Image 1Corporate training practices are shifting to employee-friendly, digital and mobile-centric models. Luckily for employees, they no longer need to stay after hours to complete mandatory training. If they want to learn more about a specific task or process, they can usually access the content on their device of choice in their own time. As an industry, we have made great progress in this sense.

What does this mean for trainers? They might not all be digital-savvy, but they are, more often than not, subject specialists with deep understanding of their subject area. As our workforce ages, the need for training programmes will surely increase, so how do you give your trainers the tools to manage this?

For starters, one of the best ways to adapt from face-to-face to the virtual world is for your trainers to participate in online seminars and get a sense of how it works, from a learner perspective. Below are five other things to think about:

1. ‘Death by PowerPoint’ – training needed!

There is little worse than the dreaded ‘death by PowerPoint’, especially in eLearning. How do we avoid this? A combination of training the trainer and developing eLearning tools that are engaging and encourage active learning can really help.

eLearning tools can make experienced trainers feel as if they have been ‘blindfolded’; there are no polite nods, no eye contact or foot tapping which usually gives face-to-face trainers an idea of how well their course is being received. To counteract the adjustment, training is needed – and this can be as simple as making sure the trainer is in ‘training’ too.

2. Blended learning and experimentation

In reality most training programmes in enterprises are a form of ‘blended learning’. This works as training managers receive actual, in-person feedback on their methods. It simultaneously gives employees the opportunity to express their needs or reservations.

This is often new for trainers and employees alike, and we’ve seen it work best alongside a company ‘culture of experimentation’. This gives trainers the chance to develop new methods in collaboration with learners and to understand how these impact on their learning, before launching into a set programme. It helps to boost confidence and means that new techniques can be tested without risk of failure.

3. Online interaction

Online training and face-to-face training empower very different training methods and an understanding of the distinction of ‘what works best where’ is necessary. Some charismatic trainers have the force of personality to succeed face-to-face but might not be the best at planning. e-Trainers do not need charm, but they do need structure because online, without visual cues, communication can break down. It’s so hard to get people to listen to you if you are not well structured and you’re essentially just a voice rambling on. With this in mind, trainers can benefit by adjusting to the role of a ‘facilitator’ and clearly setting out how course participants should navigate their training programme. This might involve sharing thoughts and views on a forum, or opening up discussions for debate. Either way, it can be a shift from traditional ‘talk-and-chalk’ methods.

Finally, it’s important to talk about speed of response. Another change to contend with is an expectation of fast responses. Trainers need to adapt to this by using tools that allow for quick feedback.

4. Abandoning knowledge

The fourth way is slightly more abstract and relates to how we consider ‘knowledge’.

Technology has made company knowledge more ‘asymmetric’ – basically meaning that more junior employees need to be given free rein to adapt and manage affairs in their own departments, especially those which produce and manage technological innovation. This is something that needs to be considered in training. Stars and stripes can’t always be awarded to the longest service – millennials need to be brought to the forefront and used as a resource if they have the skills.

Technology has impacted training in another way too. Much of the process of training involves relearning and forgetting – to prepare for new ways of doing things. Successful adoption of new software can be as much about forgetting old skills as learning new ones, and trainers need to be trained in new teaching methodologies to achieve this. Then there’s the weighty issue of how to train older employees, particularly given an ageing workforce, which is of particular importance here.

5. Preparation

Savvy trainers think differently about session preparation. As well as preparing materials, they need to ensure there will be no technical issues. All connections need to be tested with learners to resolve firewall issues and to ensure bandwidth is adequate for the program. Trainers may not be able to use streamed audio, video or application sharing on the worst connections, in which case other software might need to be considered. This is an issue of network infrastructure and requires collusion between trainers and IT departments.

Many face-to-face trainers are doubling up as online instructors. As well as considering the best platforms for eLearning delivery, it’s really important that trainers are prepared too. Online instructors need to know how to help employees as they progress through their studies.

We have made great progress both as trainers and employees, though sometimes we can still benefit from the occasional review to reboot our training. Our next blog post will be about how to reboot a flagging training programme – watch this space for the update! In the meantime, you can read more about YUDU Training Apps here or arrange to meet us at World of Learning (stand A180).