It is evident that organisations have become more accepting of the advantages that derive from online training/eLearning. However, organisations are constantly seeking methods to determine the positive impact on learners and on the organisation as a whole. Management and finance departments desire measurable gains and the ability to assess if online training initiatives are generating a return on their investment (ROI). Firstly, we are going to define what is meant by return on investment, and furthermore which factors allow this to be determined.
According to Corporate Finance Institute, ROI is a financial ratio used to calculate the benefit an investor will receive in relation to their investment cost. In more simple words, if an organisation decides to purchase a learning management system and rollout online training, what is the organisation going to gain from doing so. ROI is measured by dividing net income by the original capital cost of the investment. The higher the ratio, the greater the benefit earned. To be a success, the online training should be able to demonstrate clearly the gains and value of such.
We look at how online training can allow employees to progress and encourage the development of relations within the workplace and with clients. Although, online training is digital based learning, the relationships between clients of your organisations and the employees you are training is traditional, face to face and offers real human engagement. Your employees represent your brand, values and the standards of such. Online training can allow for these relationships to flourish and develop, in turn, giving your organisation competitive advantage.
Online learning allows the use of video, pictures, questions, tests, links, and quizzes for an interactive experience to increase employee engagement and operational efficiency; therefore, improving profitability. By providing accessible learning content to your employees through online training, this allows for growth and development within their roles. To retain employees, you need to show them that you value their proficiency, want to assist in their training and development and that you are dedicated to helping progress their careers.
For example, a vital part of your organisations on-boarding process is carrying out induction training. This can be completed online to free up your trainer’s time and to ensure message consistency. Ensuring that newly recruited employees have the knowledge of your brand values from the offset can allow for better relationships with customers. If a customer has a good experience dealing with employees from your organisation, they are more likely to use your service or product more, provide testimonials and even increase referrals. If you have a satisfied customer from the beginning of the interaction, you are going to have this customer for life. An easy way to determine ROI, is to look at the positive reviews received from customers, as well as satisfaction rating BEFORE your employees proceed with their e-learning. Employers can then monitor the increase of positive reviews and rise in satisfaction ratings to measure this. Positive reviews and a high satisfaction rating build your brand’s credibility among potential customers and could be the deciding factor for a sale.
In order to measure the gain from online training for this, initial business metrics need to be formed. By documenting staff turnover rates or retention rates, changes in workforce and time to productivity prior to training we can view the success of online training after it has been carried out. These are just a few methods to determine online training positive impact on learners, as well as measuring the ROI of such.
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Occupli offers our clients complete Safety Software Solutions around training records and delivery of online courses and inductions. Our innovative Learning Management System (LMS) manages training records, generates training reports, dashboards, schedules, reminders, automated certificates and more. Find out more here