The Challeges Of Elearning And How To Solve Them

Designing Digitally

11/15/2018

Custom eLearning

For any business organization, there is nothing more important than to keep your employees in the know regarding new products or services offered. The same concept applies for when the company issues new internal policies and implements new procedures. Your employees must stay up to date on relevant information in order to encourage productivity and to remain a step ahead of your market rivals. Therefore, you implement some form of corporate training to achieve your goals. However, gathering all of the employees to hold a training seminar halts everyone’s productivity for the given period of time. Not to mention, if your workforce is spread across multiple locations, you must incur travel expenses for the trainer or the employees.

More and more companies are turning to eLearning so they can provide streamlined material that employees can take at a convenient time, at their own pace. But, transitioning from classroom-style training to eLearning comes with plenty of challenges for companies to overcome. In light of this, here are some obstacles to corporate training when it comes to eLearning and how to overcome them.

3 eLearning Challenges and Solutions

Obstacle #1 – Reluctance and Hesitance to Change

In electronic learning, one of the most common challenges faced by companies is that a majority of their employees and managers have absolutely no idea what it is. This unfamiliarity with the program often causes managers to resist the implementation of the platform. That is normal. Abrupt alterations in the status quo will always be met with reluctance and uneasiness, even if what is being implemented is obviously a better solution than what is currently in place.

Several industries also have a general resistance to accepting technology-based platforms for training. Many individuals believe that in order to learn something, there will always be a need for a trainer or an instructor.

The Solution

  • Highlight the benefits of the platform. Explain how all of the material is accessible and available for employees 24/7, so they can brush up on information or review lessons whenever they want. Also, highlight how your eLearning implementation gives employees the opportunity to learn about topics that are interesting and relevant to them, rather than having to sit through training that doesn’t apply to their job role. Be sure your modules and resources make the learning process quick, interesting, engaging, and interactive.
  • Integrate a transparent system of communication. To successfully implement your corporate training program, nothing beats effective communication. You have to be transparent in explaining to the managers and stakeholders what exactly is in it for the employees, how they will benefit from it, and the overall objectives of the program. Answer any questions they have in order to ease anxieties about the new platform.

Obstacle #2 – Considerable Lack of Knowledge and Awareness

Once you have managers or department heads on board, you may face the challenge of informing employees about the new training available to them. They may not even know what eLearning is, much less understand the effectiveness and benefits the program will offer. Employees may also feel like computer-based training will not be as helpful or effective as the classroom training to which they are accustomed.

The Solution

Market the idea to your employees. Use company meetings, newsletters, and bulletin boards to tell your workforce about the new learning platform. Ask the managers or department heads who support the concept to help you advocate the benefits of eLearning and online training. Also, to promote the overall effectiveness of eLearning, consider posting blogs and infographics that convey the advantages of online training.

Obstacle #3 – The Content is Repetitive and Boring

Many eLearning modules are full of boring, repetitive content. However, this problem has everything to do with how a company applies eLearning training across their organization. Repetitive content is often a consequence of trainers assuming that eLearning is a one-size-fits-all application.

The Solution

Target specific audience groups. Create separate eLearning modules, or variations of the modules, that are tailored to different job roles or groups of employees. Remember, a benefit of eLearning is that you can give employees training that is relevant to them. But, as a corporate trainer, you must work with SME’s to sort through the information and disseminate it appropriately to your employees.  

Want to overcome your training challenges? At Designing Digitally, Inc., we create custom eLearning solutions designed for your unique learners and specific company needs.

Contact our team to start overcoming your training obstacles today!