Webinars have become increasingly popular this year due to the upsurge in people seeking virtual learning solutions. This sudden increase can be highly credited to the pandemic in which people who are forced to stay indoors are making the most of their time by learning something new.
Businesses all over the globe are also making the most of the situation and delivering training virtually to ensure employees are upskilling and staying engaged. Apart from eLearning modules, business owners are looking at other ways of delivering training that is cost-effective.
One such innovative strategy is hosting a training webinar where organizations conduct live streaming training sessions to share valuable knowledge and resources. These webinars could be used to train them for an essential work skill or to provide them information about a new company service/product.
For instance, when an organization is implementing a time billing software for its employees, they must conduct a webinar to communicate the purpose of the software. They can then go on to explain all the features and employees can ask any queries they may have regarding the software.
Below are 4 effective ideas that you can implement to conduct a successful training webinar for your employees:
Understand your audience
One of the most important things to remember when hosting a training webinar is to understand what your employees need and expect from the webinar. Which areas of improvement do you need to target with this training?
Without this knowledge, your webinar will end up being very vague and generic and your employees may fail to relate to the content. Research your audience and customize your content according to their preferences.
Do a test run
A lot of times last-minute technical failures end up wasting a lot of time. This could be an unexpected audio/video glitch or a network failure. When such issues keep cropping up every few minutes, employees get frustrated and disengaged.
It is crucial to test everything beforehand in order to check the quality of equipment and keep a replacement handy. In case there is a network issue in the test run it can be rectified in advance so the webinar doesn’t get interrupted.
Break it down into sections
It is impossible to keep employees engaged for a long duration with content-heavy information. Keeping in mind the average adult’s attention timespan, it is necessary to plan the webinar in small sections and insert an activity in between.
For instance, you can break a 4-hour long webinar twice — once with a poll that engages all employees and the next time with a Q&A session to resolve any queries. This keeps employees involved and attentive.
Make use of visual aids
Webinars are not meant to be just about one person speaking and all the others listening. It needs noteworthy visual aids that capture the learners’ attention.
Using relevant animated graphics, photos, pie charts and other visual aids make a webinar highly interactive and powerful. This ensures employees have an immersive learning experience which increases the rate of information retention.
Invest in the right tools
Finding a stable and robust virtual platform is essential for the success of a training webinar. Look for a web conferencing platform that is easy to use and allows access on all kinds of devices.
Even when an organization chooses the best platform, poor audio quality may cause employees to lose interest and slack off. This makes it crucial to invest in the right tools, like a high-quality hands-free headset for clear audio and an internet connection with high upload speed for uninterrupted video.
Conclusion
As you plan and structure a webinar, make sure to keep the above mentioned ideas in mind. As long as a training webinar is engaging and properly executed, your employees are sure to gain a lot of valuable information and have a wonderful learning experience.
