E-Learning Vs In-House Training

For a business to be successful, everyone within the organisation should possess some commercial and financial acumen. Yet, outside of the finance function, employees seldom possess the financial and commercial knowledge necessary to help your organisation to achieve the desired results. Imagine the boost to your business’ financial health if all your employees were better equipped to understand how their decisions impact the bottom line?

Financial and commercial training is critical for staff throughout any organisation. While members of a finance team can share their knowledge, outsourcing financial training will enable an ease of understanding such potentially complex subjects and reap rewards for your business. It’s important to maximise the return on your training investment and as such, any training programme needs to meet your organisation’s goals.

While there are several ways to deliver training, the most important factor to consider is that effective training should always enable employees to apply their newfound commercial knowledge to their individual roles in everyday situations. Two popular methods are e-learning and in-house training, each offering their own advantages.

E-learning

The digital revolution and surge of the smartphone have prompted massive changes in the way we access, consume and share content. Similarly, the way in which we learn is also following suit.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of e-learning is that it allows participants to access courses digitally, at a time and location that suits them.

From video conferencing to interactive content, digital learning can greatly increase employees’ engagement with the key information. In the case of financial training, which can be a technical subject, there is a range of digital learning tools which can be employed to simplify and visualise complex concepts for non-financial employees.

In the absence of a trainer or a mentor to turn to, e-learning also enables employees to access and reference helpful resources when needed. Being able to re-visit e-learning content as and when desired can be useful when it comes to applying newfound commercial concepts to their everyday roles.

Digital learning options can often be cost-effective, particularly where training is to be delivered to large numbers of staff globally. For international organisations, it means that the same training materials can be utilised by all employees regardless of where they are located. With the rise in remote working practices, being able to offer staff flexible learning opportunities is essential within this ever-changing and progressive global environment.

In the case of bespoke e-learning modules, once they have been created, they can easily be scaled up to roll out to as many employees as required. Rather than having to schedule trainers and classroom spaces, all employees need to do is access a computer or smartphone.

In-house Training

Choosing an effective training course for employees can be difficult, particularly when considering what content to include. Sending employees on an external training course is one option, however bespoke in-house training offers an ideal solution.

In-house training couldn’t be more convenient. Having a trainer in-house is much easier than arranging for several members of staff to be off-site. Employees are already in a familiar environment, which means they should be at ease and more open to learning.

Similarly, if the intention is to send multiple employees on a training course, not only it is much more cost-effective to arrange in-house training but the value for money is far greater. The trainer will have worked with your internal finance team beforehand and will be fluent in the way your own business works and any challenges that may need addressing during the course. The trainer can guide participants through content that is tailored to their own ways of working. This makes both the content swifter and easier to understand and the application far more intuitive, creating superb results post-course.

In-house training is more convenient and more flexible than sending multiple employees on a standardised, open training course. And while digital learning can provide exceptional convenience and value for reasons already discussed, there is something to be said on the tremendous benefit of being in a group learning environment with your colleagues.

Social interaction is a big plus when it comes to learning and sharing ideas amongst peers when digesting new information is hugely valuable. For example, someone in the room might be able to explain how they have implemented something in their role that’s relevant to others in the room. This proactive discussion among colleagues only adds to the value for money that this style of learning provides. Furthermore, having an experienced trainer facilitating discussion in the room enables participants to ask more questions, debate and clarify points.

An external trainer will boast relevant industry experience which translates into the training to benefit those in attendance. While course content is created in collaboration with an organisation’s internal finance team, an external trainer might suggest unfamiliar ideas, pushing delegates to consider tasks differently, thereby creating a more rewarding session. In-house training also ensures every participant is offered the support they need to understand new concepts and to apply their learning to their everyday roles.

If approached in a refreshing and unique way, in-house training offers exceptional levels of engagement compared to digital alternatives or sending your employees on a standardised, open training course. From business simulations and case studies to games and group discussions, there are a variety of ways to enable participants to grasp the key concepts as effectively as possible.

Complete Financial Training offers bespoke e-learning, tailor-made in-house training course, as well as blended learning which combines multiple training methods.

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From board to entry level, we can tailor course content and delivery to meet the needs of your team and the objectives of your organisation. Contact us today.