In an ideal world, all development training would be face to face, in person. The trainer would have a clear sense of how the room as a whole and how each individual learner was responding to the content and be able to adjust accordingly. People would feel comfortable stopping the trainer whenever they had a question or a problem. And the personal bond among participants, arising from everyone being in the same physical location and sharing the same experience, would make it easier for them to discuss, reinforce, master and execute best practices in the period immediately following training.

But being in the middle of a global pandemic this is not an ideal world, and the expense and hassle of transporting employees to a single location and keeping a safe distance, not to mention the desire to avoid lost productivity time, has led many companies to look for remote training options.

This approach definitely produces cost savings and other advantages, however the communication dynamic is fundamentally different from face-to-face training if the trainer is working in one location and the participants are somewhere else. Therefore, the trainer’s engagement strategy should also be different. Here are three approaches that have proven successful in delivering training & support to your frontline workforce remotely.

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The expense and hassle of transporting employees to a single location and keeping a safe distance, not to mention the desire to avoid lost productivity time, has led many companies to look for remote training options.

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1. Go mobile-first

You — much like most frontline employees— are always on the go. Our mobile devices are almost always on our person, ready to provide us any information we need through a quick Google search or to connect us to our friends and colleagues over a text message. In order to reach today’s learners, organizations have to embrace mobile-first technology so to meet the training needs of our frontline workforce and provide support when and where they need it. Decreased cost and time away from work have already been distinguished as major benefits of mobile training. Mobile technology continues to evolve in unique and exciting ways to make training content increasingly more accessible and digestible.

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2. Make it interactive

The phrase “mobile training” may call to mind a brief video accessed on a smartphone describing an installation procedure. With this approach, the interaction is primarily passive. We believe that interaction with your employees is important and rather than passively watching an online video, you should look for training options that enable employees to meaningfully engage with both content and coaches. For example, with Yoho employees can ask live questions, leave comments and provide feedback. As a manager, you can even share live updates such as company announcements and new hires, safety alerts or toolbox talks by way of a short "vlog-like" video. It's much like most social platforms these days such as Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. This way, training feels more "human" and you always have an expert in your pocket if you run into a problem or just want to talk to a manager. The results may speak for themselves: increased levels of engagement can lead to higher retention and reinforcement of learning.

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The results: increased levels of engagement that lead to higher retention and reinforcement of learning.

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3. Provide "on-the-floor" support

Creating training content is only half the battle, though. The real challenge lies in reinforcing the content so that employees can recall that knowledge in their time of need. We realize that a lot of organizations are creating really amazing content, but they’re having trouble reinforcing that content and ensuring that users remember it a few months out. This reinforcement is perhaps especially critical for industries such as manufacturing, where workers’ safety is contingent on their ability to perform tasks and processes accurately and effectively. Ensuring that training is delivered and reinforced for frontline manufacturing employees is critical and it's important that you can also meet the needs of the people on the floor. With a mobile training & support platform such as Yoho, frontline employees can simply scan a QR-code to access the content they need, when they need it.

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The real challenge lies in reinforcing the content so that employees can recall that knowledge in their time of need.

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We're just getting started...

Our mobile devices allow us to connect globally and learn endlessly. As technologies advance, mobile learning and other learning modalities must evolve with them. In order to remain competitive, organizations must recognize mobile learning’s role in meeting learners where they are in time, space and knowledge. However, one of mobile technology’s greatest assets is its ability to reach users in a frictionless manner, all over the world.

Even though the communication in remote training & support is fundamentally different from traditional classroom raining, a thoughtful transition to remote training is more critical now than ever. Request a demo to learn about the pros and cons of various virtual training modalities and when each is most applicable. Please reach out to demo@yohoapp.io to schedule a session with one of our training specialists.

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