Did you know that immersive e-learning can increase learner retention by up to 75%? However, the initial investment required for immersive e-learning is higher than for traditional e-learning. So, how do you persuade your business leader to pay for it?
Immersive e-learning is an emerging trend in the learning and development (L&D) space, and it’s an engaging and interactive approach to learning. It uses immersive tech for creating realistic scenarios for interactive learning. The tech includes simulations, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and gamification. These are hands-on experiential learning tools, but they can be difficult or expensive to set up.
With immersive e-learning, your team can:
- Learn complex or abstract concepts
- Develop critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, and creativity skills
- Practice soft skills
- Acquire technical skills that need hands-on practice, through interactive learning
- Experience real-life situations that are risky, rare, or expensive to replicate
Why is it a higher initial investment?
Immersive e-learning often comes with a higher price tag than traditional e-learning tools. That’s because of:
- Higher tech requirements: The use of immersive e-learning requires specialized hardware and software for technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), which results in increasing upfront costs.
- Technology training: Employees may require training on using immersive technology and its usage, leading to additional expenses.
- Accessibility considerations: Based on the organization’s diversity and inclusion goals, alternative e-learning options based on accessibility issues may also be needed.
Long-term advantages
The initial investment is higher, but immersive e-learning offers numerous long-term benefits which can positively impact the organization’s L&D outcomes:
- Enhanced engagement: Immersive e-learning can capture and sustain learners’ attention by providing interactive and meaningful experiences.
- Improved retention and recall: It can help learners remember and apply what they learned by creating strong associations between the content and the context.
- Hands-on experiential learning: Immersive e-learning provides realistic, hands-on experiences for better skills development.
- Reduced resource utilization: You can save time and money using fewer resources than traditional training methods. Immersive e-learning eliminates the need for physical training facilities and cuts costs on travel, instructors, and equipment.
Quantifying the advantages
Your manager may find it hard to accept that these long-term advantages are worth the upfront investment. So how do you quantify these benefits, in a way that’s comparable to the initial monetary investment?
- Associate monetary value: Identify improved outcomes, such as reduced accidents, higher productivity, and increased success rates. Associate a monetary value with each result to demonstrate the potential return on investment.
- Showcase successful implementations: Present case studies and examples from your sector demonstrating improved learning and skill development outcomes achieved through immersive learning. Draw from your own company’s L&D endeavors, industry experience, and documented success stories.
- Run pilot programs: Conduct a pilot or small-scale implementation of immersive e-learning within your organization. Compare the engagement metrics of immersive learning against broader L&D metrics to quantify the impact and effectiveness.
- Cost-benefit analysis: Perform a comprehensive analysis of the initial investment against projected course completion and learning retention rates, and cost savings over time. Present this potential ROI to business leaders, highlighting the financial advantages associated with immersive e-learning.
Overcoming resistance to change
It’s normal to encounter resistance from your boss when you’re wanting to change to immersive e-learning. You can overcome their resistance to change with these strategies:
- Move beyond gimmicks: Immersive e-learning should not be adopted as a gimmick or succumb to the “shiny new thing” syndrome. While the industry is moving toward immersive learning, your company should accept it because of its potential to improve learning outcomes, not just to follow trends.
- Competitive advantage: Companies should view immersive e-learning as a competitive advantage rather than a revenue sink. By stressing the benefits, such as increased engagement and improved retention, you can position immersive e-learning as a valuable investment that will yield long-term returns and drive business growth. Viewing it as a tool for achieving larger organizational objectives, not a way to make e-learning better, can help overcome resistance.
- Specific learning objectives: Discuss how immersive e-learning is more effective at achieving specific learning objectives than other e-learning strategies. Highlight how this is especially valuable for experiential learning at scale.
- Tailor the conversation: When discussing immersive e-learning with business leaders, focus on the benefits that resonate with their interests. Highlight the ones most relevant to your audience, such as those related to technology, business growth, and profitability.
- Technical infrastructure: Ensure your organization has the technical infrastructure to support immersive e-learning. Address concerns about compatibility, security, or scalability.
- Tracking and monitoring: Talk about the complete implementation strategy. It should include the objectives and a detailed plan for monitoring the effectiveness of immersive e-learning, and to track the resulting outcomes.
Immersive e-learning and other tools like gamification is not just a passing trend or fad; it genuinely boosts your L&D initiatives and supports your organizational objectives. Having said that, it is hard to explain the importance of undertaking a higher upfront investment without properly quantifying the associated benefits.
Before you get started, though, talk to Hornbill FX. We firmly believe that unnecessary technology implementations are just that; unnecessary. We help you undertake successful e-learning implementations and focus on delivering your desired organizational and L&D outcomes.