Many businesses are concerned about how they can develop their teams in a hybrid workplace. However, with the right learning programmes this shouldn’t be an issue. Well-developed virtual training has shown to be just as effective as face to face sessions can be.
The beauty of online training is that, within reason, it is relatively easy to scale to large amounts of people due to the flexibility of its delivery. It can be worked around time zones & ongoing work to minimise the disruption to your organisation.
There can be some challenges associated with implementing solely virtual sessions. For example, a sense of isolation for teams among other social aspects that aren’t as easily replicated as they are in-person. So how do we tackle these issues within a bespoke Alchemist programme?
Evolution Of The Learning
The working environment is an ever evolving and often complex dynamic, filled with varying challenges and a flurry of different personalities. The shift to hybrid work or even fully remote work has had many companies contemplating how they attract & retain talent when people aren’t always physically together.
Often we resonate with face to face training more due to the fact that it’s what we know and recognise. From an early age we are taught in person, in classrooms, and so that is our expectation. However, this isn’t the only, and arguably not necessarily the best, way to learn!
People can find it hard to determine when we are and are not learning well. One of many ironies in the human thought process, despite the fact that our brains are amazing at retaining new information. Although we are aware of when training is interesting, easy, or difficult, research(1) has revealed that we are unaware of when growth is actually taking place. Since we have no way of knowing when we are learning effectively, it is simple to develop a number of misconceptions about what constitutes good knowledge absorption.
Great Learning = Great Design
When developing a learning programme, Alchemist knows that the design & delivery of that programme are paramount to its teachings being everlasting. Studies have shown that well-designed virtual training is very often more effective than face to face sessions. This could be due to the fact that the opportunities to learn can be spread out so they can be ingrained in long-term memory, built upon and practised.
Alchemist understands that to get the very best out of everyone in a hybrid workplace, a blended approach is necessary. This allows for all personality types types to understand and absorb the programme in the most effective way for them. This is based on your organisation’s needs as well as what is best for your employees.
Challenges To Hybrid Workplaces
We’re not going to pretend that virtual and hybrid learning don’t present some challenges. However, many of them can be overcome or managed with the following strategies:
Managing Energy
Hybrid working can present various new sources of fatigue. A great example of this is communication; it is now more likely than ever for people to conduct back to back meetings across various team platforms than ever before. Studies(2) have shown that with your camera on, you instantly become more self aware. This incessant self-monitoring is exhausting and has been dubbed ‘Zoom Fatigue’.
To mitigate this challenge Alchemist have designed rest breaks into their virtual programmes. This not only allows people to reflect & understand what they have just learned but also alleviates symptoms such as ‘Zoom Fatigue’.
Holding Attention
The key to holding the attention of your learners is effective facilitation and an understanding of what your learners want to learn.
Online sessions can be accessed at any time, imparting fundamental knowledge in a flexible way. Alchemist combines these with virtual live experiences from knowledgeable facilitators, delivering content and guiding discussions. This creates an opportunity to feedback & practice what you have learned.
Create Comfortable Social Elements
People become a little anxious when they are unsure of the conventions or have no schema for a situation. Nothing particularly productive occurs, and everyone can end up feeling uncomfortable.
There isn’t always an easy way to leave a conversation that isn’t going well, in addition to a lack of norms and schemas for how to network virtually. When networking took place in person, it was simple to come up with an excuse to be “somewhere else.” People tend to want to keep themselves out of situations where they might feel trapped, such as virtual rooms. Shorten networking opportunities and provide people with examples of topics to discuss so they can use the time easily and comfortably.
In many cases, virtual and hybrid training can have an even greater impact than face to face. Alchemist can help support you in overcoming the difficulties your organisation faces and help everyone to develop in this new hybrid world with a little bit of intention and a focus on great design.