The importance of format to training

When businesses develop and launch training programs, the concepts of these educational courses tend to be abstract. Managers and leaders want to bestow the skills and knowledge that new hires or recently promoted employees need to succeed in their new jobs, but they don't always know the best way to achieve these end goals.

“Training” is a nebulous term, and companies need to dig into the specifics if they want to create the most engaging and valuable educational experience for employees. For example, format can play a pivotal role in the success of training exercises. There are certain times when online training, virtual meetings and seminars – as well as one-on-one coaching – can all have different effects on educational initiatives.

The perks of online

Online training courses are excellent for people who prefer to learn at their own pace. Because web-based initiatives are typically composed of various modules and chapters, they are also highly customizable. Combined with the “at your own pace” nature of online programs, these two factors make online training a highly versatile way of providing skills and insight to individuals.

Internet training programs tend to cover more basic topics – workplace safety, product knowledge, policy guidelines, role overviews, etc. People can skip the content they are familiar with or go back and retake modules they didn't understand the first time.

However, that doesn't mean online training sessions aren't involved and engaging. Using different media, such as audio and video files, can grab the attention of any trainee. Additionally, community forums and social media can be utilized to encourage discussion between people taking the training courses. The variety of different media and approaches is part of the reason online training is so effective compared to other educational formats.

The benefits of virtual meetings and seminars

In a traditional business world, many companies held meetings and seminars to educate employees, or would send executives and managers to these events to gain even more knowledge and insight into their jobs. However, renting conference halls or sending employees to these events can be expensive, especially given the current economic conditions.

As a result, many organizations have turned to virtual meetings and seminars. For the most part, these are the same  as traditional remote conferences, except people attend through the web. This is critical for businesses that have remote employees or different branches and want a single leader to teach skills and offer insight.

“Virtual meetings and seminars are another way to train employees online and are particularly well-suited to situations that require interactivity with an expert leading the seminar, especially if you have many remote employees,” explains Inc. magazine. “One word of caution: figuring out audio (a conference call connection or VoIP, typically) can be a challenge.”

TechRepublic adds that online facilitators can further guide trainees to pay attention to core concepts and skills, which will help them prioritize the information that is critical to their jobs.

The advantages of social learning

Every employee is different, and each comes with his or her own unique skills and previous experiences. When given a specific training course, various workers may take away different key points. Companies should use this difference in perspective to amplify training programs and encourage employees to collaborate.

By fostering discussion between employees, businesses can ensure trainees are taking away all the key points they need. Additionally, this encourages new workers to collaborate and get to know each other. This improves engagement and other aspects of the training experience as a whole.

“Social learning or informal learning through collaboration among employees themselves, is another tool some companies are choosing to add to their online training systems,” the news source adds. Businesses could make this concept more lucrative by giving these social learning experiences interesting names – for example, creating “knowledge lunches” that encourage employees to meet for lunch and discuss various topics and concepts.

Creating a comprehensive training program

When creating training initiatives, businesses don't have to limit their courses to a single format. Online modules and chapters can be used in conjunction with social learning (via message boards, social media and other company approved outlets) and online webinars.

Variety is an important part of any training program. Reading page after page of text is an inefficient way of learning material in school, and the same can be said in a professional environment. Companies could break up chapters and training modules with virtual seminars and then have new hires discuss what they learned on discussion boards. This will help them internalize valuable insight in a meaningful and engaging way.