Using Webinars for Employee Training: Pros, Cons, and Recommendations

Do you use webinars for employee training? Maybe you forward an email to an employee, asking them to attend the webinar and report back. Or perhaps you attend yourself and take notes for the employee. However you do it, webinars provide unique opportunities for learning, connection, and growth for employees that they may not get any other way.
Most organizations (including Trakstar) will record webinars to be used repeatedly for training purposes. This practice extends the life of webinars and makes them even more potent: you can deliver the content when the time is right, and you already have most of the work done.
If you haven’t used webinars for employee training (live or on-demand), there are some things to consider.

What is A Webinar?

If you haven’t attended a webinar before, the concept can seem strange. The word webinar is a portmanteau of the words “web” and “seminar.” It is typically a presentation online using webcasting via a number of different tools. Webinars usually feature a discussion, information about a specific topic, and sometimes, a question and answer session at the end. Attendees typically have some kind of chat they can use to ask questions.

An on-demand webinar is simply a recording of the live webinar. Those who watch webinars on-demand cannot get their questions answered in real time but can often go back to the presenters to ask questions.

Benefits of Webinars for Employee Training

Thinking about putting on a few webinars for employee training purposes but aren’t sure it is the right option for your organization? There are many benefits to recording webinars and using them as part of your ongoing employee training and development.

Your Learners Have Access To The Information When They Need It

Webinars contain a ton of information about specific topics – including information employees may not need right away but may need someday. Recording your webinars and putting them into your learning courses ensures employees can access that information when needed. 

Webinars are great for onboarding new hires and giving them the necessary information without scheduling time with another busy employee. They can also help with institutional or role-based knowledge when hiring from within. 

Repeatedly Benefit From Your Training Efforts

Are you bringing in a subject matter expert? Have an amazing employee that is leaving for another opportunity or retirement? How can you retain that knowledge for future employees and reflection? Have them put on a webinar! You can record the webinar and then put it into your learning management system for repeated usage.

If you want to bring in someone from the outside to speak at your company, ask if they are willing to record it as a webinar so you can use it repeatedly, saving yourself time, resources, and, yes, money. The expert won’t have to travel to you (saving travel costs, hotel, food, etc.), and you can benefit your entire company, not just the people who can fit in a conference room.

You can also use webinars for coaching and mentoring, even when the mentor is no longer at your company. Significant knowledge has been lost to attrition, retirement, or new opportunities for too long. Instead of losing that knowledge, keep it in a webinar uploaded to your LMS for safekeeping. Then, if you put someone on a PIP or need to help someone’s performance, you can assign the webinar as a course to take.

Train Everyone All At Once

Digital environments allow workforces spread across the country or globe to receive the same training. To align with compliance laws or just to ensure the equitable distribution of standards, having a webinar makes it possible for everyone to get the same training at (or near) the same time.

Record the webinar and upload it into your learning management system to ensure people in different time zones, people with PTO, or those who just can’t attend have equal access to the material. Use reporting and automatic enrollment to ensure everyone has the chance to see the webinar – then find out who has taken it.

You can even put quiz questions at the end to ensure everyone pays attention.

Improve Overall Employee Engagement

We’ve all had to sit through boring training sessions and courses. Webinars feel “special” and add something to a more extended training session. They also help people who are better at hearing and seeing information on a screen rather than just reading it, seeing it, or hearing it independently. Webinars usually have interactive portions, step-by-step guides, and slides to make things more interesting.

On the other hand, people don’t love to sit through workshops or speakers that are too long either. Not everyone can sit through them. Recording webinars and putting them into your LMS allows them to take breaks when necessary, pause to take notes, or even ask questions if necessary.

Of course, your capabilities with the webinar will depend on the LMS you use. With Trakstar Learn, you can add quizzes, additional material, or even include the slides used in the webinar for note-taking, engagement metrics, and overall understanding. Encourage participants to take screenshots, reach out with questions, or even watch it a few times.

Potential Challenges for Using Webinars (And How To Overcome Them)

Webinars can be valuable tools for employee training, but using them in a vacuum can be difficult. There are some things you need to consider.

1. Technical issues: Technical issues such as poor internet connectivity, glitches in the webinar software, or incompatible devices can interrupt the training session and cause frustration among participants. The good news is that you can edit webinar recordings after they occur, so anyone watching the replay on your LMS won’t see the technical blunders.
2. Time constraints: Webinars typically have a set time limit, which can be challenging when trying to cover complex topics or when participants have different learning styles and paces. When you upload these to your LMS, connect them to other materials to go even deeper.
3. Inability to provide hands-on training: Some skills and topics may require hands-on training or in-person demonstrations, which cannot be provided in a webinar format. However, you can use this to vary longer training sessions that have in-person training.

Overall, webinars can be a helpful tool for employee training. Still, organizations need to be aware of the potential limitations and address them accordingly to ensure that the training is effective and engaging for participants. One of the best ways to do this is to use webinars as part of your training courses on your LMS.

Have You Started Using Webinars For Workplace Training?

You’ve likely seen an enormous improvement in your employees after a training session or attending professional development. Reduce turnover, engage your employees, and update your content with webinars. 

Trakstar Learn is a learning management system (LMS) designed to help organizations manage and deliver effective employee training and development programs. Here are some reasons why someone might consider buying Trakstar Learn:

1. Easy to use: Trakstar Learn is a user-friendly platform that is easy to navigate, making it easy for employees and administrators.
2. Customizable: The platform is highly customizable, allowing you to tailor your learning programs to meet your organization’s and employees’ specific needs.
3. Centralized: Trakstar Learn provides a centralized location for all your training materials, making it easy to organize and manage your training programs.
4. Analytics and reporting: The platform provides detailed analytics and reporting features that allow you to track employee progress and identify areas for improvement.
5. Mobile-friendly: Trakstar Learn is accessible on mobile devices, allowing employees to access training materials on the go.
6. Integration: Trakstar Learn can integrate with other HR software, making it easy to manage all aspects of your HR and training programs in one place.

Overall, Trakstar Learn is a comprehensive and user-friendly LMS that can help organizations deliver effective and engaging training programs to their employees, improve employee performance, and drive business success.

To find out more, schedule a demo of Trakstar Learn today.

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