The concept of adopting an e-learning platform for your business can provide a wide-range of advantages and cost savings.

An e-learning platform for business can primarily be useful in training remotely home-based staff on new initiatives such as new campaigns for sales staff. It can also be an excellent method to deliver product training to new and existing customers, without the need for instructors to travel to your clients location.

For training providers it can offer an alternative stream of revenue by enabling long-distance learning as well as support for your existing face-to-face training courses.

In a recent article at mybusiness.co.uk, Matthew Seldon, Business Development Manager at Ecordia explained the cost-savings and productivity increase your business could be benefiting from by using online learning systems:

E-learning and E-assessment has been quietly seeping into staff development programmes amongst larger organisations. Small businesses are increasingly looking at ways to utilise E-learning packages for their staff, but many are either too busy with the day-to-day running of their business or not convinced of the benefits to pursue implementing such packages.

The benefits of E-learning and E-assessment may not be obvious to small businesses that are stretched for human resource. However it is exactly these types of business that are in a position to gain massively from an investment into e-learning. By utilising flexible technology, employees can have access to learning materials, work portfolios and guidance anywhere at anytime.

Off-site training tends to be ‘one size fits all’ – although specific, it can be too rigid and does not always engage the learner. It happens at a set time in a set location – whereas online training is accessible any time and can be tailored to the individual’s needs.

The Internet is a crucial aspect of E-learning. It allows support of the learner in real-time and increases motivation by providing an engaging medium. Staff can collaborate with others such as tutors, colleagues and with their employer, ensuring that they feel valued and part of a team. Moreover, they may view their organisation differently, not just as a workplace, but also as an arena for personal development.

Knowledge management is an over-used term by business consultants, but it is an important success factor. The issue is to retain and build on a firm’s knowledge to provide a competitive advantage. E-learning technology can help, not least through increased staff retention, but also by its development – the courses and learning packages can be honed over time, increased in quality, and can include specific learning that relates to your business. Managers have much less control over off-site training since much of the knowledge gained is transient…it leaves when your staff do.

So how can this learning and technology improve the bottom-line? Expensive training days out of the office can stop, where not only the actual cost is very high, but also there is the cost of not having staff available for that time. Increased staff retention means reduced recruitment costs, motivated staff means increased productivity and knowledge retained means increased long-term efficiency.

If these cost-savings and increased productivity opportunities sound appealing to you then WebsContent Ltd can offer you a low-cost introduction to e-learning for your business.