The benefits of online education and training are abundant. And with this supporting data, the point is clear—you can’t afford to wait any longer on growing your e-Learning program.
Keeps you Competitive – More and more companies, small and large, are increasingly turning to e-Learning for their employees, with 41.7% of Fortune 500 companies using technology to ensure their employees maintain mastery of critical skills. This will only continue since 90% of the fastest growing industries require up-to-date knowledge of rapidly changing technology. This ability to stay abreast of the latest changes in a particular market is why 72% of organizations attributed their competitive edge to e-Learning.
Greater Productivity and Time Savings – Switching from on-site or in-class instruction to online education can generate a 40-60% employee time savings, according to a study by Brandon-Hall. By using online education and training, you immediately eliminate any time spent on travel. This time savings translates into increased employee productivity of 37%-50%, according to reports by IBM and Bersin & Associates. Imagine what that increased productivity could do for your company!
Increased Revenues and Fewer Expenditures – One of the first things you’ll notice after implementing on online training and education system is a reduction in travel costs. The other thing you’ll probably notice is that the cost per employee falls. Live events, or instructor led courses, contain a lot of costs unrelated to the educational content, and those costs are passed onto you in the form of higher registration fees. Online, on-demand education doesn’t require a classroom, or that lunch be provided, so the per-employee costs will probably be lower. A real world example is IBM who delivered 5 times more training at 1/3 the costs, with an estimated cost savings of $200 million. However, what will fill your boss’ heart with glee, is the fact that revenue generation is 26% higher for companies that utilize eLearning. If you are a company that generates revenue with the billable employee hour, a 26% revenue increase per employee is nothing to sneeze at.
Increased Engagement and Satisfaction – With 23% of employees leaving their jobs due to a lack of training and development opportunities, and with the high costs associated with recruiting and hiring, finding a way to increase employee engagement and satisfaction really pays off. By offering your training and education in-house and online, not only are you fulfilling employee expectations, but you are providing them a level of control over this training. With on-demand courses, your employees can complete requirements in a way that fits with their busy schedules, and have the ability to revisit content or go beyond requirements. The Research Institute of America found that eLearning increases retention by 25-60%, while IBM found that with eLearning employees mastered 5 times more material without spending more time training.
Control, Customization and Compliance – We’ve just gone through a ton of statistics measuring the value of online education and training, so now it’s time to think about a couple of benefits that are harder to quantify. The first is the value of having the ability to control and customize your employee education and training program. With an online education program you have the ability to create courses that cover the process and procedures that are unique to your organization and the ability to schedule and update courses whenever you like. Finally, for those of you whose employees must meet continuing education requirements, you have the ability to ensure they remain in compliance, and the invaluable peace of mind that comes with that.
So, as you can see, the benefits of online education and training are abundant. The real question becomes, can you afford not to implement an online education and training program in your organization?
