Objections to online learning: for recruitment businesses

Ask around the office and you’ll no doubt find that everyone has an opinion about online learning. For many, the concept brings to mind endless reading, boring quizzes, and an obligation you’d rather avoid.

Of course, many of these objections and assumptions are based on bad experiences, particularly from back when online learning was in its infancy. The style and nature of online learning has evolved—from a dull online version of a textbook to fun, interactive, genuinely engaging content.

However, some objections persist. Recruitment businesses, leaders, and recruiters themselves can be resistant to online learning, despite its measurable impact on retention, culture, collaboration and performance. That’s why, across a short series of posts, we’re digging deeper into some of the main objections to online learning—and why they’re inaccurate.

Let’s kick off with why recruitment businesses object to online learning.

1. 1. Online learning simply doesn’t work

   Most recruitment businesses make an instant comparison between their experiences of online learning and face-to-face recruiter training. And when it comes to unengaging, poorly-curated content, they’re 100% right: online learning doesn’t work.

   However, an intelligently-designed recruiter training platform offers something radically different to in-person training—and comes with its own unique benefits.

   Unlike a workshop or training day, online learning is perpetually available. Training shifts from being a one-off or infrequent event to something your recruiters can access whenever and wherever they want to. Looking for tips for an upcoming client meeting? Jump into a short video. Building your skills to progress in your career? Follow a role-oriented pathway of relevant content.

   Online recruiter training gives your recruiters more control and choice—and that means they engage with more relevant content. According to IBM, people typically access five times as much material when learning online compared to a classroom session.

    

   2. Online learning is more expensive

   If you look at the costs associated with training a single recruiter, you could easily make the argument that online learning is more expensive. But the truth is that online learning offers something radically different—and more impactful—than more traditional training.

   In reality, this misconception is inevitable when recruitment businesses only pay for training sessions occasionally. The costs associated with online learning could very possibly be more expensive than the 2-3 workshops you book every year.

   However, online learning is constantly available—not just for a few days, but 24/7/365. It also offers more financially sound results, helping you build a culture of learning and development where training is embedded into your everyday. This helps with recruiter retention, engagement, and eliminating the costly churn of recruiters who leave to find a firm with a culture of personal and professional growth.

   3. We can just find free training online

   The internet is a wealth of information (with some misinformation thrown in for good measure). A quick trip to Google will no doubt take you to interesting, informative content from thought leaders in the recruitment space.

   The challenge, though, is engagement. The availability of information online doesn’t mean any of your recruiters will go out of their way to find it. Even if they do, this kind of content rarely includes a structured way to embed new ideas and put them into practice.

   A platform like Juice isn’t just a repository of high-quality content for recruiters. It’s a purpose-built tool to:

   • Surface the most relevant for every recruiter and role
   • Lead people through a structured pathway of relevant content
   • Check that learning objectives have been met and embed ideas long-term
   • Get people excited about training with gamification and video content

   Free online courses and content can be a powerful part of your learning and development mix—but they’re no substitute for structured training designed expressly for recruiters.

   See how the Juice platform offers more than high-quality training content for recruiters