How to Effectively Train a Large Group of Employees in a Remote Environment
Training large groups of people may seem impossible in the current remote work environment—but it’s not. Are you wondering how to train a large group of employees remotely? Do you know the benefits of group training for your team? Group skills training is possible and can add significant value to your organization. With the right tools and knowledge, large group training can be simple to employ. Of course, there are pros and cons of training methods no matter which kind you use. However, we believe that team training benefits vastly outnumber the drawbacks. Are you curious about training larger groups of remote employees? Are you ready to learn some training activities for large groups? Get out your note-taking tool of choice to jot down these valuable tips and insights for training large groups of people virtually.
→ [Download] Free Resources for Virtual Training ←
What Are the Benefits of Group Training?
Whether your training takes place on a social learning management system (LMS) or face-to-face, group training has many benefits. Here are four pros to engaging your employees in a group setting.
1. Engages Employees
Okay, so we kind of cheated on this one. Employee engagement is a benefit of employee training in general. We still think it’s essential to mention at the top because employee engagement is crucial. When employees are engaged, they are: Group skills training also engages employees with each other. Teams become more familiar with one another, build trust in each other, and feel a more profound sense of belonging.
- More productive, leading to increased performance
- More likely to stay at your company
- More prepared to step into other workplace roles
2. Gets Everyone on the Same Page
Group skills training provides a time for every team member to get on the same page. When everyone is doing the same thing, it creates a sense of unity. Employees will know what to expect of themselves and others, which also develops a culture of accountability.
3. Provides a Space to Refresh Company Culture
Large group training is also a great way to refresh your team about company culture and values. Workplace culture is influential because it provides identity to your organization, helps retain employees, and promotes a positive company image. However, culture can become an issue if it’s forming a negative environment. Take time to reorient team members on culture and align everyone on what’s important.
4. Opens Communication Channels
Training large groups of people is a beneficial way to open communication between all members of the team. Communication is a vital ingredient to business success. Ineffective communication can lead to decreased productivity and missed deadlines. When employees spend time working or training together, it creates camaraderie and can improve the team’s communication.
→ [Download] Free Resources for Virtual Training ←
How to Train a Large Group of Employees Effectively
Now that you have an idea of some team training benefits, let’s talk about training a large group of people. Here are some things to think about and ways you can offer valuable group training to your employees.
1. Deliver Relevant Training Content
To have useful training, you need relevant training content. Ensure that the training content you’re delivering is valuable and applicable to your team; otherwise, employees won’t engage with it. Here are some questions to ask to help you figure out what training is necessary: Understanding where you are, where you want to be, and what skills your employees need to get there will help you create relevant training content.
- What are your short-term and long-term team goals?
- What skills do employees need to reach these goals?
- Do employees need new skills training or refresher training?
2. Track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Tracking KPIs is critical to evaluating the effectiveness of any on-going or future training. If you’re spending time and money on training a large group of people, you want to know that the training adds value to the company. Here are some top KPIs your training department needs to track: If you’re unsure how to track KPIs, an LMS is a great tool that can help you track employee training. By monitoring training metrics, you can make calculated adjustments that will positively impact learners.
- Return on investment (ROI)
- Employee retention rates
- Employee completion percentage
- Time spent learning
- Knowledge retention
- Learner satisfaction
3. Provide Engaging Content
You want your employees to start and finish every training course they begin to get the most value out of it. The more engaging and enjoyable the corporate training is, the more likely your employees will see it through. But coming up with fresh, engaging training content can be difficult. If you’re looking for some workplace activities for large groups that engage employees, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a list of ways to make training more enjoyable:
- Gamify content: Turn your training content into interactive games. Gamified content keeps learners engaged and increases completion rates.
- Make micro-learning videos: Micro-learning videos are short, custom videos that get learners’ attention (and results). 75% of employees are more likely to watch a video than read blocks of text, so pull out the camera and say, “Cheese!”
- Create break-out groups: At a large company, a great way to get employees talking and engaging with each other is by creating smaller groups. These groups can foster more engagement, allowing employees to discuss the training together and ask clarifying questions.
- Provide experiential learning opportunities: Experiential learning moves learners from consuming content to practicing skills from the training (e.g., role-playing a sales call, team-building activities, completing a problem-solving exercise).
4. Ask for Feedback
Learner feedback is a powerful tool that helps you understand what’s working and what’s not. Training large groups of people will provide the opportunity to receive input from many different individuals. You can ask for feedback both during and after the virtual training. Getting feedback during the training allows you to make pivots or changes to keep the training relevant. Post-training feedback helps you prepare and adjust the content of future group skills training days.
→ [Download] Free Resources for Virtual Training ←
Ready to Reap the Benefits of Group Training?
On-going employee skills training will remain a valuable part of any business, whether in-person or remote. Training large groups of people can help engage employees, unify your teams, and bridge any communication gaps. By delivering relevant content, tracking KPIs, engaging employees, and asking for feedback, you can provide valuable training in-person or from a distance. Now that you know how to train a large group of employees, are you ready to put your knowledge to work? At Unboxed Training & Technology, we’ve perfected the practice of training employees remotely. Whether you’re looking for engaging content, micro-learning videos, or a whole new employee training program, we’ve got a solution for you. Download your virtual training toolkit and take the next step towards a well-trained remote workforce. Ready, set, train!
