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3 ways e-learning can help companies stay competitive

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Over saturated markets, poor business strategy and weak messaging are some of the factors that can prevent a business from staying competitive. Whilst variables such as sector, company size and company history all play a part in shaping the strategy for ensuring a business remains competitive, there are universal initiatives that will help any business regardless of their unique set of values and services. E-learning is a notable example as it can be used by businesses of all sectors and sizes to help a company outperform its competitors.

 

1. Create and maintain a strong workforce

A company cannot expect to stay competitive without a powerful workforce. Employees are one of the biggest assets for any organisation and leveraging their talents and empowering them to perform at their best can be the difference between staying ahead of the competition or falling behind.

Creating learning and development opportunities for both new and existing employees is the key to leveraging employee talent along with maintaining an efficient, productive and happy workforce – fundamental factors for standing out in a competitive market. Using e-learning technology, L&D initiatives can be successfully implemented to best serve the needs of both employees and employers. These opportunities for L&D start with a strong onboarding programme; even the most experienced and highly skilled talent will benefit from an induction process that ensures they are fully aware of what is expected of them in their new role and prepares them for the job at hand.

e-learning for employees

With an e-learning platform such as an learning management system (LMS), L&D managers can create a well-rounded induction programme that is specific to each new starter. E-learning technology allows a company to elevate the standard induction process used by their competitors and tailor it to suit the needs of an individual learner’s job role and skill set, along with relying on diverse lesson types to make it more engaging.

To stand out in a competitive market, a company needs to not only offer opportunities for L&D in the onboarding process but create further development opportunities for employees throughout their employment. Creating a strong learning culture has proven to increase employee retention rates by 30-50% so companies must offer long term L&D opportunities if they wish to retain their workforce.

When a company elevates their L&D initiatives using powerful e-learning software, not only will they be more likely to retain existing employees but also attract new talent. In fact, 70% of employees would be somewhat likely to leave their current job to work for an organisation known for investing in employee development and learning. With e-learning platforms such as an LMS or a TXP, L&D leaders can create employee development programmes and personal development plans. Creating clear markers for employee progression will ensure continuous professional development along with generating company growth, improving employee satisfaction, and preventing a workforce from becoming stagnant – key contributors to ensuring a company remains competitive.

 

2. Automating processes

In any situation, staying ahead of competitors can be achieved with the help of embracing new technologies designed to aid company growth and development. This is true for leveraging e-learning technology as companies can cut down on manual admin time by automating learning and development processes. E-learning automation technology can make a company’s vital L&D initiative more operationally effective.

One example of how a business may use e-learning automation to remain competitive would be through using the hierarchies function in an LMS such as Totara Learn. Hierarchies enable a company to replicate its complex organisational structure in a virtual learning environment, mapping out positional hierarchy based on elements such as job role, skill level and permissions. With this structure in place, e-learning programmes can be tailored to suit the needs of each individual and mandatory training can be automatically distributed to the relevant employee – saving hours of manual admin.

Another powerful example of how a business may utilise e-learning automation technology is through automated reporting tools. Using reporting tools in an LMS, managers can gain immediate insight into areas such as learning progress, course completion rates, assessment results and the number of employees who have completed mandatory compliance training. Reporting tools can also help L&D managers create a bigger picture from which they can identify skills gaps and areas for improvement, enabling them to implement tailor made development opportunities for individuals.

e-learning reports for staying competitive

 

3. Customer training

One of the key factors in maintaining a competitive edge is focussing on customer engagement and loyalty. Just as a business will need to stand out as an attractive company for new talent to work for, they must also offer an attractive proposition for new and existing customers. One of the ways to do this is to take customer care one step further than other competitors and offer effective customer training through e-learning software.

Customer training involves educating customers in how to effectively use a company’s products or services, covering the basics along with highlighting ways to maximise the functionality of the product to achieve the most successful outcomes. A TSIA study found that 68% of customers report using products more after training, while 56% use more product features than they would if untrained. If customers are making getting the best out of the products or services they are paying for, there will be a better chance of high customer satisfaction rates. Additionally, taking customer care one step further by offering training will turn customers into powerful and loyal advocates.

Using e-learning software such as an LMS, a company can create a customised learning platform with a clear brand identity which can even be personalised to the user profile. These profiles include variables such as customer name or company name to make the training experience feel personal to each customer. Using an LMS also means customer training courses can be designed with fun and variety in mind, using lesson types such as video training or gamified learning to keep customers engaged and interested so they are more likely to return to the training platform repeatedly.

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Customer training doesn’t just give a company the competitive edge regarding customer loyalty and satisfaction; it can also create better opportunities for revenue growth. E-learning training programmes can be designed to highlight upselling opportunities such as add-ons and upgrades which will result in an increased ROI on training opportunities. For example, site administrators can create learning paths so that once a customer has completed a lesson, another lesson will be suggested which highlights the value of an add-on relating to the product they have been learning about.

 

How have other companies like yours elevated their business proposition with e-learning?

Many companies like yours are already putting initiatives in place to stand in a competitive market with the help of e-learning software. If you’d like to find out more about how you can elevate your business proposition with e-learning platforms such as an LMS, LXP or TXP, read our case studies to find out how other companies and organisations have already done so. If you’re ready to harness the power of e-learning for your business, contact one of our e-learning experts to find out what a powerful solution from Hubken can do for you or book a demo to see first-hand.

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