Opportunities with e-training

For numerous organisations today, holding on to good people is tough. In many industries, staff retention is a major challenge facing managers.

And increasingly, surveys seem to indicate that one of the main reasons people move on, relates to training. Employees are now very conscious of the need to continually make themselves more employable and one of the most important elements in this process is training.

Yet, companies everywhere still fail to budget money or time for employee training - even though they know the benefits.

Now, some organisations that understand the economics, not to mention the value, of broadening the skills of their employees are turning to e-training models to make training more cost-efficient.

E-training is faster, easier, and, in many cases, more focused than traditional classroom training.

The obvious benefits of e-training include:

• Savings—Instead of requiring expenditures on airfare, car rental, meals, and lodging to attend conventional training, e-training can be conducted from the home or office. Additionally, you can train more people within the organisation since an online training seat is usually less expensive than a classroom seat.
• Focus—Classroom training often requires that the entire learning process be crammed into a few days. E-training can be spread out across a week or several weeks, allowing employees to do follow-up work on their own.
• Access—Co-ordinating schedules can be the most difficult part of conducting a class. With e-training, classes can be recorded and then played, and replayed, as often as needed. This is ideal for new staff, volunteers, or those who need "refresher" courses. Users can access e-training solutions at a pace that is most suitable for each student.

E-learning is particularly appealing to some people because it is self-paced. Most e-learning programs can be taken when needed.

Usually, e-training programs offer information in small chunks. People can absorb the information at their own pace before moving on. 

Most training consultants seem to agree that e-learning courses progress up to 50 percent faster than traditional courses. This is partly because the individualised approach allows learners to skip material they already know and understand, and move onto the issues they need training on.

Another major advantage of e-learning is that it provides a consistent message. It can be very handy in situations where large numbers of staff are required to learn certain exact information regarding standard procedures – eg, with regard to safety or security. E-learning eliminates the problems associated with different instructors teaching slightly different material on the same subject.

Another consideration is that e-training can happen from any location and any time. This Just-In-Time benefit can make learning possible for busy people and people who live and work remotely.

But e-learning is not necessarily right for everyone on all occasions.  Limitations include:

• Normally, the up-front investment required for an e-learning solution is larger due to development costs.
• Technology issues that are a factor include whether the existing technology infrastructure can accomplish the training goals, whether additional technical expenditures can be justified, and whether compatibility of all software and hardware can be achieved.
• Cultural acceptance can be an issue in some organisations, and while some staff would welcome the opportunity to be able to ‘learn from home’ some employees would object.