Digital tools come with heaps of benefits - like we've already explained - but we're not suggesting you do away with in-person training sessions entirely.
The simple fact is, there are some things digital tools can't ever fully replace, but here's where the good news comes in - you don't have to replace them.
A good people development platform should complement your in-person events, and can even help support the planning and organisation of them, giving you the chance to focus on delivering real value to your employees.
How to know if learning should be digitalised or not?
If you're not sure whether learning should be digitalised or not, ask yourself the following questions and see if it fills the bill.
- Does it repeat?
Anything that repeats, such as monthly HR sessions or weekly check-ins would be better served with the automation that comes with a people development platform.
- Does it need to be renewed?
Training that needs to be renewed at specified intervals - such as compliance training - should be done within a people development platform.
Why risk forgetting to set the training? Simply use the platform to automate reoccurrence of tasks and you'll never have to worry about it again.
- Is it mandatory?
Training that all employees need to complete - such as induction and onboarding tasks, or health and safety training - should be done within a platform that provides comprehensive reporting, allowing you to keep track of who has and hasn't completed the training.
If the answer to any of those questions was yes, you should be using a people development platform for the task. If your answer was no, then keep on reading.
Why you shouldn't do away with face-to-face training
With the current COVID-19 pandemic and companies becoming more flexible and remote, it can be tempting to want to deliver all your training digitally. However, this might not be the best idea.
Nobody loves virtual learning more than us here at Learn Amp, but we can't ignore the stats. Studies show that face-to-face learning can result in a better exchange of ideas between learners, better retention of the learning, and a faster response to questions and instructor feedback1.
What's more, there are just some perks of face-to-face training that are difficult to replicate virtually. In-person instructors can better "read the room" and alter sessions slightly to match the learners speed on the day.
It's clear there are benefits to both using a digital platform for employee learning and conducting face-to-face sessions, but it doesn't have to be a case of "one or the other".
Your digital platform should complement your in-person sessions
Ultimately, using the automation tools within your digital platform will allow you to save time on the setting of tasks and content, giving you more time to focus on delivering highly engaging face-to-face sessions.
A digital system can make organising in-person sessions a great deal easier. Having all events and invitations located in one system as opposed to scattered through email inboxes makes everything a lot more organised, as they’ll be easier to manage and schedule.
Learn Amp, for example, has a great 'Events' tools that lets you organise every aspect of face-to-face sessions. Within the tool, you can find a range of helpful features such as:
- Basic event creation
Use your digital platform to create an event on this system with all the necessary details, such as time and location.
While we're all working remotely, this also helps to keep links to virtual meetings all in one place.
- Invitations
For events with a specific guestlist, the event creator can use the platform to send invitations out to all invitees within the system. If the event is optional, you could allow users to sign up to the event themselves.
- Reminders
There's nothing more annoying than setting up an event, receiving confirmations from your attendees, but then having a poor turnout on the actual day.
Use your digital platform to set event reminders to occur (e.g. 2 days before the event) so that no one forgets to attend.
- Notifications
- Post-event surveys
Using an online platform to manage in-person events can save you a great deal of time and effort. But even if you’ve been putting in effort to organise events, how will you know if they’re being well received by your employees?
The best way to do this is to use a post-event survey tool to receive the feedback and use it when creating new events.
Investing in the right digital tools will always be important, but the secret to success lies in learning how to correctly use those tools in tandem with in-person sessions.
To find out how Learn Amp can help you organise the most engaging face-to-face sessions possible, book a demo today and we'll walk to you through it.
Resources
1. Continu | In-person vs Online Training
