Overcoming the 5 challenges of hybrid learning

The world’s best companies have always needed to rely on more than just content for their learning and development strategies, such as coaching. When people were face to face, coaching was boosted by subtle traits such as charisma, context and casual conversations — all of which can be harder to be brought to a virtual audience.

So, how do businesses forge a smooth path forward for their L&D plans in an environment where hybrid delivery is no longer a backup plan, but the expected way learning is done?

In this article, I will share five key approaches to getting employees engaged, whether they’re in the room or not. I will explore what makes hybrid learning difficult, and highlights the biases we are prone to engage with when working in a hybrid environment

The world has changed, and so has the way we work. Regardless of how leaders feel about hybrid working, we need to accept that. Our workforce has  been through one of the most disruptive periods in most of their living memories, and as their priorities have re-aligned, so have their expectations as to how they want to work.

As the BBC reported in February: “Working from home for part of the week has become the norm for some employees. More than 80 percent said their firms had adopted hybrid working – most since the pandemic, a survey of managers for the Chartered Institute of Management (CMI) found.”

If we want to keep our talent happy, (and stop them looking for greener pastures), we need to make sure that not only are our overall hybrid strategies fit for purpose, but that the learning elements of those strategies are designed to work effectively — for everyone. 

Here are five things to consider when delivering hybrid training sessions.

Keep an eye on both parties. Humans are drawn to faces and the ones right in front of you will grab your attention first. Make sure that you’ve set up your room with the screens featuring the virtual participants behind the in-person participants, so you don’t forget about them. Put specific reminders into your notes to check in with your virtual people every time you pose a question to the room. Strongly encourage the virtual group to have their cameras on, and make sure that you and the other participants can see as many of them as possible throughout the session. It will help the instructor too, as they benefit from receiving nonverbal cues from participants such as smiles, frowns, head nods, looks of confusion and yes, looks of boredom. They can then evaluate their training in real time and adjust accordingly to improve learning. 

Use breakouts in both formats. When you separate your participants into groups for discussion, send your virtual participants into breakout rooms too. One of the main benefits of changing group size is that those people who are less comfortable speaking in plenary often feel happier contributing in smaller groups. This may be even more true for those joining remotely. You also tend to get more ideas or topic discussions on the table, as in smaller groups more people have time to speak up.

Manage your audience’s focus. Be clear from the outset where you want both parties to focus. Use yourself as the “anchoring” visual aid and be very clear when you want both groups to shift to slides or an exercise. Ask online participants to close down any other browsing windows, put aside their mobile phones and remove any other potential competition for their attention (easier said than done, I know). Research shows that just having a phone on your desk has a brain draining effect on our attention and ability to think.

The expectation of online participants, after two years of working virtually so often, is still that they will be able to “dip in and out” of the session. Manage those expectations from the outset by engaging with them as soon as they sign in and creating so many opportunities for interaction that they don’t have an opportunity to “dip out.” Ultimately, of course, we just want to make sure that the session is so engaging that they don’t want to. 

Make sure the tech doesn’t sabotage you. It seems obvious, but one of the single biggest barriers to these sessions working well is making sure that the tech is set up as it should be. So many facilitators don’t do tech dry-runs when they are possible, but they are incredibly useful when conducted. Have your IT people on hand to help if there are any issues on the day, and always make sure to run a technical rehearsal of your session to make sure everything is working as it should be — don’t leave it to chance! 

Make sure everyone is happy to speak up. Crucial to the success of any learning session is the creation of a safe psychological space. Research shows that psychological safety is related to learning behavior. Everyone must feel happy to contribute, so use everyone’s names every time you speak to them, thank them genuinely for their contributions and make sure that everything your physically-present participants are getting, your virtual participants are getting too.

And lastly, enjoy yourself as much as you can. If you look like you want to be there, then it’s more likely they will too.