Of all the changes brought about by the pandemic, perhaps the most enduring is the rise of remote working. Millions of Brits worked from home in 2020, and many still do – for at least some of the week.
One consequence of this fragmentation of your workforce is that it can be much more difficult to deliver training – whether it is to upskill them in their core role or cover off important health and safety matters.
eLearning is a great solution to this particular problem, and actually offers much broader benefits too. Let’s take a closer look at eLearning, and how it can help cost-effectively keep your team safe and you compliant with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
What is eLearning?
eLearning is a broad term covering the entire spectrum of online education. This could be anything from attending a university lecture over Zoom to learning an instrument via YouTube tutorials.
In the case of workplace training, eLearning usually takes the form of an online course on a particular subject. Employees work through a set of videos and written slides before taking a short test to demonstrate their knowledge. If they pass, their training is considered complete.
What are the benefits of eLearning?
There are many advantages to online education. From a practical point of view, it offers a much greater degree of flexibility. There’s no need to find a time that suits everyone. You can simply send your employees the link and let them take the course when it’s convenient.
This is great for remote workers, but it can also be helpful in an on-site setting. A classroom training session may disrupt workflow by requiring everyone to stop working at once. With eLearning, employees can train in staggered groups while the rest of the team continues business as usual. This flexibility extends to training new employees too.
Best of all, eLearning tends to be cheaper than classroom training. There’s no need to hire a trainer, book their accommodation or rent a space for the session. All you need is a computer with an internet connection.
Is eLearning effective?
Yes! In fact, there’s mounting evidence that eLearning is more effective than traditional classroom training. One study found that online education increases knowledge retention by up to 50%, while another showed that it can reduce training time by 40-60%.
This is especially beneficial when it comes to health and safety. If employees can absorb safety information more effectively, there is a much lower chance of an accident occurring. Better information retention also reduces the need for retraining, saving you time and money in the future.
Which course is right for me?
When choosing an online health and safety course, it’s important to check that it’s legitimate. A non-accredited course could leave employees with dangerous gaps in their knowledge, causing you to fail in your legal obligation to provide adequate training. With The Health & Safety Dept, you never have to worry about this.
We offer over 100 CPD-approved courses in everything from fire safety and food hygiene to mental health and cyber security. We even provide specialised safety training for remote and lone workers, making it easy to adapt to the new working landscape.
Our courses are competitively priced and typically take just 45 minutes to complete. Call 0333 016 6578 or email info@hsdept.co.uk to find out more.
