SUNNYVALE, Calif. – In times of a strained national and international economy, major corporations are thinking outside the traditional “training box” to develop their employees' learning, raise their productivity, and increase their return on investment by as much as 100 percent – according to a new independent report compiled by Brandon Hall Research.

The 111-page report, "Best Practices in Sales Training: Lessons from Industry Leaders," benchmarks the success of such high-profile companies as Avon, BellSouth, Canon USA, Century 21, Cingular, Gallo, Saab, and Wyeth in their quest to be more competitive in an ever-changing business environment.

"You must move aggressively and be a major risk taker at your organization, lead the charge," Brandon Hall, Ph.D., says about training the enterprise. "E-learning is anytime, any place, and better, faster, and cheaper."

The report reveals how these companies utilized a blended learning approach to:

• Increase their sales by up to 30 percent
• Increase return on investment (ROI) by up to 100 percent
• Reduce cost of travel
• Reduce training costs up to 80 percent per course
• Double the number of sales staff trained
• Increase the course completion rate by up to 100 percent

The opportunity to develop this type of training strategy became apparent to these companies as new training products emerged and the ever-demanding needs associated with customer service drove business goals to focus more on training that would quickly show results.

Not surprisingly, these case studies show that none of the companies completely eliminated classroom learning. Instead, they were able to blend e-learning and traditional training to implement a seamless strategy for their employees to work and learn – while dramatically improving their overall productivity.

Each of the companies focused on overall business strategies and productivity goals to develop their training programs. Individuals from all sectors of the company, including IT, sales, and product marketing – along with their chosen vendors – teamed to design, implement, and measure the results of their efforts. Most found that the majority of the resources were already in place to develop an e-learning environment; they just had to develop the strategies and processes to utilize the resources.

A complete copy of the report is available online at www.brandon-hall.com.

The independent analyst firm Brandon Hall Research provides insight and advice through their publications and consulting on best practices and learning technologies for companies both large and small. The company also sponsors the Excellence in Learning Awards, the first recognition program dedicated entirely to the learning industry.

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