Healthcare agencies, government entities and nonprofits have one thing in common. Often the people working on a project have to do several jobs at once. They’re the program manager, administrator and professional development manager all at the same time.
Everyone can pick up the phone, but not everyone feels comfortable taking the role of chief training officer with no background. This is an even bigger deal in online training management, as few people have experience in this area.
Yet that’s what happens in remote training. Remote learning has become increasingly popular, especially for workers at home or unable to travel for in-person training. But how well does it work? And how can you make it better?
There are several reasons why your staff need to learn remotely. For one, they want to avoid being tied down by the baggage of a traditional classroom or conference room setting. For example, you can onboard a new employee whenever they’re hired if you’re training online. You don’t need to schedule training sessions in advance.
Next, they can save money by not paying for travel to training sessions. Hidden costs lurk in traditional live instructor-led training. Jot down all the random costs of getting people into a room together, and you’ll see how the prices quickly shoot up. Travel, lodging, and catering or food stipends can account for a significant portion of any training budget.
And finally, learners need more flexibility. The flexibility of online programs is ideal for busy schedules. On the flip side, the lack of a fixed structure can make it hard to follow through. So you may want to consider sharing time management resources with participants early on. And create a study/assignment calendar to help make the most of everyone’s time and meet your deadlines.
Use These 5 Online Training Management Tips To Ensure Your Online Course Goes Smoothly
Assemble a Training Needs Assessment
This is an excellent time to start polling the people you work with because people at your organization may have different ideas about how the course should work than you do. Start with a needs assessment, and put all the feedback and ideas into an extensive list.
Performing a training needs assessment of your public health workforce is an essential first step in creating professional development opportunities that will improve your staff’s knowledge, competence, and effectiveness.
Here are 20 Questions to Ask in a Training Needs Assessment, including these few:
1. On a scale of one to 10, how do you feel about your skill level related to your job?
2. What are the skills necessary for this program to succeed?
3. Do you have internal training resources already?
Prioritize with a Project Scope
If you don’t define scope, your project could go on forever and cost more than you have. The needs assessment will help you compile a wish list of what you want in your course. Then, it’s time to prioritize.
Online training can get messy quickly without the right management. That’s why project scoping is such a vital step, as it is in any project management process.
Divide your list of ideas into three sections:
- Must Have
- Will Need
- Nice to Have
Be prepared to take out a clean sheet of paper for any additional items you think of during the project. We advise our clients to set aside an additional 15% of the budget for these unforeseen issues. Anything else you can get to these items during round two. Six months from launch is a good time to think of scheduling this round two.
Following a solid project scope can ensure that everyone involved understands it and how it will be delivered.
Appoint the Right E-learning Manager
In online training management, you need someone to be the central command between your organization and the development team. This traffic cop doesn’t need to know about technology, but they should be organized, good at delivering information and able to call the shots when needed.
Involvement is crucial for a successful e-learning program. Appointing no one as the champion for your program will have one of two outcomes: no one will do anything and your program will be wasted, or someone will do everything, but you’ll never respect or realize the amount of work they do.
Incorporate Feedback
Feedback is an essential part of online training management. It increases engagement as learners feel motivated to participate when they receive positive comments and encouragement. They will also feel less stressed when they receive constructive criticism.
Plus, feedback works both ways. It’s nice to have a web form or survey where people can drop comments and ideas during development and beyond. Online courses should always be in motion, so use feedback to ensure your training does what you want it to as your organization evolves.
In addition, if you want to make online learning effective, you need to provide learners with opportunities to interact with each other. This means creating an online community where learners can share ideas, ask questions, and discuss topics. You should also encourage learners to participate in discussions and answer questions.
Offer Ongoing Support
One of the biggest online training management mistakes is not offering ongoing support. Learners need to feel supported throughout the entire process. They need to know that you care about them and will help them succeed.
The Internet is a fantastic and vital resource for online learners, but it can also cause trouble. Online classes become practically impossible without a robust internet connection or high bandwidth. As a result, keeping up with the technological needs of a chosen course can be frustrating for your participants. Plus, it can feel intimidating.
The best way to avoid this is to plan ahead of time by:
- Offering computer literacy resources to participants. These can include a basic understanding of computer hardware
- Familiarizing yourself and the learners with the programs you’ll be using the most in the course
- Knowing where to go for help when technical issues arise
Even if you don’t have the resources to put into facilitator training or course design, you can still have an effective remote training project. Follow these tips to breathe excitement into your course and boost communication. These efforts will make online training as successful as live instructor-led courses.
