8 Best Practices For Remote Training In 2024

Remote training has long been a staple in professional development, even before the widespread changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. As organizations shifted gears to embrace remote and hybrid work environments, remote training emerged as a crucial tool for nurturing employee skills and fostering growth. This far-fetched approach is not only rooted in flexibility, but according to the 2024 Remote Work Stats & Trends Report, 51% of employees wanted fully remote work, while 46% of them wanted a hybrid work mode. 

With around 89% of employees wanting remote training that was accessible from anywhere, anytime, the urgency of providing a quality corporate training program became even more apparent. However, this sudden demand caught many HR managers and L&D experts off guard, leaving little time to adjust or transition smoothly to online training methods. While it was a challenge for corporate trainers to quickly adapt to this change and identify ways to provide a seamless remote training experience to their employees, LMS made things easier on a large scale.

Here is where organizations started investing in a corporate LMS tool to unlock complete organizational success by delivering engaging training modules to their employees. Learning management systems have significantly made things easier for learning and development experts by not only enhancing the learning experience for learners but also making it accessible from anywhere, anytime. 

Check out this blog to find out the top 10 LMS features you need to consider while choosing the LMS tool for remote training for employees.

Well, now let us explore this blog to find out the best practices for remote training and understand the benefits of remote training for your employees.

What Is Remote Training?

Remote training refers to the process of educating and upskilling individuals or teams through virtual means rather than in-person sessions. This method leverages technology to deliver learning materials, conduct classes, and facilitate interactions over the Internet.

In today's interconnected world, remote training has become increasingly popular due to its flexibility and accessibility. It allows your learners to engage in learning from anywhere with an internet connection, breaking down geographical barriers and accommodating diverse schedules. Whether it's through live video sessions, pre-recorded lectures, interactive webinars, or online forums, remote training provides a versatile platform for both trainers and learners.

Benefits Of Remote Training At Your Organization

A meticulously planned remote training program can offer numerous benefits to your organization, such as:

1. L&D Continuity

When your team unexpectedly shifts from office to remote work, keeping their skills sharp and knowledge up-to-date becomes crucial. So, remote training steps in to ensure that everyone can continue to grow professionally, no matter where they're working. 

This not only supports individual development but also strengthens the organization as a whole by maintaining a culture of continuous learning and adaptability.

2. Boosts Productivity

Providing relevant corporate training to your employees ensures that they gain the required knowledge and skills to perform their best at work. Remote training allows your employees to revisit the training modules and review the concepts as many times as they want to. This further enhances employee engagement and retention, thus boosting overall work productivity.

3. Affordability

As corporate trainers and L&D experts, you must be aware of all the costs that go into on-site training. From setting the venue and finalizing the materials to analyzing the travel expenses and food budget, offline workplace training can be quite expensive and hectic. Here is where remote training comes in handy. It eliminates the additional expenditure, allowing the organization to train the employees with the same intensity remotely.

8 Best Practices For Remote Training For Your Employees

1. Set SMART Goals

S- Specific

M- Measurable

A- Achievable

R- Relevant

T- Time-Bound

Following the SMART goals framework allows you to set clear goals right from the beginning. It helps you identify the learning objectives and tailor the training content to your learners’ needs.

Setting realistic goals allows you to prepare an engaging learning module that helps you achieve the goal of upskilling your employees while also ensuring that they gain something fruitful out of the training. Ensure that your training content is relevant to the learners and has a specific deadline. This helps you avoid delays in the training delivery, thus meeting standard goals on time.

2. Make It Mobile-Friendly

When you are investing in an LMS tool, ensure that it is mobile-friendly, so you can provide a seamless learning experience to your employees working remotely. As per TalentLMS, 82% of remote employees have seemed to complete remote training outside work hours. So, as research says, why not make your training content easy to access?

Mobile accessibility is one of the most crucial factors to consider when you conduct remote training, as it is flexible and allows your learners to participate and contribute on the go.

3. Conduct Orientation Sessions

Once you have established realistic expectations from the training program, it is best to conduct an orientation session before the training program that helps them understand the technicalities and how to handle the situation beforehand. 

