The future of workplace training programs online

 I offer online training programs and have seen an uptick in interest in online training.

It is clear there is still a general distrust of online training in some segments, however, covid has obviously, increased interest in getting the training done – online so as not to spread disease in person. 

I think, however, that the distrust of online training is misplaced. There are a lot of benefits to doing an online training program.

The benefits of online training

Online learning, can be really efficient in terms of costs and reporting.

I work in the EEO field, though I also offer humanistic leadership development programs as well.

With EEO or any compliance training, you must prove your staff learned the material and met the time requirements of the training.  Online platforms can do this well by ensuring people are in the lessons for the required amount of time and pass a comprehension exam to complete the program.  

Compliance training also requires adequate reporting. Companies need to provide reporting that proves the training occurred. Again, online training platforms do this really well as you can generate logs for each users to prove each keystroke they make inside the learning program as well as issue certificates of completion.

With modern online training programs, it's pretty much impossible to cheat the system. People are forced to participate or they don't pass the class. This compares with in person, where people may be physically present, but ignore what is being taught.  

Another benefit is that you can purchase access to an online learning library – and not just a specific class. This allows participants to engage in personal development in excess of the required training programs – which is also a benefit to the user. 

I think for compliance training, online is where the future is specifically because it is convenient and provides such excellent compliance reporting.

The benefits of in person training

The main benefit of in person training is still – networking.  The opportunity to have casual conversations with your colleagues during breaks helps build relationships and trust which is – important for teams to develop. 

This benefit of a live training is incredibly hard to replicate online. It can be done, but it's not as easy or natural as being in person.

For personal development and leadership development, - I think whether you choose in person or online is a personal choice and it depends on your objectives. 

I do get individuals who are doing personal and professional leadership development online. It's just another form of self study. Some people read books, some people take online courses. 

But groups who want leadership training are still asking me to come out in person to do the training, because the in person networking benefits are still so important for that. But for individuals who want to improve – an online course is similar to purchasing a book. It’s a great way to improve your skills.

A hybrid approach

One of the suggestions I make to clients who do want in person is to conduct a hybrid training.   Do some of the learning, online at their own pace and combine that with an in person, workshop or discussion.  This will ensure that everyone arrives to the in person training ready to discuss implementation of what they learned online and will provide more opportunities for networking and collaboration and discussion - which in turn will help participants get to know each other and build the relationships that are so essential to their success.

A hybrid approach really will help you maximize the learning and the networking.

Ask Me For Help.

If you have any questions, just let me know. If you are contemplating doing a training, whether it is compliance training or a professional development training, please contact me and we can discuss how best to meet your organizations needs.

Here is a full list of the programs I offer. 

https://humanistlearning.com/programsoffered/

Let me know if you have any other questions.

What is the Key to Employee Engagement During Staff Training Programs?

Many of my customers think they need live training in order to ensure that staff are actively engaged in the training program so that they learn.  I'm obviously quite happy to provide a live training - especially if it's in a location I'd like to visit, but live training aren't necessary to engaged participation in a training.

In fact, when customers want a live training, I often require them to participate in an online training to prep participants for the live discussion by providing education on key concepts prior to the live discussion.

To help you understand the problem of employee engagement and why I don't think live is necessarily better - here is a recent Q&A I did with a reporter. 

Question: 

What is employee engagement? And why has it become so crucial in the present day? How does staff training play a key role in employee engagement?  How can brands increase their employee engagement during staff training? What are the key factors?

Answer: 

The training – has to be of interest to them. Something they want to learn. If they aren’t interested in learning whatever it is you are teaching – they will be disengaged and it really doesn’t matter what sorts of whistles and bells you add to the training.  An example – harassment training. Most of this training is geared towards managers telling them – to not bully or harass employees because – it’s illegal.  Any manager who is bullying or harassing employees – isn’t interested in stopping and doesn’t really care about the training – it doesn’t apply to them – it’s just a requirement they are forced to sit through.  If … on the other hand – you approach this as a training for people currently being harassed or bullied – and you teach them – how to make it stop – you will have VERY engaged learners. 

For things where everyone has to learn whatever it is – to get engagement  you need to provide a reason why they should care. Not just – why do they need to learn this to do their job – but why it matters?  Caring and mattering are moral and ethical judgements. Without a moral reason to learn something – why would anyone care? A moral and ethical dimension that should be included in any training. For example – when I do leadership training – I not only provide practical skills – I also provide philosophic tweaks. I appeal to people’s sense of morality and ethics – how the world should be ideally. What sort of person/leader do they want to be – ideally. Once I activate people’s moral compass and encourage them to think of themselves – not just as a manager – but as  a quality human being – we can use that to discuss how good people – behave in certain stressful situations and now people want to learn – because this is about them – being moral and ethical and the person they aspire to be. If you can activate people’s moral compass and make learning a skill seem like a moral imperative – you will engage them more readily than if you just – present information.

Some things – can’t be made all that engaging. For the things that aren’t engaging – you can at least make them fun and use gamification to help – keep people interested and participating. But even these things can include moral and ethical considerations. Even if you are just training someone on how to clean up a mess – how they impact others. How this impacts work flow – matters. 

To me – I distinguish between engaged- and active. Engaged learners – want to learn. Active learners – are actively learning – even if they don’t want to learn. 

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If you want to learn more about how ethics impacts employee motivation - I am speaking with Prof. Manuel Guillén on Nov 30th for a live online Q&A on the importance of morality on motivation. Information and registration for this free event here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/humanistic-management-professionals-lunch-and-learn-employee-motivation-with-prof-manuel-guillen-tickets-50782666322

And if you would like to organize a training for your leadership team or staff - please let me know. I offer humanistic management training that is both practical, science based and integrated ethical philosophy so that people participating in the training - really want to learn and more importantly - change what they are doing so that they can be more effective and ethical at the same time. A list of my humanistic management programs are here: 

https://humanistlearning.com/category/businesscourses/

The 7 Sins of Staff Management

Finally got around to putting this presentation on SlideShare.

My last corporate client liked this presentation so much - they asked me to give them copies of the slides to share with their mid level managers. Here it is for general use.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Staff Management from Humanist Learning Systems

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To take the online course and get the full experience - register here: https://humanistlearning.com/7-sins-of-staff-management/  It only costs $10.