eLearning In The Workplace: 7 Statistics That Prove Its Great Value
For employees in the workplace, school’s out — but learning’s still in.
In vogue, that is.
There is a greater trend towards incorporating learning into the workplace than ever before — it’s a solution that benefits both employers and employees, and it’s one that is being actively embraced and pursued by both.
Not only are businesses and companies more keen to offer industry-specific, on-the-job learning opportunities, but employees are also using these provided learning opportunities to weigh the pros and cons of a job offer.
In other words, learning opportunities are now considered incentives when on the job.
So how exactly do you make learning a part of the job?
Through eLearning and digital course delivery platforms, of course. And, while not all eLearning opportunities are created equal, here are seven compelling statistics that prove its efficacy.
Not only is workplace-based eLearning here to stay, but it also comes armed with a promise to enhance the workplace culture into a personal development experience.
1. Microlearning Makes Learning 17% More Effective
That’s according to the Journal of Applied Psychology. Meanwhile, learning professionals themselves are voting in favour of bite-sized or ‘micro’-learning.
- 94% of learners prefer microlearning, mainly because they can juggle the demands of their jobs better
- Microlearning creates 50% more engagement, says a report by Software Advice
- And, microlearning content is compact enough only to address one to two learning objectives, yielding four or five learned takeaways that remain top of mind, without overwhelming the learner
Besides the plethora of visible benefits for the employee in particular — ease of access, on-demand, and customised to their needs — the popularity of bite-sized eLearning courses could attribute its success to something else entirely:
Workers (especially those that are digital natives) are more prone to distractions and interruptions from other technologies.
Microlearning doesn’t demand too much time and drips out learning opportunities in short, digestible chunks.
In other words, learners are less likely to be distracted before actually completing the lesson.
2. 65% Of Millennials Say They Chose Their Jobs Because Of Personal And Professional Development Opportunities
Consider this:
- By 2020, Millennials will constitute 50% of the workforce (Source: Workplace by Facebook)
- Currently, only one-third of them feel their organisations are making use of their ample talent (Source: Workplace by Facebook)
- 66% expect to remain at their current employer’s workplace for less than five years (Source: Workplace by Facebook)
Not only are Millennials driving change and adoption in the workplace, eLearning and digital course delivery opportunities within the workplace are the key to attracting and retaining the powerhouse of talent Millennials promise to be.
3. 2,500 Companies Can Directly Connect eLearning To Higher Productivity
In a survey of 2,500 companies by the American Society for Training and Development, it was found that companies with ‘comprehensive training programs’ have 218% higher revenue per employee and 24% higher profit margins.
Employees both value the chance to grow professionally and seek actual progression through their roles.
But, of course, this directly benefits the operations of businesses who can use these new-found human capital skills to gain greater efficiency.
4. eLearning Opportunities Are Linked To Employee Happiness
And what about job satisfaction? If you think this is a ‘soft’ number, think again. The elusive ‘happiness’ at work means more than a reduction in sick days
A ‘happy’ workforce means a more cohesive culture. Employees have a reason, not only to show up to work but to actually be present. They know they can seek and derive satisfaction from the opportunities to grow both professionally and personally.
When 100 HR decision makers were surveyed by ILX Group, 51% said that ongoing eLearning and training had a direct effect on improvements in employee morale.
5. Subscription Learning Is Far More Beneficial For Employees
Subscription-based learning is connected to the ‘microlearning’ environment. It allows employees to access information, as and when they’d like.
But there’s another key reason why subscription-based models for eLearning work so well.
Let’s say an employee is working on a project with a very specific deliverable. These ‘bite-sized’ courses are usually part of an entire library of other such microlearning opportunities that employees can search and plan to implement while addressing a project or issue at work.
This kind of learning mimics the ‘agile development’ environment, where learning (and implementation) is highly responsive to a project or issue at hand.
6. AI Is Set To Personalize The Learning Experience
While everyone is touting the utility of AI in spheres like marketing, business insight, health and policy, what about AI in learning?
As employees progress along with their learning while on-the-job, AI-powered solutions can not only get predictive with which course to suggest next, they can also help employees personalize and choose their next learning experiences.
For example, if an employee is working on mastering a skill related to the job at hand, they can engage in a longer course that has several assignments dealing with the progressive mastery of this skill. But AI can also help them identify another course that will address a more immediate issue they’re looking to find a solution to.
And, based on these preferences, AI can adapt and guide the learner towards their next best opportunities.
7. Performance Support Can “Instantly” Respond And Create Learning Opportunities
In the workplace there are opportunities to learn by troubleshooting. This kind of ‘performance support’ can be either formal or informal — but it capitalizes on the incentives that eLearning delivers to employees.
Either performance reviews can be tied to new professional development opportunities — not as a reward but as a need-based response — or, more informally, employees can access a knowledge base ‘in the cloud’ when tackling an issue on a project.
This kind of support, while not strictly a course, still gives employees a chance to learn on the job in a way that is more likely to be retained by them.
Some are facts, some are trends, and a few of these statistics are the future that eLearning is inevitably progressing towards. No matter how you slice the apple, however, it’s become clear that eLearning for any organisation is the present standard.
And it’s poised to change the way employees experience work — from places they simply go, to opportunities for experiencing growth.
Download our free infographic here.
Originally published at darlodigital.com.
