Every business wants to do more with less, but it’s essential that every employee also consider safety no matter what they’re doing. One important component of safety is being prepared for anything – including medical emergencies. A heart attack, stroke, or serious accident can happen anywhere, and you or your employees may be able to save a life if they have the training necessary to intervene.

Emergency first aid courses are a vital investment for any business, but they can be time-consuming and expensive. That’s why there’s now a better method for your employees to acquire these important skills: online CPR training through an established and trusted company. Here are three reasons why online CPR training should be at the top of your training regimen for new and continuing employees.

Employees can learn on their own time and at their own pace

With traditional CPR training, you would pay an instructor to come in and train your employees, taking vital time away from the everyday functioning of your business; some staff may not be in the office that day, and therefore they would miss out on the instruction. You want as many of your workers as possible trained on this life-saving skill in case of an emergency, and as such, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to learn – without cutting into your bottom line.

That’s why online CPR training through a trusted vendor like Pro Trainings is invaluable: your employees can learn at home and on their own time rather than taking precious hours out of the workday to teach them. You can set a deadline for when all employees must become certified, then allow your staff to provide proof that they completed the course by the deadline; this removes a lot of pressure from workers, as they feel empowered to take the course when they’re available and ready to learn. If you find that some are resistant to getting the training, you could afford them each a few hours of paid vacation to take the course at home; that way, you’re staggering when your employees will be unavailable, and there will be less interruption to the functioning of your business.

There’s also the fact that effective training takes place over time, with students able to practice and relearn tools to better retain knowledge. Usually, you’ll have one day devoted to this training in the traditional format; by throwing everything about CPR at your employees only one time, they won’t be able to recall everything when a true emergency hits. Allowing your workers to space out their training lets them fully sink into the concepts, which will make them far more effective when they actually need to utilize their skills.

You can fulfil legal requirements much more efficiently

Many countries require companies to provide first aid training to their employees and to have a designated person who can provide first aid, but this can be very expensive to provide. With online CPR training, you will be able to satisfy any legal requirements at a much lower cost.

Hiring an instructor to teach first aid can be expensive, and it also takes time away from the functioning of your business, which can also cost you thousands of dollars should your productivity dip. Online CPR training is very affordable – averaging about $45 a person – and many vendors will provide a group discount if you enrol all your employees at once. This will allow you to maintain productivity and avoid spending instructor fees, which saves you in the long run.

Online CPR courses are equally effective as traditional courses, despite costing less for a business

Some companies may fret that online CPR training cannot possibly be as effective as in-person training, but that’s not true. A recent study by Boise State University’s Workplace-Oriented Research Central Lab found that in some respects, graduates of online CPR training programs performed better than those who had learned through the traditional, in-person method. Some reasons for this include that online courses are more uniform because everyone is learning from the same instructor; the classes are more convenient, so individuals retain more because they’re relaxed; and the ‘go-at-your-own-pace’ structure allows people to practice and study before taking the test. In other words, you’ll have better-trained employees at a fraction of the cost and disruption to the business.

Final thoughts

Every worker wants to feel safe in their workplace, and knowing that others are trained to help in an emergency can provide invaluable peace of mind to employees; however, getting this knowledge can be costly and time-consuming when done in the traditional way. That’s why online CPR courses are a tremendous boon for the savvy business owner, who wishes to keep their workers safe without sacrificing profit. These three reasons are proof enough that enrolling your employees in online CPR training is the smartest move you can take as a leader.