Shortly after the pandemic began, we began to hear the term “new normal” applied to the most basic routines of our daily lives. Two years later, this term has become “normal” and has spread to the most diverse areas of our lives, which has led companies to evaluate the trends and impacts of this new reality. One of the main ones is, online courses.
Around the world, there has been a substantial increase in participation in digital learning by people from all walks of life. This great acceptance is considered very positive since it has contributed to maintaining the renewal or acquisition of skills. However, the migration of face-to-face training programs to the online format required an additional effort on the part of organizations’ L&D teams. In addition to applying technological solutions that were sometimes unknown at first, they faced the challenge of offering an effective, attractive, and motivating training experience through a screen. Digitalization affects all business functions, it’s one of the main boosters of innovation and development. Businesses have no choice: the need to adapt to a new connected economy, to move forward in a rapidly changing environment, is urgent.
Online courses meets the needs of managers who want to address digital transformation and implement a strategy that brings growth to their company: learning about the new organizational models, identifying the skills and technologies to develop, as well as managing risks and opportunities.
How the digitalization process is reaching companies
In an environment where the barriers to growth and the challenges of managing people are so great, it is essential to understand how a good leader can make a difference. CEOs must stay active and creative, with an up-to-date view of business and relationships. And the difference will increasingly be made by the correct and productive implementation of data platforms and systems, the exchange of information, and the recruitment and retention of talent.
The solutions of the past no longer serve today’s leaders. Current models have become the norm, but they are still new, and their impact is still difficult to analyze in depth. In the past, the means to solve foreseen problems were found in training. But the pandemic has also made it necessary to find new ways of resolving problems more adapted to a company’s different dynamics, in the face of unforeseeable obstacles.
In the HR sector, it’s also necessary for professionals to always stay up to date. They are the gateway to new employees and also reflect the company’s identity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z9qiWaRX1I
The hiring process can say a lot about whether or not a company is innovative. Who wants to work in a company that is still using old tools or processes? In this sense, for HR, digital transformation is already a reality. And even more, a necessity.
Therefore, a company’s digitization can be carried out in different ways and takes some time to complete, but it provides several practical benefits, such as:
- Increased productivity.
- Reduced costs.
- Better control of data.
- Long-lasting relationships with customers.
- Sustainable growth.
Benefits of transforming face-to-face training into online courses
- Greater awareness: since physical presence in a specific location and time is not necessary, it allows people from different places and with different lifestyles to take the training anywhere in the world and at any time. This leads to a democratization of training.
- Ease of access: All you need to take an e-learning course is a device with Internet access.
- Optimization of time and costs: resources are not wasted, such as renting and equipping the training room, nor is time wasted on travel. It’s possible to take advantage of free time by attending courses or reviewing content. Since lessons are recorded, they can be reviewed or made available, in different contexts, as many times as needed.
- More dynamic content: online training is open to training strategies that aren’t feasible in a classroom, such as games. An approach that uses games to optimize the learning experience allows you to understand specific issues through simulation, trial and error, and problem-solving.
- Immediate availability: online courses are available immediately after registration. All preparation for an online course is done in advance. Therefore, some courses may be available immediately after the student has enrolled.
- Respect for learning time: an online course respects each person’s learning time better. Learners can follow the course at their own pace, courses can be viewed multiple times, learners can choose the time of day when they are most focused on learning, and choose their own learning path. Companies can train their employees according to their workload and their schedules, without having to sacrifice their business with face-to-face training days or sacrificing staff availability. A company with multiple branches, for example, will no longer have to pay for the travel and accommodation of its trainer or its employees to receive training on a certain date, since e-learning allows flexibility of time and space.
What formats are available for online training?
The most common format is video. There are some examples of this content appearing on some e-learning platforms. These videos, accompanied by forums for discussing questions and clarifying doubts, or exercises for consolidating knowledge, are a much-used resource.
With more complex features, blended learning combines face-to-face training with online training through learning support platforms. In this format, the content is usually taught face-to-face, which opens a space for interaction between the students and the trainer, and the consolidation of learning (through exercises or some other evaluation tool) is usually not done face-to-face. There is also game-based learning, which consists of learning through video games. This format prepares students to understand the link between their decisions and business results through playful virtual games that train key business skills such as systemic and strategic thinking, logical reasoning, and teamwork, among others.
Serious games can be fun, but that’s not their main purpose. In fact, the main objective of this kind of game is to provide a different learning experience, which can be used for purposes such as training, education, skills development, etc. In addition, this methodology can be adapted to any professional sector.
Serious games have game elements and participants play them, but they provide learning. They help with the communication and assimilation of concepts and improve decision-making, strategy development, and the exercise of different functions.