What The New Workplace Dynamic Will Mean For Employee Training
It seems like there are two schools of thought from those who are employed right now – those who can’t wait to get back to the office (if they aren’t already), and those who are loving working from home and don’t ever want to go back to work in-person. Both parties have good reason for their preference, and many companies will likely adopt some kind of hybrid approach that appeases both perspectives. We’re not here to argue for one side or the other. Instead, we’re here to think about what that means for workplace training.
The days of assembling everyone in a boardroom for in-person training are likely gone.
If in-person training is taking place, it should be designed to accommodate virtual participants as well. Maybe it means using a virtual whiteboard instead of a physical one and pre-planning who is going to be in each virtual breakout group (it’s easy to break people into groups in person, it’s a lot harder to do it on the fly virtually). A skilled facilitator will be able to engage those in the room and those online, but the approach needs to be strategic. You want everyone – those in the room and those online – to be paying attention, not distracted with their phones or email.
You’re going to have to be very intentional about employee onboarding.
If employees are on a rotating schedule, it’ll be harder for new employees to meet existing staff members (and vice-versa). The strategies needed to onboard new staff in a virtual environment will have to be different because you won’t always be able to physically see what they’re doing and you want to make sure they’re on track. It will also be harder to orchestrate those natural “collisions” that result in learning – like asking a question of a colleague in the next office/cubicle or having conversations in the lunchroom. Instead, you’ll have to be very intentional about how you onboard your employees in this environment. Have a plan and a strategy for everything so that they can get up to speed quickly.
Microlearning is key to incremental skill building
We love using short bursts of e-learning, or microlearning, to build skills within your workforce. This will be helpful to a partially remote staff because it’s available to all-staff on demand. Employees can also use it when they need it and won’t have to search for a colleague to teach them.
How else do you see your workplace training being impacted by this change in workplace dynamic?
If you’d like to chat about your employee training, please reach out to us now!
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We’re Erin and Peter, a husband and wife team passionate about making your organization successful through employee training and engagement. Join us as we explore new opportunities to improve your workplace.