Benefits Of Using eLearning Tools For Staff Training
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were close to 80 million people born between the years 1976 and 2001 – the generation that is often referred as millennials or Generation Y. This generation represented 36% of the US workforce in 2014 and is likely to rise up to 46% by 2020. A UNC Kenan-Flagler study points out a critical distinction between millennials and the older generations – while high pay was the most important factor for the older workforce, 30% of millennials considered 'meaningful work' as the most important job factor. Another 25% regarded 'sense of accomplishment' critical to their job.
Why are we discussing this? For learning professionals, this is an important pointer towards the evolution in the industry. As the percentage of the tech-savvy millennials rises in the work force, the reliance on eLearning tools should increase commensurately. However, this is not the only reason why eLearning tools are important for staff training. Here are a few serious advantages that eLearning tools bring to workforce training.
- 24/7 Accessibility.
eLearning materials may be made accessible to the workforce throughout the day. This makes it possible for employees to learn the subject at their own pace and in comfortable settings. Also, unlike conventional learning methods where classroom training is provided, eLearning ensures the fast learners may complete their training sooner and this enhances productivity. Lastly, given that present day employees work out of different timezones, a learning tool that is available 24/7 makes it possible for the employers to offer staff training without a constraint on resources. - Improved Pedagogy.
Studies have shown that gamification enhances learner engagement and improves retention. Thanks to the dozens of sophisticated learning tools available today, it is simpler to introduce gamification in the staff learning program. It is not just gamification. eLearning also helps with the use of personalized study materials and interactive formats. From the perspective of the employer, they may now reliably use learning tools to match competencies with the learning goals achieved by the employee. This is thus a much improved and scientific alternative to conventional learning methods. - Enhanced Collaboration And Reach.
At the recently held Microsoft Cloud & Mobility Summit at Toronto, Canadian business communications giant AllStream pointed out the use of their videoconferencing infrastructure at the UBC medical school that helped doubling the number of graduates in a year. With eLearning, it is possible to gain instant reach to staff and trainers from all parts of the world. Besides enabling teams from various geographies to collaborate on problem-solving challenges in real-time, these tools also bring with them other advantages like instant connectivity to subject matter experts; regardless of where they are located. It's a win-win for the employer and the staff undergoing training. - Greener & Cost-Effective.
Companies incur significant costs through conventional learning systems. Typically, money is spent on trainer and employee commutation, classroom rentals, infrastructure rentals, trainer cost per hour and paper and documentation costs. eLearning is not only cheaper but also greener. In terms of costs, businesses no longer have to spend on commutation, and classroom & infrastructure rentals. Trainer costs are typically one-time since the same material may be reused for multiple batches of learners. Finally, since all of this is in electronic format, paper consumption is significantly reduced. All of this brings about a significant reduction in the bottom-line. - Suitable For Millennials.
Lastly, one of the less-talked about benefits of eLearning is how it is better suitable for the millennial workforce. Today's employees work not just for money, but also to continually learn. With a classroom style learning environment, there are only a limited number of training programs that an employee could attend over any given quarter. With eLearning, the knowledge is always available at the employee's disposal – this gives them better access to subjects they are interested in and not necessarily those that would benefit them at work. Not only does this benefit the learner, but is also a terrific human resource asset to ensure employee retention. Businesses that enable access to valuable eLearning subjects to their staff enjoy better loyalty from such employees who have a greater sense of accomplishment at their workplace.
