eLearning Solutions for Pharmaceutical Companies: Why Does it Matter?

PUBLISHED

July 30, 2021

Why Pharma Chooses eLearning?

Being in the spotlight during the last year, life sciences seem to be on an unprecedented rise, any minute ready for breakthroughs in science.

86% of technology professionals think that the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries’ digital moment has arrived.

Sure enough, it has arrived, but the one thing it requires is talent.

Simple outsourcing of these talents is not enough – many understand it, and now opt to grow their own in-house specialists, primarily investing in their future.

We came across a report where Deloitte surveyed pharma and MedTech companies about their plans for future investments and changes, and almost 80% of the market leaders stated they needed to be more aggressive in adopting digital technologies. However, only about 20% of pharma companies are currently digitally mature. One of the biggest areas for improvement right now is education, and more and more organizations are now exploring the transition to e-learning.

Nothing stands still. The global pandemic has provoked a rapid surge of digital initiatives in healthcare but on the other hand, it greatly disrupted workplace practices inside pharmaceutical companies. Managing, training, and onboarding remote teams during the global pandemic is quite a burden, of course. The 5th edition of the Salesforce report was investigating how global customer service professionals were adapting to the realities of work in the pandemic.

It turned out that 39% of high-performing companies were successfully organizing remote teams’ training to keep employees updated, a little less but still 19% and 11% of moderate-performing and underperforming companies were also investing in remote training for the staff.

A competitive environment like this has forced companies to reconsider their workplace practices and look for an alternative way to provide mandatory educational training. eLearning provides an opportunity to meet some of those training needs as well as many others.

eLearning solutions offer a better learning experience based on interactive technologies, such as audio, video, graphs, and animations, and allow pharma leaders to conduct mandatory training and share valuable knowledge with all members of the teams.

5 Reasons to Consider eLearning for Pharma

A few reasons why eLearning has become a preferred mode of learning in the pharma industry come down to the various benefits it offers.

According to statistics, LMS/SaaS models provide a more standardized education environment and make up over 29% of the total eLearning market share. A survey of 2,500 companies found that those with

“comprehensive training programs” have 218% higher revenue per employee and 24% higher profit margins. On top of that, retention rates are also usually increasing by 25% to 60%.

Excellent indicators, but these are mainly economic, and let’s see what the long-term benefits are:

1. Keep the team updated & provide the necessary training

Now practically all advanced pharma companies are mastering omnichannel. This approach has become an evolutionary link in the lifecycle of pharma’s digital transformations. But it is important to understand that the real evolution towards omnichannel takes place within.

When a global pharmaceutical company is about to master and scale the right tools correctly – the desired aim is hard to achieve. For example, when your company is deploying certain omnichannel marketing tools they may simply not be suitable for all pharma’s affiliates. In fact, desynchronization occurs at different stages.

Therefore, it is more convenient to master and learn how to use certain tools with the help of eLearning technologies that are proving a convenient learning environment that allows covering the entire team.

Together with end users, you can create your own learning plan, update it gradually with new tools, translate content across all channels, and share valuable knowledge both globally and locally.

2. Get analytics and track the progress

Typically, an eLearning program contains a progress tracker that allows tracking the success of each learner. On top of that, organizers can also provide weekly email feedback to keep track of where the student is in the program and what comes next.

The learning plan consists of thematic modules with chapters, new modules become available as the student progresses. This creates a clear picture of how many employees of the company have mastered the new technology or completed their mandatory training and with what results.

3. Standardised approach to learning

eLearning technology may save a lot of time and money for the company, as you will have a consistent, compliant plan at hand. A professional team may create content according to your recommendations, and the system will ensure fast delivery of content to learners across all channels. For example, when our team at Viseven creates content for our customers, the process is usually as follows: they provide an eLearning plan while we do the rest: create, design, localize, build a customer journey, and plan integrations.

4. Personalized, interactive experiences

Finally, give yourself the first good reason why you would consider eLearning. The transfer of interactive knowledge contributes to better perception, memorization of the necessary information, as well as providing inspiration to learn more. This is especially applicable to life sciences, where huge volumes of information that are not the easiest to memorize require proper structuring, bright design, and correct presentation.

5. Better information retention

After all, many people use eLearning because it helps them remember and process the received information much better. It is also facilitated by the fact that the learning process, as in the case of Viseven, can be organized not only around virtual training and quizzes but also around live training, creating an educational mix for better memorization of information.

What is a Learning Management System (LMS)?

Pharma learning management systems (LMS) represent a type of software that can be used to conduct pharma industry trainings or other learning activities and make it easier and more engaging for learners. Typically, LMS for pharma offers a wide range of interactive activities and opportunities for learning certain topics and subjects at a pace comfortable for those studying it.

LMS can replace traditional learning models and help conduct internal training for pharma companies that will be both cost-efficient and effective. It is a chance for all pharma companies to not only foster a work environment where everybody gets a chance to refine their skills, but also to incorporate pharmaceutical eLearning programs and platforms into the daily routines of all employees.

The global LMS market is expected to grow from $18.26 billion in 2022 to $47.47 billion by 2030. The demand is visibly escalating, and an increasing number of companies are already adopting learning management systems to train their staff. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why you should do it too.

