Some estimates say roughly one-half of in-person training programs through June 30, 2020, have been postponed or canceled in North America; in parts of Asia and Europe, the figure may be closer to 100 percent.
But now is not the time to put your training on hold.
Now more than ever you need your best, most skilled people on the job. Business must go on, and in some cases, your business might have to pivot to meet new customer needs or new government regulations. You might actually find yourself needing more training than ever before, thanks to new processes and procedures.
TrainingIndustry.com, a leading resource for information on the training industry and L&D tools, shared that they’ve seen an 8.6% increase in web traffic over the past few weeks, with an 8,135% increase in topics related to remote learning, virtual instructor-led training (VILT), and leading through adversity and change. Additionally, articles focused on the advantages of eLearning have seen an 88% increase in traffic.
It’s clear that training is an essential part of our new business landscape.
It’s also clear that organizations are seeking resources on how to deliver training safely and remotely.
The first step is to gather your stakeholders and subject matter experts together and evaluate your current training program to determine which parts are most important to move online first.
Ask yourself these questions:
- How critical is the topic?
- How quickly will it drive behavior change?
- How many workers need this training?
- How suitable is the topic for digital delivery?
Your first priority should be those must-have programs like employee onboarding. Helping new workers feel like a part of the team and able to contribute meaningfully as soon as possible is especially essential when your team is spread out and dealing with new challenges.
Next, you can turn your attention to timely topics such as remote working and remote leadership. We’ve seen a great deal of interest in our free courses on how to be productive when working from home and how to stay healthy during coronavirus.
You may be questioning if you can achieve the same level of engagement, community, and interactivity in online training as you did with your instructor-led, in-person training programs. With some creative thinking, you absolutely can.
This article, A Simple Model for Converting ILT to Engaging eLearning, outlines the thought process of retrofitting an instructor-led training exercise for an online module.
There are many tools and programs available that will help you add elements of social learning and community to an online training program. For example, using The Training Arcade®, you can build learning games and encourage competition among your workers with the leaderboard.
Our custom learning development team created a virtual onboarding program with social polling and commenting that enabled learners to get the community aspects of in-person onboarding without having to travel and attend in person. Take a look at the case study to see the employees’ reactions.
Learning is essential to a company’s growth and productivity.
Don’t let the current crisis slow your forward momentum and future success.
eLearning Brothers would love to help you create online training that keeps your organization rocking during these coronavirus times. Whether you’re looking for resources like templates and stock assets to build your own training, want to buy off-the-shelf courses to deliver quickly, or are seeking a custom-built digital training solution, we are here to help.
Contact our custom solutions team for a free consultation about how we can help you keep your training rolling right now.
