New technologies continue to emerge at a rapid pace, creating new opportunities for businesses of all sizes. Companies that are willing to embrace these trends – and find ways to implement them in their own operations – will be better positioned to thrive in the coming years. Virtual training services may not seem like an obvious response to the current landscape of artificial intelligence, IoT-connected devices, and accelerated digital transformation. However, businesses that take advantage of these opportunities now can position themselves advantageously moving forward. Virtual training services are one such opportunity you should explore if you want your company to stay ahead of the curve and remain competitive in the long term. Read on to learn more about what virtual training services are, how they can improve your business processes, and how you can make them work for you.
What Are Virtual Training Services?
Virtual training services are a type of online training provided by a company to its employees. Often, these services are hosted in the cloud, meaning they can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection. There are numerous types of virtual training services, including live webinars, recorded webinars, virtual conferences, virtual classrooms, podcasts, and self-service learning. A virtual training service provides employees with training and information related to their job, as well as information about the company as a whole. It’s important to note that these services are not the same thing as online training courses, which are typically shorter and more focused. With a virtual training service, employees can receive ongoing, continuous training that touches on a wide range of topics.
Benefits of Virtual Training Services for Employees
Saves your company money
Employee training is an important aspect of business, but it can be costly to organize in-person events. One way to save your company money is to host virtual trainings, either in fully online webinars or a mix of online and recorded webinars that can be watched at any time. With a virtual training service, you can save on travel costs and venue rental fees, while giving employees the opportunity to access important information and trainings whenever they have time and an internet connection.
Reduces learning time
Some training topics, such as safety programs and regulatory compliance, are necessary for employees but are not particularly interesting or engaging. With virtual training services, you can add these types of trainings to your employees’ schedules without worrying about whether they’re actually interested in and retaining the information. Employees can receive these trainings at their convenience, without needing to take time out of their schedules as they would during an in-person training event.
Better employee retention for most training topics
When employees are engaged and truly interested in the training they’re receiving, they tend to retain that information better. Virtual training services can help engage your employees by including interactive elements such as quizzes and polls that allow them to apply their knowledge as they learn it. These online trainings can also be personalized to your specific employees’ needs and learning styles, allowing you to ensure everyone is receiving the most effective training possible.
Just-in-time accessibility for employees overseas
If you’re a global company or have employees in different locations, you may find that in-person training events are not the best fit for your business. With virtual training services, you can provide employees all around the world with the training and information that’s relevant to them, regardless of their location. You can also ensure each of your employees is receiving the same training, even if they’re in different countries and time zones.
Provides employees with ongoing access to key resources
Another benefit of virtual training services is that they give employees access to key resources. If there are certain resources, like an online glossary of terms or frequently asked questions, that you want all your employees to be able to access easily, you can make them available through a virtual training service. It’s easy to add tools and materials to a virtual training service, so you can make sure all of your employees have the resources they need to do their jobs successfully.
Fits your employee’s flexible lifestyle
Engagement with virtual training services can vary, depending on your employees’ timeframes, availability, and schedules. Some employees may be able to commit to a weekly or monthly schedule of trainings, while others may prefer to receive training in pieces throughout the month as time allows. You can also host trainings that are open-ended, allowing employees to come back and revisit materials at any time.
Provides your employees, and managers, with timely feedback
When employees are receiving regular trainings, you can provide them with timely feedback on their progress. With virtual training services, you can give your employees access to pre- and post-tests, as well as other types of assessments, to see how they’re progressing with their learning. You can also give managers access to the same tools, allowing them to provide timely feedback to their employees.
Ensures training consistency and standardization
If you’re concerned about consistency and standardization across your organization, virtual training services can help. With this type of training, you can ensure every employee is receiving the same information, in the same order, and at the same time. This can help make your employees more consistent as a team, making it easier for them to work together.
Reduces your company’s environmental impact
One significant benefit of virtual training services is their environmental impact. When your employees are receiving their trainings online, they’re not traveling to and from in-person trainings. This means less carbon emissions and fewer pollutants in the atmosphere, making your company more environmentally friendly.
Guarantees a risk-free environment for your employees
One of the biggest issues with in-person training is that it can be difficult to find a location where people can train who also have the right qualifications for the job. Additionally, there may be a risk of injury if the work is dangerous and employees are not properly protected. Virtual training can help to eliminate these issues, allowing you to train employees in a controlled environment that is fit for purpose and safe for everyone involved. Not only does this make it easier to train employees of all skill levels, but it also allows you to train employees who may not be able to travel or who are not able to attend a physical location due to other commitments.
