Online Training for Irish SMEs: Opportunities, Barriers and Competitive Advantage

For Irish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), developing the skills and knowledge of employees is an important consideration. However, finding the time and resources to provide training can be challenging, particularly when it needs to fit around the day-to-day demands of running a business.

Online training presents an alternative to traditional classroom-based learning, but is it an approach that suits smaller businesses? What factors influence its adoption, and what should organisations consider when deciding how best to develop their employees?

These are some of the questions explored in my research into online training and the opportunities it presents for Irish SMEs.

Time savings and flexibility

Time saving is one of the clearest opportunities identified in the research.

Between 70% and 75% of survey respondents identified time savings and innovation as two of the main opportunities associated with online training. Time saving was also recognised by those interviewed as part of the research.

Removing the need for everyone to travel to the same location can make training easier to organise and easier to access. It can also allow organisations to provide learning to people in different locations without requiring the same amount of travel or classroom time.

The value is not simply about saving time. Greater flexibility can make it easier for organisations to provide training when and where it is needed.

Opportunities for innovation

Innovation is another strong theme in the research.

Online training creates opportunities to reconsider how learning is delivered rather than simply reproducing a classroom course on a screen.

Organisations are using different approaches, including self-paced learning, virtual instructor-led training, webinars, videoconferencing and blended learning. Some are also exploring video, live streaming and gamification.

This creates opportunities to combine different approaches depending on the learners, the subject and what the organisation is trying to achieve.

Innovation does not necessarily mean introducing more technology. It can mean using the available technology more effectively and designing the learning experience differently.

Cost savings

The people interviewed as part of the research identified cost savings as one of the important opportunities associated with online training.

Delivering training online can reduce some of the costs associated with bringing trainers and learners together in one physical location. Travel, accommodation and classroom requirements can all be reduced in appropriate circumstances.

However, reducing costs should not become the main measure of whether online training is successful.

A less expensive course that provides a poorer learning experience is not necessarily better value. The design of the programme, the quality of delivery and the learner experience still matter.

Reaching more learners and markets

Online delivery can remove some of the geographical restrictions associated with classroom training.

The research finds that businesses can use online training to compete beyond their immediate geographical location and offer a broader range of courses without being limited by the availability of classroom space.

For an SME, this can create opportunities to reach more learners, customers and organisations without having to establish a physical presence in every location.

It can also make it easier to deliver training across different parts of an organisation or to provide learning to customers in different locations.

The ability to reach a wider audience therefore has implications not only for learning but also for how a business can grow its services.

Upskilling staff

One of the interesting findings from the research is the importance of staff development.

Upskilling staff appears repeatedly in the findings and emerges as an opportunity in its own right. It is also closely connected with the question of competitive advantage.

When respondents were asked how online training could create competitive advantage, 19% identified the ability to upskill staff as a differentiator.

Making learning more accessible can give organisations more opportunities to develop the skills and capabilities of their people.

This is particularly useful when training can be incorporated more flexibly into working life rather than depending entirely on attendance at a particular physical location.

Can online training create competitive advantage?

This is one of the central questions explored in the research.

The findings are generally positive, although not everyone believed online training created a competitive advantage. Those who did identified several reasons, including the ability to upskill staff, save time and increase their potential target market.

The research also finds that being able to offer online training can help businesses differentiate themselves from competitors, reach the corporate sector, operate beyond their geographical location and provide a broader range of courses.

However, simply putting training online does not create competitive advantage.

The potential advantage comes from what an organisation is able to do differently as a result: develop staff, reach more learners, respond more flexibly to customers, offer different types of programmes or deliver training in ways that were previously difficult.

There are barriers too

The opportunities need to be considered alongside the challenges.

The research identifies communication, providing practical or hands-on training online, and workplace distractions as particular barriers. Survey respondents also raised broadband and connectivity as an issue.

Practical or skills-based training can be particularly difficult to reproduce online when learners need to work directly with equipment or practise a physical task.

Communication can also be different online. Creating opportunities for discussion, interaction and informal learning requires deliberate thought rather than assuming these will happen naturally.

The learner's environment matters too. Someone attending online training while remaining at their normal workstation may still be dealing with phones, emails, colleagues and other demands on their attention.

These barriers deserve consideration when deciding what should be delivered online and what may work better in a classroom or blended environment.

The opportunity is in how online training is used

One of the clearest lessons from the research is that online training should not simply be considered a replacement for classroom training.

It creates different possibilities.

Organisations can reduce travel, provide greater flexibility, reach learners in different locations, develop staff and explore new ways of delivering learning.

At the same time, there are situations where online delivery is more difficult, particularly where practical skills, communication or the learner's working environment are important.

The opportunity therefore comes from choosing the right approach rather than assuming that everything should be delivered online.

For many organisations, this may mean combining online, self-directed and classroom learning rather than choosing one method exclusively.

What this means for training providers

The findings point to a broader question for training providers: not simply whether training can be delivered online, but where online or blended learning adds genuine value.

Does online delivery make the programme more accessible or flexible?

Could some parts of the programme work better online while others are better delivered in person?

Does the approach allow learners to participate and interact effectively?

Can it help the organisation reach learners or customers it could not previously reach?

And, most importantly, does it contribute to a better learning experience?

The decision should not be based simply on whether a course can be delivered online. It should be based on whether online or blended learning is the right approach for the learners, the programme and the organisation.

About this research

This article draws on my original research into online training and Irish SMEs. The research examines how Irish SMEs are using online training, the opportunities it creates, the barriers to adoption and its potential to create competitive advantage.

The research included 40 survey responses and seven interviews across a range of sectors.