While online learning became the norm for children in 2020, the workplace will see a fast uptick in digital education, or eLearning moving forward.
As our workforce continues to become more remote, investing in learning that can be accomplished remotely is critical to the ongoing productivity, compliance and overall success of organizations.
Zoom meetings and phone calls are certainly how business is accomplished in today’s digital office, but managers struggle to effectively train new hires and maintain their own productivity. Employees grumble about losing opportunities to upgrade their own qualifications, and HR representatives worry about compliance concerns when they can’t physically check who has attended certain required courses.
This is where eLearning comes in. Defined by the Association for Talent Development as ‘a structured course or learning experience delivered electronically; it can include pre-recorded lecture content, video, quizzes, simulations, games, activities and other interactive elements.’ There are an alphabet of reasons to invest in eLearning for your workplace:
- A — Accessibility. As eLearning is typically distributed via a cloud-based Learning Management System (LMS), Employees can access material when and where they want, typically on whatever device they want. Learners can also refer back to material as often as they want, so individuals can take as much or as little time as they need.
- B — Boredom-busting. No more three-hour Zoom calls or boring training webinars! Routine courses can be made interesting with eLearning. Insert quizzes to ensure learners are paying attention, or even turn content into games or simulations.
- C — Compliance. All learners, regardless of demographics, will receive the same content, in the same way. If distributed through an LMS, analytics, progress tracking and digital record keeping provide a “paper trail” with employee logins.
- D — Documented success. IBM research found that for every dollar invested in eLearning, the result is $30 in productivity because employees save a lot of time through online learning and are able to resume work and apply the new skills faster. And, the Research Institute of America found that eLearning can increase retention rates by 60%.
- E — Economical. There is no flight, hotel, or feeding costs associated with all-company trainings when you invest in eLearning. Additionally, eLearning allows you to evaluate your goals and quickly adapt content to roll out to your workforce – which is significantly less expensive than reimagining an in-person program and bringing all the learners together each year.
- F — Flexible. Businesses can create all the materials their entire workforce might need and employees can study materials that are specific and relevant to them, or can access the entire library for necessary all-employee trainings.
It is no secret that happy, highly-engaged employees are more productive and less likely to leave their roles. An ILX Group survey showed that 51% of HR decision-makers said that ongoing eLearning has a direct effect on boosting employee morale, satisfaction and longevity.
Now is the time to invest in eLearning for your organization! Let’s talk about creating a roadmap for your Learning & Development goals.