Does e-Learning really reduce your training costs?

Training: direct and indirect costs

Although the need to train employees – initial and continuing training – is unanimously recognized by companies, the cost of training sometimes puts a brake on their ambitions. All the more so when the company becomes aware of the various direct and indirect costs of training.

Direct training costs

• design of training,
• production of media,
• Session animation,
• rental of a room and equipment...

Indirect costs related to training

• transport,
• accommodation and catering
• administrative management of training,
• productivity decline when training is given on working time...

All these costs put together, a face-to-face training can quickly be very expensive for the company. Especially when the employees to be trained are numerous and spread out over different remote sites.

E-learning to reduce indirect training costs

From this point of view, e-learning may appear as THE solution to reduce training costs. While there are still direct costs for designing training and making modules available, digital learning reduces – or even eliminates – many indirect costs.

Travel and accommodation costs are eliminated, the productivity drop is reduced because training is divided into modules spread over time. Stress and disorganization associated with face-to-face training in long, multi-day sessions can also be alleviated.

Companies confirm that they are keeping their promise in terms of cost savings: according to the 2017 Digital Learning Barometer (1), 72% of companies confirm that they have saved money by switching to Digital Learning.

Reduce training costs by improving efficiency

Beyond its direct impact on training costs, the economic interest of digital learning can be measured in efficiency and team performance gains. For example, in the case of a new commercial offer – product launch or other – e-learning enables all employees to be trained more quickly, both nationally and internationally. Losses due to sales not being made because of lack of competence can be limited.

The sole objective of the firm must therefore not be to reduce its training costs. The effectiveness and thus the profitability of its training programmes must be at the heart of its thinking. In short, the company must forget about the notion of direct cost – which would be like to consider training as a simple charge – to focus on ROI. Keeping in mind that digital learning can make a big contribution to the trades (efficiency, competence, motivation), to the business activity and therefore to the company (turnover, but also image of efficiency and competence of the teams, internally as well as externally).

Companies seem to be sensitive to this double benefit – cost reduction, increased efficiency – since in the 2018 e-Learning Barometer of Afinef (2) (Association Française des Industriels du Numérique de l'Education et de la Formation), the companies surveyed on their motivations for deploying e-learning are,

• 63% to mention the reduction and optimization of training costs;
• 56% to mention the quality and effectiveness of training

The importance of being accompanied in your e-learning project

However, there is no question of going to 100% Digital Learning. Combining face-to-face and distance learning in a blended learning strategy helps to maintain contact with learners, and generate cohesion within the teams. According to the 2018 Afinef barometer, 63% of the companies surveyed plan less than 50% of their training actions in e-learning by 2020.

In addition, the deployment of digital learning must be carefully prepared to avoid the risk of disappointment and soaring costs. The training managers (management and design) must be trained upstream. And the transition from face-to-face to remote via digital learning must be supported by a real change management approach, in order to involve employees in the blended learning strategy and to promote new ways of learning. If the rate of learners following the digital learning solutions deployed by the company is not high enough, the profitability of the project can be compromised. And to do this, companies deploy different strategies.

Most effective? Learners insist on tutoring (19% say that the presence of a tutor is important to complete training) (3). Companies have everything to gain from having an expert in this field.

It is often said that digital learning reduces the cost of vocational training. But under what conditions? And how to quantify the gain for the company? Above all, beyond the costs, should we not be more focused on ROI? Explanations.