Benefits of e-learning for employees and advantages in the workplace

The benefits of e-learning continue to push on in the corporate sector. From correspondence courses to fully online training. Distance education has evolved so much that it has reached its peak with e-learning.

Today it is no longer a novelty but a booming industry. Companies are implementing e-learning to train their staff and accelerate internal processes.

But, what is e-learning, and why is it so attractive? 

To better understand e-learning, let’s look at its benefits for employees and their advantages in the workplace.

What is e-learning?

If you were to explain to your parents what e-learning is all about, the most straightforward answer would be that e-learning is the abbreviated term for electronic learning, which refers to online teaching and learning through the Internet and technology. 

It is also known as virtual teaching, online training, tele-training, or distance learning, which are not precisely synonymous but can be similar.

Remote education wasn’t born yesterday

Before e-learning, other forms of education -alternatives to face-to-face- evolved over the years.

Curiously, the appearance of a new generation has never meant the total disappearance of the previous one. Both students and trainers have been adapting them to their reality.

These are the four generations of distance education: 

1.) Correspondence Teaching: it was born at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, supported by the development of the printing press and postal services. In its origins, elementary training programs were based on written texts that reproduced traditional face-to-face classes.

2.) Multimedia teaching: The 1960s brought us an evolution of the written text, which could be combined with audiovisual resources such as radio or video.

3.) Telematic Teaching: In the mid-1980s, computer equipment arrived, and computer-assisted teaching with it. 

4.) Finally, e-learning arrived in the mid-1990s with the creation of the first virtual campuses. 

And it is still constantly evolving!

Benefits of e-learning for employees

Today many companies, from the largest to the smallest, use e-learning to manage the training of their employees: to improve their skills, teach them new tools, or train them for other positions.

Also, 100% remote positions (or at least the hybrid model) are becoming more and more widespread, so it does not make much sense to stay tied to a face-to-face system. 

The world is becoming increasingly internationalized and so are companies. E-learning is one more consequence of this fact. Right now, a Google employee based in Ireland can work from Chipiona, in Cadiz. 

But what are the main advantages of e-learning in the workplace?

As we’ve mentioned, the workplace is now primarily digital, and consequently, most training courses in the business world are carried out digitally. 

In fact, many companies are digitizing induction plans that make the onboarding process for employees faster, incorporating dynamic and interactive learning materials in e-learning courses, making training more motivating and enjoyable, or incorporating gamification elements, which add the entertainment we like to achieve in the training process. 

These are some of the pros of e-learning for your employees:

Reduced learning time

For an employee, traditional training can be pretty time-consuming because it depends on the schedule of the face-to-face instructor to complete the training sessions. But an LMS (a virtual campus platform) is available anytime, allowing employees to study whenever they want, whether on the road, at lunch, or home.

Helps your employees to be more training-friendly

New ways of teaching that promote more audiovisual, interactive, or gamified content can increase your employees’ commitment to comply with their training. 

Cost reduction for your company

In these cases, all the contents are digital and require investing between 40 and 60% less time than face-to-face training. It becomes a very cost-effective solution, as it allows to no more having to travel to attend a training course.

It is only necessary to periodically update the software of the training platform or the multimedia contents so that the e-learning courses can continue to be used over time, thus making the most of the available resources.

Personalized and individualized learning

Employees, as online students, can set the desired pace since each person is different or has a different role within the company. Online courses are progressive, making learning easier for the employee. In addition, it is essential to bet on personalized training that helps boost strengths. This will be key to attract and retain employees, especially when young companies, where around 50% of workers are Millennials.

Conclusion

As you can see, the benefits of e-learning are many and very valuable, from cost savings to the homogenization of the message to be transmitted. So if you are thinking of taking the plunge, now is the perfect time to adopt this form of learning.

Employee identification with SMOWL

If you are still wondering if e-learning is effective, the answer is yes, as long as you can certify that the entire educational process has been completed effectively and safely. 

And SMOWL can help you with this task. Our software integrates easily with your learning management system (LMS), allowing you to identify the employees completing the training and certifying that that identity is correct. 
This way, you will be able to confirm and legitimize learned skills from your employees. Try our tool with one of our free trials, and you will discover another of the great benefits of e-learning: its security and effectiveness.