Tips To Help Leaders Train Remote Employees

The Covid-19 pandemic spurred numerous companies to implement work-from-home policies. Today, these policies are still extremely popular, with lots of employees preferring more flexible work arrangements.

However, remote work does come with certain challenges. Training remote employees so they are set up for success can seem daunting at first. To help with this, we’ve listed tried and tested training tips below that will help to equip employees in record time.

5 Tips For Leaders Training Remote Employees

Create A Customized Training System

Every company is unique. So your remote onboarding process should cater to your personal company requirements.

No one knows what needs to be taught and communicated to new employees better than you do. With this knowledge in hand, structure your training program so that it covers all of the company’s bases in one swoop.

Custom videos or worksheets that explain the inner workings of each department are ideal. After the training material has been worked through, you can quiz new employees on what they’ve learned.

By doing this, you can ensure that each new employee knows who is responsible for what, how each department functions, and how they will be contributing to the team.

This is not to say that one-on-one remote training sessions should be entirely discarded. You can always schedule further training sessions depending on how technical or detailed your onboarding requirements are.

Set Up A Fixed Training Schedule And Budget

If you’d like your training process to be more extensive, then it’s best to set up a fixed training schedule. Frequent communication and consistency are essential to ensure that your onboarding process is truly effective and adhered to.

This might mean that you allocate one day each week to training new employees. Alternatively, you can schedule regular check-in sessions where you answer any questions that your trainees may have.

Keep in mind that your training process doesn’t have to come to an end once new employees are settled in. Many companies have an allocated training budget that encourages employees to undertake external courses.

Lifelong learning not only ensures higher quality work but also allows each employee to invest in their own career. By empowering your employees to take charge of their own professional growth, you can create a more robust team that’s up to date with the latest industry trends.

Schedule Regular Follow Up Sessions

When implementing any new training regime in your company, it’s important to schedule regular feedback sessions. This not only encourages your team to communicate any problems they may have but will also help to keep you up to date with their progress.

Establishing a set structure for these sessions is best. It will give everyone the opportunity to voice their concerns, tips, or advice regarding new training.

Be sure to practice active listening and prompt your employees to share what they’ve learned, as it will benefit the entire team.

Try to keep follow-up sessions to the point and productive. When it comes to feedback, be mindful of your team’s workflow and be adaptable to your staff’s needs.

Follow-up sessions can be extremely beneficial if everyone commits to understanding and bettering the training material at hand.

Set Clear Training Deadlines

Whether you have a hybrid setup or are fully remote, there are certain times of the year when your team will be busier than usual.

By having clear training deadlines set in place, everyone will know what’s expected of them. This will also empower your employees to take accountability for their schedules and not push their training aside.

To help your team meet their training deadlines, it may be beneficial to allocate a certain number of hours per week solely to training. This way, each employee will have the time he or she needs to make the most of the courses or training material at hand.

Be sure to celebrate every training milestone your employees achieve. You can gift dedicated employees with a coupon or arrange a small online celebration. Whatever you decide to do, make sure your team feels seen and rewarded for their hard work.

Make Training Fun

Training may be hard work, but it can also be loads of fun, too. To motivate your team to take new learning material seriously, you can incentivize employees through competitions or gift cards.

For example, you can give a day off to the first employee that completes his or her training and passes the training exam with flying colors. Alternatively, split your employees into two groups and let the winning team decide your next team-building exercise.

By injecting your training program with a little bit of fun, you can encourage team bonding while working remotely. In addition, it incentivizes everyone to take their learning seriously.

In Summary

Training employees in a remote working environment doesn’t have to be hard. Set clear training deadlines and schedule regular feedback sessions to monitor progress and keep employees on track. Also make training fun by adding in competitive elements or small incentives. This can help keep your remote employees engaged and motivated!