Some instances during a remote training session could include how to deal with the internet connectivity at home, keeping microphones on mute unless necessary, using the hand gesture features to raise a question or ask a doubt, closing other windows to avoid distraction, and waiting for the turn to respond to a question. These little things could go unnoticed but have adverse impacts if left unchecked. So it is important to always acknowledge them and help your employees understand through proper orientation.

4. Use A Variety Of Formats

Each learner has a different style of learning and gathering information. So it is important to include the most effective ways of learning in remote training. For instance, you could include live video examples, synchronous sessions with the L&D experts, micro-learning content, gamification, short surveys, Q&As, or quizzes to enhance the learning experience for your learners.

This ensures that you cater to the specific needs of your learners, thus delivering personalized content that helps them grasp the information and put it into practice more effectively.

5. Create Bite-Sized Content

According to a new study by Microsoft, the average human span has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to about 8 seconds in 2020. This attribute highlights the drastic rise in media distractions or surroundings. 

Any employee who works remotely would want to learn quickly rather than attend those boring, old, long-form training sessions. So it is best recommended to create bite-sized modules that are easily digestible for your learners. Microlearning is the best technique to break down your training content into short modules and deliver the relevant information in bite-sized chunks.

6. Self-Paced Learning Path

Creating a self-paced learning path allows you to set a specific goal and date and they get to decide when and how to complete their training session. This gives them the flexibility to decide and learn at their own pace.

Self-paced learning is highly beneficial in remote training, especially when the employees work at different hours. This also creates room for creating personalized learning content tailored to the needs of specific individuals at your workplace.

7. Get Timely Feedback

The best way to ensure that your remote training is working effectively is through regular feedback sessions. You could create built-in surveys at the end of the course that help your employees engage and share their reactions immediately. Or you could even incorporate quizzes, comment widgets, or 3D model widgets into your LMS, allowing the learners to share their feedback without any fear of judgment.

8. Analyze The Outcome

It is crucial to measure and keep track of the training effectiveness, as it helps you understand how well your remote employees have understood the concept. You could assess the key parameters that include completion rate, assessment or quiz scores, 1:1 discussions, and post-training survey feedback.

Keeping track of the success of your training program would enable you to enhance your training content as and when required. 

Conclusion

Focusing on employee-centered virtual training ensures skills development no matter what. By using these best 8 practices, you can help your team grow professionally and feel good about working with the organization. 

Thanks to Calibr LXP for making the job easier! With the help of this tool, you can now seamlessly provide remote training to your employees. Our LMS tool offers robust features such as single sign-on, personalized learning path, SCORM support, mobile accessibility, 360-degree analytics, and so much more! 

Moreover, you also get to access Calibr Craft to save time and effort in creating training modules. From top courses like Code of Conduct, Information Security, DEI, Ethical Business Practices, Workplace Violence, and Harassment, you get access to the top trending courses along with the certifications at the end of the course.

With the help of our AI-powered course authoring tool, you can easily create training content modules for your employees within a few minutes. Request a demo and learn more about Calibr.ai today!

FAQs

1. What is remote training? 

Remote training is the process of educating and upskilling individuals or teams using virtual methods instead of in-person sessions. It utilizes technology to deliver learning materials and facilitate interactions over the Internet.

2. How can an organization effectively coach remote employees?

Effectively coaching remote employees involves regular communication via video calls or phone, setting clear goals, providing tailored support and resources, and fostering a culture of self-reflection and recognition. Adjust your coaching style to accommodate remote work dynamics and ensure continuous development and engagement.

3. How do you empower remote employees through training? 

Empower remote employees by offering them access to comprehensive training resources and flexible learning schedules. Encourage self-directed learning and provide opportunities for skill development aligned with their career goals.

4. How do you ensure engagement during remote training sessions?

Ensure engagement by using interactive tools such as polls, quizzes, and breakout sessions. Encourage participation through discussions, group activities, and feedback loops to maintain interest and interaction.

5. How can Calibr.ai help me with remote training?

Calibr.ai enhances remote training by offering single sign-on for easy access, personalized learning paths, mobile compatibility, and an AI-powered course authoring tool (Calibr Craft) for quick content creation. It also provides comprehensive analytics to track progress and optimize training effectiveness, ensuring a seamless and productive learning experience for employees regardless of location.