Reduce Employee Training Costs with e-Learning
E-Learning is more than just using technology to reach and engage learners. It needs a carefully crafted management and execution plan to ensure its success. Although an e-learning strategy promises many financial benefits over a one-size-fits-all strategy, if your e-learning programme is poorly-designed or badly managed, it can result in excessive costs for little return. Let’s look at a few ways that can help your organisation with making the correct decisions for a successful e-learning programme.
Evaluate Learning Material for Online
Your first step in determining whether you are ready to take your training digital, is to determine whether your content is ready to go online. Take stock of all the training material you currently have available to your learners – paper-based materials, etc. – and determine which sections and information is suitable for moving to the online platform. Taking stock yourself saves money on content gathering whether you are converting your training materials.
Once you know where you stand in terms on training material that is ready to go online, implementation becomes easier.
Base Your Design on Your Learning Objectives, Not Specific Technologies
e-Learning is not only about using technology to engage learners affordably; its about using technology to determine and meet desired training outcomes that align with the strategic objectives of your organisation, i.e. will your employees be able to contribute to the continued growth of your organisation after they have completed their training programme.
It is important to keep tis in mind when designing your e-learning programme. Returning to how the training will meet the needs of your strategic objectives will offer you a clear roadmap to the learning objectives that your learners will need to achieve.
Consider Microlearning For the Online Component
Learners, especially ‘mobile’ learners, tend to be disengaged from training unless it is short and reinforced at spaced intervals. To address the learning needs of the modern workforce with short attention spans, use a curriculum of microlearning modules instead of lengthy videos in your e-learning programme.
Microlearning is not just about slicing and dicing the content to make it bite-sized; each video module is its own little standalone learning module of a few seconds to 15 minutes or more, dealing with one learning objective – short enough for learners to retain the information and use it to improve their work performance.
What’s more important is that microlearning is one of the most cost-effective online learning solutions because its modular nature and multi-device support enable the creation, rollout, or update of digital content at break-neck speeds.
Some of FUEL’s microlearning methodologies include videos, PDFs, gamified nuggets, infographics, quizzes, podcasts, whiteboard animations, scenario/simulation/game-based assessments.
Decide Between Developing eLearning Inhouse Vs. Outsourcing
Does your internal team have the expertise to develop e-learning and, more importantly, do they know how to make the most of rapid authoring tools to scale up/down the development process to save time and cost?
You need to have answers to these questions right at the start of your e-learning programme implementation. If your internal team is not up to the task, consider outsourcing your e-learning programme to ensure you receive the best outcome for your new implementation.
What benefits does outsourcing offer over in-house development?
When you outsource your online learning development, it will go into the hands of an expert team of instructional designers, authoring tool experts, quality assurance analysts, project managers, and narrators who will ensure your courses are developed in the most cost and time-efficient manner.
If you cannot, for whatever reason, fully outsource your e-learning programme, FUEL’s Aranzi Learning Management System offers an easy-to-use LMS option that meets the needs of organisations who wish to implement e-learning.
e-Learning is more than just using technology to reach and engage learners. It needs a carefully crafted management and execution plan to get right. If you wish to do it right in the most cost-effective and time-efficient way, determining whether your will outsource or create your e-learning in-house will determine what steps you take next.
