BlueVolt in cooperation with market research firm Cascade Insights has released the second edition of its โVoice of the E-Learnerโ survey, which asked 1,327 workers from manufacturers and distributors in the electrical, plumbing, HVAC and industrial tools industries about their perceptions of online learning. BlueVolt launched the first edition of the survey in 2016. This yearโs findings showed a 27 percent dropโfrom 59 percent in 2016 to 33 percent in 2018โin the number of learners who were โvery satisfiedโ with their organizationโs online training programs.
โWe know this year that 90 percent of workers ranging in age from the 20s to late 60s want online training courses, such as product training, in chunks of five minutes or less,โ says Douglas Gastich, president of BlueVolt. โFifty percent of workers in their early 20s to mid-40s also want interactive online training content.โ
According to Gastich, the steep drop in very satisfied learners might come from online training content suppliers who are making courses too long, which the Voice of E-Learner survey suggests being any course lasting more than 10 minutes. This yearโs survey saw a five percent rise, to 69 percent, among workers who prefer to learn about their companyโs products and services at work versus other venues.
โThe desire for shorter courses could stem from employees who have limited time to learn at work,โ says Scott Swigart, chief research officer of Cascade Insights. โThe survey findings show a correlation between training, especially product training, and increased sales. If an employer doesnโt realize this, they may not encourage time for dedicated learning; this pressures employees to learn in short bursts.โ
Gastich says this yearโs survey offers three key findings: First, among the total survey population, 40 percent report taking 21 or more online training courses in the last year; second, 47 percent credit online training, in part, for increasing their companyโs sales; and, third, incentives may be important to getting workers to take online training courses, since just 26 percent stated they were likely to take a course without an inducement.
Kian Sanjari, marketing and training manager for Mersen Electrical Power North America, says he doesnโt necessarily think companies have to reward people to learn if the content helps them do their job more successfully. Sanjari adds, โProduct and application knowledge that creates customer intimacy or career advancement, are the true incentives.โ
Matt Dedeluk is senior channel marketing manager for Tennessee-based JPW Industries, which owns tool and machinery brand names including JET, Powermatic, Wilton and Edwards. When asked about the link between online training courses and sales, Dedeluk says his companyโs online university gives distributors training materials that offer graphics, videos, quizzes and presentations for JPW brands. According to Dedeluk, this gives learners the know-how to cross-sell any of JPWโs brands.