Why You Need To Make An eLearning New Year Resolution
At the start of the year, many companies take at least some time to review their progress against their objectives, regardless of the timing of their actual financial year. One of the key tasks undertaken is to review investment priorities and budgets and then make any necessary corrective decisions. Unfortunately, during difficult commercial times, budget cuts may have to be made and one of the casualties can often be training. It is frequently thought that training is an expensive, but relatively easy thing to postpone or even eliminate since it has no immediate effect on the bottom line. It is also thought that it can be time-consuming and costly to organize and implement training. Actually, the maintenance of appropriate and relevant training is crucial to maintaining a company’s performance and a great eLearning new year resolution would be to explore ways to deliver training within any revised budget constraints.
1. It’s Easy
It’s a common misconception that eLearning is difficult to implement because it requires special equipment and/or the involvement of the IT department or an external IT specialist. Actually, it is technically very easy to implement. If a company already has its own Learning Management System, then it is quite easy to buy course content to run on their own system so long as the supplier provides the right software. For example, at course-source, there is proprietary adaptor software which lets the company Learning Management System quickly and efficiently launch and upload the courses which they buy. So, for companies which have an existing Learning Management System, it should be easy to run eLearning courses.
For companies who haven’t yet invested in their own Learning Management System, there are content providers who will also host the content on their own in-house Learning Management System. This means the company doesn’t have to invest in or support their own eLearning management software and again, it’s easy for them to run and monitor courses using the host Learning Management System.
2. It’s Quick
Another reason companies are reluctant to explore eLearning is that it will take too much time to track down the right course. Actually, with eLearning, this isn’t the case. Indeed, the process is probably much quicker than finding traditional “classroom” training. Traditional “classroom” training requires research on different companies, checking their testimonials, meeting with them, and then probably sitting in some targeted training courses. This does take time and money.
With eLearning, Learning and Development (L&D) or Training Managers can easily search the internet to identify companies who offer content in the learning field they require. Most of these companies will also offer some kind of online preview or taster of their courses. There are also companies who provide comparison opportunities across different content publishers and some of these provide instant and completely free trial. Together, the internet and such evaluation tools mean that managers can quickly find, try and buy suitable eLearning courses without spending significant time or money.
3. It’s Cost-Effective
“Classroom” training can become very expensive depending on how many delegates are attending. The cost can be somewhat mitigated with a higher number of attendees, but then much of the individual attention is lost and the benefits become more diluted. eLearning can be used together with “Classroom” training (blended) or standalone. Either way, using good quality courses wisely provides a great way to save money whilst improving knowledge.
It’s also key to be sure which pricing model best suits a company’s requirements. Subscription models (e.g. annual license fee) might be more suitable for very large organisations. Single use pricing is perhaps more useful for individuals looking for some personal skill development. The PAYG model, which works much like a PAYG phone plan, is an excellent option for many companies allowing them to pick and choose courses to their prepaid commitment. The enrollment model is ideal for those companies who find a particular set of courses suitable for them, since it allows them to buy what they need, when they need and in the quantities required of each course for their staff. As such it can be more cost-effective than PAYG.
Final Word
In a few weeks it will be 2017, and the time when companies may be looking at 2016 performance and making some adjustments, perhaps with some new tear resolutions or objectives for the company. eLearning is easy to implement, it’s quick to find suitable content, and it’s a very cost-effective way to provide appropriate training, even during difficult commercial times – it’s certainly a good new year resolution to investigate.
