There is so much need for online training because employees have to be perfect at their jobs. The companies are also switching to e-learning because of the ongoing pandemic, due to which the employees can’t attend training in person. However, small and medium businesses(SMB) can still save money even when they implement e-learning. It’s because they can still use the content of instructor-led training(ILT).
Companies are now looking forward to converting ILT to e-learning because it eliminates travel costs required for attending such events.
Also, when ILT is transitioned to e-learning the sessions are shorter by 50% in duration, requiring lesser time to attend them.
Although the learners might not be interacting with other learners in e-learning because it’s asynchronous, they still have the privilege of talking to them, in an online community integrated with an LMS. Apart from being time-saving, e-learning has better retention rates than ILT. The retention rate is 3 times more in e-learning(24-60%) than ILT(8-10%)So, in e-learning the need for repetition is decreased because of better retention. Instead of repetition of the old material, employees can be given new material to study in e-learning.
Reuse the content
Yes, the SMBs can use some content used in instructor-led training. E-learning companies USA can help you modernize your PDF content by either introducing space between paragraphs or adding some infographics.
The company’s objective while designing an e-learning course must be to reduce the time learners devote to learning, hence such a course must include the most necessary information without which learners would be inept at their jobs. E-learning courses are delivered to all the audience simultaneously, rather than the ILT where different sessions are organized for different learners at distinct times.
Be aware of LMS costs
The SMBs can ensure that money is saved on e-learning too. It’s better that before getting an LMS, have complete knowledge of costs. For example, an LMS requires maintenance costs too, so ask your vendor about them beforehand. The LMS must also have support systems available like 24/7 chat and phone support etc. which allow you to talk to the vendor any time. If a vendor has high costs for the same, get them to know in advance before buying the LMS. Don’t opt out of such options because sometimes such help is quite vital.
Don’t fire instructors
When one changes from Instructor-led training to e-learning, it does not mean you don’t require instructors anymore. The instructors are still needed because they can organize VILT now. They can also send emails to prospects about such sessions and answer their queries through the LMS. They can also check employees on how much time they spend on completing a course and act as an SME and make course modifications accordingly.
How to get an LMS?
The SMBs also need to know that although an LMS must be implemented in time, they must take sufficient time in choosing one. As an SMB, you can get an LMS consultation about which vendor you should select. Such a consultant can help shortlist one out of e-learning companies USA for LMS provision. An LMS directory is also useful because it has categorized the available LMSs according to the different niches like those meant for financial industries, aviation, hospital, and healthcare, etc. You can check an LMS as per the availability of different features such as user upload which allows users to add content or attendance tracking which allows them to track event attendance like how many people have registered for an event such as a webinar. So, based on all these features, you can make a purchase. An LMS which has an inbuilt authoring tool can be used to create MCQ quizzes, Fill-in-the-blanks, Drag and Drop exercises, and True/False questionnaires and add them to the course. You can also create interactive content, like adding hyperlinks that direct users to pop-up windows in such LMS. This way, users can be told fun facts about a term which they can recall later easily. Hyperlinks can also be added for PowerPoint slides, images, podcasts, and videos, etc.
When designing the assessments for an e-learning course, make sure that you include all the questions which are absolutely essential for learners to answer.
There can also be popup quizzes added in the middle of the lesson to test the user at the end of one slide. Through these quizzes, learners don’t doze off while browsing through the course.
An LMS directory also has customer feedback so that you know what are the drawbacks of the product too.
Sometimes, e-learning might not be the best solution because the learners might need face-to-face chats with the instructors. So in that case a blended learning approach is beneficial so that learners get a chance to meet the instructor once a week after they have gone through an e-learning module.