Gone are the days of the 9-5 office grind. With constant growth in technology, heightened globalization, and the remnants of a pandemic that left us all connected via phones and computers, many organizations have embraced a hybrid or remote model with a digital-first approach to how work gets done. With this “new normal” comes new challenges, but also benefits–one of which is eLearning.
At work, eLearning mostly presents itself in the form of employee onboarding and succession training. While some employees consider online learning to be a monotonous part of their job and a dreaded task, few can argue the fact that for onboarding or mandatory training, eLearning makes training much more digestible, flexible, and customizable for the trainee. It also offers simplicity and easy implementation for the facilitator.
Why eLearning?
Typical in-person training for a new or seasoned employee can disrupt the busy workday. It can also take up more time than needed due to scheduling conflicts within the team, arranging conference rooms, or bringing in third parties. On the other hand, eLearning puts the power back into the employees’ hands, allowing them to do their training on their own terms, from wherever they would like and whenever they choose. The ease and flexibility of this format makes training less laborious, and employees are more likely to complete their educational goals in a timely manner with the autonomy to complete their day-to-day jobs.
In addition to flexibility, customization, and ease of implementation, there are other benefits to eLearning, such as record keeping, more educational opportunities, and scalability.
When choosing to use an online learning platform, companies are saving themselves the responsibility of manual tracking to assess learners’ progress. Most online software systems track progress and completion of these tasks—making it easy for supervisors and managers to know where their employees stand in their training. Furthermore, companies can offer training to even more employees with eLearning, as it is much easier to dispatch a link to one hundred employees than it is to gather them all in a room. The scalability of online learning benefits a company in terms of not only accessibility but also cost.
Why Now?
It would be difficult to ignore that online learning at the core creates more ongoing educational opportunities for employers and employees. With many online learning platforms existing today, there are countless types of training to offer employees that take much less time than in person training. It would be near impossible to put employees through ten different in-person training courses a year, but if those ten training courses are broken down into online modules that can be completed over time, it does not seem like an unfeasible task.
Why EQ?
Technical skill development is some of the most common curriculum offered via eLearning format. However, smart employers are now seeing the value behind eLearning for soft skill development. Building skills such as team collaboration, critical thinking, the ability to navigate change and uncertainty, and even empathy is now considered top initiatives to succeed in the new work environment. In fact, emotional intelligence training has been identified as one of the top skills needed for the workplace of tomorrow.
In a survey of more than 2,600 hiring managers and HR professionals, HR company CareerBuilder found that 71 percent said they value emotional intelligence (EQ) more than IQ in an employee. Additionally, 75 percent said they were more likely to promote a candidate with high emotional intelligence over one with a high IQ.
TalentSmartEQ recently introduced a new EQ Essentials® Online Course that brings important EQ training to a broader audience. The 60-minute course functions as an introduction to emotional intelligence or as a starting point for their more comprehensive Mastering EQ® training series. The course teaches the basics of EQ and how it is beneficial both personally and professionally and offers tools to apply these insights.
With eLearning here to stay—and emotional intelligence now deemed as one of the most crucial skills for employees to develop—it is safe to say we will see more employers adopting EQ online learning for a competitive advantage.
For more information, visit www.talentsmarteq.com/elearning.