{"id":1433,"date":"2020-09-30T10:17:26","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T07:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/?p=1433"},"modified":"2020-09-30T10:17:26","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T07:17:26","slug":"employee-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brosix.com\/blog\/employee-training\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tactics and Tech You Need For Remote Employee Training"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Employee training has always been important. After all, skilled people are a company\u2019s best asset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But effectively developing employees produces a knock-on effect. A productive workforce not only helps in retaining top talent, but improving the brand and remaining competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With more and more people working from home, though, it\u2019s no surprise that how best to train employees for remote work has top company brass scratching their heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not as hard as it sounds! Sure, there are challenges. By knowing those, you can begin to hone a training strategy, some useful topics, and the right toolkit to train and develop a remote workforce for success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the winning tactics and technology you need for remote employee training, read on<\/b>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenges of Remote Employee Training<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Training employees for success is a formidable task. But with distributed teams, developing employees that not only collaborate efficiently with their teammates, but also execute their remote job effectively adds new challenges. Here are some of the common difficulties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Devise an Effective Training Strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The mental and technical obstacles of remote work can impact the effectiveness of employee training. Distractions while working<\/a> from home, barriers to team creativity<\/a>, and social isolation all take their toll on well-being. Knowing how much information to package, balancing self-study with group training, and effectively addressing technical issues helps employees to not only contend with those challenges, but flourish in spite of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where to Find Information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The skillset required of remote employees isn\u2019t vastly different from that of in-house staff. But the context in which work is carried out is. As a result, one of the biggest challenges a distributed employee will face is access to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not knowing where to find information, who to approach for assistance, and how to address hardware and software problems wreck productivity and morale. To prevent this, communicate web-based training long before the session, provide clear access to knowledge and information, and include space for follow-ups and feedback afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Technology and Tools to Use<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Technochnology<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Technology can make or break employee development. Inadequate tech and software set a training session up for failure while too many tools foster confusion and helplessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t overcomplicate things. A combination including a knowledge and learning management platform, a task manager, effective communication software, and a support tool should be enough. If not, it might be time to rethink your employee training strategy. Train your employees on the technology. And then let the training speak for itself.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Strategies to Effectively Train Remote Employees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now that you know the challenges of training remote employees, you can start to devise a strategy to develop a more productive<\/a> workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make It Accessible<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Employees on remote teams are often scattered in various locations. Even when employees do have the luxury of being in the same time zone, competing work-life priorities make it hard to carry out live training and professional development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On-demand employee training is an effective method to combat asynchronous schedules. Create training videos<\/a> and informative ebooks<\/a>. This way, if one team\u2019s logging off while another\u2019s logging on, or if someone has to pick up the kids from soccer practice, no one misses a thing. Pre-recorded sessions are always available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enabling access to training and development content on an as-needed basis shows employees that you respect their time, while making them more accountable for their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Practice: <\/b>To improve your chances for success, utilize a mobile-friendly approach. Often, employees are on their mobile devices more than any other technology. In this way, you meet them where they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Package Information in Digestible Amounts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Just because it\u2019s easily accessible doesn\u2019t mean your team has time to do it. Studies show that employees only have about 1% of their time<\/a> to devote to training and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep training material brief and to the point. Package information in digestible amounts that targets a specific and solvable employee need. Consider a wiki-page or a similar knowledge database. Content could range from updated guidance on traffic flow in the office corridors to tips on effectively addressing the challenges of working on a virtual team<\/a>. If it can\u2019t fit in a condensed context, consider a separate employee development day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go for Goal-oriented<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For long-term growth, create a plan that helps employees develop in a way that adds value to the company. Go for goal-oriented rather than focusing on hours completed or time in front of the screen. Conduct a thorough analysis of business, team, and individual needs. So long as they align with the company\u2019s needs, let employees set their own goals and initiatives to achieve them. Define clear KPIs so that you can measure the success each training brings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Couple Self-study with Group Training<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Group<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The increased flexibility employees have when working from home enhances productivity<\/a>. The freedom to set workflows that reflect personal productivity can also help individuals more efficiently progress along their professional development roadmap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, it\u2019s sometimes necessary to bring the team together. Big-picture company initiatives and team bonding activities benefit from in-person communication and teamwork. Help employees create a personal development plan that they can work on independently. But consider employee development days on a routine basis that bring the entire team together and boost shared morale and commitment to the cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Utilize Your Existing Technology<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Technology is one of your best assets. Chances are you already have tech tools in your arsenal that you could deploy immediately!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides enabling vital real-time communication and face time, instant messaging apps<\/a> and video conferencing software, such as Brosix and Zoom, provide collaboration tools to mitigate various remote training roadblocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Screen sharing<\/a> with remote desktop control is great for conducting product walk-throughs, assisting with software configurations, or engaging colleagues with a presentation on corporate culture. Screenshots allow you to quickly highlight details and demonstrate how-to processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best practice:<\/b> Establish a chat room<\/a> to the side of your employee training. This way you\u2019ll have a shared communication space for FAQs, feedback, and the sharing of files and screenshots. Save screenshots and use them to create a wiki page or how-to library. Offline messages can help you combat the asynchronous nature of remote communication. But also encourage employees to regularly check the chat history. This way there\u2019s less disruption to employee workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Topics to Include in Your Remote Training Program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n