Business faces many training challenges. What style of training? What are the important topics? How much will it cost? Each question leads down another overwhelming rabbit hole.
One of my clients is training engineers and scientists about technical writing principles. Previously, this was classroom training. However, the company’s many international offices make this type of training costly and time-consuming. The solution: do the training sessions as webinars.
My client faces four common challenges:
- Finding time.
- Adapting learners to a new environment and set of expectations.
- Adapting learning materials and facilitation style.
- Finding the right tools.
Time
There’s never enough time. Learners are expected to complete training without taking time out from regular tasks.
Revising materials for online training or developing new ones takes time. Facilitators need time to practice with a new platform and environment and to learn keep webinars short. Content must also be chunked into short 3-5 minute segments to keep learners focused.
Learner Adaptation
Learning at a computer in your office is challenging. There are more distractions—email, work, phone, people, a messy desk—they all negatively impact the ability to focus and learn. Learners need to realize that webinars are not a free hour for light tasks and it is expected that they fully participate.
Facilitator Adaptation
Facilitators need to learn new habits too. A pause to look down at notes causes learners to lose focus or panic about a lost connection. A facilitator needs to move seamlessly between topics and activities. It’s helpful to have an assistant (producer) to monitor comments, post polls and troubleshoot technical problems. This also requires time to coordinate and practice with the producer.
The Right Tools
This is a technical communicator’s nightmare and no different in instructional design. My client’s current platform for hosting webinars is great—if you want to have a virtual meeting. They needed a platform that promoted interactivity. Solution? Talk to the experts and see what they say about various tools. We found two possible platforms that allow more interactivity: WebEx and Adobe Connect.
These are just some of the challenges facing my client. There is so much to consider that it’s helpful to consult with a technical communicator who is an expert in instructional design. We can guide business through the labyrinth and make life significantly easier!
