Digital Learning Offering Better Scalability And More Savings Than Traditional Training
Digital learning is better than classroom training simply because its courses are far more interactive and memorable than voluminous books or one-sided lectures. They also provide better context, a greater sense of perspective, and more engaging activities than traditional education methods while requiring less learning time. This allows learners to better connect with the learning material. Further, it is often a more interesting and involving way to digest information. This is reflected in employee retention rates and assessment scores. Also, when learners can track their own progress, it improves motivation and increases accountability. But, don’t just take our word for it. According to a Brandon-Hall Study, learning through eLearning typically requires 40% to 60% less employee time than learning the same material in a traditional classroom setting. Also, the Research Institute of America found that eLearning increases retention rates 25% to 60% while retention rates of face-to-face training are very low in comparison: 8% to 10%. But that’s not all. This article is all about the various benefits digital learning offers over traditional training, including better scalability and more savings. Read on to learn more.
1. More Savings
Digital learning has the potential to save an organization big bucks. How? By removing certain costs from the equation which are incurred in the traditional training methodology. For example, no travel and accommodation costs for employees and trainers to travel and stay at a pre-determined location. No meal costs that are normally incurred during such sessions. No rental costs incurred by renting a venue or meeting room, or if sessions take place within the organization’s own meeting room, no costs incurred for its maintenance. Now for the big one, no costs incurred in hiring instructors/trainers and no costs incurred in printing study material for employees. Well-known organizations such as IBM have saved upwards of $200 Million by switching from traditional training to eLearning/digital learning.
2. More Scalability
What’s the maximum number of people you can stuff into a meeting room or seminar hall for a traditional training session? 50? 100? 200? This is where traditional training falls short. In large organizations, there can be upwards of 1500 employees, all of which require training. Digital learning doesn’t require employees to gather in one place, and thus can be delivered to them wherever they are, be it their computers on their desks or their smartphones (using mobile-learning).
3. Bite-Sized Learning
Let’s face it, most employees neither have the time nor the attention span required to go through 150 pages of study material. Modern learners of today require information in bite-sized chunks which can be easily retained without overwhelming them. That can be easily accomplished using microlearning, which is a learning strategy used in eLearning/digital learning courses to increase engagement and interaction, via concentrated chunks of information that empower employees to achieve a certain goal. According to the Journal of Applied Psychology, learning in bite-sized pieces makes the transfer of learning 17% more efficient and creates 50% more engagement with learners according to a report by Software Advice (a known software research company).
4. Digital Learning Empowers Employees
The modern learner uses the internet as his/her go-to source of information regarding anything. It has become a constant part of their lives. Digital learning is preferred by modern learners because it is in the sphere they’re comfortable with. They have information at their fingertips if they hit a dead-end somewhere. Waiting around for the training session to end so that they can Google something they didn’t understand is inefficient. They need instant access to information as soon as they require it, and digital learning lets them do that, empowering them and making learning more efficient in the process by bridging gaps in information as soon as they arise.
It is surprising that this needs to be said, but our world has gone digital, and it’s a proven fact that those that do not keep up with times are soon forgotten. As these statistics reflect, implementing an effective digital learning program in your organization isn’t only an invaluable tool in generating greater business performance and learning outcomes for your organization, but the only way to stay afloat in these rapidly changing, volatile times.
