ALLSTATE AND LEARN.NET TAKE TRAINING TO A NEW LEVEL

September 25, 2003

Allstate Insurance and Learn.net partnered in 1999 to implement the Learning Resource Network, customizing the Learn.net knowledge management system to centralize training data and meet the unique needs of Allstate. The Learning Resource Network has changed the culture of training and product implementation at Allstate thanks to the speed and convenience of the online system. In May 2003, the Learning Resource Network passed the one million mark in employee hours trained. In 2002, more than 45,000 Allstate employees completed courses on the Allstate Learning Resources Network.

Moving Along

In March of 2003, Allstate developed a product called Allstate Bank, an online banking system for customers. Before launch of the new product, all Allstate agents had to be trained to effectively sell it to new and existing customers. The company projected that it needed eight months to train more than 10,000 Allstate agents in the United States and Canada using instructor-based classroom training. With the already widespread acceptance of the Learning Resource Network, Allstate used the online training system to train its agents and completed the training in only four weeks.

Allstate launched the Allstate Bank six months ahead of schedule, and it immediately began to produce sales.

Likewise, Allstate developed a new IRA product in January 2003, but sales became stagnant after the initial rollout. Allstate retrained its agents on the IRA product using the Allstate Learning Resources Network. Within four weeks after retraining began, sales for the IRA grew 80%. Agents attributed the sales jump to their higher comfort level with the product due to the online training.

The Allstate Learning Resources Network houses about 1,500 educational courses available to all employees, agents, and agent staffs. Learners throughout the United States use it to access online courses, register for instructor-led workshops, take continuing education courses, and attend virtual classrooms. With the LRN, Allstate provides on-demand education for about $15 per employee per year.

For more information, go to www.learn.net.

URL: http://www.ltimagazine.com/ltimagazine/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=70668