How to Engage your Workforce Remotely

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic has forced businesses and employees alike into uncharted territory. Stay-at-home orders, outbreaks of the virus in workplaces, and social distancing resulted in many workplaces cutting back services, furloughing employees, or temporarily closing.

The result is many businesses have employees either working at home or waiting to get back to work. Without guidance from management, this type of situation can devastate employee engagement and morale. Earning or updating certifications at home helps keep your employees on track while ensuring they possess the skills and training needed when they return to work.

Improving skills at home

Remote workforce training is easier than it’s ever been, with employees able to access everything from self-directed online training courses to live online training. Employees can update their knowledge of safety procedures, renew certifications required for their job position, or acquire new skills during their time off. Options for remote workforce training include:

Virtual ILT training courses

Virtual instructor-led courses are already a popular training choice, as employees receive real-time instruction from industry experts without the transportation and accommodation costs associated with off-site training. For employees stuck at home, live online training courses provide an option to learn new skills or refresh old training over the course of two-day seminars or four-day workshops. As long as your employee can get online and has a device capable of supporting video conferencing, he or she can take advantage of live online training.

Self-directed remote workforce training

Improving skills at home can be difficult, especially if your employees are at home with children. Focusing on live online training gets more complicated if the course time conflicts with family responsibilities — a fussy baby or demanding toddler can shatter an employee’s concentration.  

Access to an online library of training materials makes it easier for employees looking to earn certifications at home. Training libraries such as TPC Online Enterprise contain over a thousand self-directed courses, allowing workers to engage with course materials at times that are convenient for them. 

Self-directed online training courses provide another advantage. While employees are improving skills at home they can search the training database for other courses to improve their career and productivity, and bring such courses to their supervisor’s attention. A motivated employee could complete several online training courses before they get the all-clear to return to work.

Why offer remote workforce training?

Other than keeping employees engaged during times when circumstances require them to stay home (in and of itself an important consideration), why encourage them to improve their skills? 

Extended time off work is stressful. Your employees will be worried about income, their health, and their families. Sitting at home watching Netflix all day with such concerns is a recipe for stress and depression, both of which take time to resolve when employees return to work. By earning certifications at home your employees still feel connected to your work team and better prepared for when they return to work.

Offering remote workforce training also benefits your business. Without a chance to renew or earn certifications at home your employees could return to work without the training needed to keep your business in compliance with regulatory standards. Remote workforce training helps you hit the ground running when you reopen. 

Offering self-directed and live online training courses during the pandemic (or at any point where employees are unable to work) is important for morale. A crisis like the coronavirus pandemic is frightening, and time off work leaves employees concerned that they may not have jobs to return to. Providing opportunities to take online training courses makes employees feel valued while relieving anxiety about job security. 

The coronavirus pandemic has been tough on employees and businesses alike. Online training courses help keep employees focused and engaged while you get a workforce that’s well-prepared to return to work. It’s a win-win situation.