Reasons Why You Should Choose LMS

LMS is an opportunity to have high-quality training for the pharmaceutical industry while working remotely

The Covid-19 pandemic forced a whole new lifestyle upon many of us, and most companies, despite the pandemic being gone, have decided to keep remote work as one of the options for their workers. However, one of the downsides of remote work is the inability to participate in live educational events. This is where the learning management system for pharmaceutical companies truly shines, uniting all the study guides, games, events, books, and lectures in one place.

LMS for the pharmaceutical industry is a very cost-effective solution

We’ve touched on this before, but let’s elaborate. eLearning solutions for pharmaceutical companies can significantly lower the cost of staff training and re-training for one simple reason: such tools provide an accessible and easy-to-manage platform the support of which won’t cost a lot. Compared to instructor-led workshops and courses, which could often cost up to a few thousand dollars per event, companies can now completely switch to a pharmaceutical LMS at a very low cost.

It becomes easier to keep up with the ever-changing market and update the content

Pharmaceutical employee training must constantly be updated due to the dynamic nature of the industry. Unfortunately, offline training in the pharmaceutical industry is always a little bit outdated, since adding tweaks and changes to it often requires a lot of time and effort, and it is often done manually. When it comes to pharma eLearning, it becomes much easier to not only quicker update the pharma training program but automate some parts of this process.

LMS is available across various platforms

Thanks to LMS, pharmaceutical companies’ training programs can be accessed via any device, including laptops, mobile phones, and even tablets. This makes education possible from anywhere, making it easier for workers to complete internal training for pharma companies at their own pace, whenever they feel comfortable.

E-learning fosters automation

LMS is one of the best pharma internal training solutions for companies seeking ways to automate their workflows. With the help of a learning management system, companies can implement automation of the following processes:

Notifications and reminders about certain courses and programs;
Learning progress tracking;

Feedback loop;
Content updates;
Assessment and quizzes.

The importance of proper training in the pharmaceutical industry cannot be underestimated, and tools like LMS are what can greatly enhance the experience of both learners and educators and make it much better and more immersive. Learning management systems provide everyone in the pharma industry with an opportunity to become better professionals and obtain the desired education needed to advance in their careers. In addition, pharmaceutical companies can spend fewer resources on training and educating their staff, while also making sure that the education provided is of the highest quality.

What is the Future of Pharmaceutical eLearning: What to Expect in 2023?

E-learning is rapidly changing the world, while also being transformed itself. There are many trends that are either already reshaping eLearning in the pharma industry or are about to do so. Here are some of the biggest upcoming trends in the pharma eLearning to keep an eye on:

Augmented/Virtual Reality

VR and AR can assist learners by creating simulations and scenarios where it is possible to practice and hone your skills in an environment that’s almost identical to the real world. It is also much cheaper and safer to train staff using VR/AR since there is no need to invest in a testing environment.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

AI and ML are set to change the world, and e-learning won’t be standing aside for sure. AI-driven tools and technologies will reshape the world of pharma e-learning and provide both students and educators with an opportunity to customize training programs, get real-time feedback, receive personalized recommendations, and even create online courses based on the learning style and habits of a learner.

Gamification

Gamification is about making the learning process more interesting and engaging by adding some elements that resemble games, such as scores, leadership boards, mini-games, competitions, etc. Many platforms for learning are now introducing game-based learning to their adult audience to provide them with a fun and educational experience, regardless of the chosen course and field of study.

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) found that eLearning participants learned five times more materials without having to increase the time spent studying and training. Pharma companies across the world are already investing in LMS and tools for online training to provide their teams with high-quality education and skills necessary to become better experts. Now is the best moment to embark on your eLearning journey and fully embrace the transformative innovation it offers.

What we offer

When the audience of our client says:

I need professional internal training in the pharma industry to get valuable information about products and services at the right time and in the right place, thereby saving my patients’ time and making life easier for them.

… or the representatives of our client’s team say:

I want to have the simplest and most effective omnichannel tools at hand to make my job easier, increase communication flows with our target audience, and avoid time-consuming tasks.

We create a comfortable interactive environment in our Virtual Academy. The process of learning is organized around a chain of people and first-class tools on the basis of an omnichannel platform.

eLearning technology from Viseven is built around a specific customer journey that is tailored to the needs of each customer. Our professional team will create content according to your recommendations, while audit and contextual understanding help us take advantage of each ecosystem to reduce complexity and simplify the user journey.

You can scale the process correctly, complying with unique corporate standards for eLearning content, and unite multiple teams and offices around the world. While your company can deliver the same content to all students, Viseven provides support at every stage of content development and implementation.

We create content for various types of learning. The result is a ready-to-use package suitable for any type of self-study. While a complete ecosystem of channels will encourage learners to continue their learning.

Our omnichannel eLearning services include:

concept creation;
technology development;

visual and sound design;
UI/UX design;
custom application development;
distribution of materials to end users.

Viseven offers a combination of high technology and team play: We are changing the daily approach to health through virtual and digital communication channels and believe that this will shape the healthcare industry of the future. Contact and join us in our Virtual Academy to exceed expectations together.