Numerous businesses worldwide continue to operate remotely due to the post-pandemic reality and because they are looking for new ways to meet their customers’ needs. As a result, employees need to learn new skills to keep up with the new standards. However, figuring out how to engage them with their work might be challenging. Therefore, if your business is looking to increase employee retention and, at the same time, employee engagement, consider providing your team with the most effective learning methods, such as online employee training. Research shows that “e-learning boosts retention rates by 25 to 60 percent, compared to retention rates of 8 to 10 percent with traditional training”.
What is online employee training?
Also called virtual learning, online employee training is delivered in various forms, such as videos, webinars, virtual classrooms, interactive simulations, and online assessments. Companies often benefit from online training to instruct their employees on new policies, procedures, products, or services. Digital training can also be used to reinforce skills or convey new knowledge from the industry field. At the same time, it is a way for employees to benefit from the flexibility to learn at their convenience.
Online employee training software is a digital platform that enables companies to create, conduct, manage, and track employee training online from any place at any time. Participants can but don’t have to take part in the course simultaneously, which makes it more convenient and flexible than traditional classroom-based training. Online training also allows companies to ensure the development of employees who work remotely or are located in different locations.
The pandemic has shown that essential training cannot wait for the end of social distancing. Luckily it can be easily delivered through learning management systems, which also enable progress tracking and analytics of learners’ performance allowing companies to assess the effectiveness of their training programs.
What is employee training software?
Online employee training software is a digital platform that enables companies to create, conduct, manage, and track employee training. This centralized solution enables training content delivery to employees, regardless of location, allowing them to access training materials anytime and anywhere. Thanks to the LMS functionalities, companies can develop training programs, from brief, one-time classes to regular training sessions. The most advanced online employee training platforms enable businesses to deploy their training programs and measure ROI effectively. This kind of software allows organizations to create and deliver customized training content to meet their specific needs and goals and track employee progress and performance in real-time. By using online employee training software, businesses can save time and money by reducing the need for in-person sessions and allowing employees to complete training on their own schedules.
Employee online training courses vs. online learning
Although they sound similar, they both involve using digital tools and resources to facilitate learning; there are some key differences between the two. Organizations typically design employee online training courses to teach specific skills or knowledge relevant to their employees’ job roles or industries. These courses are often mandatory and may be delivered through an LMS. On the other hand, online learning is a broader term encompassing a wide range of digital educational resources and experiences. Online learning can take many forms, from self-paced courses on platforms and videos to online communities where learners can connect and share knowledge. In addition, online learning is often more self-directed and might focus on personal interest. Meanwhile, online employee training helps learners to understand and master the skills and processes strictly focused on their professional role, including cross-functional courses, professional development classes, continuous learning programs, etc.
How does online employee training work?
You can deploy employee training software, no matter the size of your company and the industry. In order to launch online employee training in an organization, a learning platform should be implemented. Having completed the technical part of the deployment, an LMS is ready to be populated with learning materials and courses. Administrators assign courses to users, and the training is ready for launch. The process of online employee training typically follows a sequence of steps, starting from identifying the training needs up to the learner evaluation. Online employee training offers several advantages, including flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. It allows employees to learn at their own pace and provides access to training materials from anywhere with an internet connection. Additionally, it allows the employer to train a large number of employees simultaneously while reducing the cost of traditional training methods.
Benefits of LMS for online training
If you want to demonstrate that you’re invested in employees’ professional development, providing them with employee online training courses is definitely something for you to consider. Here are some of the benefits of using LMS for online training:
- Accessibility and Flexibility: With an LMS, learners can access training materials and courses at any time, from anywhere, with an internet connection.
- Customization: Learning management platform allows organizations to customize the learning experience and meet their specific training needs. Organizations can adjust content and assessments or create personalized learning paths.
- Centralized Management: LMS makes it easy for trainers and administrators to manage the training process from a centralized location. They can track learners’ progress, monitor completion rates, and generate reports to assess the effectiveness of the training.
- Cost-Effective: Online platform eliminates the need for physical training facilities, travel costs, and printed training materials, making it a cost-effective training solution.
- Improved Engagement: LMS provides a range of tools and features to keep learners engaged, such as multimedia content, interactive quizzes, and social learning features. Gamification features like points and badges can also motivate learners to engage in the training.
- Scalability: A learning management system can handle a large number of learners and courses, making it an ideal solution for organizations of all sizes.
LMS for online training – what industries does it support?
Online employee training software is used for a number of reasons, though the below are the most popular ones:
- Onboarding new employees. Online training helps businesses deliver all pertinent information to newcomers and prepare them for the things to come. It is individually tailored throughout the new employee’s expertise. It should include the essentials all new employees have to know.
- Continuous professional development. Online training can support organizations in improving their employees in specific areas of interest.
- Compliance and corporate culture. Global compliance standards and corporate culture courses are vital for many industries, and they can be easily achievable with online training.
- Technical skills development training. Depending on the business needs of the company, training programs can be implemented to enhance the technical skills of your workforce.
- Sales training that boosts sales teams by educating their sales strategies and novel methods to sell. As well as introducing to sales prospecting tools and techniques.
Online employee training for different industries
An LMS can be used in a variety of industries to provide online training and development to employees, customers, and other stakeholders. Some of the industries that commonly use LMS for online training include:
- Corporate training: LMS is widely used in corporate environments to deliver training programs to employees, vendors, partners, and franchises, including onboarding, compliance training, and professional development.
- Education: LMS is used in educational institutions to provide online courses and distance learning programs.
- Healthcare: LMS is used in the healthcare industry to provide online training for medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and technicians.
- Government: LMS is used in government agencies to deliver online training to employees and contractors, including compliance training, cybersecurity awareness, and emergency response training.
- Non-profit: LMS is used in non-profit organizations to provide training for volunteers, staff, and stakeholders, including fundraising and advocacy training.
- Banking: Financial LMS is a great way to maintain compliance, efficiently manage training materials, and secure sensitive data.
- Retail: LMS is used in the retail industry to provide product training, customer service training, and compliance training for employees.
- Hospitality: LMS is used in the hospitality industry to provide training for employees in areas such as customer service, food safety, and hotel operations.
- Manufacturing: LMS is used in the manufacturing industry to provide training for employees in areas such as workplace safety, compliance, and quality assurance.
- Telecommunication services: LMS is used in the telecommunication industry to enhance service quality, improve learning efficiency, and achieve optimal outcomes in a world that increasingly relies on communication.
Looking for the best online employee training platform?
The future of online employee training tools is exciting. They help businesses in leveling up their employees and unlock workforce potential. Using learning management platforms can support your organization in transforming your team and providing them with job-ready skills. LMS provides a convenient and effective way to deliver and manage online training, offering benefits that enhance the training experience for learners and the management of training programs for organizations. It is also a versatile tool that can be used in many industries to provide online training and development programs for various audiences. If reading this article made you reflect on the possible scenarios for your company, do not hesitate and get in touch. Request a free demo, and we are going to take care of the rest.