UnumProvident Attacks Training With Technology From Pathlore

Until now, executives at UnumProvident say they’ve relied on spreadsheets, paper files and databases to track their firm’s training needs. But the growing complexity of the disability insurer’s education programs has created the need for an automated training management solution. For instance, UnumProvident’s underwriting department has workers spread across the country. And managers often ask that these underwriters have the flexibility to take training when and where they need it. The logistics to juggle a request like that demands an LMS. The system not only registers employees for online and classroom training but also assesses how much workers have learned.

“If you’re going to measure the impact of training, then managers need to know what programs people have attended and how they did,” said Sue Hynes, associate vice president at UnumProvident Corp. “An LMS provides a total picture of the activities, costs and impact.”

“With the Pathlore LMS in place, UnumProvident can also tailor training to any individual or group,” adds Judy Hairsine, director of Field Service & Administration Training at UnumProvident. For example, UnumProvident can tap the LMS to create and deliver training for each member of the Field Service group. With Pathlore’s LMS, UnumProvident can design and track classes and programs for newly hired field employees, ongoing leadership programs for management and a certified Service Excellence Training program. The system will also give UnumProvident’s executives a way to identify gaps in the know-how its employees possess. If, for example, an employee needs training around a particular procedure, then the LMS will alert UnumProvident’s trainers to this fact.

“We expect to use the LMS as a hub that will inform, register, evaluate, track and report on every ingredient of our training,” said Rick O’Coin, director of UnumProvident’s Learning Resource Network. UnumProvident’s Judy Donovan adds, “The LMS tracks not only who’s registering for classes but also what kind of courses they want; we now can prioritize training requests, which reduces redundancy and saves money.”

According to Donovan, the LMS will save money in a number of ways. First, the product’s editing features give trainers a way to break up classroom training into small pieces that workers can take online at a PC. This, says Donovan, reduces an employee’s time away from work. Second, the LMS shoulders the thousands of phone calls and emails linked to registering 4,000 workers for courses each year. Without the LMS, that burden would otherwise rest with training staffers.

“The cost savings from automating the behind-the-scenes work required to train 4,000 employees each year would pay for an LMS,” said Carrie Picardi, senior research analyst at META Group, Inc.

But according to UnumProvident, the company has gone beyond simply reducing administrative costs with its LMS; the organization is using training technology to assess whether or not education is having an impact on the way business gets done.

About Pathlore
Founded in 1995, Columbus, Ohio-headquartered Pathlore develops software that delivers, tracks and reports on corporate training. Customers use Pathlore’s products to increase sales, comply with government regulations and adhere to quality initiatives. The privately held company’s client roster includes Delta Air Lines, NEC America Inc., Novartis, PNC Bank, Southwest Airlines, more than 100 hospitals and health care providers, and government agencies in more than 30 states including California, Ohio and Texas. Pathlore also has offices in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit http://www.pathlore.com.

Pathlore is a registered trademark of Pathlore Software Corporation. All other registered and unregistered trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

About UnumProvident
UnumProvident (UNM) is the largest provider of group and individual disability income protection insurance in North America. Through its subsidiaries, UnumProvident insures more than 25 million people and paid $5.7 billion in total benefits to customers in 2003. With primary offices in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Portland, Maine, the company employs more than 13,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit www.unumprovident.com.