There’s no denying that the world is becoming more digital every year, and the pace will continue to increase. While keeping some of the humanity in the workplace is important, progress is also important. That includes training, which is why digital learning solutions have many advantages over other training methods.
Nothing can replace a good conference or a big sales training event where everyone gets together. However, traditional workplace training methods are being challenged by innovative digital solutions.
Since the days eLearning was coming about, and digital was new, things have changed a lot. Now, eLearning is typically the standard, and the e almost seems redundant. Employees acquire new skills and knowledge almost exclusively digitally now.
If you’re still wondering if digital learning has advantages over traditional learning, this post explores the advantages and how digital has and will continue to revolutionize workplace training.
Discover how various digital training solutions will enable new possibilities to enhance your organization’s training programs and propel your workforce to new heights. Various online learning solutions allow employees to access workplace training anytime and anywhere without the constraints of conference rooms, physical boundaries, or nearly any other limitation, which is pretty impressive.
Digital learning solutions enhance organization training (if done well).
Digital learning solutions are both flexible and convenient. By leveraging these solutions over traditional training, organizations can break free from the confines of conventional methods and enable their employees to do more with less, which is what technology is all about.
After we get a baseline for digital learning solutions and hype it up a bit (because it deserves it), we’ll get into the advantages of digital learning solutions. I’ll highlight the numerous benefits that digital learning solutions bring to the table.
Don’t worry; I will emphasize their superiority over traditional training methods.
Ready to get a brief overview of digital learning solutions so we can get into how advantageous they are? I hope you answered yes!
What are Digital Learning Solutions?
Good question! No, really, it’s a good question because, at times, it can be a bit vague. For example, an instructor who’s training a group on a video meeting in real-time; that’s technically digital but something I’d consider more of a hybrid traditional/digital.
So then, what is a digital learning solution?
Digital learning is purely delivered digitally and is exclusively asynchronous. That excludes webinars, virtual instructor-led training, digital conferences, etc. Those are all hybrid solutions because they are synchronous learning solutions. That means the participants must be there with everyone else at a specific time.
When you think about digital training solutions, think about employees being able to learn when and where they want. Some great examples are the digital training solutions we create, such as eLearning, training videos, performance support (these can be traditional also, though), contextual help, and more.
Digital learning solutions are digital and almost always asynchronous.
Something like performance support is a bit of an anomaly. That’s because you can have a printed job aid which definitely isn’t digital. Or you could have a help article in a knowledge base that is most definitely digital.
It all boils down to two simple rules for what makes digital learning solutions digital learning rather than traditional.
They have these two things in common:
- It must be digital.
- It must be asynchronous or be able to be performed when and where employees desire.
When digital learning solutions are done right and presented dynamically and engagingly (with relevance!), they foster a deeper understanding of the subject matter and facilitate knowledge retention.
Now that you have a baseline for digital learning solutions, what about their advantages over traditional learning methods?
Advantages of Digital Learning Solutions over Traditional Learning Methods
Several advantages become apparent when comparing digital learning solutions with traditional learning methods. While you may lose a bit of the in-person human touch, digital learning still has many human touches because people create it.
That is unless you’re taking training that’s fully generative AI created, in which case we’re just going to say it: you shouldn’t have to put up with that. It’s not pleasant to watch a robotic fake person on screen with a robotic fake voiceover and a robotic fake script all generated by computers.
Generative AI simply isn’t good for building training; it’s not capable of doing a good job at any level beyond brainstorming. While it can be an assistant, it shouldn’t be used for creating content. More content is never the answer, and generative AI makes it too easy to create more.
But I digress. Let’s look at many of the benefits of digital learning solutions and why these advantages make them far superior to traditional learning methods.
The Flexibility and Convenience of Digital Learning Solutions
It’s a pain in the arse to get a group of employees together, even if they’re in the same office. Not to mention how monumental of a feat it is to get them together if they’re all from different locations.
Digital learning solutions eliminate all those challenges and work. With a basic digital infrastructure that most companies already have, employees can take training when and where they want.
While not all companies have a learning management system (LMS), having an LMS is not always necessary. That situation isn’t ideal, but it’s still possible. With an LMS, delivering digital training is even easier.
Or, with a simple subscription to a video hosting platform such as Vimeo, delivering digital training is a breeze. Digital learning solutions are both flexible and convenient.
Digital training is both flexible and convenient compared to traditional training.
With traditional training methods, employees often must adhere to strict schedules and travel to specific locations for training sessions. This can be challenging for individuals with busy schedules or in different geographical areas.
It’s hard to fully take yourself away from work for a huge chunk of time. Digital training can typically be completed in bits and pieces when the employee’s schedule allows.
Digital learning solutions eliminate these barriers by allowing employees to access training materials anytime, anywhere. Whether through a computer, tablet, or smartphone, people can learn what they need at their own pace and convenience.
This flexibility enables employees to fit learning into their work routines without disrupting productivity. It also makes it easy to introduce learning in the flow of work.
It’s flexible and convenient, but what about cost-effective? It’s got you there too.
Cost-Effectiveness of Digital Learning Solutions
Digital learning solutions are extremely cost-effective compared to traditional training methods. Digital training is often on par or cheaper than creating traditional training and can typically be done in less time.
We saved an organization tons of money by shortening a training session while making the training more realistic and effective. Traditional classroom-based training often costs venue rental, travel, accommodation, and printed materials.
Then there’s the complete lack of work that happens when at a longer and less effective training session. These costs can quickly add up, especially for organizations with a large workforce or multiple training sessions.
