In recent months, we have seen many Companies convert their traditional training to online training-using video conferencing tools, LMSs, and software to create online courses.
Good, but not great.
In many cases, it was just a reaction to the emergency caused by Covid-19, without a strategic approach and vision. Without the realization that modern education is digital, per se.
Now the situation has somewhat normalized, and it’s therefore crucial to approach the transformation of corporate training with a strategy and method.
L&D Managers are now being called upon to redesign corporate training strategy from a digital perspective, to enable their organizations not only to deal with and effectively manage future emergency situations, but also the everyday modern way of learning, living and operating.
The axiom to start with is that modern training is digital. Regardless of any emergency situation. Therefore, modern corporate training, can only be blended. In short, the digital and online component, cannot be missing.
What are the benefits of blended corporate training?
Starting from the statement in the previous paragraph (modern training is digital), let us proceed with the analysis of the 4 concrete benefits of blended Corporate training.
- Ability to manage and deal with emergency situations. The global crisis brought about by the new Covid19 has taught us how essential it is to have digital corporate training that can reach and support our Learners in any situation: in the office, smart-working or remote-working.
- Ability to offer “training on-demand“ to respond promptly to the training needs of individuals and the Company. In short, enabling our Learners to access training content when, how and where they need it – not just in emergency settings, but in the ordinary, normal workflow. Training in the now.
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Time and cost savings. The budgets required by traditional classroom training (travel expenses, logistics, etc…) do not allow it to be scalable and sustainable either over the long term or over a large number of users. The same applies to attendance at in-person training events. Therefore, here is where blended training is an effective solution for companies that want to continuously and consistently train their Learners, while also keeping an eye on the numbers (time and cost).
- Data, data and more data. Adopting a blended training strategy, that is, one with a digital component, allows us to collect more information about the behaviors of our Learners. Not only in terms of monitoring results and performance, but also in terms of analyzing the training experiences offered – in order to improve the training delivered in the Company, personalizing it and adapting it to people’s needs (people-centered learning).
What is the formula for successful blended corporate training?
There is no single recipe that will work for all companies. Depending on the contexts, it will be necessary to define the right mix of traditional training, online training and digital training.
Anyway, we can certainly identify some common denominators, though, that help design successful blended corporate training:
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Capture and intercept the needs of your Learners. Start by understanding your audience, define training objectives, elements and indicators to evaluate the success of your projects.
- Identify and engage subject matter experts (Subject Matter Experts) and stakeholders early on who can support you in your blended enterprise training implementation project.
These first two elements will enable you to define how much of a digital component the training should have in your company. As a consequence, you will gain a clear vision of which training should be delivered exclusively online and which in mixed mode (classroom, virtual training, e-learning).
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Think microlearning. Design and implement short content that can be grafted into the workflow. Identify the best output for various digital content (audio, video, interactive course, simulation, etc…).
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Always involve your Learners. Remember: you are starting a journey, and so are your Learners. What will motivate them and lead them to follow you? Don’t just offer linear training focused solely on business expectations and needs, but allow your employees to customize their own learning journey based on personal and professional learning needs.
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Use the right marketing strategies and techniques to support the launch and execution of your blended corporate training strategy. Your goal is to convert employees into engaged and enthusiastic Learners! Want to find out how to do that? That’s what we’re here for. ?
- Select the right technology to use. Identify the software and modern learning technologies that can support you in your blended training project. If you want to find out what they are, contact us!
In conclusion
Modern training is digital in itself. As a result, if we start from this axiom, we can strongly assert that modern (and therefore effective) corporate training, to be defined as such, can only be digital, hence blended.
#neverstoplearning ?
