The way we work is changing. Already, an estimated 16% of companies operate with a fully remote workforce, while Upwork’s Future Workforce Study predicts that 73% of all departments will contain remote workers by 2028. This presents some unique challenges for businesses that will need to find interesting and engaging new methods for training their teams remotely.
Here’s how you can harness the power of augmented reality (AR) to train remote employees.
Practical ways of using AR in eLearning and remote training experiences
There are numerous benefits to AR training. Not only can AR present interactive and engaging training content in a real-world context, the multi-sensory nature of the technology also assists with retention and recall. By presenting your content in such a novel format, even your most tech-savvy team members won’t want to put it down.
AR experiences are highly accessible because they can be viewed from anywhere in the world using nothing more than a mobile device. The scalability of the technology also means companies can offer the same high-quality learning experiences whether they’re training hundreds, thousands, or even millions of users.
Supporting a variety of unique learning styles, interactive and step-by-step presentations in programs such as JigSpace also allow users to follow along at their own pace and from any point of view. This enables learners to tailor their training to suit their own needs and preferences for a truly personalized experience.
Now, let’s explore some tips for training your teams remotely, and discover how you can incorporate this revolutionary technology into your own remote training materials.
Create immersive online 3D training simulations
In high-risk or high-stress fields such as the medical, construction, and mining industry, the cost of making a mistake could be someone’s life. But with AR training, you can teach people how to handle dangerous tools or perform difficult procedures in a safe and controlled environment. This helps mitigate the risks of learning on the job.
Creating realistic and immersive online 3D training experiences can also help teach your people to manage stress and think on their feet. This can improve their ability to recall information and respond appropriately when faced with high-pressure situations.
Simplify complex processes with step-by-step presentations
Assembly instructions and user manuals are traditionally presented in a 2D format – or sometimes as training videos. This can make it difficult to translate the instructions into real-world objects and actions.
With step-by-step AR presentations, users can follow along with your 3D instructions while watching the product come together right in front of them. This gives depth to the instructions while eliminating the struggle of trying to turn 2D images into 3D understanding.
Enhance existing training manuals with AR eLearning materials
The beauty of AR technology is in its ability to integrate seamlessly with your existing LMS. Rather than throwing away existing remote training materials such as manuals, assembly instructions, help centers, and presentations, you can instead enrich this content with interactive 3D presentations. This gives customers and staff a helpful and easy-to-follow reference guide to help manage technical difficulties and assist in keeping operations running smoothly on a day-to-day basis.
With JigSpace, 3D content can be shared via clickable links and scannable QR codes, or even embedded directly into your content to illustrate important concepts and processes.
Teaching key concepts with gamification
One of the biggest challenges of remote training is getting teams interested – and keeping them interested. Outside of the office, there’s a world of distractions that can impact an employee’s ability to focus. Help keep them engaged by turning your training into a game with AR learning.
You can even include a points system, leaderboard, and rewards for reaching certain milestones so teams have a greater incentive to ‘out-learn’ their peers.
Note: Be sure to build tests and assessment tasks into your gamified training to ensure that users are retaining the information rather than simply rushing through the content.
In-depth product presentations
A sales rep that doesn’t fully understand the products they’re selling is never a good look for a brand. But training a remote sales team on large or complicated products can be difficult, especially when staff doesn't have access to physical products or demo models.
By presenting your products in simple, step-by-step AR presentations, you can unpack even the most complex and technical concepts for your teams. This will leave your team capable of much more than simply reciting a script. They’ll be better prepared to answer questions and personalize their presentations for each prospective customer, improving the overall quality of their pitches to boost your sales – and your profits!
Use analytics to continuously improve results
Learning is as important for trainers as it is for trainees. By analyzing data and tracking progress, you can continuously adapt training materials to achieve better results.
Tracking data such as how many people access a presentation, or how long teams spend looking at the training material can help give insight into how engaging your content is. You should also utilize assessment tasks at the end of each module to measure how much information is actually being retained. Regular assessment can also help identify any skills or knowledge gaps, as well as any team members who may be in need of further training.
Make learning materials accessible anywhere, anytime
For those times when staff are a little unsure of what to do, having a handy reference guide can be an invaluable resource.
Mobile-accessible AR training manuals and instructions can offer a quick refresher for employees in need of guidance. This not only helps prevent delays, it also allows staff to work more autonomously, freeing up managers who might otherwise spend their time rehashing the same processes again and again.
Programs such as JigSpace can be used to access training content anywhere and any time. It even has offline viewing capabilities for team members who don’t always have access to the internet.
Training remotely: tips and tricks
We’ve covered a lot today, so let’s review some tips for delivering training remotely using AR technology.
- Make it immersive: Presenting information in rich and detailed environments helps put training in context so your teams don’t just learn the information, they also learn how and when to apply it.
- Make it fun: Fun lies at the heart of every AR training experience, allowing you to present complex and even boring information in a thrilling and unique way.
- Turn it into a game: People tend to learn better when they have an incentive to do so. Make learning more enjoyable, engaging, and perhaps even a little competitive by gamifying the training experience.
- Create realistic simulations and product models: AR training can help teach complicated or dangerous tasks in a safe and controlled environment.
- Simplify complex processes: Presenting in-depth, step-by-step instructions in thrilling AR allows teams to follow complex processes at their own pace and from their own perspective.
- Enhance existing eLearning materials: Rich AR guides and presentations can help illustrate complicated products and procedures that would be hard to understand as 2D images.
- Make AR training materials accessible from anywhere: Ensure teams are always equipped to learn on the go. Mobile apps such as JigSpace can be viewed in real-time, anywhere in the world with nothing more than a mobile phone.
- Measure, track, improve: Continuously analyze your data and assess employee knowledge to ensure they’re retaining important information. Never stop looking for new opportunities to optimize your content and improve your results.
