Remote Team? Formal Training is Your New Best Friend
By Kristen Hayer
Over the past 5 years there has been a major increase in the number of remote workers, especially in the tech sector. Currently, 14% of all employed adults in the US work from home all the time and by next year that is expected to increase to 20%. That may sound like a small percentage, but it represents a little over 34 million people in the US alone. Most of these people are in white-collar jobs, often in tech.
This evolution is creating positive change for our employees and our planet. By not commuting to work, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, time and money are saved. Employees find that working from home has a positive impact on their mental and physical health and decreases their stress level. Location flexibility has allowed people to move and experience other parts of the world or move closer to their families.
One of the Downsides
Senior leaders often push back on the idea of remote work by highlighting some of the problems with this approach. Wasted office space, less collaboration and lower productivity are all cited as reasons for getting back into the office. One downside I don’t hear mentioned much is the risk of a poorly trained workforce, and I think we should be talking about it.
Before the pandemic, it was always surprising to me how much of new employee training relied on shadowing, or having the new employee observe existing employees as they worked. In addition, much ongoing training revolved around group seating areas, and being able to quickly ask a question of the group or listen in on a call someone else was having. The thing is, it generally worked - people do learn by observing and listening. With a remote team, much of this is no longer possible. Unfortunately, it often hasn’t been replaced by other, more formal, training options.
Why Does it Matter?
Companies who offer formal training to their employees generate more revenue, have higher performing employees, and retain those employees over time. Here are just a few of my favorite statistics that highlight the importance of training your team.
Companies that offer comprehensive training programs have an average of 218% higher income per employee.
Employee development increases a team member’s performance by up to 25%.
76% of employees say they are more inclined to stay in a company if it offers continuous learning and development.
This last statistic highlights the need for ongoing training. Effective training goes beyond what you teach your new team members and requires that you consider how you educate your group over time.
Building Training that Works for Today
Every company needs a training program that is tailored to their company’s product, market, employees, and budget, but here are some things to consider as you design for a remote team.
Design for Remote. Even if some of your team works in an office, the odds are high that you’ve got at least some people who don’t. Create a plan that assumes a remote environment and then modify it for the people who are in the office, if needed. This will ensure that your plan is designed for the toughest environment and will be more likely to cover the needs of the entire group.
Leverage Technology. LMS platforms, video, virtual classrooms, messaging systems and online tutorials should all be a part of the training toolkit for a remote team. Replace sitting next to someone with a Zoom call where they walk through their work onscreen or the new team member joins a customer call. Observation is still an important part of learning – you just need some tech to make it work.
Embrace Variety. Using a variety of training approaches, from virtual shadowing to reading to live instruction, helps ensure that team members can learn in a way that best suits the content they are learning. For example, if you are trying to teach a new onboarding rep how to set up a new account, an online tutorial is a great choice. If you’re trying to get the team to adopt a new soft skill, a virtual, instructor-led session might be best.
Tap Other Teams. If your team is remote, there are almost certainly other leaders in your company who are in the same boat. Collaborate to create training for each other’s teams. This can be especially effective for ongoing training. Your product team can help to train your team about new features. Your sales team can provide insight into the talking points that resonate with customers. Maximize training for all teams by sharing the load.
Maximize Time Together. When you do have the chance to get your team together in person, make the most of it. Train in ways that aren’t available to you virtually. Workshops, team building activities, group discussions, and future planning are all activities that work best in person. If you have a company kick-off or regular all-hands meetings, try to weave in some training sessions.
In the world of remote teams, you can no longer rely on shadowing to stand in for training. You can create an excellent training program for a remote team that drives performance, revenue and engagement. You just need to plan for it.
Looking for tips on how to bolster your training? We offer a class titled Onboarding New CS Professionals, which is a part of our Leading as a Manager CS Leadership training series. If you’re looking for skills training for your team, we can help with our popular CSM Certification Program. Visit TheSuccessLeague.io for more.
Kristen Hayer - Kristen founded The Success League in 2015 and currently serves as the company's CEO. Over the past 25 years Kristen has been a success, sales, and marketing executive, primarily working with growth-stage tech companies, and leading several award-winning customer success teams. She has written over 100 articles on customer success, and is the host of 3 podcasts about the field: Innovations in Leadership, CS Essentials with Gainsight, and Reading for Success. Kristen serves on the boards of the Customer Success program at the University of San Francisco, and the Women in Leadership Program at UC Santa Barbara. She received her MBA from the University of Washington in Seattle, and now lives in San Francisco.