Training your Employees Remotely

Due to the current circumstances, the way we're training is now completely different. We have gone from an office-based work environment to full organisations working from home. As we now know, we cannot expect to return fully into the office immediately. So, it is time to adapt, move forward and train our employees remotely.

Conferencing Tools

Using a conference tool, such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams is effective for carrying out both group and one to one training sessions. These allow you to show your screen or a presentation, whilst allowing you to talk it through and answer any questions live, but also record it for future training.

Adapting

The key to making your training work is to adapt to what you have. Think about your current training, what is the best possible way to get this online? This will be trial and error, but it may be as simple as taking your old presentations with you to Zoom. Prepare yourself to adapt too, if you are used to delivering training face to face, you will have to work harder to engage and read people in a virtual setting. It is also important to factor in how long you will keep peoples attention for, maybe if something was a full day session, break it into 2-3 shorter sessions to make sure key points are being understood. 

Learning Styles

When you are planning training, ensure you have individual learning styles in mind. You will know how different every member of your team is, and how they work best in the office. It will be no different for those learning online. It needs to be engaging for everyone and may have to be adjusted on a case by case basis.

Follow up

Some individuals may work best with a recording which they can watch multiple times, some may work best in group settings or one to one session. A great way to understand if they are engaging with the training is to follow up. Checking their understanding of things that were discussed and assign specific tasks linked to the training.

Whilst we adjust with this new way of work, it may take a little longer to train, which is why it is important to try to get ahead in planning exactly how you are going to this.