Introduction

As you are all aware by now, the global community is going through an unprecedented time of uncertainty. For many of us, our day-to-day lives have drastically changed and organizations are scrambling to respond. From businesses using teleconferencing solutions to replace meetings to the public education sector transitioning into fully online classes, we are turning to technology to help keep everyone safe.

This blog post addresses how some of our customers are innovating and using learning software to make the most of these difficult times. We hope that these stories may help and inspire you to implement similar initiatives.

Using an LMS to immediately communicate and engage with a dispersed workforce.

One of our customers has thousands of employees working on-board over a hundred vessels across the world. With such a globally dispersed workforce, delivering timely communication and information is incredibly challenging, especially with vessels out at sea.

This issue is magnified when something like the current pandemic occurs. Rapid and regular communication from management is crucial in order to share critical information and reassure employees.

Our customer is using their LMS to deliver regular podcasts and videos from upper management. These ongoing update videos are direct and contain the latest information that their employees need. Each time a video is created, it is immediately placed onto their LMS home page and rapidly disseminated to all employees, regardless of their location or connectivity.
The LMS gives leadership a direct communication channel to their crew. In addition, their LMS can track when and how much these videos are being watched. This helps the company gauge employee engagement and whether this initiative is having an impact.

Using an LMS to transition classroom-based training to online eLearning.

Like the education sector, one obvious way to adhere to social distancing recommendations is to move to online eLearning for training.

One of our customers has rapidly moved all their terminal and deck training to their LMS. While they were already in the process of transitioning into a blended learning model before, their implementation process was greatly sped up in response to public health official recommendations. They were able to move all required training online and cancel instructor-led training so their employees could complete their courses at home in a safe learning environment.

Using an LMS to to Deliver Just-in-time Training.

Finally, several of our customers have been leveraging their LMS to deliver relevant, just-in-time training to their employees. Some are using their bulletin board space or homepage to provide important COVID-19 related documents and courses, such as hand washing procedures, fact sheets, updated screening procedures and more. Some have even added short exams or employee acknowledgements at the end to make sure everyone is aware of the facts and have the knowledge to keep safe.

There are many good resources the can help your crew keep safe that are available from the government, local health authorities and content providers. Using an LMS allows our customers to quickly distribute this information.

Conclusion

We’d love to learn how you or your company has responded to the current situation. Please let us know below (or email us at info@marinels.com) so we can share best practices. In these difficult times, please stay safe and healthy.