Did you know that instructor-led classroom training is still the most popular form of training? It’s true, even today when training is
increasingly delivered on mobile phones and tablets. According to statistics from the Association for Talent Development, 70% of all training programs in the U.S. were conducted in classrooms in 2014. We are willing to bet that at least 60% of all training programs are still conducted that way today.

Why Classroom Training Still Rules

• Speed of development. You can create a curriculum and have it tested and running in a matter of weeks, not the months it takes to develop computerized or training that is delivered on mobile devices.
• Ease of development and lower cost. In many cases, non-technical executives in your organization can design and launch classroom training without the assistance of computer programmers, IT people or other specialists.
• Flexibility. Once your classroom materials are ready to go, they can be used for training large groups of hundreds of employees, small groups of a dozen – or anything in between. And if a training unit or lesson isn’t working, you can simply replace it without getting bogged down with technological problems.

Is There a Downside?

Classroom training presents very few disadvantages, provided it is expertly designed. The key to success is to make sure that training remains interactive and engaging – not a static experience where one person stands in front of a group and lectures.

Strategies for Keeping Classroom Trainees Involved and Engaged

If you have attended a classroom training program that worked well, chances are you took part in activities like these that offered a lively variety of experiences:

• Quizzes that allow participants to score their skills or take part in in other self-assessments.
• Live surveys, which can now be conducted live using a variety of apps.
• Breakout sessions, where participants meet in groups to discuss topics or generate questions that are then brought back to the entire group.
• Videos that offer depictions of the skills that are being taught, company profiles, and other content.
• Visits to company offices and facilities where trainees can learn about company operations first-hand.
• Feedback and Q&A sessions, offered at regular intervals during training, can introduce new topics for discussion, add value, and keep sessions lively.
• Role-playing and demonstrations, where trainees take on the roles of customers, clients or other stakeholders while other trainees play the roles of company employees.

Talk to a Tortal Training Professional

To review your current training and best practices with a Tortal Training professional, we invite you to call Dan Black, Tortal’s Vice President of Business Development and Client Engagement, at (704) 502-0343.