NorthgateArinso Getting SaaS-y Starting with e-Learning Content

NorthgateArinso (NGA) has just announced its euHReka Inclusion Framework to provide transparent access to third party providers, HR professionals, and associated resources.  The euHReka platform includes payroll and talent management SaaS for learning, recruitment, performance management, compensation management, and succession planning.  It serves 80 clients and 800,000 employees, and is available in 100 countries and 32 languages.

Although NGA has been providing learning BPO (LBPO) since its acquisition of Convergys’ HR Management business in March 2010, and since learning is already a part of its euHReka platform, the company is aware of the heightened demand for e-learning content in the market.  Consequently, NGA’s first partnership on the new framework is with SkillSoft to add e-learning content to euHReka.  Subsequent content and applications will include:

• Compensation data
• Benefits programs
• Job boards
• Professional social networking sites.

NGA is wise to begin with e-learning.  In NelsonHall’s LBPO market analysis, published Q4 2010, traditional instructor-led classroom training (ILT) is expected to be reduced from ~50% of the market in terms of revenue to 40% by 2012 due to the explosion of e-learning.  As a result, content development is also rapidly growing.  NelsonHall’s LBPO report ranks content development second behind learning administration in terms of LBPO revenue and ahead of delivery, technology, and consulting. 

Some examples of e-learning contracts this year include:

• Accenture with HSBC
• Genpact with JobSkills in India for a 5-year content development contract (note: approximately 85% of Genpact’s courses are provided via e-learning)
• Edvantage Group with Yara International for safety e-learning (note: Edvantage Group’s H1 2011 financial results showed a 31% increase in sales and double-digit revenue growth y-o-y with EBITA increasing 168% to 5.9m NOK, compared to 2.2m NOK in H1 2010).

I believe we will continue to see significant increased demand for e-learning content for years to come, which will be further magnified by mobile learning (i.e., m-learning), especially for accessing content for self-paced e-learning when out of the office.  However, e-learning will not replace the uptick expected for virtual instructor-led training (VLT) because of the need to actively participate and focus on the learning task at hand in VLT.  I’ll write more about contracts for VLT and web 2.0 learning portals at a later date.  In the meantime, further analysis on the useage of e-learning by region and other associated information is available from NelsonHall.

Gary Bragar, HR Outsourcing Research Director, NelsonHall

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