Increased Skills and Productivity

Many companies that have already implemented multimedia-based training courses note tremendous changes in employees' skills and overall productivity. For example, Mercury Marine, a leading manufacturer of outboard motor and boating equipment, became a firm that had to shift its focus from an industral economy to an information economy. Fryer indicates that because of a depressed economy, the company had to restructure its workforce and had to cut 30% of its personnel. The company's downsizing included a top-down restructuring process. Rather than cut the budget further, Mercury Marine made its remaining employees more productive by broadening their skills (56).