Rosie Haighton, Community Manager of the Charity Learning Consortium answers some rapid fire questions about eLearning and engaging learners.
What are the benefits of eLearning?
- It’s easily accessible – Barnardo’s, for example, reached 54% more staff with eLearning compared to face to face.
- It reduces training costs – Victim Support saved £36,000 in one year alone by creating a dynamic, blended induction course.
- It can reduce other training costs – Addaction saved money and reduced training ‘no shows’ using the online booking tool in our Moodle learning management system.
Amongst plenty of other benefits, eLearning also takes less time away from work, offers consistency, and a faster response to changing business situations. And according to research members of the Consortium also save twice as much money as non-members in the sector. What’s not to love?!
What are the barriers to using learning technologies?
According to research into 30,000 learners carried out by Towards Maturity:
- 63% of learners say lack of time is the greatest barrier
- 25% can’t find what they need
- Only 5% of learners say they are influenced to complete online learning by the learning and development department – compared to 28% by their line managers
How does that compare to learning in your organisation?
What do learners say they really, really want…
According to the same research by Towards Maturity:
- 88% of learners say they like to learn at their own pace
- 76% want to do their jobs faster & better
- 87% know what they need to do their jobs better
So how can we use all of this knowledge to best effect?
Top tips for increasing learner engagement:
Put all the above together and my advice is:
- Don’t assume one size fits all: most learners know what they need, so involve them.
- Minimise barriers that lead to poor engagement: continuously promote eLearning, ensure that everyone knows what it is and where they can find it!
- Managers are closer to their teams than you are, so also involve your managers
- Support learning in the workflow, not just as a separate activity
Providing accessible eLearning, whilst engaging managers and staff = eLearning success!
Rosie Haighton is the Community Manager at the Charity Learning Consortium.