Training Strategies for A Hybrid Workplace
If you’re a training manager or facilitator in a hybrid workplace, you’re likely facing some challenges when it comes to employee training and development. How do you ensure hybrid learners are receiving the same training across different locations, time zones, and technologies? How do you keep teams and departments unified and keep remote employees from feeling excluded as you work to upskill everyone together?
And at the end of the day, the big question: how do you ensure the company and employees are deriving optimal benefit from your hybrid training programs?
Start with the End: Outcomes
While there are a plethora of tools and tactics available to help you meet the learning needs of a hybrid workforce, your hybrid training plan should begin by focusing on outcomes. Before you begin approaches and solutions, determine your objectives and what you really need to achieve in terms of learner engagement. Identify a few key performance indicators (KPIs) you’ll use to measure learner engagement, retention, and effectiveness of your strategy — then you can hone in on the best tools and techniques to achieve those goals.
With your desired outcomes defined, you’re ready to develop a training plan for your hybrid workplace. Here are five potential strategies you can employ to drive impactful and efficient onboarding and training for your in-person and remote employees.
Strategy 1: Mix of VILT and ILT
Blending Instructor-Led Training (ILT) and synchronous Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) can be as simple as including the virtual team in a scheduled in-person training via video conference so that both sets of learners receive the same training at the same time. This approach lowers silos between remote and in-person learners by enabling location-agnostic participation and collaboration.
If you have multiple time zones to accommodate, separate the in-person ILT delivery and offer multiple VILT deliveries online via video conferencing software. The training delivery is the same, just presented in different formats.
With either approach, provide the means for your hybrid workforce to connect. Bridge the virtual and in-person experience and bring learners together with tools such as a dedicated Teams channel or Slack board for the course where learners from any location can share insights. A Google Classroom page or Learning Management System (LMS) allows instructors to share resources, such as the post-class recording, and provides a mechanism for trainees to engage with the instructor and each other to enhance their learning experience.
Strategy 2: Breakout Rooms
Small-group collaboration among trainees is a powerful classroom tool that also works virtually. Using breakout rooms built into video conferencing software the facilitator can separate attendees into small groups and place them into a private virtual rooms where they can talk, share screens and message.
Putting participants in breakout rooms encourages interactive learning and collaboration and lowers location-imposed work barriers. And the same way an instructor might float around the room to monitor in-person groups’ progress, they can also pop in and out of the breakout rooms to check on their students.
Strategy 3: Cohort Groups
For a more asynchronous group learning setup, cohorts are a great option. Trainees are separated into small groups that will remain the same over the training period — they’ll study together, do group projects, and process what they’ve learned through conversation.
Just like the VILT/ILT blended learning, these groups can be a mix of in-person and virtual trainees, to prevent silos between onsite and remote employees. Members can communicate whenever it’s convenient for them via Teams, Slack, or email, and/or meet virtually for scheduled study sessions.
Strategy 4: Small Teams Online
Another way to connect remote and onsite learners is through activities like critical thinking puzzles to icebreakers and team-building games, like this virtual murder mystery. These activities can be carried out on virtual platforms like Google Classroom, Slack, or an LMS. To optimize relationship building between remote and in-office employees, change up the groups after each activity.
Strategy 5: Collaborative Activities
Finally, you can bring the whole group together with collaborative activities that can be accessed online, whether from the office or from a remote location. Online whiteboards enable virtual collaboration and brainstorming, chat groups facilitate social engagement, and online surveys or instant polls give instructors real-time feedback about how their training is working and what needs adjustment.
Other collaborative activities include role playing and sales or elevator pitch training, to give new employees hands-on practice in their new position and a chance to succeed with their customers or leads, which helps them develop the skills and experience they’ll need to be successful.
When facing the challenge of adapting your organization’s learning strategy to accommodate a hybrid workforce, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Your approach should optimize the outcomes you defined up front while balancing the business needs and constraints with both your remote and in-office audience needs. The good news is modern technology makes the necessary features and functionality readily available through video conferencing tools and affordable Learning Management Systems.
Prime 8 takes a programmatic approach to developing learning solutions for our clients with hybrid workforce needs. To see how we’ve helped other companies adapt, take a look at a few of our customer stories or reach out to learning@prime8consulting.com with any questions you have.
