Blended learning combined with classroom training
With the introduction of FLOWSPARKS, blended learning, digital learning combined with classroom training, is now the starting point for all our trainings. And all tailored to the client’s needs.
Wolters Kluwer is a global supplier of information, software solutions and services to doctors, accountants and lawyers in areas such as taxation, finance, audit, risk management, compliance and more. The company began more than 180 years ago as a Dutch informative and educational publisher, primarily of legal works.
At the end of the last century, digitization and acquisitions of technology companies led Wolters Kluwer to become a provider of solutions that combine thorough subject-matter expertise with advanced technologies and services. The organization currently has 19,700 employees in over 40 countries.
Like many organizations, Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting Belgium made the transition from classroom training to e-Learning during the Covid pandemic. ‘Our software packages, such as Adsolut, are very comprehensive and in consequence, so are the associated group training courses,’ says Rudy Moons, Program & Project Manager at Tax and Accounting. ‘Many of our customers only use part of a package’s features. That meant that sometimes, they would attend a relatively expensive three-day course of which perhaps half a day was relevant to their needs.’
Their group training courses were not well enough adapted to participants’ needs. e-Learning offered a solution. Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting Belgium identified three possible e-Learning providers and after a thorough evaluation, opted for FLOWSPARKS. ‘Because it’s a very intuitive tool, it’s easy to use,’ says Moons. ‘Furthermore, the team at FLOWSPARKS offers excellent support. That was rather important, as we did not have much experience with digital learning modules ourselves. FLOWSPARKS was the one-stop e-Learning shop we were looking for.’
In the autumn of 2020, Wolters Kluwer’s consultants began creating their first five digital courses for customers. ‘They have ample expertise in their own fields, but no prior experience in e-Learning design,’ says Moons. As a result, their first e-Learning courses were simply digital versions of the classroom courses. Customers who tested the digital modules often had trouble locating relevant content and tended to use the e-Learning material mainly as a reference.
‘The content was extremely thorough and rather dry,’ Moons admits. ‘We therefore decided to have Learning & Development create our e-Learning modules going forward. Basically, they design each course’s learning pathway and layout, after which all our consultants have to do is to enter the correct content in the designated blocks.’
Concurrently, L&D developed an online pathway to teach consultants how to work with FLOWSPARKS, explain the methods, illustrate the various templates, etc. At the end of this training course, participants take a test. If they complete the test successfully, they receive an ‘e-Learning Champion’ certificate.
With the introduction of FLOWSPARKS, blended learning, digital learning combined with classroom training, is now the starting point for all our trainings. And all tailored to the client’s needs.
In the spring of 2022, L&D started working to make the digital modules more appealing. They tackled the layout, content and branding. ‘The first e-Learning modules made use of large blocks of text that were also too long. We aimed to avoid this by designing the e-Learning courses around specific tasks.’
Whereas initially, the goal was to introduce the entire software package to the user, L&D decided to structure the digital learning pathways around basic actions instead. Participants could get started quickly based on the performance of specific actions in the software, such as entering sales invoices or creating credit notes. For example, the Adsolut e-Learning course is built up out of short, simple pathways and makes extensive use of simulations and interactive screens with questions, assignments and immediate feedback.
The e-Learning modules are available in French as well. The integration with DeepL API in FLOWSPARKS saves e-Learning creators enormous amounts of time. ‘With just one click, you can translate entire content blocks, or even full modules, and you are immediately shown how much the translation will cost.’
‘Thanks to FLOWSPARKS, blended learning, or a combination of digital and classroom learning, is now the starting point for all our training courses. Perfectly tailored to our customers’ needs, too,’ Moons concludes. It is exactly what Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting Belgium had set out to achieve during the coronavirus crisis.
