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Remote Training Tip Sheet
September 03, 2008
In the old days, not bombing as a trainer was relatively simple. These days—in the era of remote training—it's a little trickier. Hosted technologies provide an easy solution to this new challenge.
By Michael Grosso
Technology is changing the way content is remotely delivered. Gone are the days when you had to be in the same room as someone to learn from them. People are meeting from all over the world for business conferences, and training is no different. Like anything that is done remotely there are certain challenges that can make the process more difficult. However, new technologies now make it that much easier for trainers not only to send information to their trainees, but to engage them and truly teach them as if they were in the same room. There are pros and cons with any training medium, but with certain steps and the use of an intelligent hosted solution, those challenges can be overcome.
There are many different resources out there for people to use for remote training and there is no reason to limit your search to the tools traditionally targeting trainers. For example there are rich multimedia tools that are traditionally used in business such as KinetiCast or Zoho Show. Here are five tips for successfully conducting remote training using a hosted tool such as these:
• Experiment: There are a lot of options available for people when it comes to sharing information—whether for everyday business activities or training materials. Many are concerned that taking on a solution such as this might be very costly. This is not the case and many of these hosted solution companies offer free trials. They all have different characteristics, and it really takes trying it out to know if a tool is right for you. So make sure to take the solution for a test drive.
• Make it compelling: Leverage the power of multimedia tools to create a truly compelling learning experience. Since with a hosted service the delivery of content is not done through e-mail, the size of the file is not restricted. Utilizing video, images, and other rich media elements to engage your students will increase retention.
• Control your content: Traditionally a trainer would e-mail his or her trainees an attachment or mail them a CD and then have no idea what, if anything, happened to it from there. It is left wide open for people to pass it on, copy it, tweak it…or whatever they like. Hosted technologies allow the trainer to put together a complete presentation, without losing control of their content, as the information is not there for others to change it. The trainer can limit who can view the presentation based on how many times it is accessed, a specific date, or at anytime can revoke access to it.
• Know who's watching: Depending on the type of training that is being conducted, it may be useful to know who has viewed the training materials, and how many times; it's like having an attendance list to your virtual classroom. Some tools also allow you to limit the times a person views the presentation.
• Know what's being watched: While remote training has it's own set of challenges as compared with training in person, it also offers some unique benefits when using a hosted training solution. There are some hosted solutions out there that enable you to track trainee viewing behavior. As a trainer who's committed to continuous improvement, it is certainly helpful to know which slides elicit and hold the most interest. This then allows you to either change the materials for future users, or address certain slides more than others.
• Instant updates: With a hosted solution you can easily make dynamic updates, additions or corrections to your training material. As the material is in one place (in the cloud) there are never any obsolete revisions in circulation to be concerned about; everyone sees the latest version when they access the material. This is especially important with remote training, when you run the risk of information sharing on the other end.
With these tips, and an easy-to-use hosted training solution, a trainer can really make a huge impact in a training package. There is a never ending amount of creativity available with the use of such a tool, and with additional features such as tracking and analytics the trainer is given a sense of control and efficiency that wasn’t previously available. Trainers should take note of the first tip and do some homework themselves. Try out different solutions, as each might have different features that will be useful or not, and some offer a fuller palette of tools for the trainer to reach the audience effectively. With many offering free trials, there's no reason not to give them a try to find the one that helps you to deliver the most effective training possible.
Michael Grosso is president and founder of KinetiCast, a provider of on-demand, media-rich presentation tools for sales and marketing professionals at small to mid-sized businesses. Founded in 2007, KinetiCast is based in New York's Tech Valley and can also be found online at www.kineticast.com.
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