ELearning vs Live Training by the Numbers

By: Justin Ferriman • December 5, 2013
Filed Under:

bythenumbersElearning or live training? Both have their advantages and are useful in specific situations. In most of my consulting projects, the client usually opts for some sort of blended approach – that is, lower-level content being delivered via elearning and more complex topics delivered via live seminars.

There were a few reasons we did this, but much if it came down to cost.

In fact, the most commonly cited statistic regarding the benefits of elearning is usually cost related, and for good reason. That said, it isn’t always about cost. Solid instructional design strategies are not only making elearning more cost effective, but also more effective than ever before.

If you are wondering why organizations are choosing elearning time and time again, consider the following statistics as originally presented by elearningmind.com.

Costs of Instructor-Led Training

For an organization with 1000 employees requiring eight hours of corporate training, the company can reasonably expect the following costs:

  • Training Facility – $62,500
  • Corporate Trainer – $60,000
  • Travel – $30,000
  • Accommodation – $20,000
  • Per Diem – $9,600
  • Administration – $7,520
  • Development of Materials – $25,000
  • TOTAL – $214,620 ($214.62 per employee)

Costs of ELearning

For an organization with 1000 employees requiring eight hours of corporate training (delivered in 10 elearning modules, each 20 minutes in length).

  • Design & Development of elearning – $33,600
  • TOTAL – $33,600 ($33.60 per employee)

Naturally these figures are general ball park figures, and the result of just one company’s experience in the industry, elearningmind.com.

For example, I didn’t see any mention of the cost for a learning management system, which can vary greatly in price.

Also, if there is an LMS in place, then there will also need to be one or more administrators for it, which adds to the cost of elearning deployment. Finally, if this is done in-house, then the cost of the development tool licenses needs to be considered.

Still, the end result is the same: elearning makes more sense financially. But does it always make sense? I believe that depends greatly upon the content and training objectives, but in most cases some component of elearning will prove beneficial.

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter