I read somewhere once that the best employees don’t take any notice of their job descriptions. In other words, they work out what needs to be done and they get on and do it.
This notion resonated with me when a fellow learning professional asked me what I do in my capacity as an E-Learning Manager.
The thing is, the role of “E-Learning Manager” (ELM) is a grey one. Like “Product Manager” or “Business Analyst”, the nuts & bolts of what you do can vary widely from organisation to organisation – from the code monkey who really should be a software engineer, to the strategic consultant who really should be a politician, to everything and anything in between.
Even within the one role at the one workplace, the breadth of what an ELM might do can be staggering. For example, these are some of the activities that I might do on any given day:
- Client consulting
- Training needs analysis
- Content curation
- Content mapping
- Content sourcing
- Content development
- Content editing
- Instructional design
- Graphic design
- Multimedia production
- Courseware development
- Courseware testing
- LMS administration
- Webinar administration
- Discussion moderation
- Community management
- IT helpdesk
- Training and coaching
- Vendor management
- Sales liaison
- Reporting
- Data analysis
- Evaluation
- Internal marketing
- Intranet publishing
- External research
- Expert advice
- Strategic planning
- Irrelevant stuff that is other people’s jobs.
And I’m sure there’s plenty I’ve missed!
Of course, I don’t do all of this all the time. Ideally I will prioritise; but the reality of business is that the prevailing circumstances will dictate my priorities for me.
How does this stack up with what other e-learning pro’s do?
Are there any budding ELM’s out there who have different expectations of the role?
E-Learning Provocateur 