SuccessFactors System Details

The standard Learning Management System within Bayer is the SAP SuccessFactors LMS. This system is available to all Bayer employees under the name My Learning and is fully integrated within core HR processes such as, development dialogues and organizational management, among others.

The benefits of this system are:

Well-defined processes for e-learning rollout
Fully integrated organizational data
Direct access to full training histories by employees and their line managers
Future integration within Development Dialogues and HR data (organizational management)
My Employees (Manager Self-Service) — managers (R) see the training histories of their direct reports; training data will be available in the future for Development Dialogues.
Registration feature that enables training to be undertaken individually or through assignment profiles
The system and all notifications are available in the most common languages (EN, ES, CN (simplified), PT (BR), IT, MP, FR, DE, Dutch)
LMS Technical Specification Guide
Feedback function available

Rollout of e-Learning Programs in the SuccessFactors LMS / My Learning

First Steps

The system guides you through the questions that need to be addressed to set up a seamless rollout. For global and German rollouts, please contact the Digital Intake form, for rollouts in other local countries contact your local coordination/administration, at an early stage. For smaller rollouts, please inform them at least one month before the planned due date. For larger or global rollouts, a significantly longer preparation period is necessary so as to allow sufficient time to prepare for the rollout and obtain the necessary resources. The training coordinator will go through the checklist with you and explain the necessary steps.

Rollout Process

The main rollout process for web-based training consists of the following steps:

Requirement clarification (client, coordinator (for German and global rollouts BBS-HROP Learning & Training) or external content provider).
– Searching for existing content.
– Defining the target group; establishing whether the training is mandatory.
Deciding whether the content can be hosted on the iContent Server in the cloud, or if it needs to stay onsite (for data security reasons).
Content upload to the learning management system.
Creating a new training item or curriculum in the learning management system, item (course) testing (functionality and content). Here, a thumbnail image that visualizes the WBT can be used next to the text.
Invitation
Assignment to users
Reporting
Setting reminder periods
Feedback & follow-up reporting

Cloud vs. On-Site Hosting

SuccessFactors generally hosts the learning content on the iContent server (Cloud Content Server), which offers fast access worldwide. However, content that requires high data security must not be uploaded to the cloud server. Instead, it needs to be hosted on an on-premise content server (local server), which ensures that the data does not leave the Bayer network.

A local content server is to be used for:

Training with intellectual property / data privacy
Training with a local scope
Simple training modules (i.e. a simple PowerPoint, PDF, or Word file)
“Documents” (SF item related document content, similar to simple training modules)
Training with a target audience scope below a significant threshold

If any of the criteria for a local content server can be answered with yes, this is the right place.

The iContent server is to be used for training:

with a global scope and if high performance (high traffic) is anticipated
without a need for data security
that should be available for the My Learning mobile app (Release TBD)

Structure

SuccessFactors / My Learning offers a variety of options for integrating the e-learning content (WBT) into its infrastructure. However, in all cases, the WBT is embedded as a content object into a training item.

Training Items

Each item can contain multiple content objects. A content object is a record that describes and leads to the content (via a URL) on the content server. A content object can therefore lead to a WBT. (It can also lead to a document hosted on a system such as SCORE, QDoc or LifeDoc.)

A training item can contain several learning events. For example:

WBT (web-based training)
Instructor-led training
AN AICC wrapper object (i.e. a PDF file, video or URL)

An item might contain a content object for a training module or for an assessment. It is possible to force users to complete the content objects in sequential order through the use of a training program (see below). The item is completed only when all content objects have been completed.

The item level can also be used to establish a language selection in case of multi-lingual WBT rollouts.
A training item can have a cover page that features an image, general information and content-specific text to provide general information and profile the training.

Training Curricula

Curricula were created to support the assignment and tracking of certifications / qualifications. A curriculum generally consists of a series of courses that must be completed within a set time frame.

Some curricula may also have retraining periods that must be adhered to in order for a user to remain certified for a particular task or job. In order to support the regulatory requirements, curricula are considered to be a standardized certification delivery system. This means that everyone who is assigned a curriculum must follow the same rules without exception.

Training Programs

Programs are created to deliver learning activities of various sources and types in a structured manner, similar to academic-style courses.

A program typically consists of activities grouped into time-based or topic-based blocks and contains settings to control the flow of consumption by the end users. Programs are adaptable to the training needs of the program participants. This means that rules and requirements may vary among participants that attended the same program at different times.

Within a training program, training items can be structured in a particular order and time frame. A program can consist of several training items that have been didactically arranged to produce a certain learning outcome.

These training items can have contents such as WBT, PDF files or videos, and links to external courses can even be integrated.

