BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESSFUL VIRTUAL TRAINING
VIRTUAL CLASSROOM , VIRTUAL TRAINING , VIRTUAL TRAINING ENVIRONMENT , VIRTUAL TRAINING COMPUTERS
At the latest since home office became popular, it is clear virtual training is the new way to train customers/participants/employees. They are location independent, flexible, environmentally friendly and save time for all participants.
However, many virtual trainings are poorly rated by participants because the trainings do not take enough into account the specifics of virtual environments.
Learn some best practices to ensure your virtual training is a success for your participants
COMMUNICATE ACCESS REQUIREMENTS
Nothing is more frustrating than trying in vain to attend a training session at the start of the training, but having it fail due to technology. Often you read something like „one, or two monitors, headset, internet access“ as an access requirement. Unfortunately, details were not mentioned, such as that, in order to participate in the training software or plugins must be downloaded and installed. Or perhaps ports need to be enabled in the firewall.
Clarify to your participants in advance what exactly the access requirements are. Ideally, there should be a way to test access in advance.
ENCOURAGE WEBCAM USE
The same is true for an online meeting as it is for a virtual training session. Seeing each other contributes immensely to participant satisfaction and training success.
Only through the camera can the instructor see questioning faces, boredom or even disinterest. Participants who see an enthusiastic instructor are more likely to be motivated and likewise inspired by him.
Ideally, the participants also see each other, even during practice phases. Just seeing each other contributes to a sense of community.
ACTIVELY INVOLVE PARTICIPANTS IN YOUR TRAINING SESSIONS
Classroom training should not simply be transferred 1/1 to the virtual world. Here, the participants should be even more involved in the training. Question rounds and exercises can support this, or simply let a participant solve a problem, task or exercise. Teamwork is another way to strengthen each individual’s sense of belonging to the training group.
CONTROL, BUT NOT FOR THE SAKE OF CONTROL
Many participants are inhibited about speaking up in a virtual session. Problems and questions are therefore less likely to be addressed. Therefore, check in with your participants as often as possible to see where they stand. You may have the opportunity to monitor participants‘ progress during practice sessions.
DEFINE THE DURATION OF THE TRAINING SESSION
Make sure that the training session of the training is not too long or too short. Virtual training sessions that are too long cause people to lose focus or become bored, while sessions that are too short don’t provide enough information to retain new learning.
CHECK FOR RESONANCE DURING TRAINING AS WELL.
Check for feedback from participants during the training session as well. Was the session too long, or too complex. Were participants overwhelmed or underwhelmed.
Web-based survey tools are particularly suitable for this. Participants usually give more feedback here than in direct surveys. Such tools can also be set up in advance and the results automatically summarized.
More information is shown on our website https://deskmate.cloud/en/software-training/
