Why Zoom, Google Meet, etc. Failed Virtual Training in 2020

By: Karen Spencer, Area Vice President, OrasiLabs Product Manager

COVID-19’s social distancing and remote work mandates sped the increase of virtual training and development adoption. With no indication of a return to prior levels of traditional onsite learning, the market has exponentially grown for effective virtual application training tools.

eLearning Evolves with the Times

Various eLearning models were already driving change pre-pandemic, but the move from in-person to virtual training amidst budget and staffing cuts created a quick-fix misconception that permeated every industry.

Companies fell victim to thinking that whatever meeting and collaboration technologies they had on hand (Zoom, WebEx, Google Meet, Slack, Teams, etc.) were acceptable to conduct application training. While convenient for general day-to-day communication, the rudimentary nature of audio, video and/or chat tools weren’t (and still aren’t) sufficient for executing quality, virtual eLearning training and development. This mistake hurt morale, eLearning initiatives, the ability for remote workers to prosper and the revenue projections of organizations worldwide. 

Parkland Health and Hospital System Continues Medical Technology Training During Pandemic

One of the largest public hospital systems in the United States, Dallas-based Parkland Health and Hospital System, experienced the reality of quickly revamping training first hand. It was preparing to roll out traditional classroom training programs for an electronic health records application to 400+ residents when COVID-19 halted plans for in-person instruction. 

After exploring traditional online meeting applications and collaboration tools, Parkland realized none were usable. They didn’t provide crucial features Parkland needed to administer effective hands-on electronic health record software training. Parkland, very quickly, found itself researching virtual eLearning platforms that could provide instructors with things like individual views of each student’s progress and classwork, the ability to access training with only a browser, and an “over the shoulder” feature to engage directly with each student. 

Once Parkland identified a platform, training programs were developed and swiftly running. Within four months, 1,000+ residents, administrators and back-office staff completed training. Feedback to Parkland from participants was that the virtual eLearning platform was personalized and interactive, and the hospital system continues to successfully train virtually.

Lessons that Carry into 2021 and Beyond

The misconception that cobbling together disparate products to achieve effective hands-on eLearning further highlights the bumpy learning curve companies were forced upon as they struggled to correct mistakes and revamp enterprise-wide strategies. Global organizations moving in-person training to virtual came to understand that while the way we learn may change due to environmental and societal constraints, the strategy and execution of correctly leveraging technology to deliver training from anywhere are still in the hands of the humans who use it. 

Learn more about OrasiLabs to ensure your organization doesn’t fall victim to virtual application training misconceptions, too.