How do you cut training costs and still retain quality?

How do you cut training costs and still retain quality?
How do you cut training costs and still retain quality?

The UK news isn’t painting a positive financial picture of late.

  • Reports of rising fuel prices with young drivers hit hard after a record three and half year high; 11% of drivers are cutting back on car use. [1]

  • A third of British homeowners are now priced out of their own property at today’s value with the average property now coming in at £220,962. [2]

  • Retailers recently suffered a sharp sales drop owing to a squeeze in household budgets and a lack of consumer spending. [3]

It’s therefore no surprise L&D teams are having to think smart with how they invest their money. The cost of face-to-face training hasn’t reduced over the years and the digital solution of e-learning can similarly be as expensive and/or not an appropriate equivalent.

So how can you save money on workplace training, deliver suitable opportunities for staff development and keep the personal interaction e-learning often lacks?

A virtual classroom may provide the answer

An online environment that allows for live, collaborate and interactive learning.

Attendees participate remotely and fully engage with other learners, communicating and sharing through a structured approach to the delivery. Training takes place over a series of sessions, so learning is achieved in short bursts – a more effective and modern approach to training delivery and no expense costs to be reimbursed…

Virtual classrooms are used for many learning purposes – management training for example, change management awareness, skills improvement, new systems training and more.

The structure of a virtual classroom training programme can vary, based on the number of participants, the need for the training and the subject matter. The training is delivered in plenary (one room/screen) and/or in smaller groups via online breakout rooms to focus attention and discussion.

Real-life examples:

  • The British Council used virtual classrooms to implement a new HR and management programme across locations worldwide, covering over 30 countries.

  • Blue Cross used virtual classrooms to reach a wide audience of volunteers and staff – reach included retail outlets, animal care centres and volunteer homes, two different target audiences covering 400 people.

  • Royal Bank of Scotland required a more effective use of an existing platform. They cut costs by adapting content from face-to-face training across the UK, Europe and USA and ensured their staff were fully trained.

Virtual classrooms provide an interactive and engaging approach to workplace learning and a smart solution to cutting costs – not quality.

Find out more


[1] http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/young-drivers-hardest-hit-by-rising-fuel-costs-11364269743125

[2] https://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/uk-homeowners-property-market-housing-affordable-buy-a8344326.html

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/09/uk-retailers-suffer-sharpest-sales-drop-for-22-years-in-april


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