All HR and business professionals know that to support company growth, you need to not only recruit top talent, but retain them as well. And one of the keys to retaining top talent is to make sure they’re happily engaged in their work role. Luckily, there are many tools employers can use to create an engaged workforce. Learning and development opportunities – particularly eLearning – is one of those tools.
A Glassdoor recruiting survey stated that the ability to learn and progress is one of the main factors candidates consider when choosing an employer. This is particularly true for Millennials, who make up much of today’s workforce. That’s why organizations are beginning to invest more in talent development.
So what kind of skills are employers providing training and development for? LinkedIn’s 2017 Workplace Learning Report shares the following:
Leadership/People Management – 52%
Career Development/Soft Skills – 44%
Customer Service – 40%
Compliance Training – 37%
Program/Project Management – 23%
IT – 22%
Sales – 20%
HR – 14%
Specific skills that fall under the top category – Leadership/People Management – include Coaching, Leadership Communication, Teams and Collaboration, Employee Engagement, Strategic Planning, Organizational Culture, and others. In many cases, smaller businesses are more likely to focus on training for technical skills, while larger organizations focus their sights more on career development and soft skills.
Regardless of the topic, instructor-led classes are currently the #1 way for training employees, followed by peer-to-peer coaching. But online training/eLearning is coming on strong in the #3 spot and is positioned for big growth.
LinkedIn reports that North America accounts for over half of the global corporate eLearning market share. It’s predicted to grow 11% and reach $31 billion in revenue by 2020. The big driver for growth in the eLearning market is the skyrocketing use of mobile devices and the continuing demise of the traditional work environment. Gone are the days of group training from 9-5 in a big conference room with a lavish lunch break (remember those, anyone??) Today, many employees have the flexibility of accessing learning content anytime and from anywhere. That’s just one benefit – here are others shared by eLearning Industry:
- 24/7 Accessibility – a big perk of eLearning is that many employees can have 24/7 access to their learning materials. They can learn at their own pace, and in the comfort of their own home or other convenient space. eLearning also offers flexibility to employers, as they can offer training without strapping their resources.
- Improved Pedagogy – eLearning tools can be highly sophisticated, and many incorporate slick technologies like gamification into their programs. This makes learning more fun and more engaging – ultimately improving knowledge absorption and retention.
- Greater Reach and Collaboration – especially for global companies, there’s no better way to enhance collaboration and reach staff all around the world than with eLearning. Teams from various geographies can easily work together in real-time, and subject matter experts can be tapped for their insights, regardless of where they’re located.
- Cost-Effective – traditional learning systems can be expensive. There can be trainer fees, travel costs, classroom rentals, and steep paper/documentation costs. eLearning is more affordable – employers don’t need to fork out big bucks for travel, classroom and other infrastructure expenses. eLearning also delivers an eco-friendly benefit; in its digital format, paper consumption is greatly reduced.
- Suitable for Millennials – today’s employees aren’t focused solely on what they’re bringing home in their paycheck. They also care about work-life balance, company culture, and improving themselves through learning and personal development. eLearning makes it easy for employers to offer more learning opportunities and instill a sense of worth in their workforce.
Online training and eLearning can serve many different purposes. At A.R. Mazzotta, we utilize online training to boost employee job performance and are continually evolving the services we offer. Our team provides training for a variety of popular software tools; once training is complete, employees are evaluated and their test scores determine if more training is needed. Our evaluation format is flexible – it can be completed at a company workstation, scheduled at one of our offices, or emailed to the candidate for completion at a time and location convenient for them.
eLearning is a fascinating and quickly-evolving topic that is changing the landscape of employee learning and development. To learn more, visit eLearning Industry.