involved with. “This is a wonderful feature
LearnKey has provided. The HR department and the individuals taking the
training really need to assess their skill level and gauge how much progress
they made following the training,” Petite said.
Once
employees finish their training, the HR Department records their progress for
their personal records. Employees also receive a certificate of completion that
becomes a part of their training history.
Outcomes:
Petite and
her team in the HR Department were able to leverage LearnKey and provide a
critical training resource for employees at Blue
Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. About half of their 1,050 employees have
utilized the online training program.
“This
program is used with people who are both new employees as well as those who
have been here for several years,” Petite said. “We like to promote from
within, so when there is a new job opening internally, we often see a spike in
the demand for online training—people want to spend a couple hours to brush up
on their skills and make themselves more appealing for the new position or
promotion.”
The online
format is working so well, the team is considering moving some of their other
training programs online, such as their annual sexual harassment prevention
training for managers and new hires.
“We couldn’t have had such a successful program without the state-of-the-art e-learning courses from LearnKey. Also, their customer service was stellar—they made the implementation a breeze. LearnKey made it possible for us to deliver to our employees what they need to be successful.”