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What is
e-coach?
e-coach is a new web-enabled approach for reinforcing training
and encouraging learning in organizations. It:
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Works
like a personal coach to reinforce and support learning in three different
and effective ways – with:
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Fast Answers
to frequently asked questions related to key concepts and material;
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Many practical
ideas and readily available resources for additional learning and
development in one easy-to- access location called
Knowledge Central; and
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A
Learning
Connection where users can quickly and easily “meet” with
peers and colleagues as well as subject matter experts to discuss issues
specifically related to the topic at hand.
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Reinforces
material presented in any format – in classrooms, on-line, in print or
on film – and by any vendor’s products or any in-house learning tool
or approach. The
straightforward, easy-to-use e-coach
template “packages” everything any organization provides to support
learning that is considered critical to the organization’s success.
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Provides
concrete
suggestions for applying concepts and skills acquired elsewhere plus
easy-to-follow, specific ideas and resources for pursuing additional
learning related to the topic (books, articles, courses, practice ideas,
and more).
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Helps
organizations
leverage money spent on training by providing the reinforcement and
support for using everything that has been learned to achieve real
results.
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Promotes
the
development of a learning culture by encouraging discussion and learning
around topics that are deemed critical to workplace success.
Who is the audience for
e-coach?
Any
organization that could benefit from having access to coaching support. Whether
e-coach contains custom content designed
for a specific course or material or the generic content that comes with
it,
e-coach can help any person who needs to provide coaching support or
who wants to receive it.
Does
e-coach
come with content, or is it just a template for delivering on-going
reinforcement of learning?
Both! Version 1.0 comes with content designed to reinforce any
training or learning an organization has presented around four areas of
core business competencies: People
Smarts, Personal Savvy, Business Sense, and Technology Advice.
As such, e-coach can be used as a follow-up for any
training related to this material, or as a coaching support tool.
The
e-coach template can also be customized to deliver on-going
reinforcement for any course or series of courses or other proprietary
material. In this way,
e-coach
can provide a straightforward, well organized, and easy-to-use template
for "packaging" everything any organization wants to provide to
support learning that is considered critical to the organization's
success.
Can we lease the template and create our own
content?
Yes.
However, companies that wish to use e-coach with custom content are still required to lease
e-coach for each custom version it wants to create.
For example, if a
company wants to customize one version of
e-coach
for sales training purposes and another for its leadership curriculum, it
would be required to pay for two leases, one for each version of e-coach
it plans to use.
Can you provide examples of
e-coach
content?
Yes. Examples of content taken from the four sections of e-coach
Version 1.0 – People Smarts, Personal Savvy, Business Sense,
and Technology Advice – are
available at e-coachonline.com.
You can see selected Fast
Answers to some typical questions; segments of Knowledge
Central that offer ideas for learning and the reinforcement of key
ideas; and the interface to the Learning
Connection section, which provides fast, direct access to others.
Examples of
actual customized content are not shown, since this material is treated as
proprietary to the organization for which it was developed.
The content sections for a version of
e-coach
customized for sales training would typically have the following four
sections: Product
Knowledge, Selling Strategies, Resources
for Selling, and Sources
of Internal Support for Selling.
And, just as in the generic version, each section would cover a
number of related topics, and there would be specific Fast Answers, Knowledge
Central material, and a Learning
Connection for each one.
A version of e-coach
customized to promote support for the implementation of a new
organizational strategy (e.g., SAP, a major merger, a new system for
performance appraisal or promotions and development) might have sections
that describe what the strategy is; the processes that are being
implemented to support it; how to use new processes; and internal support
information or an activity update.
Again, each section would reinforce key concepts and material
and provide tools and strategies for using recommended processes.
Why is
e-coach
needed?
Companies
are spending more money than ever on training and development, but their
investments will not pay off without support and reinforcement because
training alone is simply not enough.
People need support for
learning, and such support must be provided in a manner that is clear,
consistent, and easy to use. Coaching
is without a doubt the most significant variable when it comes to improved
performance. With
e-coach everyone can have access to – and benefit from – some
coaching support – regardless of his or her experience level in the
organization or experience.
Many people do not need more training or
“e-learning”-- but they often require reinforcement of existing
training, learning materials, or processes they have already been exposed
to.
e-coach
offers an ideal way to provide this key element for learning success. It:
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Supports any organization’s efforts to have managers and leaders
provide coaching. Anyone who
is expected to coach others can use
e-coach
to guide and enhance their coaching efforts.
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Supports efforts to build a learning culture by helping individuals
at many levels to learn how to
learn -- something that most on-line learning or classroom learning
experiences do not do.
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Enables users to make use of the Internet for learning on the job
or off the job in a way that the majority of people.
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Creates a convenient, private place to discuss learning around
topics and issues that people have in common, and it helps to support
communities of learning and practice.
Why [e-coach]
now?
Until
now, there has not been a simple, easy way to deliver coaching and
learning support by providing the reinforcement and coaching needed to
make training of any kind really work.
