Once again, a rejection from your client: Unfortunately, there is no time for an intensive training? Many trainers feel the rising tendency of HR professionals to be reluctant to "lose" their employees for a whole day or even longer to training sessions. The simple solution: Microsessions. We explain to you what the idea is all about.

The Challenge: Little Work Absence, but a Strong Learning Effect

"I would like to train my employees, but a whole day of work absence in one go is indeed a lot. Can't we find a different solution?"

Perhaps you have already heard a similar argument from your (potential) client. In the past, two or three days of training were hardly a problem for companies. Today, HR professionals are complaining about a high work absence even for a single day. Reasons for this can be scarce personnel resources or other considerations to use as little regular working time for training as possible.

This is the general sentiment that trainers experience daily: It is not the financial costs that are the problem, but the time constraints.

However, you know from your experience that training is often only truly effective when participants engage with the content over the long term. And, of course, time constraints in training generally mean less revenue. To ensure a well-running business in the future, you need a solution on how to reassure your clients regarding work absence and still earn a good income.

The Solution: Short and Focused Microsessions

You can call it whatever you like – the principle is really simple: Offer short in-person training sessions in which you provide participants with the essential content bundled together. With an emphasis on "path" – you shift the subsequent training to a multi-week online support! This way, you hit three birds with one stone:

1. The work absence of your participants remains low – most employers can tolerate a half-day absence.

2. The learning effect remains at least as high and is often even greater, as the transfer phase is significantly extended.

3. Your revenue even increases because now you can train twice as many participants in one day – one group in the morning and another in the afternoon. You, of course, bill for the online support every time, even though you only have to create it once.

Of course, employees also need to allocate working time for the online support to continue learning. However, for the employer, a work absence of 20 hours is easier to bear when it stretches out over several weeks than when it is concentrated into 2-3 days.

One more tip: Choose a fitting name to convince your clients of the overall concept! With a marketing-appropriate keyword, you give your training the final touch. Here are some examples for inspiration:

• Microsession

• Focus Training

• Short and Effective

• 4h Power Seminars …

A Method That Fits: Microlearning

"Short and focused" – this principle works the same on a smaller scale. Design your online content in such a way that your participants do not need to invest much time in it. Present your training to your client with the argument that you apply the same principle in both the kickoff event and the online support. This creates credibility and trust. More on this in our blog article "Microlearning: 3 Rules for Creating Learning Snacks."

Example: A Microsession as a Kick-Off Event

Let’s say you used to conduct two-day workshops where the first half-day was planned for warming up and introducing the topic. You spent the remaining time intensively working on the topic with your participants and sent them back to their work life with a good feeling at the end of the second day:

In classic 2-day training, the main part of the workshop occurs at the end of the first day and on the second day.

Here’s how you can transition your 2-day workshops into a microsession:

1. Start with a kickoff event of about 4 hours. Here, you get to know your participants personally and discuss the topic and the approach of your training together with them.

2. Subsequently, there are several weeks in which participants engage in a self-directed online training that you developed in advance. Give them a rough estimate of how much time they need to plan each week and let them choose when and where they can allocate this time – without it affecting their daily work.

3. Ideally, you conclude your training with another in-person event. Convince your client of this additional work absence with the argument that the participants will be better motivated to take the time for the online content because of this clear ending during the self-learning phase.

4. Alternatively, you offer a personal (phone) conversation with each participant as a conclusion – which you will of course bill accordingly. This method is particularly suitable for soft skill training. And your participant can again choose when they have time for the conclusion.

   
   
   

With a microsession, you shift a large part of the content into an online support.

One more tip: Prepare yourself now for possible concerns of your client and convince them of your concept! In the following table, you see objections from the client on the left and how you can counter those objections on the right:

… All clear, these arguments are convincing – with the mix of in-person event and online training, your client benefits the most.

The Concept Behind It: Blended Learning

The microsession method only makes sense and is truly sustainable effective in combination with online support. This combination of in-person training and online-controlled self-learning phase is called blended learning. With blended learning, you intertwine two learning methods in such a way that all parties achieve the greatest possible benefit from it.

Of course, you can customize your blended learning model individually to your own requirements or the wishes of your clients. For example, start directly with an online introduction and hold your four-hour kickoff two weeks later, with deepening content. Just try out what works best for you!

Start right away with the "Short and Focused" concept and take 10 minutes now to consider the possibility of microsessions for your training. As a decision-making aid, consider the following questions:

• What would be the advantages you could achieve with the microsession method? Note down bullet points.

• What would you need to do to work with microsessions? Note down bullet points.

• What is the next step to get started with microsessions? Schedule an appointment for it right away in your calendar!