Businesses spend a significant amount creating a powerful training program for employees yet fail to achieve a good ROI on it. This is mainly because the training content doesn’t fulfill employee learning needs or it is not engaging enough.
Virtual instructor-led training or VILT is a great way to train employees and keep them engaged. It allows them to interact and discuss information in real-time. When delivered in combination with eLearning courses, VILT becomes a successful way to help employees learn new skills.
Despite the plethora of benefits VILT offers, there are certain mistakes that can prevent it from being effective in helping employees have a rich learning experience. In this article, we are going to look at five such mistakes that must be avoided to ensure VILT effectiveness:
1. Not using the right platform:
The most common stumbling block is delivering training through a complicated platform. It is crucial to use a platform that’s easy-to-use and has quick navigation aids. If employees have to struggle to join the session, it will lead to a lot of wastage of time.
Learning platforms like TalentLMS make it effortless to offer a synchronous virtual classroom experience to employees where they can quickly log in to the session and start learning. To add to that, the TalentLMS pricing is highly affordable & includes a lot of interesting features like gamification, reporting, microlearning, and more.
2. Failing to understand your audience:
No one likes to attend a session where their learning needs are not met. When instructors are preparing the VILT session script/content, it becomes necessary to first understand the employees they are addressing.
Without doing so, the content may seem very vague and fail to engage the learners. Knowing who you are delivering the learning can allow you to include laser-targeted topics that will benefit them.
3. Forgetting to connect with employees:
The main reason why VILT is preferred is that it gives the in-person classroom experience without actually putting everyone in the same room. When instructors fail to develop a connection with the employees, it dehumanizes the experience & makes them feel isolated.
Before you dive into the course, take time to interact with the employees and make them comfortable to learn. It is equally important to keep interacting with them in between the sessions as well to gauge their understanding of the topics being discussed.
4. Not leaving space for queries:
One of the biggest differences between learning from an online course and learning from an instructor virtually is the ability to interact with them in real-time. But if instructors fail to address employee concerns, it may leave them confused.
Make sure you dedicate some time at the end of the session for addressing employee queries. You can also schedule breaks to allow employees to discuss the learnings amongst themselves and provide them clarity on the issues they are facing.
5. Boring content:
Probably the biggest mistake that makes a VILT ineffective is poor content. When the instructor fails to prepare good content for the employees that is easy to understand, they may not be able to grasp the knowledge being offered to them.
Make sure the content is shared in simple terms and is broken down into small sections for easy consumption. This helps them understand things better and retain the information for longer. At the same time, decide the flow of content beforehand to prevent things from going off-track.
Conclusion:
Technical issues are common in VILT sessions, which is why it is crucial to test the equipment, software as well as internet connectivity beforehand. This ensures the virtual instructor-led training session goes smoothly and delivers an immersive learning experience.