Synopsis of Curricula vs. Programs

Feature	Curricula	Programs
Learning item prerequisites	Govern when a user can participate in the learning item by checking to see if the user has completed the prerequisites.	Any prerequisites set at the learning item level are ignored.
Learning item due dates	Govern when a learning item is due.	Any due date set at the learning item level is ignored. Due dates are based implicitly on the duration of the program.
Completion and compliance	In curricula, a user can be compliant but not complete, and that state can change over time as a result of retraining.	In programs, users have either completed or not completed the program.
Certificate of completion	Users can only obtain certificates of completion at the learning item level, not at the curricula level.	Users can receive a certificate of completion for the program.
Learning content	Learning content must be internal to the Learning Management System (LMS): learning items and other curricula.	Learning content can either be internal (items) or external (links or custom activities).
Retraining	Curricula fully support retraining to stay current on compliance.	Programs do not support retraining. If you want a user to repeat a program, you must reassign it.
Credit for past completion	Users can obtain credit for past item completions based on a curriculum-level configuration set by the Learning Administrator.	Users can obtain credit for past item completions based on an item-level configuration set by the Learning Administrator.
Order of assignments	All learning items are assigned at once with different due dates so that users can see the entire compliance regimen.	Activities are revealed to users as they enter the time frame that the activities must be completed in so that users are not overwhelmed.
Requirement pools	Curricula support requirement pools, i.e., users must complete requirements from a group (pool) of requirements.	Not supported.
Change control	Any change to a curriculum is applied to all users to enforce standardization of learning.	Changes can be sent to users who are currently assigned the program, or you can grandfather the change so that it is only seen by newly assigned users.

When to use what?

Curricula	Programs
The training requirements are driven by regulatory policies. Users must recertify. Users can be decertified based on later failure. Changes in training requirements impact certification status. Certification requirements must be consistent for all users. Certification is required for a user, and compliance status must be maintained.	A group of learning activities should be delivered. The intent is to deliver content in structured/ meaningful blocks. Users must complete the training blocks in sequence. Content includes external content, personal interactions, and custom activities that do not need to be validated by the system. Content must be presented in a visual agenda layout.
Curricula are ideal for training that is regulated, compliance-driven and auditable.	Programs are ideal for leadership and onboarding programs, and academic-style courses.

Invitation

Users can be invited to self-assign non-mandatory learning items. This can be done in a variety of ways:

An e-mail with a direct link to the learning item can be sent out.
The training can be made available with a direct link (e.g., from SharePoint or for special target groups).
Users can search for training items in the SuccessFactors LMS training catalog (for those training items that are made visible for targeted groups of Bayer employees).
Within the SuccessFactors LMS colleagues and supervisors can recommend learning items to users or user groups.

Assignment Management

There are a few different options for the assignment management:

Assignments can be made manually by the manager of the specific users.
Users can selfassign through searching the library or based on recommendations from colleagues.
Assignments are made by the LMS administrators manually or automated according to an assignment profile.

Assignments place the given learning item on the learning plan of the respective user. If the assignment was not self-initiated by the user, the user will be notified by e-mail within 8 hours.

The following diagram depicts the different assignment options:

Diagram: Assignment via Assignment Profiles.

Reminder Management (for mandatory training)

To ensure that users complete their training, reminder emails can also be sent out to anyone who has not yet done so. Reminders will be sent out automatically, with the respective thresholds for establishing the reminder period and sending out reminders being determined based on the due date.

Approval Workflow

By default, no approval workflow to the manager is triggered when assigning or registering a training via SuccessFactors. If needed, however, a one-step-manager approval workflow can be activated on an item level by a training administrator. The training can be carried out in this case only after the manager has approved the training request.

Reporting

Please be aware that – for reasons of data privacy – only the following individuals are able to receive reports by default:

Owners of the training – only for their own trainings
HR Business Partners/ the HR community - employees under their responsibility
Managers for their employees
Employees for their own records

There is a reporting process for each training item in order to provide an overview of training participation.

The following criteria are included in the standard report:

CWID
Name of participant
Name of training
Class Schedule
Participation status
Name of R-Manager
IPIN
Country
Company Code
Company Name
Employment Status

Evaluation (Feedback Survey)

See: Evaluation

Certificates

After completing a web-based training, participants receive a certificate of completion. Please use the standard training certificate that is available in the SuccessFactors LMS / My Learning. It can be downloaded or printed from the user’s learning history in SuccessFactors / My Learning.

Language Selection

E-learning modules can be localized to several languages in order to offer employees a learning experience in their native tongue. (See also language and localization.)

The SuccessFactors LMS / My Learning offers language selection at the system level. This means that multilingual WBTs should each be developed as packages in a single language and then each language version of the WBT uploaded to the LMS separately. Learners can then choose the language they want to use before entering the WBT.

This new practice is easier to maintain, for example, in the case of updates that only concern a single language. Transferring all language selections according to the new practice also increases consistency in the user experience. The old practice of hosting several languages in one WBT and placing language selection at the beginning of the WBT is therefore becoming obsolete.

Exams and Quizzes

SuccessFactors / My Learning offers the option to create quizzes and exam questions for a learning item within the SuccessFactors system / My Learning. It is therefore a design and user experience decision whether to place quizzes and exams inside a WBT or separately in the LMS system.

Contacts

Overview