More than half of employees prefer to learn exclusively online
Recent events have brought irreversible changes to both workplace organization in companies and the arrangement of training and seminars. More than half of employees in Latvian companies now prefer remote seminars, while attending educational events exclusively in person is chosen by only one in twenty workers.
Just four years ago, remote training in the corporate environment was considered an exception dictated by circumstances, a backup option due to unforeseen reasons. Such training was mostly organized intentionally by companies whose employees were scattered across a wide network of branches, making it economically unfeasible for everyone to gather in one place. In other cases, people were brought together in one room, where training was also used to foster team cohesion. However, after a couple of pandemic years, the situation has changed radically. Remote meetings and training have become the norm, as evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by Jumis Pro, developers of the business management system Jumis. The survey found that 52.5% of all respondents now consider online training to be the most suitable format for educational events. 42.5% are open to both remote and in-person events, depending on their specifics and participant availability, and only 5% always prefer in-person learning.
The main benefit of remote training events is time savings, emphasized by 90.5% of respondents. A quarter also highlight economic benefits, especially those living outside Riga. Among those who prefer attending events in person, 40% do so only because they are tired of remote learning. Only a third emphasize that they find it easier to absorb information in person.
«The perspective of employees on training has clearly changed. During the pandemic years, people got used to this format of acquiring information, learned to use technology productively, and appreciated how much time can be saved. The challenging circumstances helped the online course industry to develop, making skill acquisition and qualification improvement more accessible even for very busy employees. Among ambitious professionals, it would be hard to find someone who has not taken the opportunity to enhance their knowledge through online courses or seminars at least once. This leads to a clear conclusion – companies must continue digitalization and utilize the opportunities provided by modern technologies to improve employee qualifications. Workers are ready for this. Companies just need to keep up,» concludes Jumis Pro manager Viesturs Slaidiņš.
The survey was conducted in the spring of 2023 and involved 180 Latvian companies.