The old saying is still true. “Your employees are your most valuable asset”. Just like the maintenance of machinery, it makes sense that companies should invest in updating and developing their workforce. Today there is an increasing appreciation for the importance of providing learning and development opportunities to employees. Unfortunately, these good intentions are constrained by the training budget which, for many is continuously tightening.
However, with 25% of employees naming their reason for leaving a company as a lack of training opportunities, simply saying ‘no’ to training will not be a sustainable option for business.
So what’s the solution?
- Cut costs out of your training budget
Studies have shown in the USA that on average 85% of every dollar spent on training is used to get people to the classroom. Although this seems high we must consider that costs include travel, accommodation, food and other costs along the way.
How would you like to reduce this cost to 0%
Accessible wherever, whenever online learning allows companies to completely eliminate the cost of travel and accommodation. This means that you can begin to spend more of your training budget as intended – on training. It also frees employees from the constraints of the classroom. Individual learners can regain control of their training, working around their personal and professional commitments, as well as their individual learning styles.
Many companies in the USA have saved millions of dollars of training budget. IBM calculated that around 40% of their classroom training costs were spent on travel and accommodation, but by moving just half of the training to eLearning, they reported a saving of $579 million in only two years.
And the elimination of travel and accommodation costs is just one of the many benefits businesses can achieve through eLearning from improved knowledge retention to reports of increased employee retention to reports of increased employee engagement.
When, where and how
Of course, there are times when face-to-face classroom training is preferred, and we certainly don’t encourage transitioning all training to eLearning simply for technology sake. Also, reduce your travel expenses by choosing eLearning should never be a compromise on the quality of training; only invest in high quality on-line learning that matches or exceeds the training you would expect from the classroom.
We advocate just-in-time or microlearning which delivers impactful learning in short bursts which can be selected by the learner. The benefits of this type of on-line learning are:
- Learners can learn at their own pace
- Short sessions well planned and designed prevent boredom
- Learners can control how they absorb the learning rather than a “sage on the stage” showering them with non-stop facts.
Next month we will share with you an article comparing microlearning with tapas. “Yes tapas!”
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