Virtual training tips for businesses 💻

Virtual training meaning

Virtual training refers to training that is conducted remotely, or when the learner and trainer are in different locations.

This most commonly occurs online, either on an online learning platform or through some sort of video presentation software which mimics a classroom-like training lesson.

Virtual training process

We have created a guideline of steps before, during and after your training process and included some of our top tips to make your online training programmes entertaining and engaging.

Prior to training:

• Identify the needs of Employees

Consider the same factors that you would usually when deciding what training is necessary for employees. Where are the digital skills gaps in your business? What are your employees’ current skills and experience levels?

As well as thinking about what virtual training would benefit the business, also think about what would help with their personal and professional development.

Another thing to consider when planning internal virtual training or finding online training courses for employees is taking into account employee availability, where your employee will be working and what times may work best for them.

For example, are they working in a different country with different time zones?

What time will they be taking their lunch break?

It will be beneficial to explore employee training tools and onboarding best practices whilst you’re working from home or recruiting from home.

• Trial Training Platforms

Testing out different virtual training courses or online employee training software is an important part of the process in finding out which virtual training method will best suit your business.

Do you have an existing employee who has the skills to train others or will you be hiring an external consultant to conduct training for the team? If you decide to carry out training in-house, think about what training tools for trainers and employees might be useful.

• Planning and setting up

Make sure that all the necessary planning has been done before you begin your virtual training. It is a good idea to have a timeline in place, to ensure that employees stay on track and that learning new skills doesn’t get side-lined for the usual daily tasks.

If you are using online virtual training programs, is there a virtual learning login that employees need to use? Make sure all parties have the information they need before the training begins.

Conducting the virtual training:

• Encourage Participation

With face-to-face training, it’s easier to get employees involved by doing activities and offering innovative in-person training opportunities.

With online virtual training, it can be more difficult to keep training programmes exciting and engaging through a screen.

So that you don’t need to waste time thinking up ideas to engage with employees during training, our recruitment experts created some for you! (Scroll straight down to see our engaging virtual training tips).

• Communication

With training sessions attended in person, you can easily see the physical, verbal and emotional responses that your employees may have.

The barriers of technology mean that additional effort in employee training may be necessary to build and sustain a good connection throughout the training process.

7 online training tips for communication:

1. Open up a discussion. Get your employees talking and participating in the training. This can be done simply by asking questions, encouraging employees to ‘teach’ the information to each other, and vocal tests or quizzes.
2. Organise in advance and share schedules so that you can see when people are busy and will be available.
3. Don’t just convert in-person contact training. Virtual training will be different and for certain aspects of the training, you may find it better.
4. Take advantage of interactive virtual tools. There is a wide range of virtual training platforms and online training tools that you can use to help. Take a look at these free online courses to help employees upskill.
5. Even though you are teaching, take time to listen. Mark pieces of work together and ask them to explain things back to you. This will help you to understand the needs of your employees and be useful for managing remote teams in the future.
6. If possible, try to communicate on video call so that you are able to see your employees and gauge how they’re feeling. If you are in a group, take 5 minutes to speak to your employers one-on-one to find out how they are feeling.
7. Schedule breaks regularly to prevent your employees from getting ‘training fatigue’.

After training care:

• Recording and follow-up documents

Remember to teach and then have something that your new employee can go back to. Even the best learner will struggle to remember all of the new information from a virtual training course.

So, to avoid leaving a margin for error later on, provide follow-up materials and consider recording your training for your employees to refer to.

• Virtual Training Resources Hub

Having an online resources hub with a collection of the best training tools will be beneficial for employees after the virtual training so that they are able to go back to reference the online.

• Ask for feedback

Getting feedback from your employees will enable you to judge the success of the training course, as well as the satisfaction of your employees, and help you make changes to benefit your business in the future.

Feedback can help you to bridge any other digital skills gaps that your business may experience.