As we enter a new chapter of life after COVID-19, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people working remotely. According to Forbes, remote work has doubled or even tripled compared to pre-pandemic levels, 32.6 million Americans are predicted to work remotely by 2025. This represents a significant increase from the estimated 19.5 million remote workers in the U.S. before the COVID-19 pandemic.

As more companies adapt to the benefits of remote work, more employees are likely to have the option to work from home. However, new challenges also arise. According to 53% of US remote workers, the lack of face-to-face interactions affect the engagement within their teams. Similarly, executives view cybersecurity as a major concern, with 73% believing remote employees pose a greater security risk. This is where remote work training comes into play. In this article, we will cover some of the best practices for remote team engagement.

Best Practices For Remote Training

Effective remote training is important for team engagement and productivity because it helps align employees around common goals and strategies. Remote employees need regular training opportunities to stay up to date on policies, procedures and best practices.

Leverage The Right Tools

Selecting the right tools for remote training and collaboration is essential to keep employees engaged and productive. The right tools can:

• Facilitate communication - Video conferencing and messaging platforms allow face-to-face interactions that mimic in-person conversations.
• Enable collaboration - Cloud-based collaboration tools like Google Docs, Slack and Asana make it easy for remote workers to share files and work on projects together.
• Deliver training content - Learning management systems and video platforms provide a way to deliver structured training programs and on-demand content to remote employees.
• Track progress - Performance management tools can track employee progress, goals and key results to ensure training is effective.

Choosing tools that are intuitive and user-friendly will increase adoption and engagement. It is important to get input from employees on which tools work best for them.

Ensure Technology Reliability

Unreliable technology can disrupt productivity and damage employee's enthusiasm. Ensure dependable remote technology through in-depth testing before deployment, regular monitoring, providing backup plans, scheduled maintenance, reliable support, and investing in high-quality technology designed for reliability.

To further ensure technology reliability, it's important to establish clear protocols for troubleshooting common issues.Providing employees with easy access to technical support can prevent minor technical hiccups from escalating into major disruptions. Additionally, consider conducting regular training sessions to familiarize your team with the tools and platforms they use daily, as this can empower them to solve minor issues independently.

best practices for remote training

Foster Interaction

Fostering interaction and interactivity among remote employees is important to keep them engaged and motivated. Taking an active role in tasks, problem solving, and discussions proves pivotal in boosting engagement and information retention by transforming passive learning into an active experience. Here are some of the methods for making remote training effective:

• Polls and Surveys: Use live polls to gather opinions or test knowledge, keeping participants engaged and offering instant feedback.
• Discussions and Breakout Rooms: Encourage collaborative discussions in smaller groups to simulate real-world problem-solving.
• Gamification: Add competitive elements like quizzes, challenges, or leaderboards to make learning fun and immersive.
• Interactive Quizzes: Test understanding during or after training to reinforce key points.
• Role-playing or Simulations: Mimic real-life scenarios for hands-on learning experiences.

By incorporating these methods, you can transform passive learning into an active and immersive experience. These strategies not only enhance information retention but also create a dynamic and engaging remote training environment.

Utilize Diverse Learning Formats

Utilizing a variety of media formats can accommodate different learning styles, making training more engaging and effective. Learners with visual, auditory and kinesthetic preferences benefit from a mix of videos, slides, quizzes and other media. Videos and slideshows appeal to visual learners, audio helps auditory learners, while interactive elements engage kinesthetic learners. By incorporating various media types, training caters to a broader range of learning styles, allowing all participants to grasp concepts in a way that suits them best. This leads to higher participation, motivation and knowledge retention, ultimately making remote training programs more engaging and impactful.

Enable Microlearning

Breaking training content into bite sized, digestible modules allows learners to fit learning into their busy schedules. Microlearning allows learning in short bursts throughout the day. It reduces cognitive load by limiting each module to one main concept. This improves retention by spacing out content over time, accommodating shorter attention spans and interruptions.

When implementing microlearning, it's important to keep each module concise, ideally between 5 to 10 minutes in length. Focusing on one main topic or skill per module helps ensure clarity and effectiveness. To maintain learner engagement, incorporate interactive elements and varied media. Additionally, create logical sequences and connections between modules to facilitate a seamless learning experience. To reinforce understanding, provide recaps, reminders, and knowledge checks throughout the learning process.

Develop Strong Learning Resources

High-quality, well-structured training materials are the core of successful remote work training programs. These resources should be clear, concise, and tailored to meet the specific needs of your team. Investing time in developing detailed guides, engaging videos, and interactive content can significantly enhance the learning experience.

Well-organized materials not only help convey important information effectively but also make it easier for team members to revisit and reinforce their understanding as needed. By providing structured and accessible resources, you empower your team to learn at their own pace, leading to better retention and application of new skills in their daily work.

Maintain A Personal Touch

It's easy for remote employees to feel disconnected with their colleagues due to the distance and lack of physical interactions. Maintaining a personal touch in remote work training is essential for fostering a sense of connection and community among participants. Regular check-ins not only help team members stay connected but also allow trainers to address individual concerns and provide tailored support. Encouraging peer support through mentorship programs or buddy systems can also create a more supportive learning environment.

Make Remote Learning Self-Paced

Allowing parts of remote learning to be self-paced offers a level of flexibility that is particularly beneficial for remote teams, who often work across various time zones and schedules. By enabling team members to access training materials at their convenience, individuals can learn at their own pace, ensuring they fully understand the content before moving on. This approach accommodates different working hours and caters to diverse learning styles, making the training more inclusive.

Ask for Feedback

Make sure to gather feedback to truly understand how your remote training programs are performing. This is the perfect time to see what’s working and what could use a little tweaking. Consider sending out post-training surveys to get honest insights from your team. Their input can help you benchmark the impact of your training and pinpoint areas for improvement, ensuring your programs are as effective and engaging as possible.

Measure Effectiveness

Let's dive into how you can measure the effectiveness of your training programs. Start by discussing the key metrics and methods that will help evaluate the outcomes of your sessions. It's crucial to know how well your training is hitting the mark. And don't forget, gathering feedback from participants is essential. Their insights are invaluable for refining and enhancing future training programs. By keeping an eye on both metrics and participant feedback, you'll be well-equipped to deliver impactful and engaging training experiences.

Conclusion

Remote work demands effective training strategies to keep teams engaged and productive, starting with the right tools and reliable technology. Interaction through varied formats and microlearning accommodates different styles and schedules, enhancing knowledge retention. Developing strong resources and maintaining a personal touch fosters connection and support within the team. Finally, gathering feedback and measuring effectiveness ensures continuous improvement and impactful remote training experiences. 

Give your team the advantage today by signing up for Intellezy’s Business Training Video Courses, and empower them with the skills they need to excel in a remote work environment.