7 Types of eLearning Methods for Corporate Training

Employees are an integral part of any organization, which is why it’s crucial to form personal connections with them. For companies, this translates to making a conscious effort to retain employees by all means possible. Employees look for an opportunity to grow, and if an organization is able to provide them with that, they are more likely to stick around.

Employers can ensure employee loyalty and retention by doubling down on corporate training. Traditionally, corporate training was dependent on instructors who have expertise in subjects relevant to the training needs of an organization. The organization would then hold seminars, workshops, and training sessions led by the instructor(s). All this has changed with the introduction of the internet and digital learning. At eLearning Partners, we customize versatile multimedia training modules for improved personal connections at your company. We specifically specialize in producing custom micro-learning curriculums up to 8 times faster than our competition without sacrificing quality. Also, we created this blog post to share with you everything you need to know about eLearning.

What is eLearning and Custom eLearning Development?

eLearning is any learning material delivered via the internet. eLearning has found its way into the world of corporate training as a form of valuable communication and real engagement. It has many benefits for both the employer and the employees – not only is it highly efficient, but it is also cheaper to execute. Custom eLearning Development provides convenience, flexibility, reliability, and scalability to any corporate training program. However, it is difficult to choose between the plethora of options available. Here are some of the eLearning methods that a company can include in its corporate training program:

1. Web eLearning

Web eLearning is based on website content. Employees can access this website from their personal device or through the company’s internet. Websites provide employees with the flexibility to learn as and when they can or want to. It does not limit learning to a particular space and allows users to access the information whenever they wish to do so. A website also gives the flexibility to add multimedia, such as text, videos, images, and more. This adds a new dimension to eLearning and makes it more interactive and engaging for the employees. It also familiarizes employees with web-based tools so they can get acquainted with modes of internal communication at your company.

2. Virtual Classrooms

Virtual classrooms are basically the modern version of an instructor-led corporate training session. This allows both instructors and attendees to be involved in the process. Instructors are present in the classroom with the help of video software while attendees are present physically. This can also be done remotely via conferencing software. This eLearning model encourages collaboration, ideation, and engagement, helping to create an environment for personal connections. The ‘presence’ of an expert allows back and forth questioning, a live learning experience, and a human element that other modes lack.

3. Video Modules

Video modules are produced by learning videos that have been made in advance for the reference of the employees. These modules can be animated or with a human instructor. The opportunities are endless when it comes to creating videos for a corporate training program. This is also a highly-flexible mode of eLearning, as the videos can be accessed by users anytime they want. They also have the ability to play the videos as many times as they wish. When it comes to grasping a concept, videos often perform much better than text because humans love graphic-based delivery. The colors, seamless explanation and video format make eLearning easier for the employees.

4. Specialized eLearning

Every organization has different corporate training needs and every employee or group of employees has different needs when it comes to their corporate training. In such scenarios, mass-produced and general corporate training modules just don’t cut it. With custom eLearning development, there is the flexibility of having the ability to choose and customize corporate training programs. With eLearning, employers can establish a personal connection with their employees as they are able to accurately fulfill their needs and not have them learn something that they might either already know or have no need to learn.

5. Social Media Training

The world has gone social and employers are just catching up, especially when it comes to corporate training. This eLearning model creates a collaborative environment for the employees and taps into the power of social media. Through a platform like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, this program delivers the required knowledge and does so in a cohesive way that encourages teamwork and collaboration. If social media is a key part of your company, this will improve employees’ familiarity with important methods of internal and external communication.

Related: eLearning vs. Microlearning: What are the Differences?

6. Microlearning

Microlearning refers to the delivery of eLearning content in the form of information nuggets. Each module spans is typically not more than 10 minutes and comprehensively addresses one learning objective at a time. With microlearning, each module focuses on just one topic, this allows users and readers to retain information in a more efficient manner. With microlearning, corporate training reaches a new level of efficiency as it allows better retention rates and finds a way to battle the forgetfulness curve. After adopting this eLearning method, the corporate training strategy dives into establishing a strong personal connection with its employees. The average attention span of humans is not more than 8 minutes and microlearning battles this with create short, relevant and concise pieces of eLearning modules that make corporate training more of a success.

7. Mobile Learning

When it comes to eLearning, accessibility plays a crucial role. What better way to stay accessible than to go the mobile route. Through mobile eLearning, employees have access to the needed information at the comfort of their homes or even during the train ride to work. Mobile learning puts corporate training right into the palms of the employees thus allowing them the freedom to refer to it as and when they wish.

Eight of The Top eLearning Platform Providers

Many companies are using external online course providers to train their employees. And this doesn't necessarily require their staff to click through dull presentation slides anymore. Numerous learning platforms offer high-quality courses based on modern video content and in-course interaction. Below, we present an overview of the six best e-learning providers for companies of all types – from medium-sized to large organizations.

