Corporate e-learning: Strategies for Employee Training and Development
Publié le 27 July 2024
Improve your organization’s corporate e-learning process with strategies for employee training and development.
The modern workplace has never been more dynamic. Technological advancements and evolving business landscapes are constantly reshaping how we approach employee development. Nowadays, companies need an agile and innovative approach to keep their workforce skilled and motivated. There is one such solution — corporate e-learning. It offers a flexible, scalable, and effective approach to employee training. Corporate e-learning strategies have become cornerstones that meet the diverse needs of modern organizations.
Yet, how do you deliver and make sure these materials really work? Corporate video production services can play a pivotal role in enhancing these strategies. Utilizing professionally created videos can boost the effectiveness and engagement potential of e-learning programs. In this article, we’ll walk you through the best strategies for corporate training and development via e-learning.
Why E-Learning?
E-learning started a revolution not only in the corporate landscape but across industries. Now, it is irreplaceable for employee training. Let’s take a look at the main reasons for using this tool when creating your own corporate e-learning strategy:
- Cost-effective. It is no secret that IBM saved around $200 million once the company turned to e-learning. This is just one example of how companies can benefit from implementing a corporate e-learning strategy. Why does it work? By eliminating expenses related to physical training materials, travel, and venue rentals, e-learning allows organizations to allocate resources more efficiently.
- Flexible. Unlike traditional education systems, e-learning allows employees to access training materials at their convenience. This is extremely useful for remote workers or those with varying schedules. A corporate training development strategy
provides convenience – whether employees are in the office, at home, or in third places, e-learning offers the opportunity to engage with educational content with equal efficiency.
- Personalized. The one-size-fits-all approach in education was one of the main reasons why some people were less qualified than others. With e-learning, it is different. In a proper corporate e-learning and development strategy, personalized learning paths can be created based on employees’ roles, skill levels, and career aspirations. This customization enhances the learning experience, and ensures that employees receive relevant and targeted training.
- Scalable. Corporate e-learning strategies are incredibly limited without scalability. If the workforce expands, e-learning platforms can easily accommodate additional users without significant increases in cost or logistical complexity. What is even more important, with scalability, training programs can keep pace with organizational growth and evolving business needs.
Moreover, 94% of employees are willing to remain with a company that invests in their learning and development. This means that besides being highly effective, this tool is in demand!
Training and Development: Two Definitions
Both these terms are essential for corporate learning because they signify two often consecutive stages. Yet, while all employees should undergo training, the development is necessary only for some of them. Let’s figure out the differences:
Training
Training refers to the process of equipping employees with specific skills or knowledge necessary for their job roles. This stage is crucial for ensuring that employees can perform their tasks effectively. Training often focuses on immediate and practical application in order to bridge the gap between what employees currently know and what they need to know to succeed in their roles.
It is also important to understand that some management solutions require employee training just to learn the frameworks and how they work. So training can be vital for learning how the company’s ecosystem works, and how to fit in.
Development
Development is a more comprehensive process that requires longer, and more complex sessions. It focuses on building the capabilities required for future roles and broader responsibilities. The skillset established at the training stage is supposed to reach another level. A corporate e-learning and development strategy should be designed to foster professional and personal growth, and its main goal is to prepare employees for new responsibilities or positions.
Top Corporate e-learning Strategies for Employee Training
Now that you understand the importance of corporate e-learning and development strategy, it is time to consider what are the top approaches you can use in your own solution.
Customized Learning Paths
Customization is vital these days. Assess your employees’ specific training needs, and approach them with relevance and engagement in the corporate e-learning strategy. How exactly can you personalize the learning plan? The best way is to evaluate current employees’ skills and their level of expertise and offer learning materials that will help them reach the next stage.
Story-Based Learning
Everyone loves a good story. Moreover, it’s safe to say that storytelling is one of the most important tools for the modern world. According to Lani Peterson, a psychologist, storytelling is about the exchange of ideas, and growth – which is the essence of learning.
This corporate digital learning strategy uses narratives and storytelling techniques to facilitate learning and development within a professional setting. Stories provide context that makes the material more relatable, and easier to understand. Employees can see how concepts and skills apply in real-world scenarios.
Collaborative Learning
The power of community is hard to underestimate. Suppose there are employees with similar needs, foster collaboration and knowledge sharing between them. Encourage employees to learn from each other’s experiences and insights. Bonus? You will have a more cohesive team in the end! One more thing you should know: while a good corporate e-learning strategy can boost strictly professional skills, collaborative learning may have an impact on transferable skills as well.
Scenario-Based Learning
Want to drive a specific behavior in response to specific situations? Then use the scenario-based approach in training. This corporate learning strategy uses an instructional approach that sets realistic, context-rich scenarios to promote active learning. It helps employees to actively engage in a particular working scenario, and apply skills right away. It could be very good if your company runs a co-op corporate training strategy.
AR/VR
This is an example of the most immersive learning experience. Yet, if you want to implement AR/VR as a part of a corporate digital learning strategy, consider your budget first: it is very expensive. Your corporate learning strategy can benefit from it, and employees will be highly engaged in the process if you find a sweet spot between a budget and an employee’s needs.
Microlearning
Everyone has heard about shortening attention spans, and many have actually experienced it. Why don’t you implement a corporate e-learning and development strategy that takes into account this knowledge? These so-called bite-sized pieces of information can help your employees learn quickly without overwhelming them.
Quiz-Additions to Any Corporate Training Strategy
Let’s be honest – our memory skills are less trained simply because we can look up many things on Google. So, a good approach to knowledge retention might be quizzes. They enhance learning outcomes by reinforcing material and assessing comprehension. Plus, they are just fun!
Bonus: Add Personalized Feedback
While customization matters, a solution that will help to enhance the outcome of employee training is feedback. It helps to establish a productive loop and grow confidence.
It also allows for adjustments in the corporate learning strategy to better meet the unique needs of each employee, resulting in more effective skill acquisition and knowledge retention.
Conclusion
There is a famous Cammy Bean quote: “It’s time to step up to the plate and get passionate about your work and commit to making e-learning courses that don’t bore people to tears, but instead inspire and motivate them to learn a new skill, change a certain behavior, or improve their performance.” If you think about it, most corporate e-learning strategies are embodying this thought. It is a standard that measures the quality of corporate training development strategy.
In essence, the journey towards effective corporate e-learning is not just about imparting knowledge—it’s about creating comprehensive, matter-of-fact learning experiences that resonate with employees’ needs and drive organizational success.
