What are effective ways to train remote partners?

1 Define your goals and outcomes

Before you design any training program, you need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. What are the specific skills, knowledge, and behaviors that you want your partners to learn and apply? How will you align your training objectives with your partner's needs and goals? How will you evaluate the impact of your training on your partner's performance and satisfaction? By defining your goals and outcomes, you can create a relevant and meaningful curriculum that meets both your and your partner's expectations.

2 Choose the right delivery method

Depending on your goals, budget, and audience, you may opt for different delivery methods for your training. For example, you may use live webinars, recorded videos, e-learning modules, podcasts, or interactive games. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you need to consider factors such as accessibility, engagement, feedback, and retention. Ideally, you should use a blended approach that combines different methods to suit different learning styles, preferences, and needs. For instance, you may use a live webinar to introduce a topic, followed by an e-learning module to reinforce the concepts, and then a podcast to share best practices and tips.

3 Communicate clearly and frequently

Communication is key to any successful partnership, especially when you are training remote partners. You need to communicate clearly and frequently with your partners to establish trust, rapport, and understanding. You should also use various communication channels, such as email, phone, chat, or video, to suit different purposes and situations. For example, you may use email to send pre-work or post-work assignments, phone to check-in or provide coaching, chat to answer questions or share resources, and video to conduct live sessions or give feedback. You should also communicate your expectations, agenda, and instructions for each training session, and encourage your partners to communicate their feedback, questions, and concerns.

4 Use interactive and collaborative tools

One of the challenges of training remote partners is to keep them engaged and motivated throughout the learning process. To overcome this challenge, you should use interactive and collaborative tools that allow your partners to participate actively and interact with you and each other. For example, you may use polls, quizzes, surveys, or gamification to test your partner's knowledge, comprehension, and application. You may also use breakout rooms, discussion boards, or peer reviews to facilitate group work, collaboration, and feedback. By using interactive and collaborative tools, you can create a dynamic and fun learning environment that fosters engagement and retention.

5 Provide ongoing support and follow-up

Training remote partners is not a one-time event, but a continuous process that requires ongoing support and follow-up. You should provide your partners with the necessary resources, tools, and guidance to help them apply what they learned and improve their performance. You should also monitor their progress, achievements, and challenges, and provide them with timely and constructive feedback. Additionally, you should follow up with your partners regularly to reinforce the learning outcomes, celebrate the successes, and address the gaps. By providing ongoing support and follow-up, you can ensure that your training is effective and impactful.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?