Designing Hybrid Training That Works for Everyone

This activity is actually an activity I’d like you to try yourself – as opposed to an activity that you could use in your own training.  I thought it would help set the scene as we consider how best to facilitate hybrid training that involves everyone, regardless of where they’re seated.

Here’s What I’d Like You To Do …

• Think of a recent hybrid workshop that you’ve been part of as a learner. If you have no experience of hybrid training, I’d like you to imagine that you’re a learner in a hybrid workshop.
• Select one of the two options ie whether you were …
  - In the physical training room, or
  - Joining remotely
• Answer each of the following questions on a piece of paper …
  - When did you feel most involved?
  - When did you feel least involved?
  - What was happening at that moment?
  - Who had the easiest time contributing?
• Reflect and answer:
  - What design or facilitation choice created that moment?
  - Was it intentional, or did it just happen?
• Note one small tweak that would have made the experience fairer for both in-room and remote learners.

Final Thought

“Hybrid training works best when in-room and remote learners leave with the same experience.”

This activity has a bottom-up design ie learners experience something before you (the trainer) give the main content.

For the purpose of this example, let's assume that the training was about 'Opening Difficult Conversations with Confidence' and is aimed at line managers.  But, of course, the same activity could be used for any sort of communication training such as customer service, sales etc

Activity Flow

• Give everyone the same, realistic scenario.  In this instance it might be, "A team member’s performance has dropped over the past month. Deadlines are being missed and other team members have had to step in to help. You need to address it - but how do you open the conversation with your under-performing team member?"
• Say, "You'll work in pairs.  If you're remote, you'll work in breakout rooms, if you're in this physical room, you will form pairs somewhere in the room.  One person will be the manager and the other the team member.  Your task as the manager is to open the conversation with your under-performing team member.  You have 3-minutes."
• Allow 3-minutes.
• Bring everyone back together and ask them to now swap roles.
• Allow 3-minutes.
• Bring everyone back together.
• Ask pairs to discuss:
  - What opening worked well?
  - What made the conversation defensive?
  - What would make it clearer or calmer?
• Allow 3-minutes.
• Bring everyone together.
• Ask pairs to refine the opening applying what worked well etc.
• Allow 3-minutes.
• Bring everyone together.
• Ask them to thank their partner and to then form a different pairing and test their openings on each other (this gives a possible suggestions that they could use).
• Allow 5-mintues.
• Bring everyone together and share their ideas.  This is your time to offer content to the whole group if anything has been missed or offering model to hang their learning onto.

Why this works

• Everyone is actively practising.
• Pair work runs in parallel.
• The task is tightly structured.
• Debrief is whole-group and visible to all.

Here's a great way to close your hybrid workshop.

Activity Flow

Say, “You’ve seen a lot today.  Select the one idea you’re stealing and will use when you get back to your workplace.  Please make a note of what you’re stealing.”

• Allow 2-3-minutes.
• Say, “Please form pairs.”
• Ask learners to share the idea they’re stealing with their partner.
• Allow 2-3 minutes.
• Say, “I’d like you to reflect on what your partner is stealing and offer an upgrade ie a little twist, make it simpler, make it more visible, make it more memorable etc.
• Allow 2-3 minutes.
• Ask learners to offer their upgrade to their partner, who will apply it to what they’re stealing.
• Allow 2-3 minutes.
• Bring the whole group back together.
• Ask a few people to share what they’re stealing and the upgrade they’ve received.

This Ready To Go activity is a quick opening for your hybrid training.

Activity Flow

For the purposes of this exercise, I’m assuming the topic is ‘engagement in training’

• Say, “Show me with your fingers (1–5), how engaged are you right now - if you're remote, please use your webcams.”
• Say what you see, starting with your remote learners eg Oh, I see Susan is at 5, Joe at 4 etc.
• Say, “Turn to someone or drop in chat one reason for that number.”
• Allow 1-minute.
• Say, “Write one thing you hope to leave with today.”
• Allow 1-2 minutes.
• Say, I’d like to ask you to share what you wrote ie what you want to leave with today.  If you're remote, I'll add you to a breakout room (add 4-5 learners per room), if you're in the physical training room, form teams of 4-5 learners.
• Allow 5-6 minutes.
• Bring everyone back to the main room.
• Say, “React if you’ve ever struggled to keep everyone involved.  In the room, say, "Yes" or raise your hand, remote team, react with a thumbs up on webcam, or “yes” in chat, or a smiley emoticon or even yes with your microphone ."

Nb for the last request ie ‘React if …’, substitute ‘keep everyone involved’ with the essence of your own training eg

• Customer service – ‘if you’ve ever had to manage an angry customer’
• Difficult conversations – ‘if you know that at some point you’ll have to have a difficult conversation with one of your team’
• Project management – ‘if you’ve ever struggled to keep your projects on track’

etc

I like this activity because it …

• Gets learners to turn on the webcam from the beginning.
• Gets everyone thinking about something key that they want from their training.
• Sets the scene that the training will involve everyone - remote and in the physical training room.
• Links them with the workshop content.