For many teams, the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has meant a rapid move to remote work. While there are many helpful guides with best practices on how to do it well, one area that is often missed is remote training. In this article Tom Griffiths, co-founder and CEO of Hone, shares tips to perform live online training for remote employees.
We’re not talking e-learning (watching pre-recorded videos, clicking slides, taking quizzes on your own), or a webinar (logging into a broadcast experience with hundreds of others, grabbing a sandwich, and checking email). We’re talking live online training (aka virtual instructor-led training aka VILT), where a live instructor teaches a class of up to 25 people.
This is a transformational medium that brings together the interactivity and effectiveness of live classroom teaching with the convenience of e-learning.
Learn More: 5 Strategies to Train Remote EmployeesOpens a new window
Improve Live Online Remote Training With These Tips From the Trenches
Whether you’re creating your first live online class from scratch or moving an existing in-person program to live online, here are some tips from the trenches to help you out.
1. Focus on class duration
The ideal session of a live online session is 60–90 mins, to keep attention and fit into a workday. Any longer and people get bored. Any shorter and it’s hard to deliver enough memorable material to justify the overhead. Constrain yourself, cut down your material accordingly, and your learners with thank you.
2. Keep it small, but not too small
We find 8–12 learners is an ideal size – big enough to spark conversation and interaction, small enough to ensure no one disengages. We typically see 80–85% attendance, which means we need to invite 10–15 people to each session.
3. Design around learning outcomes
As with all good instructional design, plan backward from well-stated learning objectives. Focus on one or two specific outcomes per objective and use an appropriate measurement approach to ensure the objectives were met during or after the session.
4. “Lift and shift†doesn’t work
Repurposing a training session designed for the physical classroom to run as-is live online doesn’t work. You need to make it more focused (1–2 topics) and “change the channel†every 4–6 minutes to avoid people drifting off toward email and social media. Changing the channel means moving from slides to the discussion, to polls, to chat, and back again to keep things interesting.
5. Don’t rely on tech
The #1 issue we see in undermining delivery is technology issues, sometimes with the instructor, often with participants. Include recommendations in the lead-up communications and calendar invLift and shiftLift and shiftite to (a) be somewhere you can have a confidential conversation, (b) be prepared to have your video and microphone on at all times in a well-lit environment, and (c) find a high-bandwidth connection.
Of course, as the instructor, you need to set the example. You should probably have a headset or a dedicated microphone. Learn your tool of choice by practicing, so you can avoid embarrassing pauses while you find the screen share button!
6. Say Hello!
Greet people as they join, ask them to introduce themselves, and acknowledge people’s presence so they feel welcome and included in the session. This will make them more likely to participate later.
7. Establish ground rules
Remind everyone about the ground rules for the session. For example, that it’s a confidential and safe space for them to share and explore ideas openly, to respect everyone’s contributions by actively listening, and to not interrupt. With more engaged groups you can form the ground rules together by crowdsourcing suggestions.
8. Leave space for conversation
How often have you seen instructors shut down interesting discussions because the class is behind time? Build space for conversation into your designs and have some backup slides ready at the end of the times when the discussion didn’t last as long as expected.
9. End on a high note
While great training can be great fun, its purpose is to drive behavior change in the workplace. End your session by having participants commit to how they will implement the learning in their everyday work. Even better, follow up with them on the commitments they make with reminder emails over time to ensure they follow through and become a more effective team member as a result of your training experience.
Learn More: Mainframers Working from HomeOpens a new window
Which best practices you are following to simplify the live online remote training process? Let us know on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window .