Jennifer Mugford
Author
Jennifer Mugford
Affiliation
Memorial University
Abstract
While online learning continues to be commonplace in higher education, it is less so in the workplace. Online learning can provide employees with the flexibility to learn at a time and place that works with their schedules. Big corporations implement online learning sessions for their employees to save on training costs due to turnover and expensive travel, but many organizations have a single staff trainer. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, office workers are now working from home and staff trainers who have never taught online before must adjust, with little or no support. They must also ensure their course is accessible to participants using not the technology they would normally have in their workplace, but what they had in their homes prior to the outbreak. Trainers need to ensure the distribution of instructional materials, communication between participants and access to learning resources. Depending on what the organization can provide and their capabilities with various technologies, trainers may be able to make use of learning management systems (LMS), virtual classrooms or video conferencing applications. The research on blended and online staff training finds a recurring deficiency: the human element. Transitioning to online training should not override the trainer’s approach to teaching however during this prolonged period of self-isolation and social distancing it is more important than ever before that human interaction is adopted and built in to training sessions.
Keywords
staff training, workplace training, employee training, eLearning, online training, COVID-19
Overview
Human Interaction: Staff Training Goes Online (08:15)
Introduction
In April 2003, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak shuttered schools and businesses in China. University classes continued online but at that time, working from home was not an option for most office workers. Business could be conducted over the phone, or by email. The SARS epidemic was the catalyst that drove the large-scale expansion of broadband access to Chinese homes in the summer of 2003 (Liu, 2006). While online learning continues to be commonplace in higher education, it is less so in the workplace. Online learning can provide employees with the flexibility to learn at a time and place that works with their schedules. Some of the challenges of in-person training for a trainer are high turnover, geographic separation, and differing work schedules. Some of the challenges for learners are access to the trainer and the training resources once the training has been completed (See & Teetor, 2014). The COVID-19 pandemic has added the additional challenge of limiting the tools available to the trainer and the trainee to the technology they have in their own homes. This chapter will discuss the research on online learning and blended learning in the workplace and how to apply the recommendations