Online, in-person or hybrid? Continuing education during the Corona times is hard to plan, and this leads to justified uncertainty among many trainers and coaches. We have learned from the last years and have two helpful methods for you. After all, continuing education experts in 2022 must primarily be one thing: flexible!

The Corona crisis has shown the continuing education industry one main thing over the past one and a half years: Uncertainty is not only a risk and burden but also a breeding ground for new training methods! Initially, many independent trainers and coaches relied on short-term alternatives to in-person events to survive the "short crisis". Now, in light of the fourth Corona wave, it is becoming increasingly clear:

Uncertainty will be the new normal

Contact restrictions, lockdowns, or quarantine are just three of many events that can quickly ruin perfect training planning in 2022. This leads to potentially high financial losses for continuing education providers.
So how can you, as a continuing educator, now confront this uncertainty – and turn adversity into a virtue that remains with you in the long run?

Flexibility as the answer to planning uncertainty in continuing education

Companies that have weathered the crisis well so far show common characteristics:

"It was precisely those companies that quickly analyzed fundamental market data, corrected gaps in their business model, and maintained their strategic direction that weathered the storm better." (qbe)

Market analysis, adaptation, and strategic action have one thing in common: they offer more flexibility in the long term. And this is a significant advantage to achieve the self-set goals even in uncertain times. After all, it benefits no one to cling to a plan if it is simply unfeasible.

To remain successful in the coming year, you need flexibility in your offerings and formats above all. By experimenting, you will discover new formats that work well for you and your customers, and you can solidify and further develop them.

In Japan, there is an old proverb about flexibility:

Be like the bamboo. Bow and bend gracefully, as the wind desires, and you will never break.

The proverb may sound cheesy, but it contains a lot of truth: Flexibility is a significant advantage in uncertain times and helps weather crises. Specifically, for you as a trainer or coach: Plan your offerings from the beginning as flexibly as possible so that you can respond quickly and purposefully in case of a change – and minimize the risk of losing fees and clients.

Two options for flexible training that provide planning security for trainers and clients

Flexibility is the foundation for dealing with uncertainty in the coming year. How do you design training, coaching, and workshops to be as flexible as possible?

Two formats have proven particularly valuable for this, both before and during the Corona crisis:

1. Use the combination: Blended Learning

"The combination of virtual learning and in-person learning will be the new normal in continuing education", states Haufe Akademie in an interview for the magazine "Training Aktuell". This statement perfectly captures why blended learning is the right choice for flexible and long-term successful planning:

Definition of "Blended Learning": In-person learning + E-learning = Blended Learning
→ More about it on the info page "Blended Learning in Practice"

Even before the crisis, blended learning was a "rising star" in continuing education. However, there is now no way around the combination of in-person and online learning. According to mmb Trend Monitor 2021, blended learning is an absolute MUST for the coming years. This is especially true for trainers and coaches who direct their offerings directly to companies.

The high approval also shows: Blended learning is expected to remain the most important and in-demand form of learning even after the crisis. Thus, reorienting towards blended offerings is worthwhile in the long term as well.

A residual uncertainty remains with blended learning: What to do if the in-person phases cannot be conducted in person, for example in lockdown situations or under strict contact restrictions?

There is also a solution: Virtual Blended Learning transfers your in-person appointments to the online world as well, for example in the form of webinars or virtual training sessions. The high learning success is maintained through a blend of personal support and self-study phases.

2. Plan training and workshops as hybrid

Plan your offerings from the beginning as hybrid events to respond to all circumstances. Often, blended learning and hybrid learning are used synonymously. However, they are two different models:

• Blended Learning combines in-person and online in a fixed sequence. All participants are in the same format at the same time (together on-site or individually online). The content is divided into in-person and online phases.

• Hybrid Learning offers online and in-person simultaneously. Participants can freely choose whether they want to join online or in person. The content in both formats is identical.

You can find a detailed overview here: Hybrid Learning vs. Blended Learning: Know the Difference!

A hybrid concept not only offers full flexibility for your planning but also for all participants:

• Your content is identical in both formats, so there is no disadvantage from purely digital participation. You can therefore set a uniform training fee: The price is identical, regardless of whether your training takes place on-site or online; the content and the learning effect are the same!

• Already at booking, clients can choose whether to participate on-site or online. This way, you can be flexible even before the start and convey security to your clients.

• If in-person participation is not possible, you can quickly and without additional effort switch to a purely online version, similar to virtual blended learning (see above) – after all, everything is already set up, and all participants knew that this option existed.

Conclusion: Become flexible in planning now – and stay flexible long-term

Uncertainty affects us all. However, by now, the possible scenarios that can influence your training or coaching are mostly known. If you focus on maximizing flexibility from the start through blended or hybrid approaches in your planning, uncertainty can even become a new concept that remains successful even after the crisis.

Free guide

Blended Learning for Trainers

Design training, coaching, and workshops flexibly now! The guide takes you through the entire process in 9 simple steps, from in-person training to flexible blended learning with online phases.

To the trainer's guide for blended learning

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