Today’s workforce has become increasingly remote – and so has virtual training. If you want to reduce the amount of time, energy, and money you regularly put into the training process, then your company may want to consider virtual training.
To help you decide whether remote training is right for your organization, let’s look at some of the benefits of virtual training as well as its disadvantages.
How Does Virtual Training Work?
Virtual training allows an instructor to facilitate a training session for an individual or a group of learners over a virtual setting. The instructor and the learners communicate through a virtual learning platform or software, such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
4 Advantages of Virtual Training
1. Cost-Efficient
With virtual training, you reduce the costs required to train your team. There are no venue, travel, food, or lodging costs for learners and instructors – and productivity isn’t affected because they don’t have to take time away from work.
Virtual learning keeps the overall training program cost down while still developing employees’ skill sets.
2. Convenient
Learners can participate in virtual training from anywhere – as long as they have a stable internet connection and a laptop or other device. To access the training session, learners simply click the provided link and connect through virtual learning software, such as Teams or Zoom.
3. Access to Engaging Tools
Virtual training offers unique tools that effectively engage remote learners. Standard tools include polling software, Q&As, and breakout rooms – but each virtual training platform has various opportunities to engage learners. These tools provide hands-on tasks that help eliminate Zoom fatigue.
4. Self-Paced Learning
Virtual training can also use videos that allow employees to learn at their own pace. Every person has a different learning style, so when they can complete training on their own, it ensures they can absorb and process it in their preferred way.
3 Disadvantages of Virtual Training
1. Facilitators Can’t See Nonverbal Cues
With virtual training, instructors aren’t always able to assess nonverbal cues. In traditional classroom sessions, facilitators can adjust their instruction by watching their learners and reading their nonverbal cues. This isn’t easy to do during a virtual session.
2. Less Opportunity for Team Building
It’s not easy to bond with colleagues or supervisors when employees participate in virtual training. In-person, group exercises are a powerful way to create relationships between co-workers – and they often result in a greater team-building experience than virtual training can provide.
Read More: Pros and Cons of In-Person, Instructor-Led Training
3. Technological Issues
With virtual training, it’s essential that your training platform or learning management system is optimized and works well. However, when organizations don’t use the right tools for video training, learners may experience technical issues that can disrupt their training sessions. In-person training makes the technology less critical, and learning can still occur even if your platforms or devices don’t perform correctly.
Final Thoughts
Virtual training can be an effective and powerful tool for any organization. It offers many advantages that make training convenient, cost-effective, and engaging for remote learners.
Impact Group Training has extensive experience in eLearning development, and we’d love to help you design your dream training program! Contact us today to learn more about our services.
Read More: 7 Steps to Create an Effective Training Program