When developing employees, you have a variety of tools at your disposal. This article focuses on webinars and when they are the right choice.
When Webinars Make Sense
In a perfect world, all skill development would happen one‑on‑one and face‑to‑face. It would be tailored to the individual, and the person doing the teaching would be skilled in both the content and the mentoring process.
The perfect world is expensive and often logistically impossible.
Webinars can be a better option, especially when the following conditions exist.
Distributed Workforce
This one is obvious. When employees are spread across locations, bringing them together for training is costly and time‑consuming. Travel adds expense, and long trips pull people away from their work for extended periods. Webinars eliminate those barriers.
Lots of Participants
In a classroom, 16–20 participants is usually the sweet spot. If you need to train hundreds or thousands of employees, running them through in small groups takes forever and requires multiple facilitators.
Webinars are different. When done well, you can have 200 people in the “room,” and each participant still receives the information as if they were the only one there.
The Content’s Scope Is Limited
Some topics require deep, hands‑on work. Those are better suited for all‑day or multi‑day, in‑person workshops.
Webinars shine when the topic can be covered effectively in 45–60 minutes.
If the topic is more complex, you can still use a webinar strategy by breaking it into a series of short, focused sessions. Participants don’t need to be the same group each time, giving you flexibility in how you move employees through the program.
The Learning Objectives Involve Information Distribution
If you’re teaching a hands‑on skill, a webinar isn’t the right choice. If someone needs to learn how to operate a machine, they need to be in front of the machine.
But many topics are about giving employees the information they need to do their jobs more effectively. These are ideal for webinars. Examples include:
- Communicating changes to your order fulfillment process
- Teaching the benefits of a new service offering
- Strategies for working from home
- Sexual harassment prevention
- Stress management techniques
You Need Some Interactivity
Modern webinar tools offer built‑in features that support engagement at scale. Polls, chat, Q&A, tests, and even breakout rooms can create a surprisingly interactive experience.
It may feel counterintuitive, but webinars can sometimes generate more participation than in‑person sessions. Because participants don’t see each other, they may feel more comfortable speaking up.
The Budget Is Tight
Development costs for in‑person sessions and webinars are often similar. The savings come from delivery. You can train more people at once, and no one has to travel. That creates a significant cost advantage.
Make Webinars an Effective Element of Your L&D Strategy
If you’re used to delivering most training in a classroom, now is a great time to explore webinars.
I can support you in three ways:
- Deliver content I’ve already developed
- Help you create custom content
- Deliver your content in an engaging, effective way
Just reach out to discuss your training needs.
Author
Tom LaForce
Tom LaForce is a Minnesota-based consultant, speaker, coach, and facilitator. He provides practical, people‑focused support that helps organizations make change, reduce conflict, and create better workplaces. He’s available for fractional and project-based assignment. Reach out to discuss your goals.
