Blended learning has been a growing part of corporate training for a few years now. According to Training Magazine’s 2017 Training Industry Report, companies reported that around 34.7% of training hours were delivered with blended-learning techniques in the past year—up 2.7% from just two years ago.

Still, if you are a corporate trainer, that number might be cold comfort. Many trainers fear that blended learning (and video learning in particular) will put their jobs at risk, and so resist their adoption.

That fear, though understandable, is unfounded. Wherever we’ve helped companies introduce blended learning, the result has been that corporate trainers become better at their jobs because the eLearning components free up their schedule while expanding their reach and impact.

How does that happen? Here are five specific reasons trainers find value from blended learning, from our recently published eBook on the topic:

Benefit #1: Less boring repetition for trainers and instructors

Are you tired of repeating yourself? Don’t fight it. Videos and other standardized student materials are perfectly suited to messages that need to be delivered consistently, over and over, to all learners. Use these tools when you can, and set yourself free to address the more customized training topics.

Benefit #2: Offers practice session relief

Practice sessions are a valuable way for learners to put the information they’ve just absorbed into action. Still, you probably like the idea of having less of your classroom time devoted to this tedious aspect of process training. With blended learning, you get that. eLearning can take on the responsibility for practice sessions, and even deliver personalized feedback.

Benefit #3: Lets you return to the bigger picture

When eLearning carries some of the burdens of your training responsibilities for you, you gain more time to spend on evaluation and creation. Out of this comes better activities and exercises, better audience understanding, and better post-training performance on the job. In a blended-learning scenario, there is a lot you can delegate to your eLearning “assistant."

Benefit #4: Helps future-proof your training expertise

Adapting to blended learning will ensure your expertise stays highly desirable and relevant. Younger generations of learners are more comfortable interacting with technology than people. Blended learning’s eLearning element helps reach these learners more effectively with fewer distractions and a lighter cognitive load from human interaction.

Benefit #5: Casts a wider, more impactful net to your learners

Blended learning enables your dreams for sharing the helpful information you deliver to a wider audience. You’re no longer confined to the tie and place boundaries of a classroom and can expand the impact of your expertise. Imagine spreading your training influence far and wide, and reaching people all around the company, when and where your learners want to learn. Blended learning makes it possible!

Which elements of your training program will be eLearning and which will be instructor-led or workshops will depend on what your learners are comfortable with, and what your desired learning outcomes are. Using a modern LMS can be invaluable here, as it can help make the transition easier. For example, if you have the right LMS, you can:

• Deliver pre-workshop assignments so students come already familiar with the material.
• Allow learners to consume content at their own pace.
• Maintain a library of short refresher videos.
• Encourage more training with social learning tools.
• Conduct online assessments.
• Track training and identify high-potential employees.
• Allow employees the flexibility to explore self-directed learning.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. If you are interested in learning more, one of our experts can provide you with a 5-minute demo of our HSI LMS. You can also explore our LMS for yourself by signing up for a 15-day, full-featured free trial today.

Additional Reading

• If you feel that your organization still has anxiety about incorporating blended learning into their training programs, I recommend our eBook, “Therapeutic Guide to Blended Learning,” which speaks to many of the fears people have when it comes to blended learning.
• Read our case study on Burke Distributing, who incorporated off-the-shelf training from HSI with their instructor-led courses for their own blended-learning environment.
• Employee Training Buyer's Guide