According to the 2018 Training Industry Report, the cost of training an employee varies according to the type and size of organization involved. The report states that, regardless of the industry, businesses with between 100 and 999 employees spend about $1,096, those with 1,000 to 9,999 employees spend about $941, and companies with 10,000-plus employees spend about $1,046 on training per employee.
Virtual Training Cost Savings
Of course, costs vary according to the type of training a company provides. Virtual training can save an organization a significant amount by simply cutting out (or at least down) costs such as transportation, meals, lodging, training room rental, paper products, etc. In fact, the average company saves 30% to 70% when they switch to a virtual learning environment.
Another factor to consider is the time value that virtual training programs give back to you. Virtual training sessions are easier to coordinate, start and end on time because you don’t have to wait for attendees to arrive and get settled and time lost from travel schedules are regained for productivity. Participants are able to work until the training course and they return to work right after it ends. Removing travel time and scheduling hassles adds significant value to VILT (virtual instructor-led training) as a training solution.
Value of Continual Training
It’s not so much about what training costs, but what not training employees will cost you. Employee satisfaction, employee engagement, higher productivity and employee enthusiasm to assist customer and other employees are all results of well trained employees.
A well-trained employee is not someone who simply received initial onboarding or “how-to-do-your-job” training. A well-trained employee is one who receives continual training and re-training to keep them up to speed with organizational and industry best practices and evolutions. While providing continual training (re-training) employers will incur a continual cost of training, but the value it provides makes the investment extremely cost effective.
Many organizations look at training as an expense and forget that it’s an investment.
Consider the following points:
- Untrained employees lack motivation.
- Untrained employees are more likely to use company resources improperly.
- Untrained employees lack knowledge about products, services and procedures, which will likely affect customer service and retention.
- Untrained employees have a huge impact on employee engagement and retention.
Untrained or undertraining your workforce is detrimental to employees, your company, and your clients.
On the other hand, providing adequate training and a positive corporate learning environment adds significant value in the following ways:
- Increased productivity
- Quality improvement
- Empowered employees
- Employees’ mindsets and actions with company values are aligned
- Fosters teamwork
- Reduces liability by ensuring compliance
- Risk reduction, especially in areas of safety training
- Prepares employees for internal growth and development
The value of implementing a strong, continuous corporate training and re-training program can’t be overstated. To reap the greatest benefit and assure the outcome you desire, it is important to research, and understand what a virtual learning environment can provide. It’s also critical to understand that meeting platforms are not designed for training and learning. If you’re looking for a virtual solution that is focused on training and learning needs look at Jigsaw Interactive. Jigsaw is the only solution that was built specifically for learning by providing multiple ways to get employees engaged during training and gives you analytics around learning, engagement and performance.
