person taking notes at a computer for online training

How to Pitch Online Training to Senior Management

By: Lauren Sternecky • July 13, 2023
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In the years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, more business leaders than ever are open to investing in online training for employees. But today’s online trainings are a far cry from the early days of slapdash virtual meetings. Done well, online training can be just as valuable–if not more valuable–than in-person classroom learning.

Online training also comes with countless benefits compared to in-person learning: It’s cost-effective compared to renting out conference space and hiring trainers to teach employees in batches. It’s also a great way for employees to learn at their own pace without disrupting their workflow.

Professional trainers and educators use online learning for numerous reasons. Here are five key benefits of online training to emphasize to your senior leadership team to help get them on board with the approach.

1. Scalability

When it comes to corporate-wide training initiatives, such as safety training or sexual harassment awareness, online learning is easier to scale than classroom learning. Corporate trainers can prepare modules and make them available to a few dozen—or a few thousand—employees.

Another benefit to tote: Online courses make it easy to facilitate large group learning, even if your company doesn’t have the resources to bring everyone together in person. Remote employees can access online modules from anywhere, which saves money on travel and accommodations.

2. Flexibility

By using online training models, you can ensure a consistent message. Learners can also refer back to the class as many times as they need to refresh their knowledge. It’s easy to modify modules and make changes quickly based on feedback from participants.

Here are two other flexible perks of online training:

Self-paced learning

No two employees learn in the same way. Emphasize to senior managers that online learning allows each person to complete a training at their own pace. One person might read through each slide multiple times, while another prefers to scan for new information.

Online learning makes it easy to break chunks of content into bite-size pieces. Plus, with various content formats available, learners can interact with the content that they find most motivating and engaging, including games, quizzes, and presentation notes. A single online training can appeal to many different learning styles.

Accessibility

For global companies, bringing everywhere to a centralized location can be an expensive logistical nightmare. Online training lets employees complete trainings at home, while traveling, or from offices around the globe. This also helps employees who are absent during scheduled training sessions and need to review materials on their own.

The option to complete a training remotely and independently can also improve the experience for learners who prefer a quiet environment. This may be especially valuable for very technical training modules, such as learning new techniques to enhance job performance.

3. Tracking results and ROI

Return on investment (ROI) drives business decision-makers in every area. Help your corporate leadership team see how online training can benefit the company’s bottom line.

By using a learning management system (LMS) like LearnDash, trainers can build reports to assess the effectiveness of your company’s courses. You can easily see which modules students struggle with, and course creators can act quickly to adjust course content. You can also use online surveys to easily collect and analyze feedback from students.

Another benefit of online training is the ability to pull detailed progress reports. You can quickly run a report to see which employees need to retake a training, for example, or which haven’t completed it yet. This helps trainers save time and stay organized, rather than manually keeping track of paper quizzes and assessments.

Quantitative metrics

Your company’s key metrics will depend on your training objective and your leadership team’s priorities. Here are some quantitative metrics you can track using your learning management system to pass along to senior management:

  • Time to complete training. Evaluate how long it takes students to get through course material. This metric can be useful for evaluating mandatory training sessions where an entire department or the whole company needs to master the material.
  • Pass rate or number of qualified employees. Report out the number of employees who have passed the certification covered in an online course, or look at the pass rate to determine how many employees succeed in the course. 
  • Reduction in errors. Poorly-trained employees often cause production errors. Online training helps level out the learning curve without disrupting workflow. Compare the number of errors before and after employees complete online training to quantify the impact of your training.

Qualitative metrics

Not all the benefits of online training can be measured numerically. Investigate the following qualitative questions to help you make your case to senior management in support of online training:

  • Does the proposed class or course have the potential to boost employee morale?
  • Will the training contribute to productivity? By working independently on online trainings, will employees have more time for other activities that contribute directly to the company’s bottom line?
  • Does the material improve communication skills? The better employees communicate, the less opportunity there is for misunderstanding and mistakes.

4. Interactive content

It’s true that in-person learning environments provide opportunities for learners to interact with each other and the instructor. But for some employees, online learning provides the optimal setting for learning new material.

Interactive online content can keep learners engaged while they work at their own pace. Instructors can create practice simulations and videos to demonstrate tasks. For example, if you’re training machine operators, an interactive online demo can be more illustrative than slides in a traditional classroom to help students master a new procedure. 

Reward-driven modules also provide feedback and demonstrate progress to help keep learners motivated, just as an instructor would in a classroom course or seminar.

5. Cost and time savings

It takes time to build an effective, engaging online course. But once it’s set up, online courses can have more longevity than in-person courses, and they’re repeatable with fewer instructor hours involved.

In the long run, online courses save time and money, which is an efficiency you can quantify for senior managers. Over time, the cost-benefit of online training pays for itself.

Virtual trainings also help reduce the amount of paper and printed materials you need for your courses. If your company values sustainability, emphasize that online courses reduce waste and save money on printing costs. 

Win support from senior management for online training

Today’s learners, especially younger employees, often prefer to learn online. Moving corporate training online shows that your company aligns itself with modern technology and learning preferences.
Ready to get started with online training for your company? Explore the LearnDash demo to see our features in action. Learn more about how our plugins can help improve learning outcomes for your employees.

Lauren Sternecky