Embracing new learning methods has completely transformed the education and training industries these last few years. The ability to learn online has increased flexibility of learning and reduced building and maintaining costs.
Moreover, research has proved that online training can be more fun and engaging than other forms of instructor-led training. Online training can provide just-in-time training, and it leads to higher rates of retention. No wonder that even small-business entrepreneurs are jumping on the e-learning bandwagon.
However, when you're procuring buy-in from the people who hold the purse strings, the main advantage of online training to remember is the cost factor. Moving to a digital form of learning can translate into cost savings of more than 50%.
Here are 10 ways online training can help organizations save big.
1. Eliminating travel costs
The cost of travel has been rising steadily over the past few years, a trend expected to continue. Eliminating travel expenses can have a significant impact on training budgets, especially for global companies with offices across the country or around the world. Online training enables learners to access courses from a range of devices and from anywhere in the world, eliminating the travel cost factor.
2. Reducing administration costs
Web-based learning management systems keep all the administrative data related to training in one convenient place. Trainers can use those systems to automate tasks related to training administration, such as making training recommendations, sending announcements, and processing enrollments—drastically reducing administrative costs.
3. Shortening training time
Companies have reported that online training shortens training time by up to 60%. Your employees will be returning to work at full capacity that much faster.
4. Reducing time spent off the job
You no longer need to worry about employees' spending full days away at training sessions. Online training can be done any time, anywhere. In addition, online training provides the opportunity for just-in-time training, which is done on the job rather than separate from employees' daily work activities. Online training also gives employees easy access by allowing them to refer to important training material they may need while on the job.
5. Reducing the need for retraining
Online training leads to higher retention rates than instructor-led training. When employees better remember what they learn, they need to spend less time relearning it.
6. Allowing customized learning pathways
In instructor-led training courses, all learners usually follow the same curriculum. In online training, however, learning can easily be customized for individuals, so employees can get the training they need and don't have to spend time reviewing things they already know or working through training that isn't relevant to their job.
7. Lowering development and delivery costs
Online course authoring tools provide a fast and easy way to develop training courses, which can then be delivered via a low-cost, Web-based learning management system. A bonus: After a course is developed, it can be used over and over as many times as needed, so the marginal cost of delivering training to additional learners is practically nothing.
8. Identifying the need for clarification and remediation
By using an online learning management system, training and development personnel can monitor learners' progress through the curriculum. That allows them to identify any sticky spots that students have difficulty in understanding. The identification of such knowledge gaps helps in clarifying key concepts again, so it is completely understood by learners. Online training also makes it easy for trainers to identify learners who may need some extra help. It is much less expensive to identify and fix problems as soon as they arise than later.
9. Encouraging employees to become lifelong learners
Online training is an excellent tool for encouraging employees to become lifelong learners. Videos, games, simulations—these activities are fun and people enjoy participating in them. When employees enjoy learning, they are more likely to spend time learning, even when it isn't mandatory. In today's fast-changing world, there is no better way to ensure your company will have the skills to meet the needs of the future than by having employees actively working to develop those skills.
10. Helping employees become online-savvy
Finally, let's admit it, not all employees are as savvy as we'd like to believe. With traditional learning becoming passé and online training taking over as a normal facet of future learning, employees must keep learning and discovering new technologies related to it. Doing so will help your organization to grow as your employees get better and smarter.
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Saving money is not the only benefit of online training, but it is a significant one. The above 10 key points about the benefits of online training will help you convince head honchos that it's time to adopt technology-enabled learning tools in your organization.
