What are the benefits of online health and safety assessments and training compared to providing them face to face?

42% of leading learning companies say online learning has led to an increase in revenue with 56% saying it has improved productivity. So it’s no surprise to see that 44% of company’s intent to purchase online learning tools and systems, this being based on the 2014 Training Industry Report. Online health and safety assessments and training is a form of learning, training or education program via electronic means. It’s crucial to have training provided in a way which will benefit employees and the organisation in a positive manner. It is also important to see that by 2016, 98% of organisations are predicted to use video as part of their digital learning.

Online health and safety assessments and training methods are made accessible to the workforce throughout the day. This 24/7 accessibility gives the ability for employees to learn the subject at their own pace and in their own comfortable settings. Online assessments also allow fast learners to work at a speed which suits them, unlike face to face training, this lets them complete their training at a faster and productive level. Furthermore, a learning tool that is available constantly makes it possible for the employers to offer staff training without a constraint on resources, as employees work at different time zones.

Studies have shown that online training enhances learner engagement and improves retention. A moderate level of staff turnover can be good for a business, it results in fresh ideas and approaches. However, every organisation needs to have a strategy in place to retain the high performers that give it a competitive edge; these being the ones you can’t afford to lose. The main issues associated with a high staff turnover are that it lowers internal morale and it could harm an organisation's external reputation and has high costs. Fortunately, because of all the sophisticated learning tools available today, it is simpler to introduce online assessments in the staff learning program. It's been estimated that nearly 25% of all employees leave their job because there simply isn’t enough training or learning opportunities. On the other hand, companies who do offer online and on-the-job training generate about 26% more revenue per employee. This shows why it’s important to have training which is productive and effective, online training guarantees learning for employers which is efficient.

Companies experience significant costs through conventional learning systems. Money is typically spent on:

• The trainer and employee commutation.
• Classroom rentals.
• Infrastructure rentals.
• Trainer cost per hour.
• Paper and documentation costs.

Online training can be up to 93% cheaper than instructor-led courses. As well as being cheaper, it is also a much greener source of training. Corporations save between 50-70% due to the elimination of travel expenses according to Training Magazine, travel being one of the contributors to why online training is a greener method of training. Online training is cheaper, greener and also less time consuming. Employees have to be pulled off their jobs to attend face to face training. This affects work schedules and reduces productivity and adds to costs. Time spent away from the job is also the cost of lost opportunity.

Lastly, one of the more important benefits of online training is how it is better suitable for the millennial workforce. A millennial workforce is a group that accountancy firm Deloitte, predicts will make up 75% of the global workforce by 2025. Today's employees work not just for money, but also to continually learn. Knowledge is always available at the employee's disposal, this gives them better access to subjects they are interested in and not necessarily those that would benefit them at work. This online tool will result in staff loyalty as employees will have a greater sense of accomplishment at their workplace.

A real life example of a company which found online training to aid them was M&S. M&S saved £500k in a year making the switch to online training for one of their needs. They also improved customer service by 22% and became more profitable as a result. And if you’re still not convinced, McDonalds saw a 10% sales growth within 2 years as a result of the online training they implemented. Online training is the new way in which businesses are educating their staff, and from the advantages listed above, it’s easy to see why.

The benefits of online health and safety training solutions are highlighted below:

1. Live changes can be made to the content of the online health and safety training system with any changes to health and safety legislation thus ensuring your company is always up to date with health and safety legislation.
2. The system will enable you to provide health and safety training and assessments at multiple office locations and all home workers in a seamless and consistent way and eliminates the need for travel by in-house assessors to multiple locations.
3. The system delivers all the training and assessments for health and safety leaving in-house assessors to focus on the employee issues highlighted by the system.
4. The cost of the system will save your company from between 75% to 95% over the cost of face to face health and safety assessments. A face to face assessment, on average, will cost between £40 and £45 per employee. An online health and safety training and assessment will cost between £10 and £1 per employee, depending on the number of staff.
5. All the digital and printable assessments and reports are stored in one single location with easy access to the reports. There is no need for a paper only system which can be lost.
6. The health and safety systems can be tailored to your company’s exact requirements and with your own look and feel to make it look like the system was developed in-house. The training, assessment questions, response options and reports can all be tailored to your exact needs. This enables your company to roll out the same training to all staff seamlessly.
7. The system will highlight any low, medium and high risk issues and notify any dedicated assessors of choice via email of an employee who requires an issue to be dealt with.
8. All actions taken and notes about issues are added to the system so all assessors will be able to view current and historic issues on the system and all actions taken in previous years.

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