I am currently researching the viability of providing businesses with learning and training programmes that include phone conference calls as part of the development package. What are your thoughts in terms of the praciticalities of marketing/implemeting this idea?
Thanks
Amechi Udo
Amechi Udo
3 Responses
Phone support
It can work as part of a support system but I could not see it working as a delivery mechanism. We use email and phone now to assist students and on line training virtual classrooms. From time to time the students will also phone in during the session to speak with the tutor or ask for a call back on a specific issue during the online session. These calls are short and to the point of concern and work well as an aid but I could not see them taking off as a delivery method.
The other issue is that companies who are money and time poor look for training in the staff’s time and release for training is a real issue. Internet sessions are dealt with on a rolling session and previous questions can be viewed off line, how would that be handled in a telephone conference, by a recording for those who couldn’t attend perhaps? Internet seems easier.
TBD Global Ltd
http://www.tbdglobal.com
Telephone a Poor Cousin but …
You could use telephone for the situation you mention. Although a poor cousin to some other forms of delivery, it might be better than nothing.
If it worked say as a help desk, staff could call for just-in-time training relating to certain business activities they were about to perform. Alternatively, scenario-based discussions may be fruitful ie, pose a what if problem and get the group to resolve it within the firm’s policy/procedure parameters. (What if the cash tray is short at end of shift?)
Audio tapes can also be helpful. Staff use them to listen to information sessions when time permits. Some of my staff travel for 8 -12 hours to visit clients and have adapted well to listening to audio, despite its limitations.
At the end of the day sometimes anything can be better than nothing.
Benefits of Telephone Conferencing
I have been using telephone conferencing for the past year to deliver training to community groups and individuals who are active in their community.
This method has worked extremely well in a rural county (Norfolk) and has proved an extremely effective way of teaching adults.
There are huge positives, not least how accessible and cheap to run the scheme is.
All of my learners managed to get to grips with using telephone conferencing very quickly – even those who claimed to be not technically minded (and who avoided e-mail like the plague!).
A number of factors need to come together to make this successful – and selection is the key in terms of finding the right kind of people to take part – but with careful planning and a great deal of organisation, telephone conferencing can work really well.
I look on it more as an innovative way to reach people and certainly not a “last resort” or a “poor cousin”!