With eLearning becoming more engaging, accessible and affordable each year, it continues to grow in popularity as a training tool. The stats, figures and success stories of its power to improve knowledge retention and increase engagement continue to roll in and it seems our love for online training as a classroom course replacement will never end.
Often beginning with off-the-shelf eLearning to replace costly classroom training courses, many companies then move on to invest in their own Learning Management Systems and buy their own bespoke eLearning. It is now commonplace for companies to translate their once monotonous and hard to regulate compliance training into interactive and engaging eLearning, and even offer their employees 24/7 access to an extensive library of personal and professional skills courses.
But, while it is clear that eLearning is the most powerful training tool we have, it’s also so much more than that.
Are you making the most of eLearning?
As training providers and eLearning developers, we are among the many shouting about the benefits of eLearning as a replacement for traditional training. However, while this promotion of eLearning has helped companies realise and embrace the benefits of eLearning as a training tool, it has also worked to restrict people’s perspective of eLearning; many now struggle to see it as anything other than a replacement for classroom courses.
So, we think it’s about time we help you see the endless possibilities of eLearning so you can make the most of this powerful tool. The best way to start is by considering all the reasons eLearning is such an effective replacement for traditional training. Here are just a few to get you started:
- eLearning is self-paced and can be revisited and revised
- Organisations can ensure messages are standardised and consistent
- Content is engaging and interactive to increase knowledge retention
- Content can be accessed 24/7 from any location
The features of eLearning that make it such a powerful training tool for your HR and learning and development department can also work to benefit your entire business. ELearning can be everyone’s tool, from the marketing department in Head Office, to the customer service teams across the country.
A few examples to get you started
Learning to look at something in a new light is often difficult at first, and so we have come up with a few examples to help ease you in.
Why not use eLearning to…
Launch a new product:
Much of the success of a new product depends on the knowledge of the team tasked with selling it; if they do not understand why it has been introduced, and the benefits of buying it, how can they convince the customer?
By providing a short but interactive eLearning module to your whole organisation, you’re setting your product launch up for success. Your team will have the information they need to truly understand the product and can access it in a way that is motivating and effective. What’s more, by including quick quizzes and games along the way, you can even assess knowledge retention and ensure no team member sells without sufficient product knowledge.
Onboard employees:
As we explored in our insight Introducing a new style of induction, many organisations are already using eLearning to enhance and improve their onboarding process. Such inductions are not only capable of significantly cutting the cost of onboarding, but offer new starters a warmer and more effective welcome.
Through online induction training, companies can ensure that new employees have all the information they need, with the option to revisit and revise topics they may have missed in the overwhelming first few days – from meet the team modules so they know who to go to in every situation, to fun games that communicate the company’s vision.
Practice processes:
In the fast-paced Fourth Industrial Revolution, organisations must be able to adjust and adapt to ever-changing systems and technologies. For this reason, an increasing number of businesses are looking to eLearning as a rapid and cost-effective way to introduce new processes across their organisations.
Not only is eLearning a great way of introducing new processes quickly, but its educational benefits mean it does so effectively. By including real-life scenarios and simulations along the way, employees are given the chance to test out the knowledge they are gaining in a safe and secure environment. Along with increasing employees’ confidence in their own ability, it allows employers to monitor and assess their team to ensure no one is let loose on the real thing until they are really ready.
A million and one more ways
The list of the ways in which you can use eLearning to benefit your business is only limited by your imagination. Once this is unlocked, you can find a million and one ways to use eLearning.
We hope this insight has shone a new light on eLearning and helped ignite your imagination. If you want to explore the possibilities of eLearning even further with us, click the button below to watch our webinar, A Million and One Ways to Use eLearning. While the half-hour presentation isn’t long enough to explore all the million and one ways eLearning can be used, it is packed full of even more examples to get you thinking – it may even inspire you to find that one in a million eLearning solution that will truly transform your business.
Click the button below to speak to us about eLearning or book a free consultation with one of our eLearning experts.