So, your company has recently invested thousands of dollars on a new learning platform. All you need now is some material to fill it with, and you’ll be good to go. However, creating your own content requires a lot of effort and, in many cases, money. And, after spending thousands on the new platform, your remaining money may be limited. What options do you have?
Calm down, here is where off-the-shelf eLearning material libraries come in handy. Off-the-shelf content is the quickest and most cost-effective option to receive the information you need to populate your new platform and launch your training program in a matter of days.
Off-the-shelf content is the quickest and most cost-effective option to receive the information you need to populate your new platform and launch your training program in a matter of days. Continue reading to learn about the advantages of using off-the-shelf courses into your training program.
Benefits of off-the-shelf courses:
- Ready to use:
Once purchased, off-the-shelf courses are instantly used.
Customized eLearning courses take time for teams to gather material, develop technical features, and design the course, whereas off-the-shelf eLearning courses already have this work done for them. Employees may begin taking online courses immediately away because L&D teams don’t have to test the final product.
With more time and emphasis on discovering other ways to enhance the employee learning experience, L&D teams may spend more time and effort on identifying other ways to improve the employee learning experience.
- A Wide Range of Topics:
If you’re just getting started with your training program, you presumably have a big list of topics for which you require training content, such as compliance and safety. The good news is that someone has already created something for most of these topics and is willing to share it.
The majority of content producers will offer information on a wide range of popular themes. When verifying your content provider, compare their list of topics to the list your company requires to determine which supplier best fulfils your requirements.
- Lower costs
One of the most apparent advantages of pre-developed training is the cost reduction. It takes time and skill to create personalized staff training courses. That involves either employing subject matter experts, instructional and visual designers, or budgeting for the work to be done by outside suppliers. You should also think about how much it will cost to add dynamic and interesting components to the material. Instructional design and engagement are taken into account in good off-the-shelf training courses. You save time and resources since all of the components are already in place.
- A Wide Range of Learning Formats
Not all off-the-shelf courses are stodgy, next-generation learning. These pre-made learning experiences can take a variety of forms, ranging from interactive eLearning courses to microlearning modules. They are intended to work with most learning platforms and are generally meant to be used on any device—from your computer to your mobile device. Most even contain evaluations or quizzes to evaluate learners understanding and job aids to help them remember what they’ve learned.
With so many learning formats at your disposal, you can construct individual, personalized learning paths that best suit your learners’ requirements and interests. Some of your elder staff may prefer a traditional online course, while your field sales crew may prefer mobile microlearning.
- Training time is reduced
Once you’ve determined what skills and information your employees require, you’ll want to get them studying as soon as possible so you can reap the rewards. There is no time wasted developing and implementing off-the-shelf training.
You may purchase courses and get started as soon as you’ve nailed down your plan and decided on the information you want. The training is ready to use and does not need to be tested or revised. And the sooner people begin learning, the faster they will be able to put their new talents to use on the job.
- Updated Frequently
Regular content curation is provided by the greatest off-the-shelf courseware libraries, ensuring that information is always current and adheres to current best practices. Off-the-shelf material has this advantage for smaller firms who don’t have the resources to constantly update information when legislation or processes change. When evaluating off-the-shelf material libraries, make sure to inquire about how frequently they update content or delete courses with low reviews.
- Proven to Produce Excellent Results
Most commercial courses incorporate quizzes, surveys, polls, or reflective questions to assist students remember important material and reverse the forgetting curve. Furthermore, busy employees may find it simpler to integrate online courses and microlearning into their schedules than in-person training.
According to Training Industry research, when companies with 500 employees replaced over a quarter of their Instructor-Led Training (ILT) sessions with off-the-shelf video microlearning content, the integrated off-the-shelf library provided a significant Return On Investment (ROI)—in excess of 380 percent.
- Is it always the greatest idea to use off-the-shelf training?
While there are several advantages to adopting pre-made material, there are instances when a more customized approach is more appropriate. Knowing how to utilize each and when to use it will help you provide the greatest staff development experience possible.
- Custom development, for example, may be preferable when you need to:
- Train your employees on company-specific issues or use social media to promote your brand.
- Employees should be educated on internal policies and processes.
- Start a new company-wide project.
- New employee onboarding
- When you have inside knowledge on a certain training topic, you might want to consider investing in bespoke training. If your company has developed a particular product for monitoring orders and replying to consumers, for example, you’ll want the internal developers to be engaged in developing training for it.
