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iPod Corporation
September 06, 2007
A look inside Capital One's trailblazing audio learning program.
By Sarah Boehle
Marc Cooper is a busy guy. Over the last two years, his employer, Capital One Financial Corporation, made a bold move into retail banking with its acquisition of two major banks. The acquisitions marked a dramatic expansion beyond the company's core credit-card and auto-loan businesses, and also more than doubled the size of its workforce. As director of change communications, Cooper is devoting much of his time to banking integrations and helping to "pull folks in" to what he calls the "Capital One of the future." Such work involves long hours and a good deal of travel, so Cooper struggles to balance the demands of his professional life with his personal passions, such as spending time with family and keeping fit. One might assume that finding time for two of his other passions—learning and career development—is a luxury in which he rarely can afford to indulge. Yet despite his hectic schedule, Cooper now is spending more time learning than ever before.
iPods to the Rescue
His secret weapon: the Apple iPod, that portable, cute-as-a button device that shuffles and plays digital songs and audio recordings and is becoming nearly as ubiquitous on the streets, in restaurants, and at the mall as cell phones.
Cooper has been using his iPod to learn on the go for approximately three years now—transforming what once amounted to little more than downtime into "leverage-able" learning moments. Today, for example, he often can be found striding through busy airports with the iPod's telltale white cord dangling from his ear as he listens to in-depth business case studies or catches up on the latest change management trends and best practices.
Cooper also frequently makes use of his iPod when he's back in Virginia, often donning the groovy gadget to tune in to learning on the 38-mile round-trip bike ride he frequently makes between his home and Capital One's headquarters in McLean, VA. At times, he also uses it to create a "cone of concentration" by listening to background music when he needs to block out distractions and concentrate on the work at hand. All told, Cooper estimates he uses the device around 10 hours each week—five of which are devoted to formal learning activities and five of which are spent listening to personal-use audio, such as music and non-business books.
From Fringe to Forefront
He may be a bona fide iPodder today, but only a few years ago, Cooper had never used one of Apple's colorful, compact digital media players before. It wasn't until he enrolled in "difficult conversations" training, a program that features a combination of classroom training and audio learning pre- and post-work, through Capital One University (COU) that he acquired the device and began using it in earnest.
Cooper is just one of thousands of beneficiaries of what Capital One calls its "Audio Learning Program," which makes branded iPods sporting the Capital One logo available for free to all employees enrolled in a COU course that features an audio learning component.
Launched with a small-scale pilot initiative consisting of only 30 users approximately three years ago, Capital One began its quest to bring corporate learning to the MP3 era long before many in the training industry had considered using the gadgets as learning tools.
The iPods were a hit from the start, prompting the company to gradually expand the program to reach 250 early adopters (who were selected based on their potential to become "powerful advocates" for the tool), and then, in the second quarter of 2005, to learners throughout Capital One's U.S. offices. Today, approximately 4,000 iPods are in service throughout the enterprise, estimates Ted Forbes, COU's CLO, and approximately 100 new units are distributed to learners each month.
Over time, the program has expanded to keep pace with new technology. At the beginning of 2006, for example, Capital One updated its technology from the iPod to the sleeker, more economical 8-GB iPod Nano, capable of storing up to 2,000 songs.
Learners use these devices to download both off-the-shelf and customized pre- and post-training coursework associated with the 20 COU courses that currently are augmented with audio learning. In 2006, the company's Leadership Development Program leveraged six-month audio subscriptions to executive book summaries and Harvard Business Review to complement in-person learning experiences. Custom audio content also was created last year to supplement the company's Leading Diversity and Facilitation Skills for Leaders as Teachers courses.
Capital One learners are free to keep their iPods while employed by the company, and they are encouraged to use them on an ongoing basis for both business and pleasure by availing themselves of the tens of thousands of offerings—including popular books, articles, and periodicals—that Capital One makes available through its partnership with Internet audio book provider Audible Inc. Capital One learners also can visit the Audible Web site to download non-course-related Capital One audio content such as quarterly earnings calls and modules from the company's executive speaker series.
Beyond the "Cool" Factor
What's the payoff associated with distributing thousands of free iPods to learners?
Being one of the first in corporate America to use a hip new technology for learning certainly hasn't hurt the company's image as an employee-friendly organization that cares about its workforce's learning and development. The program also has generated its fair share of buzz, not only in industry press, but also in the mainstream media. (USA Today and The Wall Street Journal are just two major news outlets that have run articles mentioning the program.)
