Corporate Training And eLearning: How eLearning Impacts Businesses
Corporate training is a billion-dollar industry, and company spending on workforce training has been increasing year-over-year.
In an article by HR expert Josh Bersin, founder of Bersin by Deloitte, in 2013 alone, spending for corporate training was $70 billion in the U.S. and $130 billion worldwide. 2014 saw another 10% spending increase, averaging a little more than $1,000 per employee. Between 2015 and 2016, U.K. spending for Learning and Development (L&D) increased 10% for larger companies and 16% for the smaller ones.
So will eLearning significantly reduce Learning and Development costs?
It depends. According to CM Group CEO Tim Buff, eLearning can potentially be more cost-effective than its ILT counterpart, but the eLearning courses have to be “well thought out and executed.”
4 Examples Of How eLearning Impacts Businesses
eLearning isn’t just some fad that will come and go. It has revolutionized learning in general, and when done right, proof of its effectiveness in corporate training is the fact that more than 41% of Fortune 500 companies are already using some form of technology to train their workforce.
Why?
The following are specific examples of how eLearning impacts businesses:
1. Reduced Corporate Training Cost: $150,000 Saved From A Single eLearning Event
Maintaining a healthy cash flow doesn’t just mean generating more revenues but also cutting costs where possible. In “The Business Impact of Next-Generation eLearning,” several examples were presented to illustrate the cost-effectiveness of implementing an eLearning solution:
- Shiawassee Regional Education Service District: Savings of $170 per person through virtual meetings.
- Michigan Office of Public Health Preparedness: $7,000 savings through online training sessions in one quarter.
- Xerox: $150,000 savings by a Canada business unit from one online training event alone.
Discover Financial, after switching 70% of its training to self-study, videos, and eLearning, yielded 42% less attrition and 6% higher employee satisfaction ratings. This is a huge benefit for the company, especially considering that rehiring is a major cost to employers.
2. Improved Bottom Line: 26% Higher Revenue Per Employee
No matter how groundbreaking a training method is, it’s only as good as the money it brings to the table. At the end of the day, companies are more concerned about their bottom line, a sensible point, since they’re spending a considerable sum to train their employees.
An infographic compiled by Aurion Learning showed that companies combining eLearning and on-the-job training saw 26% more revenue per employee.
A case study published by Limestone Learning also saw an “additional $15.1 million in win-back account revenue” for a customer retention center within six months after the full implementation of an eLearning solution.
3. Empowered Employees: 18% Boost In Employee Engagement
Companies that use eLearning to train their employees experience up to an 18% boost in employee engagement, says The Molly Fletcher Company. When employees are engaged, they are happier, more productive, and produce better output.
According to Kenneth Chan, founder and CEO of eCommerce site Tobi.com, “At the end of the day, it is the employees that make or break the company. By empowering them with the right knowledge and the best training, in a way, you are empowering your company”. Chan believes in the power of eLearning to ensure that his employees have the know-how and tools to serve the needs of his customers.
Plantronics, in an effort to introduce new and smart ways of working to its employees that are located in various geographies in Europe, also used eLearning so that people didn’t “feel remote or isolated”.
4. Competitive Advantage: “Capability Development” As An Edge Over Companies Hiring The Same Talent Types
Ultimately, training and educating the workforce benefits your company the most. According to Josh Bersin in his article on Forbes, spending on corporate training went up by 11% in 2012 because “capability development” gives your company an edge over others.
The companies in your industry tend to look for the same types of people to hire, from generally the same schools and fields of study, with possibly even similar grade requirements, and so on.
You gain an advantage by how you polish your workforce. That’s why you continue to develop their capabilities through training.
Final Word
Businesses must train and educate their workforce regularly to remain competitive in a cutthroat industry. eLearning helps in this aspect by providing a viable teaching tool that’s affordable, customizable, and can be used again and again – anytime, anywhere.
