Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2022 - 18

* How might you adjust your training
plan to accommodate for global team
members who are located outside of
the home-office time zone?
When March 2020 hit and the U.S.
moved work and school into the virtual
space overnight, L&D teams had to
scramble to come up with a new plan.
Not only did they have their existing
training programs (many of which were
planned for in-person environments),
they now had an entire workforce that
needed training on how to maintain
productivity and manage teams in a
virtual office environment.
How Has Our Approach
To Learning Shifted as a
Temporary Situation Turned
Into Lasting Change?
L&D is tasked with creating learning
that can be delivered online or in
person, asynchronous, but also
allowing for discussion, topic-focused
and highly relevant for each role in
the organization. Let's look at some
strategies we can implement to guide
planning moving forward.
Strategy 1. Plan for Multiple Delivery
Methods: Why limit a learning experience
to only online or only in person? People
need options. Recently, my team
created a 20-minute eLearning that could
be easily converted into a 60-minute
face-to-face session with a facilitator.
The content remained the same; we
simply tweaked the flow and some of the
activity directions to allow for face-to-face
discussion versus online interactives. We
knew at the beginning of the project that
multiple delivery methods were desired,
and we planned the design accordingly.
Strategy 2. Take Learning Out of the
Classroom: For large-scale training
initiatives, don't limit content to
the classroom (virtual or physical).
Identify your key points and create
a communication plan for sharing
them before and after the training.
Get creative
with how and when
they can be embedded into other
As L&D leaders, we play a key
role in helping our talented team
members feel valued.
communications or events in the
organization. For example, if your
organization has recently changed to
a new learning management system
(LMS) and you need to get people up
to speed on how to use it, identify two
or three key messages and then send
them out in a catchy video and post
it on your company communication
platform. Perhaps host a Q&A session
with your chief learning officer about
the new tool. This will raise awareness
of how to use the tool, drive people
to the training event and generate
higher adoption rates.
Strategy
Events: Sometimes
3. Rock the Virtual Live
it's
just
easier
to get everyone on a video call.
Whether learners are in the office, at
home, on the road or an ocean away,
communication platforms are now a
part of the typical workday and can
be quite useful, especially when time
is tight. But if you are going to go this
route, especially if you have in-person
groups logging in together, you must
be able to keep their attention. Content
alone will not keep people engaged.
Consider the following:
* Have a facilitator who is different
from the trainer. People get tired
of hearing the same voice the
entire time.
* Use your virtual meeting tools: polls,
whiteboards, breakout groups and
meaningful chat
activities help to
keep people focused.
* Require video on for all participants
and regularly switch between slide
view and gallery view. People want
to see each other when engaged in
discussion activities.
* Do not go more than one hour
without a break. Give your learners
time to check their email, to
message a co-worker, to get up
and walk around. Build this into the
schedule and communicate it in
advance so learners can manage
their expectations.
* Add a competitive element. Conduct
a pop quiz, give points for speaking
up or providing input through chat,
add in something fun to give learners
a quick brain break.
Strategy 4. One Time Does Not Fit All
Zones: Chances are your organization
has expanded its talent search to include
new hires who are outside of the physical
office time zone. Additionally, many
workers have taken advantage of flexible
working hours to better accommodate
family needs. Working nine to five has
changed to working sometime between
the time you get up and the time you
go to bed. L&D must now consider
offering multiple times for synchronous
training events. If your attendance
numbers have dropped in the last year,
consider reaching out to your learners
to find out what barriers are preventing
their participation.
Strategy 5. Consider the Expanding
Learning Audience: The gig economy
began before COVID, and it has only
gotten larger as a result. It is becoming
more common to hire contractors for
extended periods of time as opposed to
hiring them on as full-time employees.
This
strategy
helps
are
often
organizations
manage costs during the ebbs and
flows of their business. A potential flaw
in this method is that these " outside
employees "
not
privy
to
organization initiatives, particularly
| 18
https://trainingindustry.com/articles/onboarding/a-modern-approach-to-hybrid-onboarding/ https://trainingindustry.com/articles/onboarding/a-modern-approach-to-hybrid-onboarding/
Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2022