But according to Forbes, Capital One's decision to go the iPod route was for the very same reasons that any effective training program is launched. iPods, he says, are the right fit for the company's ultra-flexible culture and work environment; they deliver significant business results; and they're a vital tool that helps the company to achieve its blended learning strategy while meeting the learning needs of an increasingly mobile and dispersed workforce.
Last, but certainly not least, employees asked for it. Each year, Capital One conducts an all-employee survey. And year after year, says Forbes, the findings remain the same. "There are three primary drivers that drive employee retention and engagement," he says, which include "career development, flexibility, and communication. That's what our associates believe makes this a great place to work, and that's what encourages them to stay."
In addition to keeping workers happy, anecdotal evidence points to the fact that Capital One's Audio Learning Program also is making workers more productive. "We found in rolling out the program that there were a lot of learnable moments—basically, under-leveraged bits and snippets of time—that workers could devote to learning when they hadn't previously been doing so, says Forbes. "For us, audio learning is just another way to tie flexibility into our programs and give people chances to learn when they previously hadn't been doing so. That's a big gain for many of our associates."
Sidebar: Your Questions, Answered
What are the criteria for determining who gets a free ipod?
Learners must be enrolled in a Capital One University (COU) course that features an audio learning component.
How does Capital One determine which courses are a good fit for audio learning?
Although Capital One is considering an expansion of its audio offerings to include job-specific courses, it currently limits audio learning to courses that fall into the career development category (such as leadership, management, and competency-based courses). The decision to use audio in that framework generally is left up to instructors, COU learning consultants (who are tasked with serving the learning needs of specific company business units), and their stakeholders. They consider both the program's learning goals and its intended audience.
What is the cost?
With iPod Nanos currently retailing for $149 to $249 a pop, and standard iPods costing approximately $249 to $349 each, buying iPods en masse can be costly, but remember to put those costs into perspective, advises Michael Walker, director of learning at COU. Even if you purchase thousands of units to jumpstart your audio program, your total outlay likely will pale in comparison to the price tag associated with developing custom computer-based training (CBT) to accomplish the same learning objectives—or paying for an instructor to lead a face-to-face course on the topic.
In addition, be sure to negotiate with vendors. Capital One partnered with Apple Inc. and Audible Inc. to achieve bulk discounts.
Also, factor into your cost equation the benefits associated with iPod learning. Capital One determined that if each iPod recipient spent only four to six hours using his or her iPod to learn, the program would break even from a cost perspective. Because most of those enrolled in the company's program eventually become "serial" users, return on investment associated with the program exceeds that baseline.
User Profile: Rebecca Pratt
Job Title:Senior Director, Associate Communications
How do you like to learn? I learn in a variety of ways, and audio learning is just one of them. Typically, my preference depends on the topic I'm learning about and what I want to get out of the experience. For me that's the beauty of this program; it gives me the freedom to choose.
How many audio learning courses have you taken through Capital One University? I've taken about four to five courses with audio learning specifically tied to them. I also use the iPod to download learning resources that aren't tied to specific courses. It becomes kind of like a habit.
What do you like best about using the iPod to learn?The flexibility. I travel a lot, and the benefit of the iPod for me is the ability to plow through a ton of material in my own way, at my own pace, and in places where I typically have time to myself, such as in the car or as I walk around my neighborhood in the evening to clear my mind after a day's work. I also like the flexibility to manage my own career development. Even though I can't always take three days away from the job to sit in a classroom and learn, with the iPod, I still feel like I'm making progress and advancing my own development.
How does Capital One avoid the slacker stigma sometimes associated with iPods?
If you work in an environment in which iPod use is viewed as rude, or where listening to the latest Korn single while typing a business memo is considered slacker behavior, you'll have some cultural change work to do before launching an iPod program.
If your company's culture revolves around ensuring work/life balance and fostering a flexible work environment, however, such barriers may not exist. Capital One Senior Director of Associate Communications Rebecca Pratt, for example, regularly dons her iPod at work not only to facilitate her own learning, but also to set an example for those who report to her.
How does Capital One deal with employees who just use the iPod to download music, for example?
If learners want to use their corporate iPod to download the Beatles' greatest hits or listen to the latest John Grisham novel, Capital One encourages them to do so, says Ted Forbes, COU's chief learning officer. The company offers its employees a 20 percent discount on all titles—including both business and leisure content—available through the Audible Web site.
As for those who sign up and take an audio class just to score a free iPod? "We won't stop them," says Forbes—though he notes that whenever a learner signs up for an audio learning class, the learner's iPod is billed directly to his or her cost center and is subject to manage approval.
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