Allows for global collaboration
As the world continues to become increasingly interconnected, businesses may want to consider training employees in other countries. Virtual training makes this possible, allowing employees to work together even if they are in different locations. This is beneficial in a number of ways, including:
– Better Communication: Collaboration inherently makes communication between individuals easier and more effective. While you may be able to communicate effectively with colleagues in your immediate area, virtual training allows you to extend this level of communication beyond the walls of your office.
– Improved Mentoring: Mentoring and apprenticeship programs can operate more effectively when mentors and apprentices can collaborate across distances. This offers a variety of benefits, including lower costs and improved mentoring opportunities for those receiving the training.
– Greater Diversity: With global collaboration, businesses can increase the level of diversity in their workforce. This is especially important for companies that have struggled to hire employees of specific ethnicities or who have had difficulties finding the right person for a particular job. Virtual training allows companies to search beyond their local area and attract the best candidates from across the globe.
– Additional Skill Sets: Collaborative training allows businesses to take advantage of a wider pool of experts to develop training materials and help train employees. This can be especially useful for companies that need to fill specialized roles with highly skilled individuals who are in short supply.
Scalable for any number of employees
Traditional in-person training can be very difficult to scale to meet an organization’s needs. With virtual training, you can scale your training program to meet the number of employees you want to train, regardless of location or skill level. This allows you to effectively manage your training budget, ensuring that your investment in employee training has the greatest possible impact on your business.
Why is Virtual Training So Popular?
As you can see, virtual training offers a number of significant benefits over in-person training. These include:
– Costs: Virtual training is often less expensive than in-person training. This is due to the fact that it does not require large facilities (this can be done virtually), it allows employees to complete the training from their own homes (where they may already have the necessary equipment), and it requires fewer instructors to oversee training.
– Flexibility: Virtual training is much more flexible than in-person training. Employees can complete the training on their own schedules, can often work remotely, and can even complete the training while traveling. This makes it easier for people to balance their work and personal lives.
– Better Results: Virtual training is more effective than in-person training, allowing employees to retain more information, complete training faster, and perform better on the job. This can be attributed to factors such as reduced stress levels, improved focus, and the ability to pause the training as needed to take breaks.
– Realistic Training: One of the biggest benefits of virtual training is that it allows you to create realistic training scenarios. This can be especially helpful for employees who need to learn how to respond to certain types of emergencies, handle delicate situations, or handle hazardous materials.
Things to Look for in Virtual Training Services
While virtual training offers a number of significant benefits, it’s important to remember that not all virtual training services are equally effective. When exploring virtual training services, you should look for a provider that has the following characteristics:
– A Specialty: You’ll want to find a provider that has a focus on delivering effective virtual training solutions. While many outsourcing companies can handle virtual training, they may not specialize in this type of work.
– Expertise in Your Field: It’s also important to find a provider that has experience in your particular industry. There are many similarities between industries, but there are also many differences. For example, a provider that specializes in training doctors may not be well-suited to train oil rig workers.
– An Investment in Technology: Virtual training can be more effective when it incorporates technology. Technologies such as VR, AR, artificial intelligence, and mixed reality can make training scenarios more realistic and give employees the chance to practice skills in a risk-free virtual environment.
– A Willingness to Collaborate: Ideally, your virtual training provider should be willing to collaborate with your organization to design the best possible training solution. This should be part of the initial contract and not something that is imposed after the fact.
– A Track Record of Success: You should also make sure that your virtual training provider has a proven track record of success. This may mean looking for testimonials from other satisfied clients, researching how long the provider has been in business, and reading through their reviews.
Conclusion
Virtual training services can benefit your business in many ways, including reduced travel costs, reduced training time, better employee retention, just-in-time accessibility, and timely feedback. These services can also help your company maintain consistency and standardization across departments, while reducing its environmental footprint. You can read more about virtual training best practices here.
We Can Help
Companies that invest in virtual training services benefit from reduced attrition rates and hiring costs, better employee productivity, more knowledgeable employees, and a competitive hiring package. ReadyTech‘s remote training software provides different ways to interact with trainers and peers, encouraging participation and active learning. We provide companies and their employees with a hosted training solution that offers hands-on, virtual training software to aid your workforce in practicing job skills.
ReadyTech provides your company with all the software you need for your virtual training classroom, and we offer a full-service setup process and 24/7 live support. Contact us today.
