Can Blended Learning Help Your Employees Adjust?
The time to return to the office has come for some companies, but how can you help your employees adjust more quickly? The transition might be challenging for those who have decided to work from the office again. However, blended learning can help by easing them back into the workplace. Let's look at some blended learning practices that can benefit your new and seasoned employees so that they're better prepared to handle day-to-day challenges.
5 Blended Learning Practices For The Back-To-Office Transition
1. Online Training With Offline Practice
The most common way to incorporate blended learning is through online training that requires offline practice. Offer your employees online lessons to familiarize themselves with company policies, procedures, or specific work tasks. Then, encourage them to come to the office to practice what they have learned, to see what they have mastered and what needs more training. This approach offers flexibility since they can learn at their own pace. At the same time, practicing their training offline with hands-on exercises offers them immediate feedback and improves knowledge retention.
2. Hybrid Workshops
Hybrid workshops combine both in-person and virtual elements. They give employees the opportunity to connect with their coworkers, as well as participate in experiential learning activities. Plus, they can be accessible to those working from home and those who've decided to return to the office, which means that nobody is excluded. Q&A sessions and detailed task demos are also great ways to incorporate workshops into your training program.
3. Online Coaching
Employees returning to the workplace will need some extra support, no matter how emotionally or mentally prepared they are. To facilitate that, you can pair employees that are going back to the office with mentors or coaches who can host one-on-one meetings. They can discuss their anxieties and fears about this back-to-office transition and alleviate any doubts they may have. Once they have started hybrid working, you can repeat those meetings in person. The entire process will help to make them feel more appreciated while also helping them adjust to any major changes that happen along the way.
4. Blended Onboarding
Existing employees should already be familiar with company culture, policies, and procedures. However, your newest team members need to be brought up to speed, and this is no easy feat in the middle of a back-to-the-office transition. You might consider arranging in-person tours in the office and meet-and-greet sessions with coworkers. Blended onboarding will provide your new hires with all the necessary information and training to minimize the time it takes to get comfortable in their new roles.
5. In-Person Meetings
Schedule regular in-person check-ins with employees prior to them starting their office work. They can address any concerns about company matters freely, which gives you a chance to devise solutions and break down any roadblocks that might cause unnecessary stress when they return. Those feedback meetings also allow you to share your expectations about them coming back to the office to open the lines of communication and improve their performance from day one.
What Features Should Your Blended Learning LMS Have For The Back-To-Office Transition?
Lesson Management
Learning Management Systems for blended learning should give you the ability to easily arrange the content and create courses. Also, the system should support multiple formats, like videos, audio, PDFs, presentations, etc., to meet different needs and preferences.
Tools For Social Learning
Social learning tools enable your employees to share what they have learned and communicate with coworkers at a moment's notice. Their peers are a valuable source of support during the transition from remote to hybrid or on-site work, and collaboration is key as they navigate the new normal in a professional setting.
Integration With Other Platforms
Your blended learning program must be seamless to avoid confusion and give your employees immediate access to the tools they need. For example, you may need to incorporate webinars and meetings into your courses to better track their performance. Or you may have to use your current authoring tool to develop content and update it quickly. All of this calls for an LMS that meshes with your tech stack.
Reporting
Your LMS should gather and store user data to track the effectiveness of your blended learning initiatives. As such, you will be able to make changes accordingly based on their training performance and identify areas for improvement when it comes to your L&D strategy.
Conclusion
The flexibility that comes from combining online and offline methods caters to the needs of different employees. Using online training to prepare for real-world challenges allows employees to merge their previous online life with their soon-to-be offline one. In short, a well-rounded blended learning experience makes them more confident about their triumphant returns so that they're ready to tackle any issues they encounter with minimal stress.
Check out our Best Blended Learning LMS Solutions list to compare the top platforms and find the Learning Management System that's right for your workforce.
