The benefits of eLearning

Learning and development is a critical part of any business. By negating the need to train and upskill your employees you risk your business falling behind your competitors and losing your top talent.

One cost-effective and efficient way to train your employees is via eLearning. eLearning provides training to any number of employees via materials available instantly on any device. That means there’s no need for tutors and employees don’t have to spend time away from their daily responsibilities.

But what are the full benefits of eLearning? In this post we’re going to take a look at the importance of eLearning and why it’s a valuable tool as part of your development strategy.

What is eLearning?

eLearning is the evolution of education, by allowing students to learn via prepared materials that can be accessed instantly, any time, anywhere. Online courses cover a vast range of topics and can be a useful tool for employees of all levels: from beginner through to advanced.

Online training is a valuable resource because it allows employees throughout your business to have equal access to development - including remote and hybrid employees.

eLearning courses often use a range of techniques, including text, images, videos, quizzes, and interactive tools. This means students who learn via different learning styles will be able to engage with the materials and retain what they learn.

There is a variety of different eLearning types, including: 

• Distance learning
• Active learning
• Blended learning
• Rapid eLearning
• Bite-size learning

What are the benefits of eLearning?

For businesses that have embraced online training, the benefits of eLearning are clear. eLearning doesn’t just benefit your employees, either - there are major advantages to your business, too.

Benefits to your employees

Benefits of eLearning for employees include:

• Accessibility - eLearning can be accessed on a multitude of devices, including PC, laptop, smartphone, and tablet. Once a student is registered for a course they can access the materials instantly, meaning employees can learn anywhere.
• Time-saving - because eLearning doesn’t require time away from their desk, employees aren’t faced with additional pressure by trying to make up time lost to attend in-person training.
• Option to revisit courses - once training has been completed, eLearning courses are still available so employees can revisit the material to refresh their knowledge.
• Self-directed - employees take charge of their learning, so they’re free to fit training around other responsibilities. Materials can even be accessed on weekends, evenings, or during the commute.

Benefits to your business

The benefits of eLearning for your business include:

• Cost-saving - because eLearning courses have already been produced, accessing the materials is far more cost-effective (and convenient) than organizing in-person classes.
• Scalability - eLearning courses can be used to upskill one employee or a thousand - scaling up is simple, regardless of the size of your business.
• Easy integration - eLearning courses can be easily integrated into your development strategy and your learning management system. Go1’s online courses are compatible with a wide range of LMSs.
• Consistency - eLearning courses are produced by industry experts, and because your employees are all accessing the same materials you can guarantee consistency.
• Monitoring - if your business utilizes a learning management system you can easily monitor how employees are engaging with their training and identify employees who may need additional support.
• Increased productivity - when employees feel less pressure they’re more likely to engage with the training, and as they upskill and develop their productivity increases.
• Less downtime - with fewer interruptions and less pressure to attend in-person training, there’s less downtime and impact on day-to-day operations.

What are some challenges of eLearning?

While adopting online training comes with plenty of advantages, there are also some challenges which means some business owners may not want to include it in their employee development strategy. However, each challenge can be overcome with a little adjustment.

For example, some employees may not engage with eLearning materials as effectively as they do in a classroom setting. eLearning doesn’t need to be the only training method your business utilizes, as blended learning is also an effective way to develop employees using online materials while still including in-person sessions. Blended learning can also be useful to add additional context or clarity, as well as introduce additional adult learning techniques.

Some employees can also struggle with a lack of motivation when learning is self-directed. However, this can be overcome by introducing elements of gamification and other incentives. As mentioned earlier, an LMS can be used to monitor training and ensure compulsory training is completed on time.

Is eLearning as effective as traditional teaching methods?

eLearning is a highly effective way of upskilling your employees, which comes with a number of major benefits that make it a great option for many businesses. Whether used as the sole method of training, or as part of a wider development strategy, the cost-saving, accessibility, and time-saving advantages are hard to overlook.

Many eLearning courses include end-of-course quizzes, which ensure employees engage with and retain the information they’ve learned. As previously mentioned you can also use a learning management system to monitor how your employees engage with their training and provide additional support if needed.

Go1 offers a wide range of eLearning courses

Ready to offer online training courses to your employees? Go1 has a range of online courses available to access right now. For more information book a demo with a member of our team today.