The year 2020 has brought on massive changes to employees’ lives. Especially when it comes to their learning and development experiences. As organizations constantly need their workforces to be prepared for today’s challenges, eLearning started thriving across organizations.

Let’s Get Your Acquainted with eLearning in Employee Training

eLearning is a method where learners in an online setting are engaged in an educational course. It combines audio, video recordings, presentations, quizzes, and more to deliver a great and memorable experience to learners.

While eLearning in employee training became popular during the pandemic, it has been around for quite some time. This is because it offers numerous benefits including –

• Cost-Efficiency – There are a lot of costs related to traditional training, including venue and traveling expenses. eLearning eliminates these costs while helping you train a larger group for less.
• Custom-Made Programs – Organizations can customize their eLearning materials to meet their own challenges. That way, they can become closer to meeting business goals.
• Self-Paced Options – eLearning is more flexible due to the availability of self-paced training. Employees can be granted access to a course and asked to complete it in a given period.
• Reports and Analytics – Unlike conventional training, eLearning can help employers gauge both learners’ learning and participation. That way, they can ensure their eLearning efforts are worthwhile.

Now Let’s Talk about the Myths of eLearning for Employees

Despite the growing popularity of eLearning, a fraction of organizations and employees alike resist it. This is because of several misconceptions that have made their way around.

Here are some of these along with their truths.

“eLearning is All About Fun”

Because of the popularity of eLearning with K-12 students, many believe that it’s all fun and games.

While engagement is one of the important aspects of eLearning, this form of education is still valuable for employees. They get the chance to improve their skills through informative audio and effective visuals.

A few activities here and there just add to the fun, but don’t reduce the efficiency of the knowledge imparted.

“eLearning is an Advanced Form of PowerPoint Presentations”

eLearning is a lot more than just a colored presentation slide with images. Effective eLearning combines animations, characters, gamifications, formative assessments, and a lot more to deliver an immersive learning experience.

“eLearning is More Complex”

Some employees are under the assumption that they need to be tech savvy to effectively learn. However, that’s not the case at all.

If you know how to use a smartphone or a computer, eLearning won’t be a challenge at all. Moreover, learners are provided with navigation instructions to get the most from courses.

“eLearning isn’t as Comprehensive as Traditional Training”

Enterprises and learners alike think that instructors don’t cover all training materials. One reason for this assumption is the brevity of self-paced learning courses. For instance, a two-day course can be covered in the span of a few hours.

However, this doesn’t mean that the course is incomplete. Self-paced training delivers more focused learning while eliminating time-consuming activities such as Q/A sessions and breaks. Therefore, you won’t be missing out on important materials.

“This Form of Learning Lacks Interaction”

A considerable number of learners believe they learn best in interactive classroom settings. This is because they assume eLearning is limited to recorded sessions where they can’t ask questions.

However, there are many forms of training for remote employees to choose from.

In addition to more immersive and engaging self-paced training, they can choose virtual instructor-led training. This offers a very familiar learning experience while ensuring their safety and delivering all the benefits of remote training.

There are, However, Some Issues Employees May Face

Employees may experience some challenges while upskilling via eLearning. Here are some which you need to keep in mind.

Lack of Motivation

One of the major issues registered in eLearning is the overall lack of learner’s motivation. One of the reasons for this is the physical absence of a subject matter expert.

Learners may also lack interest because they feel it’s up to them to ensure enthusiasm during sessions. And this can be a challenge without interactive activities.

To deal with it, trainers must come up with engaging lessons for the leaners. It can range from scenarios, eLearning games, to videos of different trainers.

This will add to the interest of learners toward eLearning.

Tough Work Hours

Employees are required to put in the most effort and be proactive to learn regularly. That too while juggling with their work hours, families, and social life.

As a result, they develop a negative opinion for online courses. This can be further enhanced by the exhaustion following an 8- or 9-hour shift.

This issue can be solved by providing self-paced, bite-sized course materials that are accessible and readily available anywhere

Unavoidable Distractions

Not every person has a dedicated room or space at home for learning. That’s why they’re likely to feel frustrated during training and miss out on important concepts.

Employees need to learn how they can reap all the benefits of online training sessions despite their current predicaments.

On the other hand, employers need to clearly communicate their employees’ undivided attention is required. If possible, they should assist employees with their scheduling or childcare challenges.

Poor Content

What may be a huge success in-class training environments isn’t as effective for eLearners. Presentations especially seem boring and may require tweaking to make them more interactive.

Your goal should be to select a course provider who offers maximum engagement. This can be in the form of interactive materials, assessments, or dialog simulations.

Technical Challenges

Technical glitches like unstable internet or platform issues can prevent access to training. While these issues aren’t fully in your control, you can take measures to prevent them.

For instance, you can make sure to choose a reliable training provider. Moreover, you should make sure to have a robust internet connection and workstation. That way, you won’t face issues during training. If possible, seek out your superiors’ help in this regard.

Tips for Effective Employee eLearning

Now that you have a good grasp on what eLearning can do for your workforce, let’s talk about how you can get the most from it.

Understand How Your Remote Workforce Operates

You need better insight into how the team operates. Doing so also helps you decide which form of remote training you should opt for. For instance, if there’s ample time on employees’ hands, you can provide virtual instructor led courses.

Some of the questions you can ask to determine your next step are:

• What’s your current workload?
• How would you describe your learning style?
• What skill do you think you should develop while working from home?

Offer Self-Paced Training Options

Working from home allows employees to optimize their productivity and fit work into their lives rather than the other way around. So, keeping employees on a strict training schedule will frustrate them.

Consider the option of self-paced learning so that your employees can train whenever they can. Just remember to set a deadline so that they can actually begin training and embracing the skills you need the most.

Add Opportunities for Socializing

At times, eLearning means no donut breaks or a quick happy hour after training. This is one of the reasons people may feel lonely.

You need to come up with a way to keep your team connected. For instance, you can start a Slack channel where people interact and you can post video chats.

Collect Feedback from Your Employees

Don’t just train for the sake of training your workforce. You need to know whether you’re on the right track or not.

So, collect feedback from everyone enrolled, be it through polls or forms. And make sure to act according to their needs and concerns. That will help you get the most from your L&D efforts.

The Bottom Line

With the way things are, eLearning employees is a trend that’s here to stay. So, make sure to prepare for it in every way so that your enterprise and workforce remain competitive throughout.