Effective training is an indispensable component of personal and professional development, bridging the gap between knowledge and practical skills. As per PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey, 40% of employees enhanced their digital skills amid the pandemic, while 77% are eager to acquire fresh skills or undergo comprehensive retraining. Whether in a corporate setting, educational institution, or community workshop, delivering training that leaves a lasting impact requires a careful blend of expertise, preparation, and a deep understanding of the learners’ needs. Hybrid learning is now considered a practical choice for equipping and advancing a geographically dispersed workforce.
Training facilitators must implement innovative methods to effectively engage learners in remote settings while utilizing technology and tools to create a conducive learning environment for all participants. Training facilitators can employ strategies that result in valuable, lasting, and effective training sessions. With thorough planning and diligent preparation, considering the needs and aspirations of the learners and equipping them with the necessary materials will help achieve the set training outcomes.
How can it be ensured that the training delivered undeniably benefits the team and the business?
Below are four tips that can help you in crafting and delivering training programs that are both effective and impactful:
1. Creating Engaging Training Sessions to Cater to Different Learning Styles
It’s crucial to remember that individuals have diverse learning styles; certain learners grasp information best through visuals, others through auditory input, and still others through kinesthetic experiences. Creating engaging training sessions that appeal to all learning styles is important. Visual learners will appreciate videos, pictures, and infographics. Listening to lectures, podcasts, and debates will benefit auditory learners.
Kinesthetic learners will learn best by doing, so incorporate activities like role-playing, simulations, and hands-on projects. Don’t just play a PowerPoint presentation with your slides. Use them to introduce your topics and engage your audience with interactive questions, polls, quizzes and games. Make your training sessions fun and engaging; your learners will be more likely to retain what they’ve learned.
2. Coordinating Learning with Collaborative Facilitation Strategies
Having a co-facilitator is key to a smooth hybrid learning session. If you’re facilitating a hybrid learning session, where some participants are online and some are in person, it’s important to have a co-facilitator to help you. For instance, if you’re physically present while some learners join virtually, designate an online support person or an AI chatbot assistant to monitor the virtual space. This person or the AI assistant can supervise the chat, address queries, and assist with technical issues.
At Infopro Learning, we don’t just talk about AI; we actually use it in our learning process. This helps us save costs and time, and we pass those benefits on to our clients. We created a friendly AI chatbot called Leyla, designed to be like a real person, to answer any extra questions you might have. Leyla’s main purpose is to help employees quickly find the necessary information. She also has features to assist new employees during their onboarding process. The best part is that Leyla is available on mobile devices 24/7, so you can access her anytime, anywhere. You can learn more about this from the case study.
Conversely, if you’re facilitating online while some participants are physically present, identify someone in the room to assist you with coordination. This person can distribute learning materials, answer questions, and help facilitate activities. Preparing with your co-facilitator in advance is essential to guarantee alignment and mutual understanding. This includes discussing the session’s purpose, plan, content, and interaction strategies.
3. Keeping Trainees Engaged During a Training Program
When delivering a training program, keeping your trainees engaged is important. After all, they’re more likely to learn and retain information if they’re interested and involved. Below are some suggestions for effectively involving trainees:
- Engage: Ask specific questions to increase learner involvement and attention. Utilize live polling or survey apps to gather instant feedback, revealing their collective interests and opinions.
- Relate: Encourage learners to share their stories and views. This fosters connections, promotes knowledge exchange, and enhances the learning experience. Digital discussion tools or Q&A applications facilitate smooth communication.
- Summarize: Consolidate the session, highlighting key learnings from shared experiences. Emphasize additional learning needs and suggest relevant courses or self-guided learning.
4. Enhancing Training Sessions for Maximum Impact and Engagement
Conducting training sessions can be remarkably beneficial for improving the expertise and knowledge of employees. However, if they’re not engaging, learners are more likely to tune out and forget what they’ve learned. Captivate your participants by infusing your training activities with excitement and novelty, igniting inspiration and enthusiasm among them.
Incorporate various training approaches, including team-building activities, eLearning, instructor-led sessions, blended learning, practical exercises, experiential learning, problem-solving tasks, and role-playing scenarios. By embracing this diverse approach, you can accommodate various learning styles and preferences, guaranteeing every participant a captivating and efficient learning experience.
As per the 2022 Training Industry report, instructor-led or classroom-based training continues to be the favored mode of delivery among small, midsize, and large enterprises in the United States.
An essential aspect of optimizing your training sessions is assessing their impact. Conduct pre-session polls or surveys to gather insights from your participants about their expectations and knowledge levels. After the training, utilize post-session polls or surveys to gauge the acquired knowledge and the effectiveness of the training methods. This valuable feedback will enable you to identify what resonates best with your audience, empowering you to refine and customize future training sessions to meet their needs and preferences better.
Conclusion
The dynamic nature of the working environment necessitates a constant evolution to adapt to ever-changing circumstances. Consequently, incorporating upskilling and reskilling into the training program strategy becomes imperative. The efficacy and influence of a training program are significantly contingent upon the mode of delivery employed during the training process. Engagement, personalization, relevance, feedback, and flexibility are deemed essential components of the training delivery process to ensure efficacy.
Learn effective methods and approaches to improve training and how to deliver it in a hybrid workplace setting. Get these valuable insights from the blog 5 Training Delivery and Development Best Practices for a Hybrid Work Environment.
If you seek to determine the most appropriate training methods or modalities for your learning and development strategy, we are committed to enhancing training effectiveness while reducing costs and expediting business outcomes for our esteemed clients. Our specialized training delivery services are thoughtfully designed to alleviate the burden on in-house L&D teams, thus promoting greater agility and decreased overall engagement costs. Contact our L&D experts today!
