Transcript
Mark Feffer:
Welcome to PeopleTech, the podcast of the HCM Technology Report. I’m Mark Feffer. Today I’m speaking with Mark Zides. He’s the Chief Growth Officer at ELB Learning. His company’s at work in a quickly growing multi-billion dollar market, and they’re pursuing the business with a variety of technologies. So we’re going to talk about AI, video, virtual reality, and ChatGPT, of course, along with COVID’s impact on learning and the role of partnerships. All on this edition of PeopleTech. Hi, Mark. Thanks for coming in.
So, let’s start by just talking about the business and HR in general. So many areas of HR have been impacted by COVID over the last few years. What’s going on in the learning space? Have things changed very much?
Mark Zides:
They’ve certainly shifted, Mark, with respect to how training is delivered. A lot of clients post pandemic went to a more virtual model with respect to how they consume their training. So, classroom-based or in-person shifted probably, maybe it was 60-40, it went the other way, maybe 80-20 or even 90-10. So, a lot of the training is distributed or delivered online, whether it’s through immersive learning like gamification or even virtual reality on the immersive side or just traditional e-learning through a learning management system.
Mark Feffer:
And you think this was all beat it up by COVID or?
Mark Zides:
I do. I think that accelerated things, and it made companies shift to a more distributed model, something that was more scalable when people working from home.
Mark Feffer:
So, Mark, to follow up on that, what has ELB Learning done to keep up with these changes?
Mark Zides:
So, we’ve done an incredible job staying modern with respect to both our technology, tools, and platforms as well as the way we deliver training. So, many companies are looking for creative learning solutions, learning experiences, and we’re a world-class leader with respect to how the training is both developed and delivered really on time in a bespoke or customized manner for all of our clients.
Mark Feffer:
Now, the other question or another area that you have to ask if you’re talking about HR nowadays is AI. And I’m wondering, does AI play a significant role in learning and what’s it doing? Where’s it going?
Mark Zides:
Yeah, that’s a really good question, Mark. It’s really early on, to be frank. I think AI is helping with a lot of content aggregation. I think it’s helping with building some on-demand tools or some on-demand resources for people to kind of learn and self-absorbed training in a self-paced manner. But I don’t think it’s really where it needs to be with respect to building the learning experiences that companies like ELB Learning build for our clients. So, for example, we have some great games. We have some great virtual reality products that allow companies to experience great learning and content and AI’s not there from the standpoint of building those out for our clients or our customers.
Mark Feffer:
Now, how do you think that’s all going to play out? I mean, over time, how do you think AI is going to impact the area?
Mark Zides:
I think AI will become a standard in the industry. I think it’ll become a add-on or bolt-on to certain technologies. So, for example, we have a couple of great tools. CenarioVR, we have Lectora, which is an online e-learning development tool. AI could be AP-ied or embedded into or connected to that tool, which will allow a lot of content and a lot of information and knowledge to be brought into or automated into that content development process. So, I think it will accelerate things. I think it’ll open up a lot more opportunities and creativity for instructional designers, e-learning developers on the development side. On the HR side, I think that HR organizations need to understand what the impact is from a use case perspective or how those tools will enable them within the organizations to be more agile and be able to get the information when they want it and when they need it.
Mark Feffer:
And do you think that users really understand what AI is? You see a lot of stories about companies just putting the label of artificial intelligence on pretty much everything they do, and the average consumer and probably average business consumer isn’t really clear on what the difference is and what AI really is. Do you find that’s true?
Mark Zides:
I do. I think it’s very true. I think that it’s early on, whether it’s ChatGPT or other AI tools that really help the content aspect and the knowledge aspect of the world that we’re in. So, it helps synthesize, it helps validate certain information. It helps, for example, content writers with the writing skills that they need, or it helps them build outlines or plans or strategies. I still think there’s a human touch that’s necessarily in HR, but if it’s policy or compliance or standard content or information, I think it certainly will accelerate things. Absolutely.
Mark Feffer:
Yeah, speaking of ChatGPT, what’s your take on that? Where’s it going?