Please note some of the links below may be affiliate links. We receive monetary benefit when you purchase using our links.

Teachable

Teachable is an online business platform that provides Online Courses and workshops. They have more than 100,000 instructors who offer e-learning opportunities focused on leadership development, education enrichment, and expanding businesses. Additionally, they provide customizable resources and learning tools to create your online course or coaching business while providing financial support with payouts, taxes, affiliates, and authors!

Plans Available: Basic, Professional and Business

Starting Cost: $39/user/month (billed annually)

Kajabi

Serving over 60 million students with the support of 50,000 plus users in 120 countries, Kajabi empowers influencers, experts, and entrepreneurs to build a successful business online. They provide a single platform that can house everything, including your website, online course, blog, emails, products, analytic reports, and more! Kajabi also provides a more efficient way of combining marketing automation and making sales using their ‘Pipelines’ tool.

Plans Available: Pro-Plan

Starting Cost: $319/user/month (billed annually)

Coursera

Coursera is the world's largest platform for online courses from universities and other establishments, with some courses already exceeding one million enrolled learners.

Coursera for Business grants access to their professional learning portal. You can compile courses for your employees yourself or get suggestions from the Coursera experts. Also, providing Learning analytics tools can be used to evaluate the learning behavior based on data reports.

Plans available: Team / Enterprise

Starting Cost: $400/user/year

Udemy

Udemy was founded by a collection of independent experts in their respective fields. The Learning and development departments can find the relevant content at Udemy for Business. At Udemy, companies are granted access to 2,500 of the most relevant training courses. 

Plans available: Team / Enterprise

Starting Cost: $360/user/year (up to 20 employees)

Skillshare

Skillshare provides a large number of short, practical video lessons (often under an hour long). It's about adding instant and practical skills that they can use on a day-to-day basis. Skillshare for Teams offers over 15,000 short video lessons.

Plans available: Starter / Enterprise

Starting Cost: $99/user/year

EdX

EdX is known for its high-quality video courses from top U.S. universities like Harvard and MIT. It's the only non-profit organization among the major course providers.

EdX for Business provides thousands of courses for corporate customers. Like Coursera, courses can be integrated into the corporate Learning Management System, and in-depth learning analytics data is available. For a price, you must request a quote and negotiate on individual bases.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning evolved from Lynda.com and other predecessor platforms. It uses insights from its professional network about the skills that are in high demand among employers.

With LinkedIn Learning for Business, it provides learning content that is intended to close the skills gap between existing and required skills. Prices need to be agreed individually. Interested organizations can test the available functions with a free demo version.

Benefits of E-learning

Your education does not have to stop because of a pandemic. Online learning caters to the modernized learner, and it's rising in popularity, especially during the COVID-19 situation. Here are five advantages of e-learning.

1. Saves Time and Money

When it comes to online learning, you can access the platform anywhere and anytime. You don’t need to take time off of work to attend the lecture. In addition to that, it's cost-effective. You wouldn't have to waste money on gas and printing out material.

2. Better retention

Modern learners retain information better if it's more interactive and bite-sized. People rather listen to a podcast or watch a video than read through a textbook.

3. Consistent

The problem with face to face sessions is the lack of consistency, especially if every professor has different teaching styles and preferences.

Fortunately, online learning offers consistent training, which means that everyone goes through the same experience, regardless of where or when they take the course.

4. Scalable

You can use as many employees as you need, and it's only a one-time investment. The more students you have, the faster you can write off those expenses. 

5. Personalization

Everybody has different learning goals and preferences. Online learning makes it possible to cater to everyone's needs. Students can choose their path and navigate at their own pace. They decide what to learn and when to learn the material, leading to better personalization.

6. Flexibility for your employee's

Today's employee's workplace solutions that fit their lifestyles. Providing training that can be accessed when it works best for them accounts for your employee's need for flexibility, thus improving overall employee morale.

eLearning - Engagement, Versatility, Autonomy

eLearning is a powerful tool for corporate training. It taps into an essential element of employer-employee relations – personal connection. Choosing eLearning indicates that you’re paying attention to the latest trends in training culture that are here to stay. eLearning methods continue to develop and adapt to you and your employees’ needs, providing an engaging and always modern solution for ongoing learning and training. Your employees will never feel like they’re repeating the same task or lesson over and over again. Instead, they’ll look forward to a new modality (whether a virtual classroom, video, or social media training component) that will help them develop their professional skills.

eLearning allows employees the freedom, flexibility and independence to learn at their own pace. It also broadens the horizon of possible resources due to the internet and the global reach that comes with it. Visit our custom eLearning development page to get started with eLearning for your company.