Getting the balance between online learning and face-to-face training is important, employers need to weigh up not only the cost savings and ease of delivery through online LMS’s, but also to what extent the learner can become disenfranchised by not feeling they are at the centre of the training.
Employees often feel less valued if all the training provided comes in the form of on line learning delivered through the company’s LMS?
There is no doubt that some forms of training can be very effectively delivered on an LMS platform and with the advancements in interactive technology, the latest generations of LMS are far more engaging, incorporating multi-channel media. What is not so easy to achieve is harnessing the special dynamic that a knowledgeable, enthusiastic and engaging trainer brings to learning in a face-to-face environment.
People don’t tend to remember their encounter with the LMS in quite the same way and the learning is likely procedural and matter of fact; it would be, it’s pre-programmed. Unlike a responsive trainer, who works with the learners present; weaving in stories, examples, analogies that fit application of skill with the specific context.
We often describe what we do as ‘bespoke’ training, training that leverages that special relationship in the room between the trainer and the learners. Yes it will be more expensive, and yes it will take a little more organisation getting people away from their jobs and together as a group; however the learning is far more impactful, challenging, engaging & rewarding to be involved in. It results in new behaviours, increases employee engagement, which leads to improvements in innovation, process & productivity. We must be prepared not just to measure the simplistic or short term return on investment, but also to consider the synergistic growth, wellbeing and happiness of our people.
