Most businesses are in a constant state of performance improvement. History has shown that companies that rest on their laurels and fail to grow and adapt to changing trends, climates, and technologies are rarely around long enough to weather the next big shift.

What does vary, though, are the approaches that businesses take to improve their operations. Some put more money into technology; others focus on marketing and reaching new markets. However, one tactic that has proven effective for businesses of all sizes, regardless of industry, is employee training. Building your employees’ skills in essential job functions, leadership skills, communication, the use of tools and technology and more has proven benefits to your company, including:

• Improved employee retention and more satisfied employees
• Improved talent acquisition
• Increased productivity
• Increased innovation
• Reduced waste and unnecessary expenditures.

Employee training can take many forms. While tuition reimbursement for advanced education, formal training sessions from in-house learning and development practitioners, and conference or seminar attendance are all commonly included in training and development budgets. There is a growing consensus that online training programs are a worthwhile investment of time and money. Also, here you may find free IT training and placement job opportunities.

The Benefits of Online Training

Online training can take a number of forms. Some businesses opt for formal programs, designed to resemble college-level courses in which students watch or read lectures and complete tests and quizzes to gauge their knowledge and learning. Other online training programs take a more on-demand approach: employees can access training materials from an online library, such as the ITPro Computer Training Courses, and watch them as needed to learn new skills in real-time.

Regardless of the specific format of the online training, companies are choosing the format because it offers several important benefits over other types of training.

Cost

Subscribing to an online training service that all employees can access on-demand is often far less expensive than sending individual employees to training sessions — and relying on those employees to share their learning when they return. In some cases, online training can cost as much as 10 to 20 percent less than in-person training. In addition, your company saves on travel costs when you do not have to send staff out of town.

Flexibility

Can your business afford to have several team members out of the office at the same time? In some cases, sending some or all of your team to training outside of the workplace is necessary, but offering online training allows for most of your staff to remain in the office and schedule their sessions during downtime, or for a portion of the day instead of being gone the whole week.

Immediate results

If your company is having problems that necessitate additional training, you probably do not want to wait weeks or months for a training opportunity to become available. You need help now, which is where online training really shines. In a matter of days, or even less when you have access to an extensive training library, your employees can be learning and making the changes and improvements that will get your business where you need and want it to be.

Happier employees

Truly, any type of training helps you develop a happier and more productive workforce. In a review of Fortune’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, employee development is an important priority among top companies. In fact, companies on the list offered an average of 50 to 66 hours of training per year, more than a full workweek. The companies focused on both improving employee skills in the jobs they have and developing new skills for future growth.

However, these training numbers focused primarily on formal training programs; employers that offer self-directed online training programs provide even more training hours each year. The commitment to constant development is attractive to employees, and allows you to recruit some of the best talent eager to build their skills.

Whether your goal is to reduce the time and money spent on calls to technical support services, or to groom the next generation of company leaders, there is plenty of incentive to invest in training programs for your employees. Your team is your greatest asset, and by putting the time and money into improving their skills, your business will be well equipped to handle the challenges coming its way.