Like so many businesses, you might be feeling the squeeze from all angles right now: perhaps still trying to fill the hole that the pandemic left in your operations, struggling with recruitment and retention, suffering supply chain issues or dealing with the cost of living crisis.
In times like this, you want to get on the front foot and look for opportunities that can help your business cope with these challenges and then grow.
With so many headwinds, it can be difficult to find the competitive advantages, though. But has one been right under your nose for several years, waiting for you to give it a try? We are talking about eLearning – that is “e” for electronic. In other words: online training.
At The HR Dept, we have been big advocates for eLearning in businesses for many years and have a suite of tried and tested, certified and affordable courses perfect for SME companies. If you are still unsure though, here are five compelling benefits for adopting eLearning in your business.
1. Upskill and engage your team
Most employees will want to better themselves so they can carry out their job with confidence and help build their career. Therefore, if you are not offering adequate training it may be a reason why you are suffering from recruitment and retention issues. A recent study from a software company found that nearly half of UK employees do not feel their employer is developing their skills, suggesting it is a widespread problem.
Good eLearning courses are professionally developed by experts to be interesting, engaging and effective; combining a range of learning styles such as through video, simulation and quizzes. Research indicates that online education can improve learning outcomes by 50% over traditional training. Not only will this lead to more talented and productive employees, but also help staff enjoy their training time, and appreciate working for you.
2. Flexible and accessible
One of the great strengths of eLearning is that it can be accessed any time by the users, thus causing a minimum of disruption. No matter where an employee is based (office, home or field), they can log on at a convenient time and complete the course. Perfect for a post-pandemic world, especially if your company practises hybrid working.
3. Data analytics and compliance
An advantage of electronic platforms in any field is that they normally come with a huge range of data analytics. So, for example, whilst financial software may help you monitor cashflow and invoicing, for training courses it will help you track who has completed what training and when. This will give you a clear picture of which staff are adequately trained and where there are gaps.
4. Sustainability
Most businesses nowadays want to be environmentally friendly where possible and seen to be so. eLearning helps you work towards this in a number of ways like reducing the need for printed materials and travel to physical locations for the training. This is useful to the sustainability cause in itself, and something you can weave into your corporate social responsibility story to help position yourself as a conscientious business.
5. Cost effective and scalable
The efficiencies that lead to the sustainability benefits outlined above also translate into cost savings for your business, with less money spent on printed materials and travel costs as well as virtually no set up or overhead costs, other than the software itself. This per-user cost-effectiveness also makes eLearning highly scalable, being suitable for just one or two employees or a growing team.
eLearning courses for your business
We offer a large range of expertly prepared eLearning courses for managers and employees covering everything from personal development to interviewing and recruitment, team leader training to managing absence.
Get in touch with your local HR Dept office today to find out more about how our eLearning courses could help you.
