7 Benefits of Virtual Instructor-led Training (VILT)
Due to the ongoing pandemic, working mechanisms across organizations have been dramatically altered. The remote working scenario is one of the most significant impacts of COVID-19 and has necessitated the need for live virtual training for corporate employees.
Such changing circumstances have forced most organizations today to prioritize the ongoing training needs of their employees and continuously upskill them. To navigate this, companies look for various virtual training options for employees, which can offer them a practical, safe and effective learning experience.
Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) is an excellent solution to address this issue. It is one of the fastest-growing learning approaches for corporate learners, that offers the best possible experience in a remote/virtual environment. In this blog, we explore more about VILT along with its benefits.What is Virtual Instructor-Led Training? VILT is essentially a standard Instructor-Led Training (ILT) class coupled with virtual interactivities delivered in real-time, where the employees of an organization can connect remotely via a digital platform.
At their core, VILT programs are live learning sessions, offering employees a perfect combination of in-person training and a digital learning experience. Here are some of the key features of VILT-
- Virtual Instructor-led training allows the instructor to share important information through videos, documents and other interactive games to keep the learners active and engaged during the virtual sessions
- Instructors primarily use an online platform such as a video conferencing tool with multiple features to deliver training
- The approach allows lessons to be recorded and played back by learners as and when needed, to help them with assignments and other associated tasks
7 Key Benefits of Virtual Instructor-led Training 1. Interactive elements to boost engagement
Being largely video-based, VILT adds a lot of interactivity to learning. It allows learners to ask questions as they engage with content, express their views/opinions, participate in discussions, and get trained together with their peers irrespective of their location.
Mimicking live workshop interactivity using tools such as chats, polls, and breakout groups, VILT solutions not only expose learners to take input from other participants but also create a collaborative learning environment.
Besides, the VILT approach also enables learners to download different types of study aids in multiple formats such as Word docs, external links, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, infographics, and videos. If needed, they can also make notes online, clear their doubts and share them with other participants. This allows learners to become active participants in the learning process rather than relying only on the instructor.
2. Option for customization
Organizations want to meet the specific learning needs of their employees as quickly as possible. Visual communication is one of the fastest and most effective ways to get all related information using a single, unified tool and disseminate information to employees quickly. The flexibility of VILT also enables enterprises to adapt training for a large number of employees and in multiple languages, thus building an organization-wide consolidated training tool.
Another benefit of VILT is that instructors can use it to upskill employees, share necessary information, and address any concerns based on the latest market trends, industry changes, specific skills or product offerings.
3. Anywhere, anytime learning with a human element
As an increasing number of global businesses and workforces become remote, participating in the same training at the same time becomes a real challenge for employees.
VILT approach resolves this issue and offers learning opportunities for even the most remote team members.
It serves as a powerful tool to keep employees engaged and motivated, along with saving a great deal of time and resources for an organization that is otherwise spent on logistics, travelling, and other training material.
4. Enhances recall value and on-the-job application
In contrast to in-person training where employees or participants engage in one or two long-form sessions, VILT is typically delivered in shorter chunks across multiple sessions, leading to skill improvement in two main ways-
- This kind of spaced learning format allows employees to apply the knowledge gained in practical scenarios immediately.
For instance, for sales professionals, this kind of on-the-job application means that they can return to the next training session with a detailed understanding of how the concepts work in real selling scenarios.
- Spreading the overall training experience across several sessions consisting of small chunks also helps to engage participants more through the distributed practice-an excellent mode of learning. Keeping these spaces between instructions is critical for training managers to drive retention among the participants.
5. Instant feedback and real-time performance tracking
Another benefit of VILT is that the approach enables learners to easily track their performance using robust built-in analytics within tools. This, in turn, allows learners to focus better and work on specific improvement areas.
You can display the assessment results instantly or at the end of the course. Overall, VILT makes it easier to track participants’ performance and provide instant feedback.
6. Facilitates blended learning
The success of VILT as a practical and effective training technique is largely attributed to the blending of different elements of human-centric and technology-based learning elements.
Apart from this, targeted instruction and continuous interaction are other VILT features that allow enterprises to customize learning methods and modules as per individual needs.
7. Better learning outcomes
VILT offers a distinct advantage to learners of having a two-way, real-time conversation with instructors. It allows them to have this experience using technology-based tools such as Webex and GoToMeeting and combines it with the convenience and comfort of accessing it from anywhere.
Further, learners enjoy the experience of synchronous, instructor-led training without having to attend a physical classroom. This not only leads to increased engagement but also improves overall learning outcomes. In conclusion The cost-savings, effectiveness and scalability of VILT have made it a popular trend in the L&D industry over the last few years. Based on a virtual learning environment, VILT primarily aims to simulate a traditional classroom to make the remote training experience much more effective and adaptable to corporate learners.
Although virtual instructor-led training is a valuable learning method with several benefits, it can only be effective if implemented appropriately as part of a larger company-wide training strategy for both skills training and professional development.
To achieve success with VILT, organizations need to invest in a proper training program complete with virtual instructor-led courses that address the specific needs of each employee.
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