The In-Person versus Virtual Training Debate
It’s fair to say that pre-COVID, the vast majority of Flame projects were delivered in-person. Throughout 2018 and 2019 around 90% of our client-facing activity comprised in-person sales training, coaching, and consultancy. Car mileage and airline exec. club points racked up as we travelled near and far to support our clients.
The pandemic changed everything – almost overnight. We have a color-coding system in the Flame training delivery calendar, with confirmed events coded orange. The sense of impending doom was palpable when from early 2020, almost daily, we’d be removing orange items from the calendar, either to be rescheduled or because they’d been completely cancelled.
Once the dust began to settle, and as organizations altered the way they approached day-to-day operations, and their learning and development approach, we were forced to pivot, replacing traditional in-person solutions with virtual alternatives.
At the same time, applications like Microsoft Teams and Zoom ramped up their functionality to support the seismic increase in global remote working.
And guess what? Those live virtual training solutions weren’t the unmitigated disaster that many predicted they might be. Many businesses started to reap the benefits of the live virtual approach. We’ll share more about those benefits later. Those benefits may help to explain why, in the period from 2022 to early 2024, far from all our clients switching immediately back to in-person solutions post-pandemic, Flame’s activity still comprised around 60% virtual delivery.
That continued focus on virtual training could be in part explained by the broader global shift to increased home working since 2020.
The Dilemma…
So we now find ourselves in a world where remote working is more prevalent than ever, yet at the same time high profile companies such as Amazon, Tesla, Goldman Sachs, Meta and JP Morgan Chase are either promoting or enforcing their return to office policy.
Recently we delivered an in-person sales training workshop to a new client. Reviewing the participant feedback it was great to see that we’d hit the mark in delivering engaging content, but another thing that stood out was a comment from one of the participants – that they’d found huge value in bringing the whole sales team together in a room for two days.
This got us thinking – as we continue to emerge from the pandemic, what’s the best channel for sales training delivery moving forward? In-person? Virtual? A combination of the two?
To answer that question, we need to weigh up the pros and cons of the in-person and live virtual approaches.
In-Person Training – The Pros
- Enhanced Engagement and Interaction
One of the biggest strengths of in-person training is the level of engagement it can foster. Human interaction is a powerful motivator, and learners often benefit from face-to-face discussions, body language cues, and the ability to build relationships with peers. The opportunity to ask spontaneous questions and receive real-time feedback in a workshop environment can enhance comprehension and knowledge retention.
In-person training also encourages active participation through group exercises, role-playing, and simulations that are sometimes harder to replicate in a virtual setting. These elements help learners stay focused and involved, making it easier to absorb complex concepts and apply them in practice.
- Relationship and Team Building
Training sessions held in shared physical spaces offer invaluable opportunities for team building. Shared experiences, group activities, and social interactions contribute to stronger relationships and a sense of camaraderie among team members. In an era of remote work and virtual meetings, fostering personal connections within teams can help build a more cohesive work culture.
As instructional designers and group facilitators we like to think that it’s the quality of our content, our program design, our delivery style that creates value for our clients. Let’s not forget that for our participants, the opportunity to share a drink or a meal with a colleague at the end of the training day can go a long way to building working relationships.
- Focused Environment
In-person sessions often take place in dedicated, controlled environments designed to minimize distractions. The physical setting, along with the structure and schedule of in-person training, helps learners stay focused and attentive.
- Skills Development
Certain types of training, particularly those requiring skills practice or behavioral change, can be best suited to in-person environments. These experiences can be difficult to replicate or feel more artificial in a virtual environment.
If the majority of a field salesperson’s customer interactions will be in-person, practicing customer conversations in-person will further enhance the relevance and reality of the training environment.
In-Person Training – The Cons
- Higher Costs
One of the major drawbacks of in-person training is the cost. Not only could the organization incur the financial cost of engaging a learning partner to design and deliver the program, but they may also need to budget for venue hire, travel, meals, and materials. All of these can add up significantly, especially for large or geographically dispersed teams. This can strain training budgets.
- Limited Flexibility
In-person training often follows a rigid schedule and format. Employees must be available at a specific time and location, which can be challenging, particularly for those who work remotely or have personal commitments. Inflexible schedules can also affect learning outcomes, as participants may be distracted by external factors or unable to dedicate the necessary time to their training.
- Logistical Challenges
Coordinating in-person training sessions requires careful planning and logistics. Organizing travel, accommodations, and gathering participants from different locations can be time-consuming. Additionally, issues such as weather-related disruptions or transportation issues can derail planned sessions.
