6 Solutions to Common Instructor-Led Training Challenges

1. 6 SOLUTIONS TO COMMON INSTRUCTOR-LED TRAINING CHALLENGES www.acadecraft.com

2. INTRODUCTION Instructor-led training remains one of the most effective media of instruction in the corporate setting. Online courses are becoming common, but still, nothing beats interacting with a skilled instructor. Real-time feedback makes learning more effective and engaging. An ILT session is not always seamless. From learner engagement to logistics and scheduling considerations, there are numerous hurdles to overcome for successful ILT. The good news is that each of these barriers has considerations that can be easily addressed. Below, we’re discussing six strategies for overcoming Instructor-led training challenges.

3. COMMON CHALLENGES AND PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS • Challenge: Low Learner Engagement • One of the most frequent challenges instructors face is being able to keep learners engaged. Participants can lose their focus very easily while attending long sessions. This occurred because they don’t have to interact at all. • What Solutions? • Be sure to incorporate interactive activities. You can have group discussions, perform case studies, do role play exercises, and implement live polling. These factors will keep learners connected and relevant to the workplace and real world. Instructor-led training is interactive, and it will produce a tremendous amount of engagement in the training program. • Challenge: Learning Styles Differs • Every person learns a bit differently. A person is either a visual learner who prefers pictures, an infographic or a kinesthetic learner who gives preferences to work with their hands, or an auditory learner who hears conversation. In instructor-led training, most people may learn better when they take a few materials or utilise some sort of blending. • What Solutions? • When you find yourself in the instructor-led training environment, change it up. Use a visual presentation when reviewing material, do a real-life demonstration and provide an interactive exercise. Replicating or presenting the content is great, but if you want the learners to see success, then you must offer it in more than one format. Learning styles vary, but having the ability to use some flexibility for both trainer and learner can improve retention and comprehension.

4. Challenge: Scheduling Conflicts • Scheduling sessions with busy employees is another challenge. Participants are sometimes not able to participate in training due to schedule conflicts or pressures from an increased workload. • What Solutions? • Offer multiple sessions or provide recordings of the sessions that participants can view later. Flexibility will allow an employee to participate in training while managing their workday. In relation to instructor-led training, planning training in advance and proactively sharing. • 2. Challenge: Instructor Availability • The best instructors are highly sought after with limited availability, and their unavailability can delay or cancel training. • What Solutions? • Train internal employees to be facilitators. Having multiple qualified instructors internally helps ensure continuity in training. Laboratory instructor-led training can even utilize guest speakers or virtual instructors to help bridge the gap of instructor unavailability. • Being able to utilize multiple methods ensures that you continue to maintain the quality of training and do not overly rely on one source.

5. Challenge: Measuring Training Effectiveness • It is challenging to assess the effectiveness of instructor-led training. You won’t know if anyone is taking anything away from their experience without any attribution from the learner. • What Solutions? • Provide feedback and assessment. Whether it's pre- and post-test, surveys or observations. Use whatever means possible to assess learning outcomes. • Instructor-led training is often more valuable when feedback is immediate, so instructors must monitor understanding throughout a session and adjust as needed. Measurement from a feedback or assessment process can also help improve any instructor-led training in the future. • Challenge: Keeping Content Relevant • The pace of change in industry and technology is extremely fast. Training materials that have lingered or are stale will detract from the credibility of instructor-led training. • What Solutions? • Constantly edit training materials. Work with subject matter experts to help keep training materials current and reflective of best practice. • Also, train instructors to adapt during the training process and be ready to incorporate a current event or example. Being aware of the relevance of content will help maintain value

6. CONCLUSION Instructor-led training remains an essential component of corporate learning. Common challenges in instructor-led training are low engagement, different learning styles, busy schedules, limited instructor time, no clear measurements, and outdated content. Each of these challenges has practical solutions. For instance, Instruction can be more interactive. Instructors can add flexibility. Blended approaches give more options. Training can be organised with multiple instructors. Formal checks help measure understanding. Keeping content current adds value to the training team. Well-designed instructor-led training pays off. It boosts employee skills. It improves engagement and retention. It also supports the overall growth of the organisation. By solving these six challenges, companies can turn instructor-led training from average to excellent.

7. THANK YOU • www.acadecraft.com