The Cost Benefits of eLearning versus Classroom Training

The biggest cost of any learning programme is often not recognised - the time the Learner spends in training, away from their ‘real’ job. eLearning can make a big difference here. Time is compressed in eLearning, as you don’t have all the logistics that come with classroom training.

Because eLearning is so much shorter than classroom training, you can save a significant sum when it comes to opportunity costs. A well-designed eLearning course will comprise of 10 to 15 minute sessions, enabling learners to plan training around their working day. Induction times will be quicker and downtime amongst your staff will decrease to a minimum.

eLearning has evolved into a remarkably efficient and sophisticated form of training delivery, offering many benefits not feasible in the classroom. As eLearning is accessed online it can be available right when the learner needs it and used to improve their performance on-the-job, providing a Just in Time approach to learning.

By developing responsive eLearning content that is accessible from any device, your workforce can learn remotely, perhaps beginning a course at their desk and completing it from their mobile phone on the train.

An obvious point to make, but with eLearning your learners (and indeed your Trainers) don’t have to leave their desks, so you’re instantly eradicating your travel and venue costs and the cost benefits of eLearning are easy to see.

With eLearning there’s no marginal cost of delivery so rolling out eLearning to 100 or 10,000 learners costs the same. That’s because you don’t need:

• Classrooms
• Trainers
• Lunches
• Printed Manuals

Economies of Scale

You don’t have to be training more than 1,000 learners before you see the cost benefits of eLearning and the project becomes viable. The cost per hour for eLearning content development can be dramatically reduced by using a rapid authoring tool with pre-built templates and taking on some tasks in-house.

Existing classroom content such as PowerPoint slides could be converted to eLearning or used as a storyboard for Instructional Designers. In-house Classroom Instructors could be reskilled as Instructional Designers and eLearning Facilitators.

This means that even specialised courses with small learner groups can benefit from eLearning and, from a cost perspective, still be more cost effective than a classroom alternative.

Calculating Return on Investment

Calculating a precise ROI for training is often an impossible task. However, with the benchmarking processes involved in eLearning, it is considerably easier to calculate your eLearning ROI compared with classroom training. If you include pre- and post-course knowledge checks, you can not only monitor access to the content but also learner understanding and measure this against your investment.

Costs Comparison

Perform you own cost comparison to see how much your organisation could save by converting classroom training to eLearning.

1. Construct a side-by-side analysis of the cost of delivering one hour of eLearning versus an instructor-led session.
2. Prepare a simple spreadsheet showing all your current training costs per hour, then scale it up to the size of your target audience.
3. Compare your costs to the upfront development costs for eLearning. Even allowing for a small maintenance cost, the business case for eLearning is almost always going to win out.

Pilot First

Regardless of the cost benefits of eLearning, there’s no point in replacing your classroom training if the eLearning isn’t effective and engaging. You also need to consider it on a case by case basis; depending on the course objectives and curriculum - in some cases classroom training is still going to be the more effective medium. Pilot your eLearning before you roll it out across your business. Compare results between a course delivered in the classroom and via eLearning.