The impact of investing in the professional development of your employees can be judged from the fact that 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development. This means that by focusing on employee development, employers can mitigate the problem of employee turnover that exists among Millennials.
Gallup estimates that the cost of replacing an employee can be 150% or more of the worker’s annual salary. Hence, it’s a costly mistake, both for large and small organizations, which can be easily addressed. Thus, employee training and development is no longer an additional perk specific to highly qualified professionals.
What Is Employee Training and Development?
The aim of training is to help employees attain the necessary knowledge and skills to boost their performance in their current roles. On the other hand, development has a broader function that extends beyond the employees’ immediate job roles and focuses on enhancing their growth and future performances. Companies that organize effective online employee training platforms regularly are able to retain their top talent and expand profits.
Organizations are increasingly looking for innovative ways of executing employee training and are turning to eLearning to make them effective and more interactive. By investing in training management systems, companies in the future will be able to offer their employees effective training programs.
Benefits of Employee Training
Employee Retention
Employers often face challenges pertaining to the recruitment and retention of the staff workforce. Employee training programs have become so common that they serve as a competitive advantage at the time of recruitment. Training programs give employees a sense of value within the company. As a result, they tend to remain loyal and stay for longer periods.
Improved Employee Efficiency and Productivity
Employees who attend regular training programs may learn different approaches to perform their jobs or learn how certain tasks can be completed within a lesser time period. This helps motivate employees as they keep on identifying ways to make their jobs easier. Plus, they end up adding greater value to the company with improved work efficiency and productivity.
Improved efficiency results in higher revenues and profits. The Association of Talent Development conducted a survey of 2500 companies, revealing that firms with comprehensive training programs have 24% higher profit margins and 218% higher revenue per employee than those which do not conduct such training programs. On the other hand, IBM states that every $1 invested in employee training programs results in increased productivity of $30.
Better Employee Engagement
Monotonous and tedious work can result in low morale and dissatisfaction among employees. This can significantly hamper the efficiency and productivity of their work… A great way to eliminate boredom is to keep employees engaged through regular training programs.
Cost Savings
Online training for employees is an incredible tool that can be used to minimize unwanted costs that arise from mistakes committed by employees. Some proportion of these costs is also associated with the inefficient use of resources, including person-hours and equipment. Improved efficiency and higher productivity achieved from employee training can help to cut down these costs.
Role of eLearning in Corporate Training
Redefining Employee Training through eLearning
The global best practices in corporate training have redefined the way in which employee training is conducted. Companies gladly agree to invest in eLearning and technology-enabled learning methodologies for employees. The explosive growth of eLearning, both in the corporate and the educational sector, has led to the development of countless solutions to cater to the training and educational needs of organizations and educational institutes. From MOOCs (massive open online courses) to Learning Management Systems (LMSs), and AI-enabled Learning Experience Platforms (LXPs), there are numerous options available for organizations to promote mass learning.
eLearning has allowed employees to access online training programs anytime, anywhere using various gadgets. Virtual classes enriched with gamification and simulation-based techniques have replaced traditional classroom training through the technology-enabled methodology. Contemporary eLearning programs are designed to capture learners’ interests by keeping them engaged using interactive tools. These programs also motivate them to continue learning.
Corporate training programs are increasingly being conducted on smart platforms and begin as soon as employees join the organizations. eLearning comes into play when designing post-hire assessments to create the learning path from the day they join the organization. These and other employee training programs are regularly updated, and employees drive their own learning experience because of the personalized nature of these training programs.
High-tech companies have efficiently utilized the benefits of artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop platforms that offer the most optimal learning path for the training of employees. Without a regular need for trainers, employees can attain skills and insights in relatively shorter periods. The advanced algorithms integrated into these eLearning platforms intelligently assess the learners and use this analysis to organize and present subsequent exercises.
Benefits of eLearning for Employee Training
Firms’ reliance on eLearning tools to design employee training programs is dramatically increasing. The following are some benefits of incorporating eLearning tools in staff training programs:
Suitable for Tech-Savvy Millennials
The millennial workforce is often criticized for having a higher employee turnover compared to other groups. One of the reasons why the young generation tends to switch a lot is due to the lack of compatibility with the organization’s values and way of doing things. Keeping in mind the pace at which industries transform and skills get outdated in the modern world, the millennial workforce focuses on continuous learning.
