In our most recent blog, we outlined some key factors contributing to the costs of eLearning. With 30% of businesses expecting to see their prices increase from January 2023, managers are looking to reduce costs. In this article, we identify how businesses can improve efficiency with eLearning.
Start with a proper onboarding process
If you are looking to reduce costs, using eLearning to retain your current employees is a great place to start as it reduces the chances of repeating an expensive recruitment process. According to the 2022 Workplace Learning Report, 80% of L&D professionals said it’s less expensive to reskill a current employee than hire a new one.
When recruiting a new employee, a business would need to pay an entire salary – the average UK salary was £27, 756 as of November 2022. Using an agency would see an additional cost of around 20% of their salary, in addition to bonuses, national insurance, pension and equipment costs. In total, it could cost a business in excess of £40,000 to bring in someone new – retention is substantially cheaper.
What’s that got to do with improving eLearning? Well, it can be used to create an effective onboarding process and retain employees.
A 2017 study from CompanyMatch stated that a “successful onboarding process” is more likely to lead to “long term employment and increased productivity”. Brandon Hall Group found that good onboarding improved employee retention by 82%. An alternative study from Gallup reported how just 12% felt their onboarding process was fit for purpose.
These figures tell us that companies are not prioritising their onboarding. Using eLearning allows a business to make their onboarding interactive and engaging for learners. They can also personalise it to each group of employees and make them feel valued.
It’s best to use a blended approach so you do not lose the human touch a face-to-face onboarding process provides.
Related: How can you improve your onboarding process?
There’s less to pay for with eLearning
While initial costs for eLearning may be higher than classroom training, it’s cost-effective in the long run.
When using more traditional in-person training, a business would need to pay the individuals for their service. They’re also expected to cover travel and hospitality costs which can add up, particularly with multi-day courses. Businesses are responsible for room hire and equipment costs for things like projectors, tablets or printed materials needed for the course too.
On the other hand, eLearning does not require any of this. Learners access material online from anywhere using digital devices and can even work through courses remotely. This massively brings down costs associated with rolling out a course.
A major benefit of eLearning is that after a course has been paid for, it’s the business’ to use as their own. If a learner needs retake training or revisit particular areas, it’s easy to do with eLearning – this is one of it’s unique selling points.
With classroom training, this is not an option. If learners did not understand everything the first time around, businesses would need to pay for an additional course to be redelivered – and cover all the costs that come with it. That’s not going to improve efficiency is it!
Time is money – and eLearning saves on both!
What is the biggest cost associated with training which is often forgot about? The time it takes! More time spent on training means the less time spent doing their job.
It normally takes at least half a day to deliver in-person training. Meanwhile, with the same content covered through eLearning in less than an hour. This allows learners to be flexible and fit training around their own schedule. A survey from Brandon Hall Group found virtual learning can reduce employee training time by up to 60%, showing how it can contribute to improving efficiency.
eLearning allows employees to move through content at their own pace too. If they have a spare hour, employees can spend this completing a chunk of eLearning. Similarly, if they needed to recap content they can do this too – eLearning moves at the learner’s pace. As eLearning courses are broken down into bitesize chunks, it makes it more engaging for learners.
Which do you think is more efficient – a 4-hour session delivered in a monotone fashion by one person, or bitesize chunks of visual content designed to engage throughout? We’ll give you a clue – it’s eLearning!
Learn on-the-job with eLearning
As previously mentioned, eLearning can be accessed any time on any digital device. This means learners do not have to be in a room with a trainer or fellow learners – they can even learn remotely. There is no cost associated with this at all – how efficient is that?!
One of the key advantages of eLearning is it’s effectiveness to do what it’s been created to – educate learners. The same report from Brandon Hall Group found that eLearning boosted knowledge by up to 60% compared with classroom training too. This reduces time learners need to spend completing it, meaning they can move back to their day jobs quicker. It’s great for improving efficiency.
We’ve covered some of the ways eLearning can improve efficiency within a business. Are you considering investing in eLearning now? If so, we would love to hear from you. You can email us at hello@olano.co.uk for a discussion on how we can meet your business needs.
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Related: How much does eLearning cost?
