www.sumtotalsystems.com International Rectifier El Segundo, California USA www.irf.com “The number and complexity of new product introductions continues to grow at an ccelerated rate, and our global sales force requires immediate access to product knowledge in order to effectively service our ustomer base. In addition, this new method f training has enabled us to reduce our raining costs by 75%.” — Robert Grantxecutive VP Sales & Corporate Marketing for International RectifierFast Facts Industry: Manufacturing Countries: 17 Countries Users: 4,678 SumTotal Product: SumTotal Extended Enterprise Success Profile International Rectifier Drives Sales with Global e-Learning Initiative International Rectifier (IR), a global manufacturer of complex and rapidly changing power management sem con uctors, ntro uces an av er age o t ree or more maor pr o ucts eac mont . ec au se o compet t ve pr es sures, t e e- cyce o these new products is constantly shrinking. This has had the cumulative effect of accelerating the continuous improvement and product development cycles, thereby requiring sales and support employees to be retrained frequently. o address the challenge of communicating, coordinating and training hundreds ofe servce eng neer s, sa es repr esentat ves, nt er na sa es sta ers, execut ves an n epen ent ns e saes reps n ocat ons aroun t e wor , mp emente an e-learning solution. Online learning provides timely product training before new products are launched, while requiring only one person to manage and implement t e tra n ng. CHALLENGES Robert Grant, Executive Vice President of Sales & Corporate Marketing forInternational Rectifier, said, “The number and complexity of new product introductions continues to grow at an accelerated rate, and our global sales force re qures mme ate access to pr o uc t no w e ge n or er to e ect vey s er v ce our customer ase. n a t on, t s new met o o tranng as ena e us to re uce our training costs by 75%.” ec nca pro uct now e ge must e quc y capture an reta ne y e application engineers in order to design new semiconductor devices into a vast number of applications related to computing, data communication, portable electronics, automotive, military and aerospace, medical, appliance and industrial products. Outside and inside sales representatives, sales vice presidents and rectors, acc ount mana ger s an cus tomer servce team mem ers must pos ses s general product knowledge in order to identify and support potential sales. Product application engineers need technical knowledge to answer customers’ questions. o further complicate matters, IR’s sales and service offices are located around t e wor . os t o t e comp an ys saes represen tat ve s wo r rom ome o ces n many t me zo nes. Busy sales people require a flexible training solution to accommodate their hectic sc e ues an remote ge og rap c ocatons . y t e same to en, customers a so ac e t e crunc or t me. e sa es orce must ga n t e at tenton o us y customers who themselves are trying to design and roll out products more and more quickly to beat their competition.
Transcript
8/3/2019 International Rectifier Case Study: IR Drives Sales with Global E-Learning Initiative
International Rectifier (IR), a global manufacturer of complex and rapidly changing
power management sem con uctors, ntro uces an average o t ree or morema or pro ucts eac mont . ecause o compet t ve pressures, t e e-cyc e othese new products is constantly shrinking. This has had the cumulative effectof accelerating the continuous improvement and product development cycles,thereby requiring sales and support employees to be retrained frequently.
o address the challenge of communicating, coordinating and training hundreds of e serv ce eng neers, sa es representat ves, nterna sa es sta ers, execut ves
an n epen ent ns e sa es reps n ocat ons aroun t e wor , mp ementean e-learning solution. Online learning provides timely product training before newproducts are launched, while requiring only one person to manage and implementt e tra n ng.
CHALLENGES
Robert Grant, Executive Vice President of Sales & Corporate Marketing for International Rectifier, said, “The number and complexity of new productintroductions continues to grow at an accelerated rate, and our global sales forcerequres mme ate access to pro uct now e ge n or er to e ect vey serv ce our customer ase. n a t on, t s new met o o t ra n ng as ena e us to re uceour training costs by 75%.”
ec n ca pro uct now e ge must e qu c y capture an reta ne y eapplication engineers in order to design new semiconductor devices into a vastnumber of applications related to computing, data communication, portableelectronics, automotive, military and aerospace, medical, appliance and industrialproducts. Outside and inside sales representatives, sales vice presidents and
rectors, account managers an customer serv ce team mem ers must possessgeneral product knowledge in order to identify and support potential sales. Productapplication engineers need technical knowledge to answer customers’ questions.
o further complicate matters, IR’s sales and service offices are located aroundt e wor . ost o t e company s saes representat ves wor rom ome o ces nmany t me zones.
