The top 10 Reasons to adopt eLearning for your business
Organisations are increasingly integrating eLearning solutions into their staff training programs to complement or replace traditional classroom based methods. Here we explore the top ten reasons why.
1. Reduced training costs
The costs involved with running a traditional training course can be astronomical – room and equipment hire, trainer fees, hotels and travel for instructors and delegates, printed training materials and so on quickly add up.
In many situations it is much better value for organisations to adopt an online learning alternative. Costs associated with developing electronic course material can often be much lower traditional that the classic classroom training alternative.
2. Increased geographical coverage
Often delegates for training courses and selected due to their proximity to the course. A global organisation running a training course in Germany is unlikely to approve a large number of attendees from, say, Australia.
eLearning courses have no such boundaries. Once developed, they can be easily accessed remotely – meaning that organisations can ensure that employees are trained to the same high standard regardless of their location.
3. Training on demand
For many organisations, training need to be repeated at many times throughout the year. A good example of this are the mining companies operating within Australia – for many of their work sites, visitors and staff are not allowed to enter until they have completed an online electronic induction course and then passed the associated test.
To deliver this training face-to-face would be extremely costly, time-consuming and subject to many problems – take for example a trainer becoming sick on a day when a lot of new starters arrive on site.
4. Improved employee productivity
eLearning allows employees to study at a time that is convenient to them – this may be when travelling, after hours or during a break in the work day.
Allowing this flexibility means that employees can prioritise their workload and don’t need to miss important meetings or deadlines, as can often be the case with rigid classroom base training.
5. Self-paced learning
People learn at different speeds. Some employees may need to focus on one particular area of a course, whereas other employees may have an interest in something different.
eLearning allows employees to learn at a speed at which they are comfortable. If something isn’t making sense, they can spend time on that section without holding up their peers. If they already understand much of the content, they can move through quickly and easily.
Self-paced learning allows for better learning as it is paced according to individual needs.
6. Risk-free simulations
Many jobs involve inherent risks, such as in the fields of mining and engineering. eLearning allows employees to learn about these risks and how to handle them without actually being exposed to the danger first-hand.
But this type of training isn’t only suitable for high-risk jobs. Many organisations have adopted a flexible learning approach for mandatory annual fire training for employees, and other similar health & safety topics.
7. Increased retention
The attention span of individuals can vary significantly, but few people can concentrate in a classroom environment for more than an hour.
eLearning solutions often incorporate quiz material throughout the content (as well as any final assessment or exams). The purpose of the quiz material is to increase learning retention amongst students – it is an effective way of ensuring that the course content is understood in it’s entirety.
8. Consistent quality
eLearning provides a standardised solution – all students experience the same high quality tuition. This reduces the risks associated with instructors having different interpretations of the material, lack of experience, or an even just an ‘off’ day.
It also means that it is easy to ensure that training materials conform to any legal or industry regulations that may be in place.
9. Improved Analytics
With eLearning it is possible for organisations to identify and analyse many potential problems within the business. If employees seems focused on one particular section of a course, or regularly get poor scores on a particular quiz, then employers can begin to understand areas of the business that may need some attention.
Benchmarking of students is also possible given factors such as time to complete the course, quiz and test scores and so on.
10. Motivated workforce
Providing training for employees provides two significant benefits:
1. The organisation has a higher-skilled workforce
2. The employees feel like their employer is interested in their own personal development within the organisation
eLearning enables an organisation to deliver regular, targeted training to employees when required. The lower associated costs mean more training can be delivered and with less disruption than traditional classroom based courses.
The end result? A loyal, motivated and highly skilled workforce. Which is always a good thing.