Though we hear the concept of “online training” more frequently with the Coronavirus endemic, it is a method of education that companies have been practicing since the late 1990s. Despite it’s been about 3 decades since then, today, 90% of companies prefer online training to the former one – only 4% of companies continue to provide face-to-face training. Global giant companies such as IBM and Shell continue their in-house training online, while many professional corporations are transferring their training to the virtual environment to achieve higher efficiency and save money. Here are 3 compelling reasons why you should give online training a chance.
“Generation Y” Prefer Online Training
Currently, the breakdown of the workforce distribution in the United States by generation is as follows:
Traditionalists (1925-1945): 2%
Baby Boomers (1946-1964): 25%
Generation X (1965-1980): 33%
Generation Y (1981-2000): 35%
Generation Z (2001-2020): 5%
Generation Y, also known as the Millennials, is the generation with the largest rate of employees in companies today. According to studies, they will still make up the largest part of the business world by the year 2030. A partner at management consulting firm Korn Ferry – Andrés Tomás Tapia says that younger generations prefer more asynchronous learning methods while older generations are more accustomed to traditional face-to-face classroom training. Correlatively, the human resources expert Lori Freeman says that young employees learn best in a digital environment.
Another study – this time conducted by Axonify, a company that provides training solutions for companies – shows that Generation Y prefers fast-flowing, interactive, and mobile-phone-based training systems. All these data indicate that the most efficient way of learning for the Millennials is online training given via digital tools. Although it’s important to tailor your training plans to the majority of your company, this doesn’t mean you will have to completely ignore your older staff. CEO of Axonify, Carol Leaman state that older generations are just as fond of technology as the Millennials.
Leaman believes that companies can take advantage of this by adopting mobile learning technologies that appeal to all generations and using methods similar to the mobile phone apps we all use every day. Furthermore, since online education is flexible and adaptable to different learning styles, it can offer personalized training options, unlike traditional methods. This makes it possible for different generations to keep up with such training more easily.
Online Learning is more Affordable!
In a study by the professor at the Florida Institute of Technology, Judith B. Strother compares the costs of online training and classroom training to companies. According to the study, IBM switched to online training methods as early as 1999 while achieving 5 times more efficient than classroom training, also cutting costs by 1/3 and making a profit of 200 million dollars. As another example, Rockwell Collins, on the other hand, saved its training costs by 40% by implementing web-based training only at a 25% rate of all training activities. Of course, this is not a surprise if you consider the costs associated with traditional training, such as providing a physical classroom and covering employee travel expenses. Moreover, online training significantly reduces the time employees spend as away from work. You’ll see how profitable online training is, particularly when you compare it over the long term – for example, you can reduce training time by 40% to 60% and save 80% on printed resource costs.
The study by Strother shows that the financial efficiencies companies gain from online training are not limited to lower costs but are also profitable in terms of Return On Investment. According to a study conducted by IBM, for every $1 spent on online training, companies gain $30 worth of productivity. This proves us to why online education is more productive than traditional education.
Online Education Leads to Greater Efficiency
A study published by East Tennessee State University resulted in that online education has the potential to reduce conventional education by 50%. One of the biggest reasons for this is that students have control over the online lessons they study. Additionally, they can access course materials such as audio recordings and videos used as resources in online education much more easily, and they can also determine their own learning pace. So much that, employees learn five times more than in conventional education, as they can continue learning wherever and whenever they want. Furthermore, it also increases employee motivation by 18% and creates a more productive working environment at workplaces.
Besides all of this, face-to-face training naturally has limitations with its tangible boundaries. However, online training solutions allow you to build a global network and interact with different departments and countries. For your employees to be able to make such connections and access the best materials in the business world, regardless of the field, speaking a good command of English is not a choice but a necessity. Cambly enables your employees to improve their language skills by offering online classes given by native English-speaking instructors with a variety of professional backgrounds. Since such training can also be delivered via mobile devices, they can provide a more enjoyable and productive learning experience eliminating the barriers of time and space. You can contact Cambly Corporate Team to benefit from the advantages of online education while expanding your boundaries. You can also contact Cambly Corporate Team to benefit from the advantages of online education while expanding your boundaries