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What is eLearning?

Long gone are the times of sitting in drab conference rooms, cramming all that important information in three days. Thanks to eLearning, the way we learn has changed forever.

Thanks to the internet, and Covid for forcing us all to work remotely for the better part of two years. eLearning is widely the most popular method of learning, with 66% of learners preferring it to other techniques, such as traditional classroom training. And I mean, we can hardly blame them, right?

eLearning is all the rage. And we’ve all definitely used it at some point over the past few years (if you haven’t, this is your friendly reminder to check that you’re compliant). But what actually is eLearning?

 

eLearning 101

A phrase first coined in 1999, eLearning, as defined by the Association for Talent Development, is “a structured course or learning experience delivered electronically; it can also include performance support content. Many different elements can make up a learning programme, such as live or pre-recorded lecture content, video, quizzes, simulations, games, activities, and other interactive elements.”

Despite the phrase eLearning being around for over 20 years, we’ve seen some dramatic changes in more recent times, in fact, the eLearning industry has grown over 900% since 2000. With the pandemic securing the fact that not everything needs to be done in person, 30% of the UK workforce are currently working remotely, and 24% take part in a hybrid model. With the majority of workers not in the office full-time, eLearning is really in its heyday.

 

How do you deliver eLearning?

This one is easy. A Learning Management System, or LMS for short, is the answer to all your eLearning woes. An LMS is a platform that allows you to manage every facet of workplace learning, from design and delivery to scheduling and reporting.

With all eLearning courses in one place, your people can access their learning at a time and place that suits them. Having an LMS is known to boost workplace learning and productivity, and reduce the training costs for an organisation by 25% to 40% – sound tempting?

Searching for the right LMS can be daunting and a little confusing. To make it a bit easier, we’ve done the hard work for you – here is our LMS Buyer’s Guide.

 

What is eLearning used for?

eLearning can be used in many ways in the workplace, but most commonly for employee learning, i.e., getting your new starters up to scratch, and compliance.

People tend to assume that workplace eLearning is just your mandatory training. And they’re right in some respects because it’s a great, easy method of delivering compliance training. But eLearning is SO much more than that.

43% of workers want more learning to develop and grow their careers. And how does eLearning help that? Professional development. eLearning is there to provide opportunities for your people to expand their knowledge and skills, developing a greater career path for themselves.

From Wellbeing to Cyber Security and Phishing, our wide range of off-the-shelf courses has all the eLearning you need to train, grow, and develop your teams.

 

What are the benefits of eLearning?

eLearning saves time

Half of learners find it easier to fit eLearning into their working day. And they’re not wrong: employees are more likely to engage and retain material online than in a classroom because eLearning requires around 50% less learning time. So, the less time-consuming the learning is, the more learning your people will complete. And with greater choice over their learning, the higher the engagement rates will be, not just in the learning itself, but within their roles. Happy engaged people = long-term employees.

More cost-effective

Remember the checklist you had to organise traditional classroom training? Book venue and trainer, arrange travel to and from, organise lunch, figure out the cost of team members being out of office for several days… it was a lot. And those costs would just keep racking up.

But long gone are those days. With eLearning, all courses are readily available on your laptop or mobile device, and therefore there are no extra costs involved. And as eLearning takes less learning time, organisational productivity won’t be affected.

Self-led learning

With 60% of learners driving their own development, it’s pretty safe to say that self-led learning is still on the rise. As we know, your people want to learn. And with 74% of learners wanting the freedom to take training courses in their own time and at their own pace, eLearning is the answer. And your people will appreciate you for it! 94% of employees say they would stay longer at a company that invested in their development. So, feeling valued as a team member, your people will know they’re being invested in, providing a sense of belonging and long-term loyalty to the organisation. It really is a win-win, right?

eLearning is for everyone

No two people are alike, so why should their learning be? What works for one individual, or even one team, may not work for the rest of the organisation. And that’s no bad thing. In this year’s Learner Survey Report, we discovered that 39% of learners prefer visual learning, 20% prefer social, and 11% prefer verbal. That’s quite a mix! Can you now see why one size definitely doesn’t fit all? But if you could provide your people with options, imagine the success and productivity that would happen? eLearning provides these options and allows your people to thrive.

Tailored to you

Unlike classroom training, learning materials can be branded and tailored to your business needs. Why are branded learning materials a benefit? Familiarity! If your people feel familiar with the platform, the more likely they’ll trust it and engage with it more.

With eLearning, courses can be tailored to your business needs so your teams are receiving the learning that is personalised and relevant to them, which is far more motivational for better performance and engaging than generic content.

Branded and tailored content increases productivity and completion rates, enhancing your team’s progress and performance and ultimately developing a longer-term culture of learning. This will enhance your ROI, allowing learning and development to remain an organisational priority. A dream come true?

Environmentally friendly

If you needed anymore persuasion, investing in eLearning is an effective way of reducing your carbon footprint. Compared to traditional learning, eLearning consumes nearly 90% less energy and produces 85% fewer CO2 emissions per learner. Now, that is a bonus.

 

Speak to an expert today to find out how you can enhance your eLearning.

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Written by Claire Moloney

Claire is an enthusiastic and meticulous content writer whose passion is to support growth and continual learning for everyone.

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