Many companies are so busy running the day to day business that they don't think that they have any real time for a proper training session. It takes time, it takes money, and it takes your staff away from their day jobs for hours or even days. However training is necessary so you don't fall behind in the corporate world and keep your skill levels intact, so what can you do? ELearning might be the answer.

A primary reason that most businesses shy away from training is that they think it's expensive. ELearning is usually the cheapest form of training offered. Think about it - the training company don't have to put you up in their offices, so they save money. They can do everything online rather than print out materials, so that saves money, too. They have pre-written instructions on a screen rather than a paid, full time human doing the training - also saving money.

If the training company can cut their costs with ELearning, these will be passed on to you, the consumer. If you've looked into the idea of taking staff to an external training course and it proved too expensive for your budget, ask if the same course is available for ELearning at a lower rate. The chances are, there's something on offer to suit you.

The other main reason that a manager would be reluctant about training is that you generally have to send most of your key employees on the course, therefore taking them away from their desks and away from doing essential work. With ELearning, however, they can do it at their own desks in their own time, or in sections when the business demands allow. This allows for flexibility, the continuation of the business, and the advantage of your staff training up in their own environment and at their own pace.

Most companies have access to a fast internet connection these days, so ELearning becomes a real possibility. Rather than having trainees sat around a room looking at a presentation, they can be sat at their desk watching a live feed of a training session, or even a pre-recorded video. Another advantage to this is that if someone is off sick on the day of training, they can always catch up later since most ELearning is not time sensitive.

One of the few concerns surrounding ELearning is that there may be a lack of support during the training- but any good training provider will provide this in the same way - virtually. These days you can have virtual chat rooms for people to ask questions in real time, they can email their questions in their own time, or look up a FAQ on the online help documents that accompany the training. Most companies want you to get the best out of ELearning too, and will provide these things as part of the course.

Overall - if you're concerned about budget, time, or having to take lots of energy and put it into training, you may want to consider ELearning. In today's fast paced world, it's only going to get more popular, so if you get used to it now, you'll be one step ahead in the future.