Training for corporate finance has been the same for decades. Either employees are sent to training at live expensive conferences, a consultant is brought in to teach on site, or managers are tasked with training them on the job. Neither are ideal options, especially in today's technologically advanced workplace. 

Why Live Training Isn't Ideal 

Live training typically takes place at conferences or workshops or by a consultant on site, both of which are expensive.

Conferences require travel, hotels, and other costly expenses. Not to mention all the distractions at a conference. Employees are in a new and sometimes exotic location. There are people everywhere which means that your more outgoing employees will spend a lot of time talking when they should be focused on learning - and your more quiet employees will be overwhelmed by all the networking going on around them. And the information being presented is the same for everyone, so what is being taught may go completely over one employee's head while the other is bored because they could teach the topic themselves. 

On-site training with a consultant is nearly as expensive as conference training, though there the only travel concerns are bringing the consultant in. However, there are still time constraints. The consultant is only available for a handful of days, and if an employee is out on the days, there is no other option. Also, requiring employees to attend the training means that they are not able to do their actual work that day, putting a strain on the company. 

Why On-the-Job Training Isn't Ideal 

When was the last time you heard a manager say, "I have more than enough time to train my employees."? Likely, your answer is never. Managers rarely have enough hours in the day to do the work at hand, let alone spend time training employees. When on-the-job training is the only option, employees typically find themselves teaching themselves or relying on co-workers for help - which not only slows down productivity, it usually results in people learning incorrectly and becoming trained to do things against policy and procedures. On-the-job training is a bad idea for everyone unless time is truly dedicated to teaching and training for both the manager and the employee. 

There's a Better Way

Digital learning is an alternative to live training and on-the-job training. Because it's more affordable, more flexible, and more effective, it's a win-win for everyone. 

Companies can choose from a plethora of learning management systems and platforms or build their own to deliver digital learning, which allows employees to learn what they want when they want - within reason. Employers can give employees a choice of options to keep employees focused on the skills the company needs them to improve on, but employees feel like they have a voice in what they take. This makes it easy to allow employee A to take additional training in an area they need to work in while employee B is able to skip that area and focus on something else. And because digital learning is typically available on-demand, once employees decide which they want to take, they can do it at a time that is right for them.