So the in-person approach brings both its benefits and its limitations. How do these compare with the virtual approach?
Live Virtual Training – The Pros
- Cost Efficiency
Virtual delivery can offer significant cost savings. With no need for travel or venue hire organizations can make their training budgets stretch further. Virtual tools and platforms have become more affordable and robust, providing cost-effective solutions that scale to meet the needs of both small and large teams. This cost efficiency allows companies to invest more in content development, training delivery, or additional training sessions.
- Flexibility and Convenience
Virtual training provides unmatched flexibility. Employees can join sessions from anywhere. This is particularly beneficial for geographically dispersed teams, allowing them to participate without the need for travel and the associated time and disruption costs. Additionally, virtual sessions can often be recorded, giving participants the option to revisit the material or catch up if they missed the live training.
- Scalability
Virtual training platforms allow organizations to scale their training efforts easily. Whether a company needs to train 10 employees or 10,000, virtual platforms can accommodate large groups without the logistical and financial challenges associated with in-person sessions. Many platforms also offer interactive features such as breakout rooms, polls, quizzes, and discussion forums, enhancing engagement in larger groups.
- Global Reach and Inclusivity
Virtual training opens the door to global participation, making it easier to involve employees from different regions or time zones. This promotes a more inclusive learning environment, ensuring that all employees, regardless of their location, have access to the same opportunities for development. Additionally, virtual training can be more inclusive of team members with disabilities or other barriers to in-person participation, offering them equal access to learning experiences.
Live Virtual Training – The Cons
- Engagement Challenges
While virtual training can be convenient, maintaining high levels of engagement is often difficult. Without the benefit of in-person interaction, it is easier for participants to become distracted or disengaged. Trainers may struggle to gauge participants’ understanding and adjust their delivery pace accordingly due to the limited ability to read body language or facial expressions.
Moreover, technical issues such as poor internet connections, software glitches, or lack of familiarity with the virtual platform can disrupt the learning experience, further reducing engagement.
Experience also tells us that in many companies it’s still acceptable to arrive late to, leave early from or not attend a virtual training session, in a way that would be far less acceptable if that session was taking place in-person.
- Limited Networking and Relationship Building
Virtual training lacks the natural opportunities for relationship building that in-person sessions provide. While participants can interact through chat features or discussion boards, these digital interactions often lack the depth and spontaneity of in-person conversations. Virtual settings can also make it harder to build a sense of team cohesion or trust among participants, which can be detrimental for training sessions that rely on collaboration or group work.
- Technology Barriers
While virtual training has become more accessible, not all employees have the same level of comfort with technology. Some may struggle to navigate online platforms, use interactive tools, or troubleshoot issues, leading to frustration and disengagement. Additionally, differences in internet speed and access to quality hardware can create unequal learning experiences for participants.
- Impact in Supporting Behavioral Change
For training that encourages behavioral change virtual formats often fall short. While some virtual tools offer simulations or interactive elements, they cannot fully replicate the experience of, for example, in-person negotiation where practice in an in-person environment is crucial for developing proficiency.
The Hybrid Model – The Best of Both Worlds?
In a post-COVID world, the debate between in-person and live virtual training is not a simple either/or decision. The pros and cons of both formats suggest that a hybrid approach—combining elements of both in-person and virtual could actually be the most effective solution for many organizations. Hybrid training can offer the flexibility and scalability of virtual learning, coupled with the engagement and hands-on experience of in-person sessions.
Increasingly, we at Flame are adopting the Hybrid model – leaning on the virtual approach to ‘top and tail’ the in-person elements of our sales training programs. We’ll deliver a ‘Virtual Launch’ to kick the program off – a short session to bring all participants and key stakeholders onto the same page with WHY the program is taking place, WHAT it looks like and HOW participants can get the most out of it. Following the in-person training we’ll then regroup for a ‘Virtual Reconnect’ three months down the line. This gives participants the opportunity to share progress against the actions they committed to in-person, and how they’re applying their key learnings their day-to-day roles.
Ultimately, the choice between in-person and virtual training will be guided by a series of factors; the specific needs of the organization, the training content and objectives, company culture, participant location, budget etc. For some, the benefits of in-person engagement will outweigh the costs, while for others, the convenience and efficiency of virtual learning will win out. The most important consideration for organizations and their learning partners is to ensure they’re making informed and conscious choices around which approach will best serve the needs of the business and its people.
Get in touch if you’d like to discuss the optimum delivery channels for your training needs.