Employee training is a top priority for many companies. Last year, enterprises spent between $1,075 and $1,886 per learner on training and development.1 But while employee training is critical to a company’s success, it comes with its fair share of complications. For example, employee training costs can easily skyrocket, and many companies struggle to effectively train a dispersed workforce. Fortunately, most of the problems enterprises face on a daily basis have already been solved through technology, training methods, or innovative solutions from other businesses.
eLearning, for instance, quickly became popular for exactly that reason - it solves common enterprise training problems. It’s a viable solution to both of the issues mentioned above, as well as others.
Here are a few examples of everyday training and development problems that online learning can solve:
Some of the largest expenses associated with employee training are related to in-person classes and travel. Live, in-person classes pull employees away from their normal work, take up valuable conference space, include instructor salaries, and can require catering.
Those costs are inflated further when workers travel to a conference or training session. In that case, employers must pay for hotels, meals, transportation, venue rentals, and may add extra instructor salaries. The time employees spend away from work can also be costly for enterprises.
By implementing online learning, organizations drastically reduce what employee training costs their business by lessening the need for live classes and travel. For example, by switching to blended learning, one company that was noted by eLearning Industry reduced travel costs by two-thirds.2 Another company, McDonald's, saved almost 6.3 million dollars over a two-year period of time after moving to online learning.3 The company also saw a 10 percent rise in sales as a result of using eLearning.
It is sometimes difficult for employees to participate in all required training while at work. However, it is not always feasible for employees to train outside of work hours. After all, the average employee only has 24 minutes per week to dedicate to learning, which is hardly enough time to make a dent in training.4
eLearning helps employees learn to perform tasks quickly and accurately, freeing up additional time for training at work and reducing overall training time by 40 to 60 percent.5 Also, by providing incentivized online courses that help employees further their career with a raise or certification, you can help motivate employees to participate in training outside of work hours.
As an organization grows, its workforce often becomes more dispersed. Without the right strategies and resources, employee training can become a challenge as it is difficult to ensure employees are receiving the same training. As a result, customers may have very different experiences when interacting with staff that reflect negatively on the company.
Learner disengagement can be a huge obstacle to effective employee training. It also comes with a high price tag: about 34 percent of each employee’s annual salary, as disengagement lowers productivity.6
One way to increase learner engagement is to personalize training. When training is one-size-fits-all, learners lose interest. By personalizing training, enterprises can increase engagement and drive better training results. Easy ways to personalize online learning include allowing employees to train at their own pace, helping workers set their own learning goals, and enabling them to learn on any device they prefer via mobile learning.
Other ways to increase learner engagement through eLearning is by creating interactive content, blended learning, video-based learner, and gamified learning. You can also work with managers and departments to create personalized learning paths for different positions and, if you have the resources, individual employees who show high growth potential.
Even the best and most successful organizations have employee training problems. eLearning delivered with an enterprise LMS can fix many of the L&D issues your company faces by localizing and standardizing training when needed, freeing up time for workers to train, and engaging learners on a greater level.
Is your company growing so quickly that employee training is becoming a problem? Check this out.
References:
1. New Level Partners. What do companies spend per employee on training? https://www.newlevelpartners.com/news-and-resources/what-do-companies-spend-per-employee-on-training/
2. eLearning Industry. Reducing corporate learning costs with a distributed blended learning approach. https://elearningindustry.com/distributed-blended-learning-approach-reducing-corporate-learning-costs.
3, 5. eLearning Industry. 6 reasons why eLearning development costs less than traditional training. https://elearningindustry.com/elearning-development-costs-less-than-traditional-training-6-reasons.
4. Josh Bersin. A new paradigm for corporate training: learning in the flow of work: https://joshbersin.com/2018/06/a-new-paradigm-for-corporate-training-learning-in-the-flow-of-work/.
6. Forbes. How much are your disengaged employees costing you? https://www.forbes.com/sites/karlynborysenko/2019/05/02/how-much-are-your-disengaged-employees-costing-you/#76945365343