Do you ask yourself how training can be expanded online and offline? This is a question that many people have. Whether it's an online beginner looking for a way in or a subject expert wanting to improve.

Many subject experts also came together this year at the Corporate Learning Camp 16, which takes place annually at the Frankfurt University of Applied Science. The occasion is to exchange ideas about new concepts, wishes, and needs of professional training – a mix ranging from freelance trainers to HR developers and heads of HR development in large corporations.

In this round of various experts, Konstantin Ristl and Michael Witzke also introduced the topic “Offline and Online in Training” and facilitated a discussion. We want to present the results in this article. (You can find more sessions here: “Studio@home: Best Practice Filming with the Smartphone,” “Mr. Steinbeißer, the nightmare of every HR developer,” “Training over – and now?”.

Here to stay: Offline and Online in Training

The initial question for the session was “Offline and Online in Training – how do you implement it?”. In the exchange with the participants, we wanted to find out what ways exist to design effective learning processes offline and online, what tips they can concretely give, and what wishes may still be open.

This question led to a colorful collection of best practices right from the start (which you can see below in the image).

The types of suggestions included the content design of the face-to-face events, the concrete implementation of the training content (in this case, the practice), and what support can be offered to the training participants (e.g., online resources). Especially the last point “Support” is very multifaceted for me. Participants do not memorize the resources, but rather learn how to handle these resources. Here, the question is “Where do I look for information?” instead of “What do I memorize?”.

Other suggested topics were “Learning as a Process,” “Reducing Learning Barriers,” and “Transformation into Practice.” Although these topics have been known for a long time, they are still in high demand.

Also clearly visible in the image: the voting by show of hands on which topics the subject experts wanted to discuss in more depth.

By name:

• Learning as a Process

• Practical Transfer

• Reducing Learning Barriers

Learning as a Process

The session participants discussed various strategies and approaches to promote effective learning. They agreed that a one-off event cannot be sufficient for long-term learning success. The mix of different learning methods, social learning settings, and communication channels is essential for learning success.

Particularly exciting: Several experienced session participants successfully presented well-designed and implemented learning processes in the round. Two were selected to present the process and the mechanisms at work and to receive feedback on the examples from the round. The questions from participants who had not yet experienced online phases should not be underestimated, as they lead to particularly strong reflection.

The two examples of learning processes fundamentally differed in one respect: The first example highlighted the phase before the face-to-face meeting, while the second emphasized the phase after the face-to-face meeting (the face-to-face component can be recognized on the flipchart by the word “Live”).

Structure and Insights “before the Live Meeting”

In the first example, the phase before the live meeting was relatively long, at 4 months, and thus had special challenges.

A core thought in preparing for a meeting is usually “What uniform knowledge level should the participants have by the time of the meeting?”. Once that is clarified, small impulses with information can be set time and again. In this example, these were predominantly videos.

The mentioned challenge in long events is now to maintain the cohesion of the group without meeting on-site. For this purpose, additional webinars were offered and internal mentors were appointed (if you are not familiar with webinars: this is a live exchange via video conference). These internal mentors can be colleagues or other trainers. Their task is to seek conversation with the training participants, providing support and ideas. The conclusion is a two-day Open-Space where all participants can meet in person. (You can read about the concrete implementation of such a process, for example, at the Sparkassentag of Agateno).

Structure and Insights “after the Live Meeting”

In the second example, the focus was on the phase “after the live meeting” (e.g., the face-to-face training). The most important question here: “How do I get my participants to regularly practice and learn at their workplace?”.

A good model for this is the use of practice and learning impulses after the training completion. The session participants decided to use one impulse per week. This is additionally linked with reflection questions. Specifically, this might mean a (learning) impulse on Tuesdays and reflection questions on Thursdays.

These important points were discussed: the impulses for the exercises should take little time, they should be easily accessible, and the participant should always be clear about how the content helps them and what to do next. A time frame of 3-5 minutes per impulse has proven to be a good size in the discussion, lowering the barrier to implementation. This way, the participant has the opportunity to implement an exercise just before lunch or on the way home or to engage in the training topic mentally. And clarity about their next action is provided to the participant through concrete prompts on what to do.

Such a process can be easily extended over 6-10 weeks. It is also advisable to make personal contact again at the end – for example, by phone.

Practical transfer mainly happens “after the Live Meeting”

As you can see from the examples of the learning process, the majority of practical transfer happens after the live meeting. Why is practical transfer so important? After training events, it is repeatedly observed that participants have learned the content of the training but no implementation takes place. Therefore, if you want to generate high practical transfer, first focus on the phase after your face-to-face event.

What recipe do you have for the greatest learning success? What surprised you most about the topic selection of the subject experts? Share your experiences with us.