Case Study: Face to Face versus Virtual Training

Introduction

Over the course of the last eighteen months, we have been delivering virtual training courses for a National UK Company. As Covid restrictions are being eased and employees are returning to the office, we are delivering more face-to-face training courses for this company.

Challenge

This is a fast-growing company, who are keen to develop their supervisors and managers, with 20% of their working week allocated to learning and development.

When Covid struck in March 2020 and all employees were forced to work from home, both the supervisors and managers had to learn a whole new skill set when it came to managing their staff virtually.

Benefits of virtual training to staff

● Continual Training – it allows employees to continue to learn and develop
● Time Efficiency – when we deliver virtual training to this company, the majority of their staff work from home, therefore there is no travel involved
● Online Platforms – some online platforms offer break out rooms, which provides everyone with a chance to fully interact, both one-to-one or as a group
● Cost Saving – both for the employer and the employee, as there are no accommodation or travel costs involved
● Virtual World – through continued virtual training, employees’ skills and confidence have increased through familiarity. Staffs’ expectations of what is possible to achieve remotely have been transformed

Benefits of face-to-face training to staff

● Practical exercises – the use of physical exercises to support learning. This, in turn, provides a greater level of team bonding amongst the delegates
● Distractions – delegates focus on the training as there are fewer distractions, i.e. emails
● Miscommunication and misinterpretation – if individuals are unsure of the meaning of something, or need to clarify their understanding, this can be achieved more easily through a face-to-face session
● Integration of new staff – allows the new employee to adjust to the corporate culture and feel more comfortable when it comes to contributing new ideas
● Greater impact using body language – body language is an important part of communication. It is a type of nonverbal communication in which physical behaviours, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behaviour includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space

Solution – designing for success

To reap the advantages of both face to face and virtual training, each training course needs to be bespoke and designed to ensure it meets all employees’ individual learning needs, as well as the agenda set by the company. Tools need to be chosen to ensure there is learning through engagement, e.g. practical exercises and quizzes.

Remember that not all students learn in the same way. Some learners are auditory, others are kinesthetic, others are visual. However, many individuals use a combination of learning styles.  Using visual displays is a great way of creating an effective learning environment.

Managing the pace of the learning is also important if you want participants to be engaged, whilst maintaining energy and focus. By running a training session at the same pace throughout can run the risk of participants switching off and losing focus. Equally rushing through the learning can lose participants, meaning that they will miss key points.

Improve your Hybrid Training Skills

Here at Unlock Staff Potential, we are committed to meet your needs and we can help you just like we help our clients. With companies now adopting a hybrid way of training, there has never been a better time to enhance your face to face and or virtual training techniques.