A practical analysis of blended training efficacy on organizational outcomes

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature of blended learning by practically implementing best practices in employee training. Design/methodology/approach: In response to the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, an organization had modified its training procedures over the course of three years to improve employee and organizational outcomes. Employee candidates who were onboarded into sales positions during the years 2019-2021 were given the opportunity to learn the content in an online format and subsequently evaluated prior to their in-person...  [+] Show more

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature of blended learning by practically implementing best practices in employee training. Design/methodology/approach: In response to the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, an organization had modified its training procedures over the course of three years to improve employee and organizational outcomes. Employee candidates who were onboarded into sales positions during the years 2019-2021 were given the opportunity to learn the content in an online format and subsequently evaluated prior to their in-person training and final evaluation to provide them with a self-paced blended learning experience. Both evaluation scores, along with the length it took to complete the trainings, were used to determine the trainings effectiveness and efficiency respectively. Findings: The findings for the study showed that the organization was successfully able to improve upon the efficiency of the training by reducing training length and the effectiveness by improving employee outcomes.

Research limitations/implications: The study's design was limited to the probation process, which resulted in issues drawing conclusions for employee outcomes that were relevant to their long-term organizational success. This emphasizes the importance of comprehensive investigations for future practical studies. Practical implications: The findings allow for the improvement of blended learning models within real-world organizational contexts that provide organizations with the opportunity to improve employee outcomes while reducing time costs. Originality/value: This study provides data from applied blended learning procedures that were validated using empirical findings, which contributes to the practicality of blended learning in workplace training.

Published abstract.