Why On-Demand Learning Is A Worthy Investment
As markets become more competitive and workplaces turn toward remote or hybrid models, companies must find ways to stay ahead of the curve. On-demand learning is a versatile solution that provides educational and training resources in an instant, regardless of the employee's location. It's flexible and adaptable enough to cover any business's needs, as resources can be delivered in various forms that best serve the organization and its staff. All in all, this approach to learning offers numerous benefits for organizations, as well as employees themselves. Let's discuss why investing in on-demand learning is worth it and how this solution can keep your remote teams satisfied and upskilled.
6 Reasons On-Demand Learning Will Benefit Your Remote Employees
Oftentimes, Learning and Development departments may struggle to sort through potentially effective strategies that ensure engagement and efficiency among remote workforces. They often opt for L&D initiatives that fall short, bring back insufficient metrics, or do nothing to actually address the issue of skill gaps. As demand grows for certain skills, companies should ensure that their staff is equipped with Just-In-Time resources that keep them up-to-date and help them perform at optimal levels. On-demand learning is a great way to deliver said JIT resources, and here are 6 reasons why.
1. Fosters A Continuous-Learning Culture
Employees now have higher expectations when it comes to their companies offering L&D, upskilling, or reskilling initiatives. With the demands of the ever-changing job market, fostering a culture centered on continuous learning and improvement provides a competitive advantage for the organization as a whole. In addition, employees who take the initiative in seeking continuous learning opportunities, like accessing their company-provided, on-demand learning hub, are high-caliber performers and possess a stronger drive to resolve on-the-job issues as they arise. They demonstrate the necessary motivation to upgrade their skill set and visibly commit to their professional and personal growth. Such employees are an asset to any company since a self-improvement mindset will transfer to all aspects of their role.
2. Creates Transferable Skills
While on-demand learning can be very context-specific in that it reinforces the knowledge required for a smooth business operation, it's also great for creating transferable skill sets. Remote employees can utilize the provided materials to cultivate their problem-solving skills so that whenever an issue arises, they can be quick on their feet to address it immediately. Moreover, since on-demand learning is centered on flexibility, remote employees can learn to be adaptable by seeking out appropriate resources in their time of need. Computer literacy, acclimating to different software, and utilizing different technological means to receive training, learn, or finish a task are also great in cultivating transferable, versatile skill sets. Lastly, the educational materials used in these initiatives can be selected to reflect an expansive pool of talents by focusing on interpersonal skills, leadership development, and other high-demand assets for the modern workplace.
3. Provides A Cost-Effective Approach To Training
Through on-demand learning, L&D departments can recycle training modules and reinforce their staff's knowledge of daily processes and procedures. By being accessible at a moment's notice, on-demand learning materials can provide the refreshers employees may need to boost long-term knowledge retention and cultivate efficient workflow processes in the day-to-day. That saves money in the long run. Additionally, maintaining a cloud-based software to store your on-demand program, like a Learning Management System, is actually less costly than organizing regular in-person training sessions, which require a much more lenient budget for venues, materials, instructors, and Subject Matter Experts.
4. Battles The Forgetting Curve
If it wasn't for the forgetting curve, we'd retain 100% of the knowledge we absorb. As many L&D departments struggle to overcome the forgetting curve, on-demand learning can offer a great remedy to this great challenge. Particularly remote employees, whose tangible connection with the company lies solely on their workload, may require more refreshers on some aspects of the job than an in-person employee. By accessing the appropriate modules at their time of need, remote team members are able to refresh their memory on correct procedures or on the operation of specific software systems. Moreover, having the option of accessing learning content on demand offers a sense of security because employees know that relevant information is always on hand.
5. Boosts Remote Employee Engagement
How engaged is your remote workforce? While on-demand learning won't be a complete solution if your remote employees are disengaged, it can provide some breathing room to create an action plan to target and address absenteeism. Compiling interactive, engaging content into small training units that are instantly available can help grab employees' attention, improve completion rates, and encourage multi-department participation. As previously mentioned, employees are seeking more and more opportunities for growth, development, and upskilling.
6. Makes Learning More Accessible
On-demand learning allows learners to access educational and training materials according to their schedule, convenience, or preference. This accommodates different learning preferences as learners are encouraged to interact with the content on their own terms. In addition to boosting knowledge retention and learning outcomes, on-demand learning is actually more accessible than any other training method. Companies can opt for microlearning courses, asynchronously delivered material, or game-based upskilling programs—the possibilities are endless. The only vital component of launching an effective on-demand L&D initiative is that the content is accessible at all times for all employees, regardless of locational constraints. Initiatives like this can also accommodate people with special learning requirements or employees that work remotely for personal reasons.
Conclusion
On-demand learning is a tool of empowerment for your company's remote workforce. Remote employees are able to define their learning path in a way that serves the organization and themselves, as well as acquire high-demand skills that are necessary for keeping up with the challenges of a remote-centric work model and today's market. If you wish to initiate an on-demand learning program in your organization, you can take a look at our Top Cloud-Based Learning Management Systems For Corporate Training list to help you get started!
