Employee development program: A majority of Canadian respondents believe online learning helps meet work and career goals

In the era of hybrid work, companies may prefer to conduct employee training remotely by using digital tools such as online learning management software (LMS). How are these platforms used within Canadian organizations? What do employees think of such programs? GetApp surveyed around 1,000 employees in Canada to answer all these questions. 

Employee development programs can help employees improve their skill sets, stay competitive, and enhance their career prospects. Also, with 62% of Canadian employees working in a hybrid work model, online learning programs could bring flexibility for workers so that they don’t have to leave their workplace to go back to any school or institute to enhance their skills. 

Organizations can leverage online learning management software to encourage continuous learning among employees. But do you know what motivates workers to take training programs and what restricts them from developing skills through such online learning tools? GetApp surveyed over 1,000 full-time or part-time employees who have access to online courses at their workplace. Scroll down to the bottom of this article for the complete methodology.

Learning more about career roles and certification requirements are the main drivers for taking training courses

Learning and development is important for anyone to enhance their skills and abilities. Providing employees with training programs can ideally help organizations create a learning culture that encourages growth and development. In this context, we asked our respondents about the factors that influenced them to take a training course at work. We list the top five below:

As we can see, employees mostly prefer to take training courses to learn more about their career roles. This could be because they want to broaden their knowledge in their field of work to progress in their jobs. Another reason that encourages them is the need to meet certification requirements, as they might require proof or endorsement to show that they have enough skills needed to do their jobs efficiently or for a career progression 

Who proposes training initiatives more: employees or management?

Delving deeper into the issue, we further asked our survey-takers about who usually proposes training initiatives within the company. 41% of the respondents said that proposals come from management or above, 18% said that employees often propose these initiatives, while 38% reported that training initiatives come from both management and employees. 

Of those respondents who answered “employees often propose training initiatives” or “both management and employees typically propose training”:

• 68% of the respondents proposed online courses as a learning option 
• 40% stated learning management system (LMS) platforms as a learning option for training
• 36% of them suggested in-office classes or workshops as a learning option

Looking at the data, it can be said that the majority of respondents (68%) may have a willingness to receive learning through online courses as they typically offer flexibility to learn from anywhere and anytime. 

On-the-job training is the preferred learning method for 47% of respondents

Employees who do not see their careers progressing within the organization may consider leaving their jobs for an organization that offers better career progression opportunities. In this context, companies should ideally provide their workers with learning and development skills programs for better retention. 

We asked our survey respondents about their preferred methods of learning at work. On-the-job training is the most desired way of learning for employees (47%), followed by online classes with flexible deadlines (39%), and in-person classes/workshops (28%). 

Looking at the above data points, it can be inferred that employees might want training with real experience to get hands-on knowledge of the equipment and tools they will use to perform their job operations. Such training methods typically help workforce gain practical experience under the guidance of a senior manager or employee within their working hours and build strong relationships with peers. 

On the other hand, online class with flexible deadlines is another preferred way of receiving learning at work for employees, as they can choose to complete the training whenever and wherever they want.

Online learning is helping a majority of respondents meet their learning goals(Q-16)

There is no doubt that hiring top talent can drive growth for an organization, but training existing talent could also be a win-win opportunity for both companies and employees. So, improving your workers’ skills and encouraging them to keep learning can help create a productive and engaged workforce.

In this survey, we asked our respondents to what extent the online learning experience helps them meet their goals regarding work and career. This is what they said:

As we can see, a combined total of 97% of respondents believe that online learning is helping them meet their learning goals to some extent and only 3% disagree. We can safely say that online learning programs can assist workers in staying competitive and enhancing their skill sets. 

Motivating employees to continue learning at work not only benefits employees but organizations as well. This is quite clear from our survey, which reveals that 61% of the respondents feel both employees and companies benefit equally from the courses offered through online platforms. 

In that sense, organizations should ideally have specific strategies in place to establish professional development goals for employees as well as the organization as a whole.

More than half of the respondents need extra training on professional development skills

While our survey revealed that 48% of employees are interested in learning more about their career role, the same study also found that more than half of the respondents (56%) would like their company to provide additional training on professional development skills. There is no doubt that it is important for employees to be skilled in their area of expertise, but it can also be ideal for them to have professional development skills for better chances of a promotion.

Professional development skills can help employees bolster their confidence and gain a more in-depth knowledge of their industry. Along with professional development skills, other preferred additional training skills desired by respondents include:

The motivations for seeking additional training usually correlate with employees’ professional and technical skills. In conjunction with professional development skills, employees are also interested in getting extra training on technical skills to understand the functionality of existing and new software/tools to stay up-to-date with market trends. 

Personalizing courses and managing time schedules are keys to overcoming online learning challenges

Although online learning offers various benefits to employees, it might also bring multiple barriers that prevent them from engaging in learning at work if not managed efficiently. For instance, it may be difficult for employees to devote extra time to learning and development from their busy work schedule. According to research by Robert Walters, 3 in 5 Canadian employees are suffering from workplace-related stress due to hefty workloads and unclear job expectations. This could be a possible reason why employees do not have sufficient time to use online learning platforms. 

Lack of motivation can be another challenge that may obstruct employees from developing skills. This might happen if employees are unclear about the goals of such learning programs. 

Let’s look at some potential solutions that can help organizations overcome such challenges.

• Encourage employees to manage their work schedules
  45% of the respondents lack sufficient time to use the learning platforms as finding the time for learning could be difficult for some employees. However, organizations may overcome this issue by investing in time management software for employees. Using such tools, employees can potentially better manage their work hours and prioritize their tasks efficiently. 
• Break down courses into small modules
  Employees may not be interested in training programs that consume a lot of their time. In this context, organizations should divide training online training modules into small sessions that can be as small as five or ten minutes long so that learners don’t have to devote long hours. 
• Personalize the learning experience for employees
  In order to make training courses engaging for employees, organizations should strive to deliver a personalized learning experience that caters to employees’ learning preferences. 
• Implement appropriate design practices to build courses

As 15% of the surveyed respondents find it challenging to navigate or use learning platforms, make sure to follow best practices and standards for online course design. For example, companies may design training courses with offline access so that employees can continue their training sessions if their connection gets lost suddenly. They can also ensure that platforms are easy to navigate with simple, intuitive interfaces so learners from all backgrounds can access them.