The Advantages and Disadvantages of Virtual Learning Environment in Corporate Training

Did you know? eLearning takes 40 to 60% less learning time than traditional classroom instruction. However, online learning can also promote learner procrastination.

Virtual training has lately taken the world of corporate training by storm.

However, just like anything, virtual learning comes with a set of strengths and weaknesses. However, whether its weaknesses outweigh its strengths is up to your organization. In this blog, you’ll learn about the pros and cons of virtual learning for the corporate training environment.

What is Virtual Learning?

Virtual learning is a strategy that facilitates training in an online, digital platform.

The biggest factor defining virtual learning is you can access it anywhere and for any amount of time. The accessibility and easy availability of these courses is the major reason for virtual training slowly replacing traditional learning models.

All learners require attending virtual learning on a digital device like a computer or a smartphone, as well as they require time, and a lot of curiosity!

Here’s how you can replicate a virtual training program to reap the benefits of traditional learning!

Why Corporates Should Adopt Virtual Learning?

Employee training is an intrinsic part of an organization’s functioning, offering optimum value for the time and resources that a company invests in it. So, it should be in unity with the latest market trends and your team’s requirements.

Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic hit us, hybrid workforce models seem to be the future of corporate human resource managers. It’s not possible to train everyone offline, right? What do they do in this case? Adopt virtual learning, of course!

With the help of virtual learning, multinational companies can digitize and unify their learning experiences. This way, they can fill the gaps that might come up because their employees are in diverse locations.

Virtual learning keeps in mind the advancements in technology and how L&D teams can leverage this growth to produce better outcomes over time.

So, is virtual learning the way to go about your corporate training programs? Well, that is for you to decide. And after reading the advantages and disadvantages of virtual learning in corporate training you would be equipped to do so!

Benefits of Virtual Learning

Virtual learning has been well adapted to corporate training programs. This is especially true in the case of hybrid workforces and their blended learning environments. In this section, let’s look at some pros of virtual learning in corporate training settings!

Cost efficient

Virtual learning is extremely cost effective for both employees and organizations. Regardless of which angle you look at it from, you’ll only see cost saving and profitability.

Here’s why virtual training is cost-effective for your organization:

• Minimizing investment in brick-and-mortar arrangements
• Reducing cost of hiring multiple trainers to train multiple batches
• Saving on recurring expense of designing and developing courses

Here’s how virtual training is cost-effective for learners:

• They don’t have to travel to the training center or office
• They can learn at their own pace and save on time

Time efficient

The best thing about virtual learning courses is that they’re extremely time-efficient, and that is something you cannot overlook. The biggest reason for virtual learning is the time efficiency because it’s easily accessible and learners can undertake them at all hours.

For the first few weeks, online learning might seem time-consuming because employees learn at their own pace, and they might take longer than usual to finish a course. However, when we look at it in the long run, we turn the tables.

Many learners don’t have time for their training. However, virtual learning is so accessible and simple to follow those learners can access it before work, after work, or even during work hours. All that is needed is the curiosity to learn and grow. Virtual training saves on the time spent arranging venues and travel.

Easy access to robust infrastructure

Virtual learning doesn’t require dedicated infrastructure. All that’s needed is learners need a stable internet connection and a device to view the course. Other than that, organizations don’t require additional investment in infrastructure.

Flexibility

One of the best things about virtual learning is the flexibility it offers. As these electronically enabled courses are accessible anywhere, and at any time, learners can create their own learning schedule that suits them best.

Virtual learning courses also offers the convenience of learning-at-your-pace. This way, learners get to set their own pace which helps them hold on to knowledge comfortably and easily. 

Drawbacks of Virtual Learning

It’s very easy to not look at the negatives of a widely accepted trend or practice. However, to be fair, let’s look at a few drawbacks of virtual learning in corporate training. After all, it’s only when you hear both sides that you can make an informed choice, right?

Troubleshooting

Virtual learning is, after all, dependent on technology. And whenever technology is involved, there’s a huge chance for troubleshooting errors. Virtual learning courses and platforms might end up malfunctioning and add challenges to the learning process. A couple of common issues you might have are a stable internet connection and forgetting login information.

Isolated employees

The biggest problem with virtual training is also why it’s popular. And that’s remote learning. Online learning has become popular because everyone had to adhere to social distancing because of the pandemic.

However, now that virtual platforms are a thing, learners might feel isolated within the confines of their homes. This seclusion hinders the development of soft skills that learners might get if they’d been training together under one roof.

Also, learners might feel bored or restless while reading content from a screen or listening to lengthy audio clips. Distraction is a huge possibility, specifically when there’s no consistency or face-to-face engagement.

Possibility of procrastination

As great as self-paced courses are, they’re also a major cause of training dropouts. This is mostly because when learners are not held accountable for the progression of their modules, they’ll choose comfort over learning and procrastinate or avoid attending their course.

Procrastination in corporate training is an immense problem because it keeps employees from developing and applying proficient skills in their jobs or even mastering new skills.

Summing Up

As the future of work is a hybrid, remote one, the new age of learning will continue to develop eLearning courses. Therefore, even when there are challenges to overcome, instead of getting dissuaded by them, you need to find ways to mitigate these issues and continue to ride the eLearning wave in learning and development.

Download this eBook to learn how you can develop virtual learning courses that are fun and engaging! After all, you want your learners to always be motivated and focused on their growth, right?