The digital age has transformed almost every facet of our lives, and education is no exception. According to the Harvard Business Review, 75% of managers questioned from 50 organizations expressed dissatisfaction with their company’s current Learning & Development (L&D) function. The same analysis further indicated that most training in contemporary firms is ineffective and that the aim, scheduling, and content of such training are fundamentally incorrect.
However, instructor-led training (ILT) is still relevant in the era of digital learning solutions. The question does not ask what should be substituted for it but rather how it should be integrated with the demands of modern learners.
The Training Industry report indicates that instructor led training is the preferred delivery mode among small, midsize, and large firms in the U.S. Such data underlines the sticking power of ILT, significantly when enhanced with digital tools for the needs of modern learners. As companies progress toward digital transformation, traditional instructor-led training has to be revised and repositioned as effective and relevant.
Why Instructor-led Training Still Matters in a Digital World
While digital learning solutions are gaining wider usage quickly, there is value in human-led, in-person training. For instance, where such topics are complex enough to require hands-on practice or critical thinking, instructor-led training provides learners with an opportunity for interaction, answering questions, and even immediate feedback. This interaction is difficult to achieve in online-only environments. Real-time interaction, collaboration, and problem-solving by ILT lead to deeper learning experiences.
However, simply sticking with traditional methods isn’t enough. The real challenge lies in balancing ILT with digital learning innovations. This hybrid approach helps companies offer engaging learning experiences while leveraging the efficiency of modern tools.
Challenges of Traditional Instructor-led training in the Digital Era
Instructor-led training has its merits, but it also has its challenges, especially in meeting the needs of today’s workforce. Businesses frequently cite the following pain points:
- Logistical Complexity: Organizing in-person sessions is time-consuming and expensive. Scheduling conflicts, travel costs, and venue management can all create logistical bottlenecks.
- Limited Scalability: Traditional ILT works well for small groups but is harder to scale across large organizations.
- Inflexibility: Learners today need flexibility. In-person training demands fixed schedules, which can be challenging to align with employees’ workloads.
- Lack of Interactivity in Some Cases: Traditional instructor led training may struggle to maintain engagement, especially when it relies on lectures and lacks interactive components.
- Time and Location Restrictions: Traditional ILT often requires participants to gather in a physical location, which can lead to scheduling difficulties and travel expenses.
- Lack of Engagement: In conventional classroom settings, many learners struggle with staying engaged, especially when content feels irrelevant or outdated.
- Limited Scalability: Instructor-led training usually accommodates a limited number of learners, making it difficult to scale without significant resource investment.
While all these are real challenges, the good news is that they do not have to be insurmountable. Digital learning solutions may well present the opportunity to reinvent instructor-led training to fulfill the needs of today’s learners.
How Digital Learning Solutions Are Enhancing Instructor-Led Training
Digital learning solutions present an excellent opportunity to address these challenges. Organizations can create more efficient and scalable learning experiences by adding technology to instructor-led training. Here’s how:
- Blended Learning: Blended learning combines in-person ILT with digital modules. Learners can complete preparatory work online and attend face-to-face sessions for deeper engagement, cutting down on in-person time while retaining ILT’s benefits.
- Virtual Classrooms: Virtual ILT eliminates logistical hurdles by hosting instructor-led sessions online. This allows companies to provide personalized, real-time instruction without geographical limitations. Video conferencing tools, interactive whiteboards, and real-time polling create an engaging digital classroom experience.
- On-Demand Learning: Many organizations are integrating instructor-led components into their on-demand learning platforms. This allows learners to review instructor-led content at their own pace, giving them more control over when and how they learn.
- Gamification and Interactive Tools: Companies are integrating gamification into instructor-led training to increase engagement. Games, quizzes, and interactive exercises break up lecture-heavy formats and keep learners engaged.
These hybrid solutions offer businesses the best of both worlds: they leverage the interactive nature of ILT while incorporating the flexibility and accessibility of digital learning.
The Future of Instructor-Led Training: Moving Towards Customization
With increasingly digitized learning, customization is said to be the future of instructor led training. Organizations are now more focused on developing tailored learning paths and personalized content based on respective roles, learning styles, and career paths; in turn, it has become indispensable for determining effective results from training. Such companies experience greater engagement and retention than if they had followed a standard, non-customized approach.
For example, a business would use all the information from digital learning platforms to track learner progress and design ILT sessions according to what this information indicates. Therefore, instructors can stress topics of training for which learners are weak, thereby making the learning process effective.
Customer-Centric Approach to Reinventing ILT
Many organizations struggle to find the right training balance. Employees need hands-on, interactive sessions, but cannot afford to spend too much time away from their core work. As a customer-centric organization, we understand that providing flexible, engaging, and impactful learning experiences is key to successful training.
By offering a hybrid approach to instructor-led training, companies can ensure that their workforce stays equipped with the necessary skills without compromising on productivity. This means providing learners with the tools they need to engage both digitally and in-person and offering them flexibility in how they participate in training.
Whether your organization is looking to improve current training methods or adopt a new digital strategy, our team at Apposite Learning is here to help you. Let us guide you in creating a training program that drives results and supports long-term growth. Contact our experts today to learn how we can support your company’s learning needs.