As more and more parts of our lives are moved to the digital space, we’re seeing the same happen with training. Over the last 20 years, the transition to eLearning has proven to have huge payoffs, so why are some offices still only using traditional training methods? It’s natural to be hesitant to make changes, but many businesses are taking the leap because they can tell it’s worth it. Whether it’s helping you get better results or ensuring that you’re able to adapt, research shows that making this transition has clear benefits. Here are the top 5 reasons to move from face-to-face to online training.
We live in a fast-paced world
Given the fast-paced nature of our current society, we need training methods that can keep up. Many traditional training methods we use, such as workshops and lectures from experts, have been around for decades. During the industrial revolution, workers were mass-trained for jobs to get as many people working as soon as possible. And while countless other aspects of our businesses have moved with the times, we still see some traces of this. This sort of training costs both time and money and can’t take place as often as most modern industries need. Technologies, strategies, and trends are constantly changing. Our companies and employees need to be able to match them. Digital and online training allows us to easily update content and practices to meet the needs of the day.
People want flexibility
What do you do when you need to learn something? You probably Google it. That’s the flexibility we need to provide learners. And if information comes your way when you don’t need it, you’re probably less likely to remember it. The learning process can lose momentum when it’s forced into specific settings at specific times. Most people don’t share the exact same knowledge gaps. So, many employees prefer to learn at their own pace, focusing on the concepts that they struggle to understand. Online training also allows for employees to stay up to date even in the midst of unplanned events. If one or more of your workers are being kept out of the office for any particular reason, it’s good to know that they won’t be left behind. Our world is unpredictable, so we need to be ready to manage what it throws at us.
Employees need accessibility
Our news, books, movies, emails, and calendars are all accessible on our multiple devices, so why are there still online courses that are not? When we need to learn something, we need to learn it whenever and wherever we are. Our handheld devices are great resources, so our programs should be able to make good use of them. Mobile-responsive content provides training in context, which helps support a 70-20-10 model.
Training content should always be accessible to employees. This shouldn’t be material that they see at one workshop and are expected to remember. It should be on-demand and easy to find. This could be a challenge for face-to-face training, with stacks of paper resources or notes stuffed in the back of your desk drawer, but online training ensures the resources are always available, organized, and exactly as you learned them.
Training should be relevant
While we want easy access to information, it’s important that we’re getting the information that we actually need to know. One of the biggest advantages of online learning is the ability to provide just-in-time training. Learners want to be able to find the exact information that they want when they want it. The effectiveness and efficiency of your training are both likely to improve when it’s relevant. For example, by using microlearning to provide chunks of timely information. When learners know exactly why they’re being given certain information and deem it necessary, they have a better chance of retaining it.
Learning should be engaging
Learners today want to be engaged with their training more than ever before. This is especially important because we know that when minds are engaged, more learning takes place. But how can we make learning engaging? Training needs to be interactive and immersive. Gamification, quick and precise knowledge checks, and multimodal texts are some of the ways to achieve this. And online training makes this goal easier to reach. Creating engaging training is hard to do in a traditional environment without using a lot of resources and time.
Takeaway
Today, most of us have been impacted by COVID-19. This is forcing us to reconsider many business processes which might now be outdated. Learning is one of them. We can often be met with unpredictable situations, so we need to try our best to limit harm for when they come. With so many tasks and resources having already been molded to thrive in our modern world, now is the perfect time do the same with our training.
