etrainu Expert Advice – The Effectiveness of eLearning

For five years, etrainu has worked with Nerang RSL & Memorial Club in providing online courses for new and existing staff in Responsible Service of Alcohol, Responsible Service of Gambling and Food Safety, in addition to a customised Compliance training induction and a Sales and Customer service eLearning course that features imagery of the club and a personalised introductory video with the club’s President.

The Human Resources Manager of Nerang RSL & Memorial Club, Georgina Seddon, spoke to etrainu about her experience in using eLearning to train staff and its effectiveness as a training tool.

What made Nerang RSL & Memorial Club change to eLearning as a way of educating and inducting its employees

In the period just before we employed services of etrainu, Nerang RSL & Memorial Club was experiencing a high turnover rate and needed a solution. Using eLearning courses was the answer, as it was more effective, saved time and was a more affordable option for the club.

What aspects of eLearning do you believe are effective?

I personally think what makes eLearning effective is how it caters towards different learning styles. I’ve observed that some of our staff like to read and while others prefer to listen. It’s effective because it covers the learning styles of all individuals.

How have the employees of Nerang RSL & Memorial Club responded to online training to date?

They’ve actually really enjoyed it and responded well. It’s actually a really useful tool for me too as I can monitor how engaged our staff are with their learning. For example, if they are distracted by their phones while completing an eLearning course, they’re not committed to the club or the position.

Do you think it’s important to have a variety of methods when it comes to teaching content? If so, does eLearning and online training help to achieve this?

Yes, I strongly believe it’s important and that eLearning addresses this.

Would you recommend other businesses or organisations use online training as a way of educating employees and club members? Why/why not?

We certainly would! At Nerang RSL & Memorial Club, we’ve found etrainu’s courses are not only great as starter courses, they’re also great refreshers. Even though etrainu’s nationally accredited courses issue a Statement of Attainment upon completion, which keeps the certificates valid, we like our staff to redo the courses every 3 years to keep their knowledge sharp and up to date. For our non-accredited courses, such as Sales and Customer, participants are issued certificate which features Nerang RSL & Memorial Club’s very own logo.

We’ve also found online learning to be an effective discipline tool. Recently, we had in instance where one of the staff was acting in a way that was not in line with the culture and values of Nerang RSL & Memorial Club. This staff member was instructed to complete the Compliance training course and only after completing it was this member able to see the error of his ways and continue working as a valued member of the Nerang RSL & Memorial Club team.

In your opinion, is there still a place for traditional teaching/text book education or is it a thing of the past because of eLearning?

In some ways, traditional text book learning is a thing of the past, especially for the younger generation but there will always be a place for face-to-face learning.