Use of e-learning for employee training: Insights from four private sector business firms in Sri Lanka

The objective of this study was to explore the use of e-learning for employee training and development purposes. Four well-established private sector business organizations that use e-learning as a critical component of their training delivery were selected as case study firms. These firms belonged to the business sectors of offshore software development, telecommunication, commercial banking, and private tertiary education. The study was confined to e-learning solutions provided for executive and above level employees. In brief, it was found that the three firms except the software development firm use e-learning as an asynchronous application while the software development firm uses e-learning both as asynchronous and synchronous e-learning applications. With regard to the methods used by the firms to evaluate e-learning to find out its effectiveness, attrition, and appeal to learners, only the bank and the telecommunication firm made certain attempts to evaluate e-learning based training. Employees from all the four firms identify several factors that hinder the exploitation of e-learning. Overall, the findings of the study suggest the importance of effective design and delivery of e-learning solutions as a training mechanism in addressing both organizational and employee expectations. Hence, the findings imply that the successful implementation of e-learning solutions requires significant planning and effort.