Online training is better than in person...and here's why

You have to train your team in the upcoming year but given the current situation it all has to be done remotely. You aren’t sure what to do and are worried if a different training approach will be effective. Good news, online training is better than in person training and this article is going to help you through it.

There are many problems that companies are facing because of today’s remote working environments. ONE PROBLEM is that companies who normally conduct in person training and professional development are now stuck with finding an alternative approach to the in person training sessions that everyone is used to. This seems like a challenge, but it’s really an opportunity to improve the results you get from your training.

THE REAL PROBLEM is actually with the in person training that your company is used to delivering. In person group training is not the best solution even though it is widely used.

In person group training brings a few fundamental flaws that are important to recognize:

• IN PERSON TRAINING FLAW #1 = PACE: In person group training usually is delivered as if everyone in your training group has the same level of knowledge and that they learn at the same pace. The reality is that in person training is usually too fast for some people and too slow for others and is actually only the right pace for a handful of people in the group. For some people in person training feels like they are drinking from a firehose... “HELP!” and the person sitting next to them might feel like they are moving at a snail’s pace…”BORING!”

• IN PERSON TRAINING FLAW #2 = TIME: With in person group training, the entire group blocks of a whole day or multiple days for an intensive series of sessions to “focus” and make sure everyone in the group completes the training. The reality is that in person training takes entire teams offline and away from their primary roles for large chunks of time and they struggle to stay productive and engaged during these marathon training sessions. These hurt productivity, and can be really hard to schedule. The stress of being away from the work piling up and the fatigue of trying to stay in learning mode for such long periods of time are real drawbacks to the in person group session format.

• IN PERSON TRAINING FLAW #3 = COST: The combination of paying for the training company’s services, their instructors and the cost of hosting the large group really adds up. The trainers may charge huge rates for their time and materials. Even worse, much of your budget is actually spent on food or travel, etc. In person training simply costs a lot for what you get.

Believe it or not Maven Analytics used to primarily offer in person group training sessions.

And the items I mentioned above are things that we used to strive to overcome on a constant basis. The more we conducted in person training and honed our craft, the clearer the solution became.

There has to be a better way...and that’s why Maven developed Guided Online Learning.

GUIDED LEARNING is Maven’s unique online learning approach that avoids the pitfalls of in person training and is the most impactful and cost effective solution for training your team on Data Analysis and Business Intelligence.

The obvious part of the solution you’ll need is it must be online in order to be delivered remotely. There are lots of benefits that online training platforms will bring to the table.

• One of the most important features to look for is a self-paced solution. This helps solve for the problem of “Pace” that I mentioned earlier. With a self-paced solution students can each move at their own speed rather than feeling like it is too fast or too slow for them.

• Now you don’t need to block whole days for entire teams to drop everything and attend a large group training. Instead your team can learn at various times making it much less detrimental to overall productivity. This solves the “Time” issue I mentioned above.

• From a “Cost” perspective online training makes the logistics and expenses for event hosting and travel much more efficient as well.

Yes, online training is very powerful, but not just any type of online training will do...what you need is GUIDED Learning which Maven developed exclusively for our Maven Analytics platform.

What is Guided Learning?

Simply put, you get the right learning plan coupled with expert support to get your team to where you want them to be. Maven’s Guided Learning approach supercharges team training by defining the right goals for your team and providing each student with the perfect learning plan for their unique needs as well as giving them access to live coaching and support from real subject matter experts to accelerate learning and growth. You set the goals...we’ll guide you and your team to obtaining the skills and knowledge that will set your team apart. Here are some of the key components that you get with Maven’s Guided Learning approach:

It starts with a personalized goal-oriented learning plan for your team based on the unique needs for the individuals on your team.

• We know that training isn’t a one size fits all exercise. Your team is unique and the goals you have for them are unique. You share your goals and we assess your team’s current skill level compared to those goals. From there we arm each person on your team with the roadmap to close their skills gap.

Self-paced learning improves when guided and coached.

• Self-paced online learning helps everyone feel like their path is the right one for them. However what happens when you get stuck or are lacking the motivation and focus to succeed. That’s where Maven’s expert instructors provide 1 on 1 coaching and support to help get your team members on track and thriving.

Progress tracking and performance tracking helps you keep your team accountable.

• Students see their own progress as well as their path ahead while Managers and leaders can see their entire team’s progress.

• Deadlines are a fact of life and you need your team to actually complete their training within a set amount of time. That’s why our Guided Learning approach allows you to set assignments and deadlines for each of your team members to keep everyone accountable to completing their learning goals

• No need to pull everyone together into one large session as a way to make sure everyone completes the training. Your team can find the time without putting everything else on pause and you can still track their progress and make sure everyone completes the training on time.

Why Guided Learning is better for you and your team

• It combines the best aspects of online training with the best benefits of in person training, and solves for the issues that most in-person training suffer from like Pace, Time and Cost that we discussed earlier.

• You get the benefit of a solid learning plan, coupled with expert support to help your entire team succeed. You also are able to make everyone accountable to learning in a timely manner without the need to shut your entire team down for full days at a time.

• It works and it delivers huge value at a modest cost compared to in-person training. There simply isn’t a better way to train a data team for the price. We are able to provide successful learning outcomes and still keep it affordable and attainable for your team.

Our clients love it

Our client Jason Parry leads a team of over 50 people across 13 states for Job Corps.

When we asked him how his team benefited from Maven’s guided learning approach he responded:

“The learning objective we set was to become more proficient in Excel, and working with data in general. The value that Maven was able to offer far exceeded my expectations, and I was able to not only offer the classes I was initially interested in but so much more. The functionality to recommend and assign courses to team members while tracking their progress is a huge plus, and allowed me as the manager to ultimately keep the team accountable to the goals we set.”

We’d love to help you

Maven’s online guided learning is working. We are seeing the outcomes for students and teams. They are mastering valuable skills and applying them to real world business challenges. We would love to have you and your team on board. You bring the goal and the team...we’ll bring the learning plan and expert support to accomplish it.

Learn more about Maven’s Guided Online Learning:

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