Mark Zides:
I believe it’s a really strong tool that will enable people to build foundational knowledge and also foundational content when it come in a business sense. So, when you look at it through the lens of HR, if you’re a recruiter and you need to write job descriptions, it’ll help you build a world-class job description. It’ll also help HR professionals streamline their jobs a lot faster with respect to the way that the content needs to be developed and consumed. It also helps from a searchability perspective. So, just like people used to go to Google to find their information or knowledge, ChatGPT allows you to do that as well, right at the tip of your fingertips. So, it’s a really interesting tool and it’s going to be interesting to see how that morph still as it cascades into organizations really every day.
Mark Feffer:
Yeah, it’s really interesting how much attention it’s got in a fairly limited amount of time. What’s driving that do you think? What’s made people sit up and take notice of this particular package?
Mark Zides:
Well, I think it’s just like any other, I guess, software tool. Remember back in the day, you and I were old enough to remember when Microsoft came out with DOS and they thought that was the greatest thing. And then DOS went to Windows 3.1 and everyone’s like, “Wow.” And then went to the Windows 95, and then it went to web-based email and other types of tools. So, I think this is just another iteration of a mobile or a technology capability that has hit the marketplace that this one’s a game changer with respect to the way it synthesizes data and information. So, I think it’s a hot topic, and I think that companies, regardless of the vertical or the industry you’re in, I’m going to be able to utilize it to enhance their organizational capabilities as well as their brands.
Mark Feffer:
Now, shifting gears again, not terribly long ago, you entered a strategic partnership with Docebo, and can you tell me about that and how partnerships in general actually fit into your roadmap?
Mark Zides:
Yeah, so Docebo is a great partner. They’re one of the top SaaS-based LMS or learning management companies out there. And ELB has a strong alliance with certain software companies, and it was a great opportunity for the two companies to connect to really affiliate in a way where we can help each other’s customers out. So, they have a really strong LMS and in really the mid-market and sort of lower end of the enterprise, but they didn’t have a content development capability. And on our side, on the ELB Learning side, we had a strong LMS, but not one that scaled to the degree that the Docebo’s did. So, it was a great partnership or opportunity where our two sales and go-to-market organizations could collaborate and help each other out, help each other build our organizations from a client development and client scalability perspective.
Mark Feffer:
Now, how about video? I mean, it seems like that’s been increasing in importance for quite a while. Do you think that’s going to continue?
Mark Zides:
I do. Yeah, that’s a great point, Mark. I think video learning, whether it’s video through YouTube are great paradigms, are great ways to push content or tell stories, and a lot of it can be in that TikTok style of video. So, some of our clients are looking for those types of modalities when it comes to learning. So, we’re working with one of the biggest software companies in the world right now where they want TikTok style videos in their customer service organization to deploy training and updates to their tech. So, they don’t want those long form 20-minute e-learning modules. They want 90 seconds, three minutes of tops stories in that sort of TikTok level type video or Instagram reels. So, it’s a real thing. Our clients are asking for it from a creativity perspective. It’s a lot of fun for our instructional designers and developers to push out that type of content or those types of videos.
Mark Feffer:
How about virtual reality? Are you getting into that?
Mark Zides:
We are, yeah. We’re one of the founding really thought leaders and strongest companies out there from a virtual reality or VR perspective. We have our own custom content VR tool called CenarioVR, and it allows content developers to develop their own virtual reality experiences, either on the desktop or through any type of headset. So, our clients are actually pushing the envelope a little bit from a standpoint of creativity, trying to put end users into really immersive experiences, and that’s picking up a lot of steam as well.
Mark Feffer:
Well, Mark, thanks very much for stopping by today. It was great to talk with you.
Mark Zides:
Yeah, same here, Mark. Thanks for the time.
Mark Feffer:
My guest today has been Mark Zides, the Chief Growth Officer at ELB Learning. And this has been PeopleTech, the podcast of the HCM Technology Report. We’re a publication of RecruitingDaily. We’re also a part of Evergreen Podcasts. To see all of their programs, visit www.evergreenpodcasts.com. And to keep up with HR technology, visit the HCM Technology Report every day. We’re the most trusted source of news in the HR tech industry. Find us at www.hcmtechnologyreport.com. I’m Mark Feffer.
Image: ELB Learning
