Everything You Need to Know About Cprime’s Remote Services (Part 3)

Remote Training – Why and How

In Part One of this series, we discussed why working remotely has been gaining widespread popularity in recent years, and why more and more companies are exploring remote coaching, training, and mentoring services as a result.

We also acknowledged that managing a remote workforce requires a modified skill set many companies don’t yet fully possess. Likewise, both sides of the remote coaching equation face their own unique challenges. These days, the impact of mass self-quarantine raises many new issues, one of the most important of which is knowing how to enable continued progress.

However, there are also compelling reasons to face those challenges, and Part Two discussed some specific solutions and tactics Cprime coaches have used to make a success of remote coaching sessions, including entire PI planning meetings with a distributed team. In many cases, coaches and those they’ve worked with have reported a better overall experience compared to in-person sessions.

In Part Three of the series, we’ll explore these matters with a focus on remote training courses, including live classes, one-on-one remote training, and MOOC-style pre-recorded online training courses.

The challenges inherent to remote training

It can be difficult to work as a cohesive team when members are distributed across locations or a majority of your workforce is remote. It can become challenging to keep processes working smoothly, conduct team meetings efficiently, and collaborate effectively. Add training initiatives into the mix, and your work is cut out for you.

As noted in the previous article, remote training programs face all the same potential issues facing remote coaching:

• Technological hurdles
• Lack of experience with remote work
• Logistical complications
• A general lack of trust in the people involved, or confidence in the process itself

Some of these problems are caused by the physical separation of those involved in the training, and are often able to be resolved by using adequate tools and managing the situation effectively. Others, however, are less quantifiable because they’re more rooted in the participants’ — or company leadership’s — attitudes, behaviors, and biases.

As with remote coaching, a good trainer will offer tools and methods to resolve both types of challenge, but real success will require give and take from both sides.

How experience and domain expertise resolve these challenges

Unlike many consultants and trainers, the professionals at Cprime have tremendous experience in the remote training field:

• 10+ years running virtual engagements
• 24,051 Students trained Virtually
• 3,826 total virtual classes run
• 3,090 total public virtual classes run
• 736 private-onsite virtual classes run
• … and counting.

That’s a powerful set of facts because most agile training organizations can’t come close to that level of experience and domain expertise when it comes to training individuals or entire companies to achieve business agility.

We’re not broadcasting this just to toot our own horn, either. We’re proud to be the leading agile training organization in the United States, but that’s not based solely on statistics. In fact, we believe our success in training comes as much from our willingness to learn as from our ability to teach.

What we’ve learned so far has resulted in an unmatched breadth of options to ensure the most effective use of each client’s training budget, taking into account all the unique circumstances involved. Cprime offers a variety of flexible virtual options, services, and tools that not only fit all learning preferences, but make it easy to keep a competitive edge during any challenging situation. Here are just a few examples to consider:

Live online delivery

Cprime — along with our training and certifications delivery team, ASPE — is an industry leader and expert in supporting live online training classes. We’ve been doing this a long time, so you can trust the experience and quality of our remotely delivered programs.

Cprime utilizes Zoom teleconferencing services to connect you with our expert instructors in an online environment that will give you the same experience you would get in-person. By utilizing many of the features of Zoom (breakout rooms, whiteboards, webcams, etc.), we can mimic the interactions you expect from an in-person event. Many of our students have remarked that the quality and experience exceeded their expectations.

I have never taken a virtual class before and was pleased with the amount of interaction and discussion opportunities. I thought it would basically just be a lecture, but the class was very fun, had a good pace, and allowed for discussion and real world practice. [The instructor] was very knowledgeable, very easy to talk to, and made me feel at ease. He was very skilled at the virtual classroom and could navigate or switch between screens smoothly with very little down time.”

– Virtual Training Student

Nearly all the tools and techniques we discussed in Part Two can and often do come into play during live online training classes as well.

Remote access (hybrid) delivery

Hybrid instruction refers to a carefully planned teaching environment which blends traditional classroom instruction with online learning activities. This model brings many of the advantages of both face-to-face instruction and online training, with very little downside. It gives participants the option to attend either in-person or live online, while still allowing students to make a meaningful connection with their instructors, coaches, and other participants.

In order to make their classes “internet-ready,” instructors must adjust their class content, visual aids, and supplemental material, particularly during lectures. Doing so often results in the materials being even more effective than those used in traditional classroom instruction. Rather than sitting in a lecture hall taking notes, students are engaged in active learning assignments such as case studies, self-tests, tutorials, and online group projects, all delivered effectively over the Internet.

“When dealing with larger groups, hybrid setups are almost easier for trainers and coaches to reach and connect with students. Some people are comfortable being spontaneous through their computer, yet others aren’t. Giving people the option to engage in-person or online allows them to choose which learning model works best for them.”

– Mike Carew, Cprime Scaled Agile Delivery Director

On-demand skills training

Cprime and ASPE continue to grow our self-paced, on-demand eLearning library. The courses are delivered exclusively online in brief, easy-to-absorb video-based modules with exercises, required readings, and assessment questions to enhance your comprehension along the way.

Because these courses are on-demand, they can be completed around the clock. Progress is driven solely by the student, so you can move through your course content at your own pace. All content is designed by subject matter experts with practical, hands-on experience in the field, is accessible 24/7 from the comfort of your home or office, and can be completed anytime.

Our eLearning platform courses are:

• Customizable, with easy-to-follow learning views
• Filled with exercises and quizzes to reinforce key topics
• Launched with customer surveys to assess your team’s training priorities
• Supported by insights and advanced analytics to track your team’s progress
• Designed for simple usage management

Resources to take you further

If the information above has piqued your interest in remote training, here are two courses currently available that may be the perfect first step into this exciting world. In both cases, you may already be using these tools, but we can help you reassess and optimize their use in remote applications:

Atlassian software solutions

The Atlassian tools (Jira, GreenHopper, Confluence), source-code control system, and telecommunication tools provide the basic capabilities needed to collaborate. We bridge processes and tools to help your team combat common issues like fragmentation and traceability, which are only compounded by remote disengagement.

Our Atlassian software solutions are available through onsite engagements, live online, or a hybrid of both. Learn more about these solutions.

Office 365

Microsoft Teams is the hub for teamwork in Office 365. It is a platform for communication, collaboration, and content management, all from a single application, making it the perfect tool for remote and distributed teams.

At its core, Teams is a chat-based workspace in Office 365 that builds on existing Microsoft technologies woven together by Office 365 Groups. Teams is designed for teamwork and flexibility, and can be accessed through the web or via mobile app. Powered by the cloud, Teams brings together the best of Office 365 – SharePoint, OneDrive, Office, Exchange, Planner, Stream, and more – into a single workspace for working with people, managing conversations, calls and meetings, maintaining files, and integrating Office 365 applications, so everyone has instant access to everything they need.

Cprime Learning offers a 1-day, instructor-led, live online Microsoft Teams Workshop that will teach you everything you need to know to use Teams to its full potential. Students will learn about organizing teams, managing teams, features, and much more.

Agility is about adapting to changing circumstances. We can help you adapt.

The ability to adapt in a time of crisis can be challenging, but by partnering with Cprime, we will provide you with the right resources, tools, opportunities, and people you need to keep progressing forward.

Choose the partner who not only has the capabilities and technology to service remote and dispersed teams, but 10+ years experience doing it while generating value and keeping teams of all sizes engaged and productive across multiple geographies, regions and time zones.