The availability
of the Internet and related technologies has changed all that.
Can I have an
e-coach
license for fewer than 100 users?
Yes, ECA will
license groups of a few as 10 users. However, the annual price per user
typically increases as the number of licensed users decreases. Please
call and we'll give you a quote for the specific number of users to be
licensed.
What’s the annual cost for groups of
other than 100 users?
For groups of 100,
annual pricing starts at $268 per person for the e-coach license and
$385 for the coaching with e-coach program. As mentioned above,
the annual price per user typically increases as the number of licensed
users decreases. For example, for a group of 50 annual pricing
would start at $310 per person for the e-coach license and $537 for the
coaching with e-coach program. However, these costs can change based on
customer requirements. For example, the price for the standard e-coach
license for 100 users includes 24-hours of coaching support. While this
is the minimum recommended, customers may opt for more. Consulting days
are priced at $2,500 per day and customers may bundle as many additional
days as they like in the original license fee or purchase additional
support as needed (in daily or hourly increments).
Are Discussion Areas open to users from
other organizations or are they “private.”
At the present time,
Discussion Areas are private and are not open to users from other
organizations. In the near future, ECA will host a “public” blog on e-coachonline.com
and licensed users will be free to participate (or not) in this public
“discussion area.”
Who provides the coaching support
provided for in the
e-coach
license?
All coaching support
is provided by expert business coaches from E-Coach Associates.
With the Coaching with
e-coach
program, who gets trained – how many of these people get trained – and
what’s the purpose of this training?
The basic program
fee includes training for 10 percent of licensed users (we assume a
ratio or 1 manager for each 10 staff). The number to be trained (and
the corresponding fee) may be changed to meet the particular needs of
the client organization. The purpose of this training is to improve the
ability of management personnel in the client organization – those
considered by most organizations to be first-line coaches -- to coach
others and to use e-coach to support the coaching and development needs
of others.
Are Fast Answers all the same length –
some seem rather brief?
No. Fast Answers
vary in length, and there is no pre-determined “standard” length. Each
Fast Answer is tailored to adequately answer the question and provide
the ”right amount” of coaching support.
Who wrote the coaching content?
All coaching content
has been and will continue to be written by E-Coach Associates. E-coach
provides world-class content that has been tested widely by major US
companies and at Columbia University. It is universally considered to
be sound and consistent with commonly accepted and used concepts,
practices, and advice in each content area.
Who’s the intended audience for
e-coach?
Content is
appropriate for personnel at all levels. That said, e-coach is
essential for all personnel who need to strengthen existing skills or
develop new ones. It’s ideal for personnel new to the workforce or for
those with one to five years of work experience. In addition,
supervisory and management personnel at all levels will find e-coach
indispensable when providing coaching support to others.
Can
e-coach
be used effectively to support leadership development efforts?
Absolutely!
Effective leaders need to be proficient in all of the areas supported by
e-coach. In addition, the Leadership Module in e-coach will help
leaders -- at all levels – to develop and strengthen specific additional
leadership skills needed to be effective.
We have our own competency model. Will
using
e-coach
conflict with it or can e-coach be used to complement and support it?
No – using e-coach
will not cause a conflict! Current e-coach content reflects all of the
skills typically included in most competency models and required for
effective workplace performance. It supports the development of all of
the competencies modern organizations are working to promote.
Who’s using
e-coach
now?
e-coach is currently
being used by hundreds of users in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
Can we talk to current users?
Yes! E-Coach
Associates can provide access to a corporate sponsor currently using
e-coach.
Can we use
e-coach
before we purchase it?
Yes! You can use
e-coach for several days by signing the E-Coach Trial License
Agreement. This license provides access to e-coach for one user for up
to three days.
I need to involve others in the
decision-making process. What’s the best way to do this?
E-Coach is happy to
conduct additional GoToMeetings (especially for potential clients who
are not located in the NY metropolitan area.) We also prefer to
conduct virtual meetings for distant clients prior to contract closing.
However, we will visit clients who have signed a letter of intent to
purchase e-coach, and we will also travel to “remote” sites for
“high-potential” and “well-qualified” prospects.
Can we simply license access to the
e-coach
site without buying any live coaching or training support?
Yes. E-coach will license use of the e-coach site without providing any
support services. However, this is not recommended. Extensive use
(from field testing and by actual customers) clearly demonstrates that
better results are achieved when the tool is offered with support from
E-Coach Associates. For example:
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Providing
training for managers that enables them to be better coaches and to use
the tool to support their coaching efforts.
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Giving
users opportunities to receive a “second level” of coaching support to
supplement the coaching support provided electronically -- personal,
one-on-one coaching provided by expert coaches from E-Coach Associates.
How can we learn more about
e-coach
or see it in action?
Call
us at 973-538-0912 and set up an
appointment for someone from the
e-coach team to come to your company and show you the product
and discuss how it can become part of your company’s learning process.
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