What Is eLearning?

Recent studies show that approximately 80% of employers use eLearning (online learning) and it has been the more popular form of education among organizations. Furthermore, similar studies show that the global eLearning market is expected to grow over $240 Billion by 2022. But, what exactly is eLearning? And how can it make a positive impact on your organization? Simply put, eLearning is an educational course that is published online through a learning management system (LMS). It is a rapidly growing industry that has become the future of learning and development, and has grown by over 900% since 2000.

What Is eLearning?

According to Instructure, “eLearning can help learners complete education and training objectives with greater ease and flexibility than they can with traditional classroom-based learning. E-learning courses can use a variety of techniques, including audio and video recordings, presentations, quizzes, surveys, games, discussion groups, and more.” With the growing number of employees working from home, or a combination of in-home and in-office work after the pandemic of 2020, it’s more important than ever to be able to implement a system of learning that can reach and connect with employees no matter where they are.

Leadership Training Tools

A Better Leader offers leadership training in the form of eLearning to help you create leaders in your workplace who are educated, engaged, and connected with the rest of your workforce. Our training programs are specifically designed to be flexible and stand-alone or to be able to work within the training systems you may already have in place. We believe that eLearning can be the change your organization needs to provide your leaders with the skills they need and to help you to become an employer of choice. Of course, we understand that this may not be the solution for everyone. Still, we feel it’s important to share the benefits of eLearning, so you have an understanding of whether not it’s beneficial to your workplace.

We’ve discussed the differences between online eLearning and in-person training. We’ve also shared a review of some of the top platforms for online training for your leaders. Now, we’ll discuss how eLearning can be beneficial to your workplace and how it can help you create a more prosperous and productive culture in your organization.

Benefits of eLearning

Accessibility

eLearning is available any time, anywhere. Users can access their training and development courses on their schedule, from a smartphone, tablet, or wherever they can access the internet. Because online learning is instantly accessible, it typically requires 40%-60% less employee time than an in-person or classroom setting.

Higher Retention Rates

eLearning has much higher learning retention rates than face-to-face training, with 25%-60% greater retention. In contrast, in-person learning retention rates have shown to be around eight to ten percent. Online learning platforms allow users to spend more time absorbing the information at their own pace, and the content is quickly and easily revisited. An employee can complete things like interactive quizzes more than once if they need to review or repeat a course.

More Cost-Effective

eLearning saves money and resources in terms of finances, time, and even learning materials. Employees do not have to travel to a seminar to absorb the information. They can complete courses without taking time off to attend outside training. Furthermore, IBM saved $200 million when they made the switch to online learning. Without the costs associated with travel, such as a hotel room, fuel costs, or the time taken away from employees who need to be out of the office to attend in-person seminars, online learning just makes more financial sense.

Increased Employee Engagement

The Molly Fletcher Company shared that companies that are actively using online learning courses achieve an 18% increase in employee engagement. Consider the 2018 workplace learning report from LinkedIn that found over 90% of employees would stay in their current position if their organization invested in the employees’ career development. When employees have more control of their learning and development, they are more likely to remain engaged and motivated to contribute to the overall company culture.

Key eLearning Statistics

While it may be possible to gather the knowledge and resources to create your own eLearning course(s), ensuring that they are successful and implemented correctly are entirely different hurdles. Custom interactive eLearning that includes video, question and answer, interactive role-play, downloadables, etc. can support your organization’s positive employee relations goals. Consider some of the following statistics surrounding eLearning gathered by e-student.org:

• Over 40% of Fortune 500 Companies regularly use online learning as part of their training.
• E-learning takes 40% to 60% less employee time than traditional learning.
• 42% of companies saw increased revenue after implementing e-learning.
  
• With corporate e-learning, IBM managers were able to learn five times more content at one-third of the cost. As a result, IBM saved $200 million, which accounted for around 30% of their previous training budget.
• Using corporate e-learning results in an increase of 18% in employee engagement.
  

Is eLearning Right For Your Workplace?  

Sometimes, companies and organizations may invest in leadership training and do not see a return on that investment. Often, this is a result of the implementation of the training, rather than the content itself. Sometimes, online learning isn’t the right solution for your workplace. For example, the content may not be focusing on the right topics for your organization. Read more about some of the common reasons eLearning may not be working for you, here.

Additionally, if there is no system in place to measure the return of investment, or ROI, there is no way to track results. A 2018 study from Harvard Business Review showed that the way leadership training is presented could significantly impact not only the interest it garners for those who are completing it but the impact of the education itself. For example, rather than stating that the goal of eLearning is to “become a better leader,” framing the goal as an opportunity to learn leadership skills increased the level of engagement and even helped with the retention of information.

Clearly, eLearning provides many benefits to employees and employers alike. It can help boost the retention rate at which your employees are absorbing knowledge, cut costs in terms of spending, and increase employee engagement and boost workplace culture. In fact, there is no question whether eLearning could be beneficial to your organization. It is the future of learning and development. Research and Markets forecasts show that eLearning will grow to $325 Billion by 2025.

Custom eLearning Solutions

So, what does all of this mean? You can’t afford not to invest in online learning. With all of the changes that happened in 2020, and the amount of employees and team members who shifted the way they work, the ability to train employees any time, anywhere, on any device with an internet connection is invaluable. If you need a cost-effective answer to creating leaders who engage and inspire employees at all levels, look no further. Projections and our partners at A Better Leader would be happy to create a custom solution that works for your organization.