In 2020, the pandemic revolutionised the way we teach, we updated quickly and moved towards online teaching. We established this new mode of delivery and were able to offer it as an option for our clients. This was and remains an essential service that we offer. Now years on we focus on hybrid learning combining both face-to-face and online training through our bespoke learning platform Achieve.

 

This blog post focuses on what we have found to be the top 5 benefits of live online training.

1. Cost and time savings

Time efficient
Your time is a precious commodity! Delegates save travel time to open course venues, or different company sites, which may also involve an overnight stay or a very early start! Delegates are only required for the actual duration of the course – no slogging back up the motorway after a long day!

Cost savings
The cost savings to you are many & varied, including; saving on delegate travel & hotel expenses, no additional trainer expenses, and no buffet lunches to arrange. You can also easily bring multiple sites together to share the costs of a course.

2. Bringing your teams together

Fits with home-based working
Working from home is an increasingly popular option for many businesses and so live online training fits really well with this preference. Delegates may also feel more relaxed, able to concentrate and retain more knowledge in their home setting.

Allows for different sites to train together easily
Not only can we train delegates working from home and on-site together, but we can also easily bring multiple sites together. This not only means you can split the costs of the training between sites but also saves on the hotel and travel costs usually associated with hosting training at one location.

Great way to keep staff engaged and learning
Removing logistical barriers helps to keep teams working together and developing. This also allows for greater networking and shared learning between remote colleagues.

Helps to maintain a positive culture
Still being able to invest in your teams during the restrictions illustrates an ongoing commitment to a positive company culture.

3. Retaining the best elements of face-to-face training

Great levels of interaction
Using break-out rooms and online tools allows for just as much interaction as face-to-face delivery. Delegates can see the trainer on screen at the same time as the slides.  They can speak to the trainer and ask questions just as they would do when face-to-face.  Live online is, as the name suggests, delivered by a live trainer, you are not left to fend for yourself with an e-learning package!

Create, share and download documents
This works better than face-to-face training, as each group member can screen share, download and retain a copy of a group exercise for future reference. No need to type it up afterwards or decipher handwriting!

4. Keeping your training schedule on track

Enables competency to be maintained and improved during lockdown
Removing the face-to-face element removes the risk of contamination if someone in the group is ill, whilst also allowing people to still take part in the course with mild illness. This also avoids the need for a subsequent and substantial ‘training catch-up project’ or potential audit non-conformances due to stopping training.

Exams and e-certificates – go digital
Our awarding body, HABC, offers a fantastic remote invigilation service, so accredited qualifications can still be gained during the restrictions. The use of e-certificates, for both accredited and non-accredited courses, makes for more efficient admin and easier retrieval just before an audit!

5. Reduced environmental impact

Much better for the environment
Through live online training, we can save on carbon-based emissions. Whether this would be from travel, energy usage, or the printing of resources for hard copy materials. This digital approach minimises, or eliminates, these concerns and creates a positive environmental impact on both our part and yours!

Paperless working
Our live online courses come with online access to resources which is great for working from home or on-site as it becomes easier to stay organised no more piles of hard copies that take over your house or office! Soft copy training notes are easier to store, access and retrieve.

Summary

We are still delivering face-to-face training and we will continue to offer live online delivery as an alternative option as there are so many fantastic benefits! With our learning platform Achieve, we can present hybrid learning merging both the best elements of face-to-face and online training. Watch this space to see how we will make our live online courses even better in the future!

Don’t forget that all our in-house courses can be delivered via live online training, so let us know how we can help you. If you’d prefer to hold face-to-face on-site training, we are ready and able to do this.