CAPSLO

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The Challenge

Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo (CAPSLO) is a nonprofit agency in California. Their focus is to help people and change lives; they serve nearly 40,000 persons across Central and Southern California. CAPSLO is committed to eliminating poverty by empowering individuals and families to achieve economic self-sufficiency and self-determination through a comprehensive array of community-based programs. CAPSLO had a challenge common to many organizations: all of their staff training took place in the classroom. For CAPSLO that meant that staff who operated in the field had to travel to and from the classrooms. The result was time away from the field, which in turn slowed down staff training. Training itself could also be inconsistent, which, given the nature of their organization, really did not work, and it did not work on a number of levels. CAPSLO was paying the price, both financially and in staff burnout. Changing seasonal staff, frequent staff turnover and strict compliance and verifiability requirements for its various funding resources presented further challenges for the agency.

The Solution

The solution was two-fold. First, create training that was both engaging and easily adapted. Then, provide the platform for content delivery. Of course, this meant taking their training online. KMI Learning collaborated closely with CAPSLO’s SMEs to develop staff training: the content typically created for the classroom was combined with compelling online learning principles and design. These online modules could be used in concert with classroom sessions, as stand-alone learning, or as a reference when classroom sessions were not readily available. Since the experiential value of the classroom training was important and had been successful. KMI’s Creative Design Team built on that very valuable learning experience. The eLearning modules featured simulations of classroom activities and real-life scenarios to present scenarios that encouraged and promoted the learning of additional skills. The design style of the modules reflected the actual environment in which the staff would work and the clients they would support. KMI implemented an LMS that is user-friendly and intuitive. In addition, KMI Learning created and developed an excellent platform for delivery of the online content, with webinars and management of classroom sessions. The LMS made access simple and direct as it allowed for single sign-on for learners through the CAPSLO intranet. Since all learning events were now managed through a single platform, staff, supervisors and managers all had training data easily available to them. A significant part of working with non-profit organizations often means working within their particular constraints. KMI was able to do just that.

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The Outcome

CAPSLO now provides consistent and replicable staff training exactly when – and where – a learner needs it. The flexibility of KMI’s eLearning reduces travel costs, while also freeing up training coordinators for content development. And thanks to the LMS, all training is tracked and verified. As CAPSLO adds courses and expands their curriculum, they strengthen an already robust staff university.