Choosing the Right Training Delivery Method
Matt Archer
August 19, 2021
In the instructional design world, choosing the right packaged training delivery method is sometimes as important as creating the training itself. This is because how a training is delivered to learners can greatly impact your goals and learning outcomes.
What is Packaged Training?
Packaged training is the buzzword often used to describe the courses and material that training companies like we at Positive Results™ create for clients. The “packaged” part means that all of the training content has been assembled to make it easier for you to deliver to your learners in whatever method you choose.
Some of the benefits of packaged training are: increasing effective knowledge transfer, sharing of tools & skills, creating passive income/marketing opportunities, and improving aspects of the business such as customer service.
Why is the Training Delivery Method Important?
Different training delivery methods can confer drastically different training results, so it’s important to choose wisely when deciding how to deliver your training. Each of the four scenarios below may require a different delivery method to function optimally and meet your expected outcomes.
- Providing step-by-step instructions to accomplish complex tasks
- Cross-training and upskilling workers
- Overcoming employee resistance to policy changes
- Advertising a new product to your customers
By choosing the right training delivery method, you may find that you more easily achieve your desired outcome (performance increases, behavior changes, product sales), while choosing the wrong training delivery method may lead to misunderstandings, confusion, and failure.
The Four Core Training Delivery Methods
For ease of understanding, we have consolidated the training delivery methods under four umbrellas: Instructor-Led, Self-Paced, One-on-One, and Documented Solutions. Each of these delivery methods have several options to choose from, depending on your use case.
Instructor-Led
Instructor-Led training comprises training that is being facilitated by an instructor who presents material and manages content while helping students understand and apply the material.
A benefit of instructor-led training is it provides time for students to learn in a structured environment where they can ask questions, and perform activities to demonstrate competency.
One downside to instructor-led training is it that often takes more time to prepare, making it sub-optimal for people who need to provide training with a short turnaround time.
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Instructor-Led |
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Classroom Training · In-Person / Online · In-Depth · Versatile, detailed training where an instructor leads students in a typical classroom-style training. |
Webinar · Online · High Level · Flexible online seminar where information is shared with audience participation |
Lunch & Learn · In-Person · High-Level · Informal gathering where information is shared during a meal. |
Self-Paced
The Self-Paced option is where students take the training on their own, but may have support from a trainer and/or supporting material to help them better understand the training content.
One benefit of this option is it allows the learner to fit the training into their own schedule and learn at their own pace.
A downside to this option is that they are often time intensive and expensive to produce. There are options to create shorter, less detailed self-paced training, but they may fit better under a different delivery method.
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Self-Paced |
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eLearning · Online · In-Depth · Versatile training that learners can take that often contains written text, narration, videos, deliverables and more. |
How To Video · In-Person/Online · High Level or Detailed · Videos teaching and demonstrating a process in an easy to understand manner. |
One-on-One
One-on-One training is focused on trainers working with learners to teach them specific skills or provide assistance related to specific concerns. This is often used in job training to help cross train or up-skill learners so they have a better-rounded skillset.
The benefit of one-on-one options are that you have lots of one-on-one time for trainer and learner to discuss concerns, answer questions and validate competency. One of the drawbacks of these options is their individual focus, making them less effective for training learners en masse.
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One-on-One |
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On The Job Training · In-Person/Online · Training specific to task/process · Skill training from someone who knows the job |
Coaching · In-Person/Online · Help with specific needs · Sessions that help learners overcome resistances/concerns |
Documented Solutions
Documented Solutions are often used to deliver instructions and information to learners. Everything from a high-level newsletter to an detailed technical manual could fall under this option.
One of the benefits of documented solutions is they allow your learner to read at their own pace and easily refer back to the material when needed. The downside is that some learners don’t grasp the material when it’s delivered in this manner without a person to take questions or explain the material.
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Documented Solutions |
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Process Document · In-Person/Online · Fine-Grain · Detailed instructions for how to perform complex tasks |
Job Aid · In-Person/Online · High level · Step-by-step instructions on how to perform simple tasks |
Newsletter · In-Person/Online · High Level · Great way to share information/news |
Final Thoughts
Positive Results™ is a training development and cloud solutions company that helps organizations by analyzing their business processes and implementing training and tools to solve for any gaps we find.
We believe that training should be tailored to the needs of your business and the needs of your audience. Choosing the right training delivery method can make the difference between a well-received learning experience and a flop.
If you have additional questions or need support, contact us at:
Positive Results™ Custom Business Solutions
440.499.4944