Millennials are tech-savvy enough to make efficient use of smart devices. Companies can use this fact to their advantage. Only a limited number of training programs can be conducted using a classroom-based training program. eLearning allows employers to develop training programs that can be accessed by an unlimited number of employees through their smart devices. The knowledge is always available at the employees’ disposal.
This tech-based compatibility serves as a great way to retain the millennial workforce. Giving these employees access to valuable eLearning programs gives them a greater sense of accomplishment, so they tend to remain loyal to the organization.
Gamified Training Programs
Gamification in eLearning is a remarkable technique when it comes to designing interactive training programs for employees. This involves enriching training content with theories and mechanics used in video games to make them interesting for employees and keep them hooked through continuous engagement – just like what happens with a video game.
The training programs are incorporated with visually rich videos and presentations with engaging tools such as activities, problem-solving exercises, quizzes, multi-player gaming options for multiple learners, etc. Different gamification strategies and tools are used to design different types of corporate training programs such as those associated with recruitment, onboarding and induction, professional and technical skills, code of conduct, and business ethics.
With more advancement in eLearning, we expect to see gamification tactics in more complex training programs that aim to develop complicated learner abilities. Thus, even the most complicated training programs will be made simpler for employees using fun gimmicks and other game-like tools.
Personalized Training Experience
eLearning has also made employee training programs more effective and accessible. As opposed to traditional classroom-based training programs, technology-enabled programs enable employees to access training presentations and other material based on their needs. The programs are designed to sense the learner’s weak areas and organize content accordingly. This means that instead of wasting time on other things, employees will be able to focus on areas of improvement.
Similarly, employees can go through the training program multiple times at any time during the day. This makes it convenient and less stressful for employees as they can learn the subject at their own pace and in a comfortable setting. Given that personalized learning fosters quicker learning as compared to conventional training programs, employees demonstrate higher efficiency and greater productivity.
Global Outreach
Using eLearning solutions, companies are now able to gain instant reach to employees and trainers in all parts of the world. eLearning tools not only allow teams from multiple locations to collaborate on projects in real-time but also provide instant connectivity to subject matter experts located across the globe.
A perfect example of this is the videoconferencing infrastructure used by Allstream, the Canadian business communications giant. The eLearning medium helped the company double the number of graduates in a year by boosting its global outreach.
If it’s difficult for outstation employees working in other time-zones to attend a conventional training program, the 24/7 eLearning training programs make it possible to attend the training whenever it is feasible for them.
eLearning Tools for Corporate Training
Learning Management System
There are countless learning management systems available in the market today, offering different features. You need to consider the kind of training you wish to impart and choose the one that suits your organization’s learning demographic.
LMSs are comprehensive systems that encompass various tools such as an assessment engine, attendance tracking, extensive gamification in training programs, etc. They offer offline access to employees and are extensively used for staff onboarding, technical training solutions, and training processes, making them an ideal LMS for customer onboarding as well, ensuring a seamless and efficient onboarding experience for new clients.
Real-Time Video Conferencing
While an LMS is more suited to large businesses, it isn’t a cost-effective solution for small businesses or startups. A real-time video conferencing tool is a great alternative that can be used to train employees in real-time. Some of the most effective training programs using this tool include ClickMeeting, WebEx, and GoToMeeting. These tools can be extremely useful when it comes to training your remote employees at a minimal cost.
Asynchronous eLearning Tools
Real-time video conferencing tools are not enough to address the problem of training employees located in varying time zones. Again, LMSs are more suited to large firms, but certain asynchronous eLearning tools are more feasible for small businesses and startups. These can include community forums for training programs that can be accessed by employees at any time from different parts of the world. These tools do not demand comprehensive course designing, nor do they have any costs associated with them.
Closing Thoughts
While eLearning is gradually taking over the corporate world for the purpose of training employees, we are yet to see further eLearning integrations to teach executives how to run employee-centric, successful organizations.