Busy sales people require a flexible training solution to accommodate their hecticsc e u es an remote geograp c ocatons. y t e same to en, customersa so ace t e crunc or t me. e sa es orce must ga n t e attent on o usycustomers who themselves are trying to design and roll out products more andmore quickly to beat their competition.
■ ran sa es on growng num er o new,comp ex pro ucts e ect ve y
■ u a cost e ectve saestraining solution
■ anage verse tra n ng nee s or multiple audiences around the world
■ ow su ect matter experts to eas ycreate compelling content
SOLUTION ■ Implemented “Power Tech LearningSystem” using SumTotal’s Extended
nterpr se so ut on to serventernat ona sa es team across7 countries
■ reate en e tra n ng sou toncom n ng nstructor- e an on- necourses with certification paths by jobfunction to drive higher sales forcepro uct v ty an comp ance
RESULTS
■ reaty mprove comp ance totra n ng program w t over saespeople completing over 5,500 courses
in nine-months ■ trong eturn-on- nvestment – w tnew system reducing training costs by75%, saving $250,000 in the first year
■ Increased sales managementeffectiveness by providing managersan accurate skills and knowledgepicture for each of their team members
ecause persona re atons ps p ay a s gn cant roe n saes success, a toovercome the sometimes impersonal nature of training delivered over the Internet.So IR instructors have developed enhanced presentations that include creativeanmaton an stream ne text to s are now e ge accuratey, ut n a way t atexc tes an captures au ence attent on.
Also important to the company is an evaluation system, which measures training effec-t veness an can ea to contnuous mprovement n tra n ng mater a s an e very.
But before e-learning was introduced as a training solution for the IR sales force, amore informal training process was in place. Although well received and fairly effective,it was a “catch-as-catch-can” situation, requiring extensive effort and expense.
SOLUTION: BLENDED TRAINING
An interim solution using an Internet conferencing platform was introduced. InternationalRectifier set up monthly product training sessions. Because of the different time zones
etween t e nstructor an stu ents, mut p e tra n ng sessons were nee e toaccommo ate t e wor w e au ence. e ene t o nternet con erenc ng ecameapparent immediately, since “real-time” visual and audible communications with thepresenter via live chat and conference calls were available. The sales force also likedthe idea of attending training sessions from their “home base” without the need for trave , an at a t me most convenent or t em.
Although convenient and effective, there was room for improvement:
• Registration: A limited number of “seats” (site licenses) were available,limiting the number of participants. The registration process was alsocum ersome to manage.
• Security: Each training session had a unique user ID and password.Multiple user ID codes and passwords created confusion for the sale force.
•
Progress Report: Supervisor and student wanted to see individualraining progress in real time.
• va uat on: ere was no eva uat on process to capture an trac t eknowledge gained or measure training satisfaction and effectiveness.
REFINEMENTS
nternat ona ect er respon e to t ese c a enges y aunc ng t e ower ecearn ng enter, ep oye us ng um ota s xten e nterpr se so ut on. e
solution was implemented in two phases.
n ase , t e xten e nterpr se so ut on was con gure to nc u e t e prev ousInternet-based conferencing solution, and Macromedia Breeze was used for archivedtraining files. The unique user ID and password scheme was discarded, and theregistration process was automated. An attendance report and administrationmanagement were a so ntegrate nto t e sout on. n a t on, com ne nstructor-e saes s s tran ng wt an s-on a sess ons to ren orce tec nca topcs.
