Online Staff Training Savings: What Could Your Business Save?

Online staff training savings can go well beyond the advertised course price. Employers also need to consider travel, venue hire, cover, lost productive time, administration, repeat sessions for absentees and the effort involved in finding certificates later.

A fair comparison looks at the total cost of delivering suitable training. It also recognises that online learning is not right for every subject. Practical competence, site-specific instruction and supervised assessment may still need to happen face to face.

The direct cost of the course

Classroom training often has a fixed day rate or minimum group cost. That can be good value when an entire team needs practical instruction at the same time, but less efficient when staff work different shifts, join throughout the year or only require a short awareness course.

Athena Digital Academy publishes volume pricing for organisations purchasing five or more courses. At the time this pack was prepared, the website showed £14 per course for 2-10 employees, £12 for 11-50 employees and £10 for 51-100 employees, with bespoke pricing for 101 or more. Business packages include a free LMS, company branding and an account manager. Pricing should always be confirmed when ordering.

The costs businesses often overlook

 Travel mileage, public transport, parking and subsistence.

 Venue or training-room hire.

 Trainer travel or additional delivery sessions.

 Wages paid while employees travel and wait for a scheduled course.

 Overtime or temporary cover needed to maintain operations.

 Repeat bookings for new starters, absentees or unsuccessful learners.

 Manager and administrator time spent sending reminders and updating records.

 Time spent retrieving certificates for audits, tenders or client requests.

These costs vary considerably by organisation, which is why broad claims such as ‘online training saves 80%’ should be treated cautiously unless the assumptions are shown.

A worked example for a 25-person business

Imagine a business with 25 employees. Each person needs four suitable online awareness courses during the year. Using the currently published 11-50 employee rate, the simple course calculation would be:

25 employees x 4 courses x £12 = £1,200

25 employees x 4 courses x £12 = £1,200

If the same courses were purchased individually at £20 each, the comparable course-only total would be £2,000. On those assumptions, the volume rate reduces direct course expenditure by £800 before considering any travel, venue, cover or administration savings.

This is an illustration, not a guaranteed quotation. The actual figure will depend on course choice, number of licences, tax treatment, the package agreed and whether any practical or site-specific delivery is also required.

Where the time saving comes from

Online learning allows staff to complete suitable theory or awareness training within an agreed window instead of waiting for one fixed date. Managers can stagger learning around shifts and workload, while new starters can receive the relevant courses as part of onboarding.

A learning management system also reduces manual record-keeping. Rather than maintaining separate spreadsheets, inbox folders and paper certificates, managers can see assignments, starts, completions and evidence in one place. Athena’s LMS allows business customers to monitor activity, identify learners who have not started, download reports and retrieve certificates.

Consistency can reduce hidden rework

A central course gives every learner the same core information and assessment. This can be particularly useful across several sites or managers, where informal induction may otherwise vary. Consistent content does not remove the need for local instruction, but it provides a dependable baseline.

Automatic records can also prevent unnecessary repeat training caused by missing evidence. If a client asks for proof, the business can retrieve a certificate rather than booking the employee again simply because the original record cannot be found.

When classroom or practical training remains essential

Cost should never be the only consideration. Online learning is well suited to knowledge, awareness and refresher content, but it cannot by itself prove practical competence. Examples may include using specialist equipment, delivering hands-on first aid, carrying out high-risk tasks or demonstrating a site-specific safe system of work.

The strongest model is often blended: online learning for consistent underpinning knowledge, followed by practical instruction, local briefing, supervision and assessment where the role requires it.

Read the HSE guidance on choosing suitable worker training

How to calculate your online staff training savings

 List the courses required for each role rather than assuming everyone needs everything.

 Calculate current course, trainer and venue costs.

 Add travel, accommodation, paid travel time and operational cover.

 Estimate administration time for bookings, reminders, spreadsheets and certificate retrieval.

 Price the equivalent online licences and identify any remaining practical delivery.

 Compare both the total cost and the quality of evidence produced.

Also consider what the change is intended to improve. Online staff training savings matter, but so do faster onboarding, more reliable completion records, fewer missed renewals and clearer oversight across the workforce.

Make the saving sustainable

The most effective approach is to build a simple annual training matrix. Link each job role to the courses and practical checks it needs, assign target dates and review the plan after changes, incidents or new responsibilities. This prevents both under-training and the unnecessary cost of blanket course allocation.

Ready to take the next step?

Tell us how many employees you train and the courses they need. We can help you compare options and set up a branded business LMS. Request Business Pricing