Corporate training industry overview
The corporate training industry has evolved over time, adapting to the changes imposed by technology. Since the rise of the Internet in the late 90s and early 2000s, our way of life has been constantly adapting to one made easier by technology. Have you ever sat through excruciatingly long training where your attention span was depleted after the first hour? eLearning is the route companies have started taking in order to avoid the inconveniences involved with holding company-wide, in-person trainings.
There are many factors that go into choosing a method of corporate training your employees, but online learning seems to check off most of the positive boxes that companies look for in such a program. Today, we will take a look at all the ways this innovative mode of corporate training industry is changing professional development for the better.
Financially Sound
An attractive advantage to this type of interactive learning is that it’s extremely cost-effective. Companies will often waste loads of money on extravagant training retreats or banquets where they must provide food and a venue. Without these costs, a company has room to act upon other, more important, parts of its agenda.
The money saved from not having to print off paper learning materials for every employee is also a notably large amount. Even though companies may have to pay extra for their employees to train on their own time at home, they are still saving money (reportedly 26% of the usual money spent on training) by ditching all the costs of holding large, in-person trainings.
Easier Access
Another pro of online corporate training is that employees are able to refer back to the programs whenever they see fit. In the training industry, making valuable information more accessible is an important step when you wish to make your training more effective. Instead of having information available only once to your employees (such as with a one-time only seminar), it is readily available to them as many times as they need; some people need repetition for information to stick. And, since most professionals must involve Internet use in their everyday lives anyway, this is a natural step towards the future when it comes to employee training.
Learning at Your Own Pace
One of the best things about online corporate training is the ability for employees to leave the training and come back to it when they feel they will better absorb the information. We all have days where we are distracted and have a harder time retaining information, and the training industry must adapt to them by means of these programs which allow for different paces of learning (which will always be useful and necessary). Many times, these teachings will also include things like entertaining games and videos which help to keep learning fun and, therefore, more effective. People retain information better when they’re enjoying themselves, and eLearning aims to capitalize on that.
Since most employees (about 82% of them) are dedicated to their own development in the workplace and say that they enjoy working to improve on their own, eLearning seems to be the most logical adaptation to the needs of those employees. Thus, the corporate training industry adopts online learning, which simply makes the most sense in almost all scenarios.
Moreover, eLearning drives competitive advantage among employees, which is a great benefit both for the company and for the professional development.
Your Best Option
As far as cons go, some employees may complain that online corporate training requires them to work more hours (even if they are paid) outside of an already full-time job. If this becomes a problem for employers, a good option would be to allow some allocated time during the work day for employees to work on their own training. This way, the employee is satisfied and the company won’t have to worry about repercussions.
As 58% of professionals who use these learning tools would tell you, there is absolutely a need for quicker information and quicker ways to learn. As the corporate world grows, so does its need to produce and distribute quality learning content to multitudes of employees and the training industry is aware of this necessity. Corporate training must keep up with the fast-paced environment we’ve found ourselves in within the 21st century, as there are many things competing for a young professional’s attention in today’s world. Training must be kept interesting, accessible, and efficient, and companies have effectively found their stride in eLearning.
eLearning comes with a series of advantages which would help you and the corporate training industry in general make the most out of your training & development approach.
We've talked about this with our clients and you can see their perspective right here.