In Phase 2, SumTotal’s learning plan capability was integrated into the overall solution.s on ne persona earnng pan too a ows managers to create, ass gn an trac
mut p e tra n ng programs or erent o unctons. ac stu ent s enro e n one or more programs and required to complete a curriculum of prerequisite courses, major courses and elective courses every quarter. In return for successful completion of their tra n ng, t ey are rewar e t roug a comm ss on an ncent ve p an.
SumTotal logo, are registered trademarks or trademarks of SumTotal
Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other
countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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n a t on, nternat ona ect er s n- ouse recor ng capa ty as eenenhanced. The entire offering of monthly product training events is archived,allowing the sales force to access training sessions at their convenience. Thisn- ouse recor ng capa ty re uce course eve opment costs y as muc as
, an course eve opment t me was re uce y .
BENEFITS & COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
Approximately 500 sales “students” from International Rectifier have completedmore than 5,500 courses in the first nine months. The cost to deliver thetraining is less than $12 per student per course. The cost included SumTotal’s
xten e nterpr se, e con erenc ng an recor ng me a. e companysaved approximately $250,000 during the past year with the online learningsystem, compared to on-site training.
Using e-learning, International Rectifier is now able to train its worldwide sales
force in an effective and timely manner. Sales people can refresh their memoriesand sharpen their product knowledge before meeting with customers at any time.
n sa es management s a e to ent y t e s an nowe ge eve s o eacn v ua sa es pro ess ona or ongo ng support an tra n ng.
Looking back at the company’s progress, there were several factors that led to thesuccess u ep oyment o e- earn ng at nternat ona ect er:
A COORDINATED, GLOBAL EFFORT
International Rectifier rolled out the e-learning system worldwide by geographicalregion. Regional managers took the responsibility for communicating andcoor nat ng t e new on ne earnng enter or t e r reg on.
MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
An organization must believe and communicate that training is an important componentof sales success. International Rectifier reinforces this principle by formally tyingsa es compensat on an comm ss on structure w t ts tran ng programs.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Conducting a detailed analysis of needs is very important so the system’s designcan meet the company’s needs accurately.
CREATIVE ANIMATION
In instructor-led training sessions, approximately 85% of the message is deliveredvia body gestures. Web-based training does not have the luxury of these visualcues. Therefore, creative animation within the instruction materials is necessary tocapture t e attent on an m n s o t e au ence.
LOOKING AHEADLaunching an e-learning system for a global sales force is a multi-phase project.IR’s system is under constant evaluation and continuous development. In theuture, t e company p ans to ntro uce on ne pro uct tran ng to ts customer ase. t er nnovat ve app cat ons o t e on ne tra n ng p at orm, ncu ng nter-
company training, are being explored as more and more IR personnel becomefamiliar with system’s capabilities.
About SumTotalSumTotal Systems, Inc. is the global leader
strategic Human Capital Management
(HCM) solutions that provide organizations
with a new level of visibility to help make
more informed business decisions and
accelerate growth. Recognized by industry
analysts as the most complete solution,
SumTotal provides full employee lifecycle
management, including a core system of
record, from a single provider for improved
business intelligence. The company offers
customers of all sizes and industries the
most flexibility and choice with multiple
purchase, configuration, and deployment
options. We have increased the performance
of the world’s largest organizations
including Sony Electronics (NYSE: SNE),
AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN [ADR]; London:
AZN), Amway (KUL:AMWAY), Seagate
(NYSE: STX), Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), and
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG). For more
information, or to request a demo, please
call +1 (866) 768-6825 (US / Canada),
+1 (352) 264-2800 (international) or visit
www.sumtotalsystems.com
AboutInternational Rectifier International Rectifier (IR) (Symbol:IRF-
-NYSE) is a pioneer and world leader in
advanced power management technol-
ogy, from digital, analog and mixed-signal
ICs to advanced circuit devices, power
systems and components. The world’s
leading manufacturers of computers, ap-
pliances, automobiles, consumer elec-
tronics and defense systems rely on IR
technology to drive the performance and
efficiency of their products. Today, power
management technology plays a more im-portant role than ever in saving the world’s
