We walk you through the complete guide to remote training to help you support remote learners to get the content they need, when they need it most. 

Making the jump from face-to-face learning to eLearning can feel overwhelming, messy and like a lot of hard work. 

And for the most part, it is all of those things. 

But getting remote training right is a really great way to diversify your training offerings and to meet your learners where they are. 

Keep reading to learn: 

• What remote training is 
• Who remote training is for 
• If you really need remote training 
• And best practices for better remote learning 

Let’s get started. 

What is remote training? 

Remote training is exactly what it sounds like; it’s learning that takes place remotely. 

Historically, learning, including corporate training, would take place in a classroom setting, with a teacher or instructor. 

Nowadays, learning can happen anywhere, and businesses are moving to make learning more accessible. 

💡 Pro Tip 

This is where an LMS becomes key. If you don’t have an online learning platform, you can’t deliver remote training.

Learn more about our platform

Benefits of remote training

One of the biggest benefits of remote training is its flexibility, but of course it comes with other key benefits:

Continuity of L&D 

Learning can’t be ticked off and forgotten about. 

Remote learning means that learning becomes a part of your business culture, and that employees can continue to improve and develop skills throughout the year, not just when a course comes up. 

Learning on your terms 

Or rather, on your learners’ terms. 

Remote training can be better for motivation because it can fit in the flow of work, as opposed to disrupting it. 

In classic classroom training, the learner has to take 1 maybe even 2 days off of work to go and attend an in-person training event. 

But with remote learning, they can simply log into their LMS at a time that suits their schedule.

Plus, you can offer more learning content to buffer knowledge to suit their learning styles, or simply to buffer knowledge post-training. 

Related: How to create eLearning courses learners love

Scalability 

Once you’ve created eLearning materials, they can be scaled to roll out to as many people as you need. You can change languages, update it based on location or culture differences, and make it suit particular levels or skills. 

Training software gives you the means to modify and adjust your training quickly and easily. 

Affordability 

It’s clear to see the cost-benefits of remote training. You don’t need to accommodate for travel costs, overnight stays, location hire or loss of output during training. 

Remote training allows you to minimise, and in some cases, eradicate these costs completely.  

Better training effectiveness 

With remote learning, you get access to better reporting. And with that, you can then set clearer measures of success from the get-go. 

Learning has a habit of being a tick-box exercise, as opposed to actually delivering change and improvements. 

Remote training allows you to both see the completion rates of training at a click of a button, and to review performance impact.  

Challenges with remote training

Of course, nothing is all good, and so even remote learning has a few downfalls. 

They are:

Engagement 

Without an actual instructor face-to-face with your learners, you might find a potential reduction in engagement. 

Depending on your remote training content, you might find difficulties with tech, or just a general forgetfulness to prioritise learning from your staff. 

Remember, there are plenty of ways to make learning more engaging, and you need to just be clear on the goals of your training when you make it. 

Time and distractions 

Some of your learners may be time-poor when it comes to learning, and you might find for them that learning falls to the bottom of their to-do list. 

Equally, if your learners are in an out-of-office setting, e.g. a hospital, there are higher chances of distractions when it comes to completing training. 

Who is remote training for?

Remote work is growing, but that’s not the only reason to invest in remote learning. 

In a classroom setting, learning is one and done. 

But with remote learning, or eLearning, you can continue the learning journey over months, or even years. 

So remote training isn’t just for remote workers, it’s for businesses looking to make learning a cornerstone of their business. 

Because after all, better invested employees stick around for longer, and more knowledgeable staff means better business results. 

Does my organisation need remote training?

Knowing if you need remote training is simple. 

Do you: 

• Hire, or plan to hire, remote employees? 
• Have a non-local team i.e. working across counties, countries or the world? 
• Share training adopted by multiple users e.g. clients, customers, agencies, employees? 
• Want to test eLearning or blended learning? 

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you likely need remote training. 

Related: Online vs classroom statistics

Best practices for remote training 

When it comes to creating training for remote employees, you’ll want to consider the benefits and pitfalls that we just mentioned. 

Self-directed learning is great, but your employees want to feel supported and invested in their learning. 

It can’t become another to-do on their daily work list, they need to be motivated and encouraged. 

As a learning leader, try not to get distracted by how easy and quick it can be to set up learning content. 

Our focus must stay on value. 

So, when you’re dealing with difficulties around engagement, other work priorities and a looming to-do list, how do you engage your learners in remote training? 

Here’s what we would suggest:

Connect learning to performance

Employees wouldn’t leave their job if they felt their company was investing in them. 

Related: How to link performance to learning

So, when you’re assigning learning content, make sure you’re making the link between their learning and their development clear. Whether it’s career progression, new skills, or reskilling, ensure the conversation on why they’re doing a particular course is clear. 

Gamification 

The obvious method is gamification. Set up point allocation, enable badges for completing tasks and courses, and pit employees against each other with a simple leaderboard. 

Related: LMS gamification use cases

Within your courses, add a layer of storytelling so that learners feel as though they’re actually progressing through something, rather than jumping between randomly assembled files and tasks. 

Reward and recognition

Leaning off of the gamification point, reward your learners with certificates when they complete courses and modules. 

Of course, you’ll have mandatory training that you need to get done, and those certificates are a given. 

But you could further incentivise your staff with extra, fun certificates to show them they’re improving their skills and giving them something tangible. 

Think like a marketer 

Imagine your LMS is a product and you’re trying to sell it to your learners. 

What are some methods you would use? 

Maybe influencers, or marketing channels like social media and email? 

Well, these are all valid ways to encourage LMS adoption. 

Ask leadership teams to share about learning so it feels important and then use your all-company email, internal newsletter and company Slack to promote your platform and your content. 

💡 Pro Tip 

Here’s how you can market your LMS like a marketing expert. We share 11 easy ways to improve LMS adoption that doesn’t take too much time or resources. 

Create space 

An LMS doesn’t need to be a one-way system. Your learner needs to log on and complete their training, but an LMS can be so much more than that. 

Engage them via their coworkers by using forums, discussion boards and other engagement-led features to allow the platform to become a social space, and a real learning hub. 

How BuildEmpire can support your remote training strategy 

We’re platinum partners of Totara and we actually have our own Edition of the platform which means we offer everything Totara does, plus so much more. 

Some key features that will help here? 

Gamification: Allocate points, build leaderboards, assign badges to motivate your learners 

Discussions and forums: Allow your learners to become subject matter experts and share their own findings and answer questions 

Notifications: Easily alert learners about new content, or remind them to complete courses 

Reporting: Find completion rates at a click of a button to report on your impact 

Read about all of our key features, or book a demo to see the platform in action.