Digital training gets cheaper the more employees being trained.
Digital training is especially effective for corporate technical training because it can more accurately reflect technical systems and the process required to use them correctly.
Digital learning solutions eliminate many of the expenses incurred by traditional training. By delivering training content online, organizations can significantly reduce or eliminate costs associated with physical resources.
Digital training can also be delivered to more employees quickly without incurring additional costs. It doesn’t matter if you’re training 500 or 5,000 employees; digital training makes it much easier. It gets cheaper the more employees needing to be trained.
Personalized Learning Experiences with Digital Learning Solutions
Digital learning solutions empower employees to take control of their learning journeys. People can choose the topics they want to focus on and access relevant content anytime.
There are also great methods for helping employees learn only what they need. One of our favorites is to allow employees to test out of training. That means they’re not wasting time with something they already know.
It’s impossible to personalize traditional training for each employee. Everyone goes at the same speed, learns the same content, and has virtually the same experience. How impersonal!
Personalizing training ensures employees receive the most relevant and up-to-date information aligned with their job roles and responsibilities. There’s no excuse not to tailor corporate technical training to be more relevant to each employee or at least grouped by role.
By tailoring the learning experience, digital learning solutions foster a sense of ownership and motivation among employees.
Improved Accessibility and Availability of Training Materials
With traditional training methods, accessing training materials can be challenging for remote employees or those in different offices or branches. Digital learning solutions overcome these barriers by providing instant access to training materials regardless of geographical location.
Whether an employee is working from home, on a business trip, or at a different office site, they can easily access training. This accessibility ensures that all employees have equal opportunities for professional development regardless of their physical location.
Not only that, but employees who have disabilities require a bit of assistance sometimes. Depending on their needs, digital training can often accommodate them better. There are many ways to make digital training solutions (such as eLearning) more accessible.
Trackable Progress and Performance Evaluation
Digital learning solutions offer robust tracking capabilities that allow organizations to track progress and evaluate their performance effectively. While the methods available are often not used fully, they can be paired with performance data to tell a valuable story.
Traditional training methods often lack mechanisms for measuring individual progress beyond attendance records or end-of-course assessments. Digital platforms provide detailed analytics that can track much more than simply completion rates, quiz scores, and other relevant metrics.
More detailed metrics can be tracked with a modern LMS and LRS that supports xAPI. This data enables organizations to identify knowledge gaps, measure the effectiveness of training programs, and make data-driven decisions to improve future learning experiences.
Scalability of Digital Learning Solutions
Digital learning solutions offer unparalleled scalability compared to traditional training methods. With traditional classroom-based training, scaling up or down can be challenging due to logistical constraints such as venue availability, instructor availability, and costs.
Digital platforms, on the other hand, can accommodate an unlimited number of employees simultaneously. Whether an organization needs to train a small team or thousands of employees, digital learning solutions can scale effortlessly without compromising the quality of the learning experience.
Digital platforms can scale digital training seamlessly from 500 to 500,000 employees.
As mentioned before, digital learning gets cheaper the more employees to be trained. The cost of developing digital training solutions is often fixed because no trainers or coordination is required. Traditional training gets more expensive the more people you need to train.
This scalability ensures that organizations can meet their training needs efficiently and effectively while saving more money the more employees being trained.
Advantages of Pure Digital vs Hybrid Digital Learning Solutions
I mentioned briefly that there are traditional digital learning solutions, and then somewhere in between, there’s a hybrid. A hybrid solution would be virtual instructor-led training, which still relies on an instructor and fixed sessions but is delivered digitally.
With hybrid forms of training, you lose many of the advantages of digital learning solutions. They’re still dependent on a specific schedule, can’t easily be scaled, and are not nearly as consistent in what’s trained.
There are many advantages to pure digital learning vs hybrid. That’s why we don’t venture into instructor-led training, either virtual or live. There are too many drawbacks; unless there’s a compelling reason for instructor-led training, it’s more of a burden than a benefit.
Time To Empower Employees with Digital Learning Opportunities
Digital learning solutions empower employees like never before. We now have the power to learn anything at any time to perform our jobs better. That’s a pretty impressive feat when it used to be difficult to learn many things, and there were many gatekeepers.
No more!
The more digital learning solutions can be introduced into your organization, employees will have more opportunities to learn and grow in their roles. You can have custom corporate training and off-the-shelf training such as Udemy and LinkedIn Learning.
Digital learning empowers employees more than traditional learning.
Digital platforms provide a wealth of resources that employees can access anytime. Whether accessing archived webinars, reading industry articles, or learning how to better work with corporate software, employees can access more knowledge and expertise than ever before.
If you don’t consider digital learning solutions superior to upskill employees over traditional learning methods, then it’s time to think seriously about it. There are many more benefits to digital training solutions than drawbacks.
Wrap Up
Digital learning solutions offer numerous advantages in revolutionizing workplace training. From flexibility and convenience to personalized experiences and cost-effectiveness, these solutions provide organizations with powerful tools to enhance employee skills and knowledge.
By embracing digital learning solutions, organizations can break free from the limitations imposed by traditional training methods. The scalability, accessibility, and trackability offered by digital platforms enable organizations to deliver more for less.
So why wait?
It’s time for your organization to embrace the future of workplace training by harnessing the advantages of digital learning solutions. Ensure your employees have the tools to navigate your organization’s digital transformation.
It’s impossible to avoid technology, and custom eLearning solutions, as well as other digital training solutions, are a great way to make the change easier. Schedule a free consultation so we can learn more about your company’s transition to the digital, and we will likely be able to help.